London Calling Newsletter #1

LONDON CALLs NEWSLETTER Vomit #1 – July 2019

A METAL HORDE ZINE SPIN OFF DEDICATED TO LIVE REVIEWS AND THE LONDON SCENE (BANDS, PROMOTERS, VENUES, ETC)!!!

THIS VOLUME BRINGS INTERVIEWS WITH:

So here we are, this has been rumbling in my mind for a while and finally it’s out. Yes, this is the first issue of a newsletter with our trips to the different venues, in the town we now call home: London. We go to a lot of concerts (at least compared to our life in Portugal) so I thought: why not write about them and publish in a small newsletter. But only live reports would be maybe a bit boring so why not introduce to all of you some bands from this cool town? And why not also promoters, venues and whoever more comes to our mind? Next issue I promise a little more… Ah and we don’t write about all that we go... Maybe 85%...

Things were a bit chaotic (and took it’s time) in this first issue, so you’ll be able to read about the gigs we went between September and December of 2018 plus interviews with Dungeon and Jackknife Seizure. Next volume will be a bit more filled with interviews (at least more one or two) but the objective of this is not to create a new zine but more of a filling to the gaps between Metal Horde’s. Also, probably this will be the only editorial from this letter, I already rant sufficiently in Metal Horde’s regular issues!!!

The cover, for Metal Horde’s readers is not a surprise, as we use it in our issue #20, back in 2016, but as this was a first, I thought of using it, although this is a slightly different version. Back in 2016, the creator of this awesome cover, Mark Riddick, sent to us two drawings and we are here using the second version. So full credit for the cover goes to that genius who is Mark Riddick.

Enough of this blah-blah-blah, go on, have fun and enjoy the reading!!! Look for us in some gig, pay us beer and discover the magnificent side of paper-printed zines.

Sodomized Cadaver/Necrot/Spectral Voice/Demilich - Boston Music Room 16/09/18 So as most of you are aware we've just moved to London and the first concert we went after relocating was this great Death Metal night which would gave us the chance to witness in first-hand the power of some not so veteran bands like Necrot and Spectral Voice but also the majesty of the veterans Demilich.

As we arrived at the Boston Music Room (a very cool place with very good conditions for Metal gigs: a good space stage, drinks not too expensive (for London of course) and plenty of space for merch tables and for the public to accommodate itself), already Sodomized Cadaver from the UK was playing (the gig started at 7pm and usually here in the UK they don't let things go behind schedule). This was my first time seeing them and we caught only two or three songs which didn't caught too much of my attention. They play a nice Death Metal but nothing that stuck in my ears for too long. I hope to see them a next time, so I can give them a fairer judgement. The house was pretty packed already (the show was sold-out) when the band I really wanted to see went on stage. I'm speaking of Necrot, an US trio that blasted the Underground with their debut album: 'Blood Offerings'. And they didn't fucking disappoint. ‘The Blade’, ‘Rather be Dead’ or ‘Empty Hands’ from their debut album were some of the many songs they played and made the audience headbang. A name for all Death Metal freaks to remember!! After this savage beating we welcomed Spectral Voice on the BMR and things changed from night to day. This US quartet, which I had the chance to see them in Portugal a year ago, delivered a performance of almost trance-induce Death Metal. With very minimalist lights (they played almost in the dark) they gave us a non-stop track of very doomish Death Metal where you almost saw no movement from the audience as we were all in an awe looking to the stage and feeling the sonic orb displayed by them. Very difficult to put in words I must say!! Last to go on stage was the historic Demilich. The Finnish band, which impressed a lot of Death Metal fans back in 1993 with their debut (and only album to date) 'Nespithe', were among other bands as Convulse, Abhorrence or Demigod in the front of the Finnish Death Metal scene back in the early 90's. Known also for given extra-long names to their songs, the Finnish quartet got back together in 2014 and kept 3/4 of their main formation. They delivered the goods without mercy, unleashing some old as fuck tunes to all of us in the audience. Being honest, I have to say that their more Technical Death Metal never appealed too much to me but live, it sounded pretty good. They played 'Nespithe' almost in its entirety but still had time to go back to their demo 'The Four Instructive Tales... Of Decomposition' from 1991 and play the song 'The Faces Right Below the Skin of the Earth', which was written in 2006 and it’s the last song from them ever made (at least until now). So overall a great start in Metal Horde's relocation to London and a hell of a good Death Metal show!!!

Hand Of Doom/Evisarize/The Bleeding/Hellripper - The Unicorn 27/09/18 Most of you don’t know but we live near The Unicorn so without a surprise we often go there to watch some nice Metal music. As soon as I’ve seen that Hellripper was playing there I made arrangements, so I could be there to witness as I’ve heard quite nice things about it. As most of the events in The Unicorn (this one is quite a cool place to hang around, most of the times you have free shows and if you don’t enjoy the music you can just go to the back to the seats near the bar and talk with your friends, also it has a very good stage, enough space for the crowd and the sound there, usually, is pretty good), this one was free entry so when we arrive at the pub there was already a good number of maniacs to watch Hand of Doom, a young London project with some very good influences from Death, Thrash and even some Doom Metal. They are a three piece with a nice presence on stage and they were presenting their debut EP ‘Manifestation’, which was released in June!! An excellent beginning of night and a band to keep an eye on!! After them came Evisarize, a Speed Thrash all over the place quartet that maintained the night fast and chaotic. Their sound didn’t appeal too much to my taste, so we choose that time to go to the chicken place near The Unicorn and grab some food. When we returned already The Bleeding was playing and these guys they have a very tight outfit. Their music is a homage to the mighty Death but in it you’ll find also a lot of Thrash Metal in it. They showed to all of us tracks from their debut album ‘Rites of Absolution’ and I must say they sounded pretty tight and have a very earful music. To finish the night came Hellripper and this one-man band from Scotland (although live it’s a quartet) gave a hell of a good show. Playing a mix of Black and Speed Metal, the Scots didn’t take the pedal from the gas and made everyone in The Unicorn bang their heads like there was no tomorrow. With its debut album ‘Coagulating Darkness’ in its backs and a couple of splits, James (the main man behind it) delivered the goods to an audience thirsty of good riffs, catchy chorus and devilish worshiping. If you don’t know them by now, go get yourself a copy of any of their works and bang your head!!! So a hell of a good night well drenched in beer, gin and vodka!!!

Orkan/One Tail, One Head/Bölzer/Taake - The Dome 08/10/18 So after the BMR and Unicorn time to know another venue: The Dome. Basically this one is BMR’s big brother as the latest is downstairs of it, although The Dome is larger and usually used for this larger tours, you can expect a large stage, with exceptional conditions and excellent sound. Also you’ll have plenty of space to walk around (even in sold out events) and some space for the merch tables. This one brought four good reasons to go there. First came Orkan, a Norge quartet from Bergen who delivered already three albums, the latest being ‘Element’ from 2018 and of course it was also the focus in this show. They did a very entertaining show which showed a band going for a Thrashy side in a Black Metal path. For me, a band to keep an eye on! After them came One Tail, One Head which announced their end, so this would be their last show in London. With only one album in their twelve-year history (and only released three days before this show) they focused on it in this show playing a lot of songs from ‘Worlds Open, Worlds Collide’ but also going to their 2011 EP with the title that gives name to the band or to their second demo from 2008, from which they played ‘In the Golden Light’. Overall a very good performance from this fast and furious Black Metal project which we had the luck to see before they disbanded, and which received a fair amount of support from the London crowd. Bölzer was the next band and to be honest I was expecting a little more from this power duo. The clean parts that now they brought to the game isn’t the best thing, although they give a more epic tone to their music. ‘Hero’ was the star in that night and specially the song that gives title to the album: a massive song full of bombastic parts and with a very heart-shattered feeling in it. I have to say honestly that I expected them to be the bigger reason why I was in the Dome but in the end it didn’t feel like that. Well nothing like waiting to see them once more and see if it wasn’t just me which was in a no day. Finally to end the night came the mighty Hoest and his creation, Taake. Opening with ‘Jernhaand’ from his more recent album ‘Kong Vinter’, they caught the crowd attention at once but surprising (or not) they only played one more song from that album (I was expecting a larger section of the set for it) and balanced their performance throughout most of Taake albums going back to his debut ‘Nattestid Ser Porten Vid’ from 1999. So it was like watching a best-of Taake live which I have to say from the crowd reaction, it made their day!! And also mine, as this was probably the concert I most enjoyed from Taake and I have seen a few. I could highlight every single song from their set but my mind got caught by two: ‘Hordalands Doedskvad’ first song, what a fucking hymn this songs is!! Full blazing riffs, Hoest devilish shrieks and the drum kit blasting its way throughout most of the track, for me this is Black Metal!! And the last song which was the mighty ‘Myr’ from the 2011’s album ‘Noregs Vaapen’!! One of those songs that leave their mark in your brain, long after it’s played, even with the Banjo part eheh!!! Fucking awesome way to finish a set!!! So me and Inês got out of the Dome pretty satisfied and with our expectations fulfilled. And be careful with the gigantic beers one have to drink in London!! They can make your mind buzz and foggy after a few ones eheheh!!!

Rembrandt of Clocks/Eliminator - The Dev 14/10/18 The Dev is maybe our favourite spot to hang around to have a few beers and once in a while they also host some gigs like this one!! Being honest I would say for concerts The Dev isn’t my favourite spot as the stage stays in the corner and it’s pretty hard to see anything, also because the bar is always full (that’s good of course)!! This one brought the guys from Eliminator to London and we had to go see them as I (Nuno) never have seen them before. Opening was Rembrandt of Clocks and they sounded quite nice but we were in the other side of the bar so I didn’t see much of their show. Hope to catch them on another gig!! As for the main reason to be there, the guys from Lancaster, Eliminator, we knocked some beers, elbowed some people and got a bit more upfront to see them. They were promoting their debut album, ‘Last Horizon’, released in March of 2018 so as we expected they played a lot of songs from that album but they didn’t forget some of the oldies like ‘Rule the Night’ from their 2011 debut EP. Their energetic Heavy Metal was the perfect match for a night of booze and they didn’t disappoint anyone. This date was their final one of a seven date tour throughout England but that wasn’t felt when these blokes went on stage. Great stamina, a back to the 80’s feeling and lots of headbanging was what Eliminator delivered to the crowd which filled The Dev by that time. As I said, this was my first time seeing them, but I can guarantee this will not be the last!!! Never surrender!!! As usual in nights out in the Dev we have the company of some our Portuguese posse eheh although I don’t remember that well because usually that is always a synonym of finishing heavily drunk

Dungeon are the first guests in our quest to find the Underground existing in the English capital!! Born around 2014, they have unleashed one of the fiercest EP’s which showcased their Speed Heavy Metal to the entire world!! Open the traitors gate, bring the fire and prepare your souls for the devastation!!!

MH- Hi guys, how are you? Let’s start the interview by the introductions! So who is behind the instruments in Dungeon and what’s the favourite beverage of each one of you?

D- Luke/Guitar/Vocals - Scrumpy Jack Cider &

copies of each being done, how was the reception to your works? Did the tapes sell fast or by any chance you still have a copy of them to sell? Don’t you think limited editions are a little restrict to bands that are just starting?

Yorkshire Gold Blend Tea EXCLUSIVELY; Daragh/Guitar D- Our first tape was mainly distributed among people - alcohol and cold medicine; Olivia/Bass - tea and tea- with we know as far as I can remember...sold out now quilla and Chris/Drums - warm Budweiser.

I’m afraid! The second was put out by Me Saco Un Ojo MH- Your story starts around 2014, so what lead to the (who went on to release our EP) who ended up having creation of Dungeon? How did the four of you get to do a second run of 100 which is still available at together? Much booze and hell-raising involved in some distros. I’d say that 100 - 200 copies is a pretty that beginning? Did you start the band with some goal typical edition for a first release for a new band. In in mind or it was just to have some fun and see where any case we have both available online now as we it could lead to? aren’t the type to get in the way of people hearing us D- We’d been friends for a good while before forming to keep some kind of “exclusivity”. from drinking/working at various metal bars in MH- Those demos open the way for your latest release, London. I guess the starting point came after me the EP ‘Purifying Fire’, would you say the EP is your sending a tape of material I’d been working on to strongest release so far? Do you think you have Olivia that I thought she’d be into. Around the same achieved the sound you guys were looking for time Chris and Daragh were at a loose end and were Dungeon? Where did you record it and with whom? up for doing something new. Everything fell into D- Purifying Fire was recorded by Sam Thredder at his place pretty quickly after that! Those early studio The Cro’s Nest in deepest darkest south London. rehearsals in a mouldy, decrepit studio in Soho were Three of the songs were also on the second demo but I great because, like you say, we were still figuring think it’s fair to say this is the release that does out exactly where we were going with it. our material the most justice.

MH- Although arising from London your Heavy Metal is not the expected NWOBHM influenced one but a rawer, unpredictable kind of Heavy/Speed Metal maybe more influenced by Celtic Frost or Sodom than from Iron Maiden, would you agree with that? Does your sound reflect the influences brought from you four?

D- Yes, to an extent! The original idea in the very beginning was for some kind of raw speed/thrash band like Razor, Slayer or Sodom as you say. Pretty soon though we realized it would be more interesting to introduce elements of heavy metal bands like Maiden, Priest, and especially Mercyful Fate, as well as punk/d-beat (One of our biggest influences is probably Discharge!) to avoid becoming yet ANOTHER one of the cookie-cutter black thrash bands that have been knocking around over the last few years. So yes, pretty much an amalgamation of our four different tastes.

MH- After a few months out how have been the reviews to the EP? Do you guys usually look for what’s been said on your works or you just don’t give a flying fuck?

D- From what we’ve seen so far, good! But we don’t go

out of our way to search for reviews...if one comes across our path, cool. Otherwise we pretty much let it be.

MH- The EP was released in vinyl and tape but no CD, are you guys not interested or didn’t find yet a label to release it on CD? I have to congratz you guys on the wicked cover!! Who did it?

D- The cover was done by the exceedingly talented

Raul Gonzalez from Barcelona, who has also done artwork for Morbus Chron, Gorephillia, Deceased, andAtaraxy - www.facebook.com/raul.gonzalezart.9

MH- Me Saco Un Ojo Recs delivered the vinyl edition while Dying Victims unleashed the tape one, how did MH- You released a couple of demos in your first years you get to work with both labels? MSUO Recs was with both being limited editions with around 100 already responsible for releasing your second demo,

so your relationship with them comes from a mile shows overseas (we played Berlin once before in 2016). back, right?

To answer your question yes, it was very different to D- We’d known MSUO for a while before releasing what we have been used to in London and the UK, and

anything, what with them being based in London as well. They approached us initially about releasing a 7”, in the end this became our second demo tape (English Hell) after we decided it would be more worthwhile to make our first vinyl release a 12”ep, so we went back to the studio to re-record those three songs and three new ones. Once again, we were approached by Dying Victims about a tape version at the start of this year shortly before the 12” was due out, after which everything happened pretty quickly.

even from night to night in Germany we had vastly different crowds. People over there seem much more motivated to actually support and see the bands instead of just skulling beers outside the venue and then complaining they don’t have enough money to buy your records, which is pretty much what happens in London.

MH- With all the shit which is happening in the world ‘Purifying Fire’ seems something which probably would ‘fix’ some of those problems like religion, politics or greed. What does inspire you guys when writing lyrics?

D- While the four of us are all politically minded,

our lyrics aren’t - there are enough bands we take more inspiration from a band like Venom, who sang about Satan, hell, demons, fucking their teachers etc in knowingly superficial, escapist way Or Razor’s Violent Restitution album which is exclusively about beating down posers and weakeners and stealing their cars.

MH- The scene in London (and I would say as well the UK) is boiling with many new bands arising from day to day, so in the middle of many good things happening, what are the things you guys consider D- Sure, the EU is far from perfect and the concept of which are not as good? Is it easy/cheap to find a a joint international currency is inherently flawed venue to promote a gig in London?

MH- Talking about politics how do you guys see this thing which is called the Brexit? Any good thing can come out of there or it was just a bloody mistake? You guys have any interest in politics?

and blah blah blah. But the fact is that the Leave campaign was based largely on fear-mongering, hyperbole, outright lies, and the fact that large chunks of the British population will believe anything that gets put on the front of one of our right-wing newspapers. It’s extra frustrating for bands like us, or indeed any kind of performer, as it will just be another obstacle to being able to do our thing outside of this increasingly wretched island.

Since the referendum most of the politicians behind Leave have all fucked off back to their holes and are now nowhere to be seen, which tells you all you need to know. Though watching the government being on the brink of implosion is pretty satisfying. Depressingly since the referendum the far right has gone and raised its ugly head again with groups like Britain First, English Defence League etc...this kind of pond life has always been there below the surface, but now feel their views have been legitimised and are quite happy marching in their thousands through the centre of fucking London.

MH- In the last few months you have played some gigs throughout Europe alongside Nasty Savage, so how were those dates? Did you guys have fun? Do you think Metal crowds are similar from country to country or on the contrary, very different?

D- Man I wish that we could play with Nasty Savage!

If anyone is reading this…We actually toured with Savage Master (I have to stop drinking while doing the interviews eheh -ed) from Kentucky, USA. We had a great time both with SM who are five of the coolest people on earth and playing our first proper run of

D- It tends to get a bit too saturated in London sometimes. Because it’s easy to get shows, loads of bands just get comfortable and end up playing London all the time in the same venues with very similar line ups. So people get bored of the same shows all the time and end up not going to cool rare shows from international bands when they do happen. It feels like the scene gets a bit stale sometimes. We don’t tend to book many shows ourselves but we’re always aiming to get on bills from interesting bands that we like and don’t play London very often. But like most bands in London, if we wanted to we could probably play every week.

MH- I know your drummer Chris is also behind one of the coolest pubs in London, The Dev, so is it hard to keep a Metal pub open or no pain, no gain? What does the rest of you guys do?

Chris: I guess in the case of The Dev it is easy to keep it open as it’s been there for years and people just know to come there for the kind of vibe and music we have. I think it is difficult to keep a metal bar interesting though. You really need to understand and really be interested and up to date with what’s happening in both the underground and the mainstream metal scene. So many metal bars across the world just play slayer and Metallica on loop that people forget that there's tons of underground bands doing some killer music out there. We try to bring that out a little bit with the bands we put on and the music we play. Daragh works at the Black Heart and they have a similar vibe there. It’s not your standard metal bar.

MH- Let’s talk about ‘British Steel’ and ‘Speed Kills vol.7’, so are your songs used on those comps exclusive for those releases? What is your opinion on this kind of releases? ‘Speed Kills’ is a rather cult series in the Metal world so how did you feel to be chosen to be present in their seventh edition?

D- On Speed Kills VII we had the English Hell demo

version of Death From Above, and on British Steel was a rough mix of Queen of Sin (final versions of both of these are on Purifying Fire) - being part of the Speed Kills series is obviously very cool when you think about how many classic bands have appeared previously! British Steel has some great new bands from the UK as well, most notably Insurgency, Aggressive Perfector, and Vuil who are tapping a similar vein to us musically.

MH- Have you been listening to anything good recently released that you want to share with us?

D- Insurgency - “Militant Death Cult” is the best

release (from the UK anyway) of the last 12 months total thrashing d-beat war chaos!

MH- What are your plans for the near future? Play live and promote ‘Purifying Fire’ like there’s no tomorrow? After the EP, is 2019 the year for the fulllength or it can happen sooner?

D- We’d like to head back to Europe as soon as we can of course as we had such a great time there before.

We are currently writing, with some new material already in our live set. Maybe for a full-length album? We wouldn’t really want to put an end date on anything, spitting out a record every year or so works for some bands but not for us. Call it perfectionism but we want to take our time and make sure our music is as good as it can be before it gets immortalized on record.

MH- Ok so let’s wrap things up over here!! Thank you for your time!! The last words, publicity and shenanigans are from your responsibility eheh!!

Cheers!!

D- Thanks for the interview! We can’t wait to come back to Europe so someone book us and give us an excuse to get off this wretched island!!

Abysmal Grief/Light of the Morning Star/Naut - Nambucca 16/10/18 Five concerts and five different venues, cool!! This time we were gathered in Nambucca, a very cool pub in Archway, with a spacey stage, nice sound and excellent conditions for us to witness for the first time, one of the best Horror Doom Metal bands existing: the Italians Abysmal Grief. I have to say this one was quite badly promoted, and we only discovered like one or two days before but even so was able to get some tickets and head to Nambucca!!

This time, me and Inês, had the company of my daughter and one other Portuguese friend also named Inês, so it was me and the three Inês eheh!! When we arrived the first band was preparing to go on stage and the first two bands were complete strangers to us. So Naut arriving from Bristol, was quite a good surprise as their Gothic Rock/Post Punk was quite catchy and very nice to hear. They were promoting their debut MCD ‘Raise the Lights’ released a few months before and let me tell you that is a band to keep an eye on as their music is very interesting. Bringing to the floor influences of Sisters of Mercy, The Cult or Fields of the Nephilim, it was impossible not to be impressed by songs as ‘Disintegration’ or the title track. Hope to catch them more often in London! Next came Light of the Morning Star and again a nice surprise!! The stage was full of candles which gave a very creepy aspect to the room and as soon as the band started to pound their instruments, the heads started to slowly move. Their mix of Gothic music and Black Metal is nothing too ingenious but sounds really nice live. With their debut album ‘Nocta’ in their backpacks, it was a relatively well packed house that received songs as ‘Coffinwood’ or ‘Nocta’ with eagerness for some blood (they have a much vampiric side in their songs) and for the low chanting courtesy of the mastermind of this band. The night was starting to feel as a must win and we still had to see the main contender. We went for some pints and when we went back to the stage area, the same was filled with Virgin Mary’s crying blood which was a very cool and augury scenario, so we knew the masters were almost ready to take it by storm. Abysmal Grief took the stage by storm and what a sight was to see Labes Necrothytus in the front of the stage with his keyboards. They opened the concert with ‘Hidden in the Graveyard’ from the mighty ‘Feretri’ from 2013 and the gates of hell opened in front of our eyes. Through the slumber riffs, the mighty pipe organ sinister tunes and the evil chanting, all of us were transported to a bleaker reality. Of course, they played a couple from their newest album ‘Blasphema Secta’ but also did not forget gems from the past as ‘Hearse’ or the astonishing ‘The Necromass: Always They Answer’. A mighty show from these Italian doomsters and a great way to spend the night in a weekday!! Doom on!!!!

Hypnos/Lizzies – The Black Heart 22/10/18 Next show in our schedule was also in a new place (at least for these tales as we went there a couple of times before and always had a lot of fun). I’m talking about the Black Heart, a small room (capacity for maybe a little more than 100 people) but with a very decent sound and nice conditions for the musicians, which stays in the upper part of a very cool pub with that name.

The occasion was for us to see the Spanish Metal ladies Lizzies. Being a weekday (a Monday even more), the turn-out wasn’t too big and we were maybe a couple of dozen people when the Swedish Hypnos went on stage. They had a very energetic stage presence and their Heavy Rock was quite nice to start the night. Formed around 2013, the five Swedish guys showed us songs from their new album ‘Set Fire to the Sky’, which brings what you can expect from a band that trails the path of Heavy/Rock music. A mix of 70’s Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, focusing on the very cool guitars work (a good twin guitar duo which were battling throughout the songs), a pounding rhythm section and a very charismatic vocalist. Have to say they were quite interesting and a band to keep an eye on!! After a small break, and a few pints in the meantime, where we had the chance to knew a cool bunch of Italian people which were doing some London tourism and stopped by the Black Heart to grab a pint with some likeminded people like them, it was time to receive Marina, Patricia, Elena and Dani (the only guy eheh) on stage or better saying, Lizzies!! I had the pleasure of seeing them two years ago in the Metal Keepers Fest in Portugal, at the time promoting their debut album and it was an awesome show. Now they were promoting the second one called ‘On Thin Ice’ and of course that was the one which they highlighted in this London gig. Their energy is contagious from the screaming vocals of Elena (and her crazy and non-stop energy) to the Heavy riffs of Patricia and songs as ‘Like an Animal’ or ‘No Law City’ sounded as a bulldozer going through a glass wall. Their Heavy Metal/Hard Rock brings nostalgia to the ball game as you can listen to a lot of old school references in their music from Deep Purple to Thin Lizzy (and no their name is not a tribute to that band, it’s the name of one of the street gangs in the movie ‘The Warriors’). For the few that went to this one this was a very good Heavy Metal show and one more heavy night in the English capital. As for us time to go to bed as on the next day everyone of us had to go to work!!! Rock on!!!

Sufferer/Craven Idol/Solstice/Mystifier - Boston Music Room 02/11/18 One more trip to the Boston Music Room and again in a gig organised by the guys from Isengard Promotions, which have become a good name when you’re looking for some good old school Death/Black Metal. This one brought a couple of distinct guests to London like the Brazilians Mystifier and the West Yorkshire Epic Doomsters Solstice. But before that we arrived at a very well crowded BMR to witness the second band to go on stage which was the known Black/Thrash Metal maniacs of Craven Idol (yes, we did lost Sufferer the first band as we got stuck outside drinking and eating, sorry guys). And what a chaos it was! Even a broken string happened throughout their set. The sound was a little to high I think but even so it was very good to hear to some hymns as ‘A Ripping Strike’ or ‘Black Flame Divination’ from their newest album ‘ The Shackles of Mammon’. Fast driving riffs, full speed ahead drumming and devilish vocals were their present to all of us. We didn’t even sense the half an hour passing by when they finished!! After them came a band I was dying to see as I never had seen before (mostly because the two times they were confirmed to play in Portugal, something always happened, and they cancelled). So finally there came our chance to see the mighty Solstice. And it was magical!! They played songs from their timeless discography, going through it as we the crowd were in an awe!! ‘White Horse Hill’, which gives name to their latest album from 2018, ‘Death’s Crown Is Victory’ from their 2013 EP with the same name or ‘Cimmerian Codex’ from their 1998 album ‘New Dark Age’ were some of the songs they executed. Always with Rich and Andy on the helm, the band played as passionate as we were expecting, and memories were made in this night!! It seemed quite different to hear the cleaning vocals of Paul Kearns, in a night where things were harsher, but who could not be touched when listening to ‘New Dark Age/The Sleeping Tyrant’!! Epic Doom was in the house and there were few which were not affected by it!! Nice to see their new bass player as well, Daryl, which took well care of the four strings!! Hell of a gig!! And speaking of hell, time to go on stage the Brazilians lords of depths, Mystifier. I’d already seen them once in Portugal so I knew what to expect and must say did not get disappointed. The Brazilian band knows how to impress and bringing to the battle their two mythical albums ‘Wicca’ from 1992 and ‘Goetia’ from 1993 is always a good tactic. We felt that the Lord of Darkness descended upon Earth to meet his worshippers when songs as ‘Beelzebuth’ or ‘Aleister Crowley’ were invocated by Diego! Behind his keyboard set and his bass guitar, he has a very strong presence, which is always complemented by the maniac riffs of Beelzebuth (the only founding member still present in the band). There was still time for a new song called ‘Soultrap Sorcery of Vengeance’, which will be present in the new album of this evil horde to be released in 2019.

When ‘Cursed Excruciation’ gave its last gasps, we were all surrendered to the magical practices of this veteran Brazilian horde!!! A concert that will be forged in fire in our minds!!!!

Obituary/Anthrax/Lamb Of God/Slayer - SSE Wembley Arena 03/11/18 So not only from the Underground are we made off and sometimes we surrender our soul to the gods of Rock’n’Roll or in this case the gods of Thrash Metal aka Slayer! This passage in London was included in their final tour and as we’ve seen them a few times, we couldn’t miss the last one (and for me the first) in London. Now bear with me: I had worked the day before until 5pm, went to see the one you’ve read above, came home, slept a few hours and went to work at 6am to be able to be out at 4pm to go see this one. So I was a bit tired but not dead!!

Unfortunately because we thought it was a good idea to do the warm up in a local pub, we got caught in the queue and when we entered the massive grounds of the SSE Wembley Arena, Obituary was almost finishing. We caught the last few minutes of ‘I’m in Pain’ and got to see ‘Slowly We Rot’. I have seen them quite a few times to know, I regret losing almost all of their show, but I’m sure this will not be their last time here!!! Next was time for Anthrax to go on stage and this one I caught with a lot of attention, as I loved the last time I’ve seen them in London. Because they had not a lot of time, of course it finished with a little of a sweet & sour taste in my mouth as they played very few songs (and including two covers (although ‘Antisocial’ is almost nowadays an Anthrax song eheh)) didn’t help. But, opening with ‘Caught in a Mosh’ and closing with ‘Indians’, made me forgive them ahah!! For those two, it made my night!! As soon as they finished, we prepared to go out as our friends Inês and Márcia smoke but quite a surprise they didn’t allow anyone outside and they didn’t have a place for smokers!! Speak of mandatory cigar cleansing!! So instead we went looking for some food and drinks, and my friends let me tell you, prepare your fucking wallets: a fucking ordinary burger and a pint, 12 pounds!! Puff!! In the meantime Lamb of God played and ok, we didn’t see it!! So last song of them and we entered to find a nice place to see fucking Slayer!!! And I was surrendered!! Fuck, that they could have played that one or don’t play that one but for me it was a whirlwind of Thrash fucking Metal from start to finish!! This is what legends are made off and even if I still have in my mind, the first time I saw them back in 1994 (with Machine

Head eheh), this one also will stay because it was probably the last (although they can give us a Scorpions thing and announce a new tour after this last one eheh) time I will see them!! So I will retain in my mind ‘South of Heaven’, ‘Seasons in the Abyss’ or ‘Raining Blood’ and I will scream farewell and see ya in Valhalla, motherfuckers. Even that speedy finale doesn’t take me the memories from this one!!

It’s fucking Slayer, period!!! Even with Gary Holt in it!!

Audn/Fen/The Great Old Ones - Boston Music Room 14/11/18 Back to the BMR (this one is starting to be my favourite place in London for gigs) for a great night with two bands which I was seeing for the first time and one other which I didn't see for about six years. When we arrived at the BMR, already a lot of public was there, so all bands played for a very massive crowd, which is always to praise for. First band to go on stage was Audn, an Icelandic band playing a very interesting form of Black Metal. With two albums on their backs, they started by bringing some slower passages which were ripped from within by faster parts, which can give you a really painful pain in the neck. They played mostly songs from their second album, ‘Farvegir Fyrndar’ and yes, all their songs are in Icelandic, which gives an extra enchantment to their music. The quintet seems pretty tight on stage and they seem a very good oiled machine, where it stands out their singer, Hjalti Sveinsson, with his crazy look and croaked voice. They change rhythms quite often so never a boring listening!! Next change over in the stage and time for the Londoners Fen to go on it. We had seen them six years ago when they played the SWR Barroselas Metalfest so I was quite enthusiastic to see them play in a smaller place and I didn’t leave the BMR disappointed. Their dense Black/Doom Metal filled the room and we prepared ourselves for a cold, freezing night of ‘Winter’ (which is their latest album, released in 2017) and was the centre piece in this show. They also risked and played a new song which will be featured in the new album to be released in 2019!! The trio (which from the show we saw is now different, as they have a new drummer) was in a good mood (also because it was Grungyn’s, their bass player, birthday) and that was transpired in the way they attacked each music in the stage. Long songs, rhythm changes, intricate riffs and a hell of a voice by The Watcher made that in the end, it was marked in the crowd’s face that this was a very good show from one of the best Black Metal bands from the UK. To wrap up things we still had to see the French Post-Black Metal The Great Old Ones!! What is not to love in a band which their main influence is H.P. Lovecraft? Nothing, right? And these five guys add to their concept a rather atmospheric and dense Black/Doom Metal, full of repetitive riffs, dark vocals and pummelling drumming.

If we had a knife, we could have ripped the density in the room when The Great Old Ones were performing.

Hidden behind black hoods, they took us through a journey which focused on their latest album ‘EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy’ but not forgetting the previous one ‘Tekeli-li’. It was almost an hour of a suffocating atmosphere and we only breathed when they finished their set. A concert where you could feel the music, more than just watch it or hear it. As soon as this was finished back to our place because the next day was working day and a lot more would come in this November!!!!

Wytch Hazel/Night Viper – The Lounge 16/11/18 Uhu, a new place to meet!! This was my first time in the new Lounge (as the room existed with the same name but in a different location, although I never went to that one) and must say honestly that it’s not one of my favourite places to watch concerts as the stage is too small and most of the band has to play outside of it as the drum kit usually take control of it eheh!! But we were expecting a good night of Heavy Metal and it was that, what we received.

The night started with the Swedes Night Viper which for me was a first!! The band commanded by the tiny Sophie-Lee Johansson unleashed a powerful set of good old Heavy Metal with a lot of Hard Rock feeling in the mix. The only thing that was a bit off was her vocals which were too down so sometimes it was hard to listen to it. They focused on their latest album ‘Exterminator’ from 2017 and songs like ‘No Escape’ or ‘Summon the Dead’ have the right formula to attract all those into the old sound. Excellent duo of guitarists, a tight and precise rhythm section and a hell of catchy chorus makes of this band a very nice one to witness live!! Time to headbang and drink beer!!! After a few more beers time to watch the return of Wytch Hazel to London! I’ve seen them before when they played Live Evil in 2016 and then in 2018 on the Frost & Fire fest and in both concerts, I was pretty surprised by their approach to Heavy Metal. These lads from Lancaster always deliver a very good Heavy Metal that at sometimes bring to memory bands as Thin Lizzy or Wishbone Ash. Live they bring a lot of energy to the stage and songs like ‘Victory’, ‘Slaves to Righteousness’ or ‘He Shall Reign’ showcase the excellent musicianship of the young quartet with extra focus on the guitar skills of Colin Hendra. It’s impossible not to feel the positive vibe these guys deliver while enjoying old fashioned Heavy Metal!! A very enjoyable night and the two albums from Wytch Hazel in vinyl to our collection eheh!!!

We had contact with our next guests when we saw them live in The Unicorn in one of the many open nights the venue does. They were closing the night and I was pretty impressed with their heaviness and musicianship, so when this project came to life, I thought of them for it and fortunately they embarked in this journey with us. So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Jackknife Seizure.

MH- Hey guys, how’s life going? So what’s been rolling in the Jackknife Seizure HQ? How’s being going the writing of the new album? What do you have to drink while doing this?

SN - Hi there and thanks for inviting us! Currently sipping a much-needed coffee! What’s been rolling, aside from j’s? We’re still working on our new material, we’ve demoed some of the new songs and done a couple of local gigs to try them out and the response has been great.

DK - Hey, all good thanks! We’ve been really busy over the last few months writing and recording demos for our next album. It’s going great it just takes us ages to write as our songs aren’t exactly simple and we’re always tweaking. We’ve only done a handful of shows this year to concentrate on writing but we’re busy behind the scenes. It’s the best unpaid job in the world! And I’m drinking water. But having a joint with it so that’s rock and roll right?

MIT - Life is ok - full of ups and downs, but that gives you something to write about at least. The new album is coming together nicely, albeit slowly, but the tracks we’ve demoed so far and played live are getting a good response, which is a good sign. I tend to have a beer or two while in the rehearsal space, but when writing lyrics outside of that space I’m usually drinking wine or whisky, they get my creative juices flowing, haha.

MH- So presentation time, who are the people behind Jackknife Seizure? When and how did you all meet and what does it mean Jackknife Seizure? Just a name or more than that? Do you guys have prior experiences before Jackknife Seizure?

SN - We’re currently a three-piece of guitar, bass and drums. Personally I joined the band shortly after I moved to the UK and met Mit (guitar) and Dave (bass) through an ad. They’d been in a band together for a while. They were starting something new and we clicked instantly. I’d been in several bands before, mostly thrash metal and rock.

DK - Well I’m Dave, I play the bass. I met Mit through a mutual friend in our late teens and a few years later I ended up joining the band Mit was in called Box Monster. Once we’d been working together for a while it became obvious we were on the same page when it came to the kind of music we wanted to make so after the demise of Box Monster we started writing. After about a year of searching for a drummer Sylvy responded to an ad we put out. The first jam we had she totally blew us away and fortunately she agreed to join the band - we’ve been grateful ever since! Jackknife Seizure was born. The name incidentally came from a random search on a medical website - we loved the sound of it and let's face it, it sounds pretty heavy metal so we ran with it.

MIT - What they said. We’ve had previous members in the band on vocal duties over the years, but last year we took the plunge to become a three-piece.

MH- In 2014 you guys recorded your first work, the EP ‘Time of the Trilobites’, how was to release your first work? How do you see it nowadays? How many copies did you make of it and have you got rid of all of them?

SN - It was pretty amazing to have our first work out there and we’re still proud of it. I don’t remember exactly how many copies we made but I know we don’t have any left. I’m pretty sure I don’t even have my own copy anymore!

DK - Yeah it was a great feeling finally getting our first release out there! I still love the songs, I think they stand up to anything we’ve done since. Super proud. We totally sold out the physical copies, I can’t for the life of me remember how many we made though. It wasn’t a huge number i remember that much.

MIT - Well, I do remember how many physical copies we had, haha, it was about a 100, but we sold a lot of digital copies too so it was very well received. To us it doesn’t sound dated and doesn’t sound too far away from what we are creating these days, musically at least. Vocals of course, have changed a lot over the years.

MH- So who start describing your music as ‘the love-child of Mastodon and The Doors’? Listening to it I had quite a difficulty also in labeling you guys, so to those that never heard before Jackknife Seizure, how would you describe your sound?

SN - This was said to us once by someone after a gig and it stuck with us. Like everyone else we’ve found it hard to describe our music ourselves and labels can sometimes get a bit too complicated. I’d prefer to just say heavy rock/metal, give us a listen and you’ll hear some grunge, stoner and even thrashy influences too.

DK - I don’t remember who it actually was that described us that way, I don’t think I agree but I’ve got no problem with it either. To be honest, everyone has a hard time describing what we sound like (even us!) and I

like hearing all the different comparisons which are often quite varied. At a stretch I guess you could call us (and we’re most often lumped in with) progressive rock/metal but even then we have so many other musical elements and styles incorporated into the songs that it isn’t exactly accurate either. Give us a listen and tell us what you think, maybe someone will coin a great new genre name and we can steal it!

MIT - Hahaha. My friend Matt described us as the love child of Mastodon and The Doors. I’ve known Matt for years and he’d never come to see us play or heard any of our music before. He very much enjoyed our set and we very much enjoyed his description. I think it sums us up nicely. We don’t necessarily fit into the usual genre boxes out there and I love that. Overall though, we just play heavy music that can either soothe your soul or hurt your brain, ha!

MH- Also in 2014 you guys won the London Metal 2 the Masses which lead to you guys playing the Bloodstock Fest, so how was it? Did you enjoy the festival? Did that win open a few more doors for you guys?

SN - This was incredible, and I can’t believe it’s now nearly 5 years ago! It’s definitely been one of my favorite gigs to play, the festival is fantastic and very welcoming. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the only ones giving such a platform to new, unsigned bands in this genre. It’s definitely broadened our audiences and we’ve had a number of good gigs off the back of it so overall, we’re very grateful to have had this opportunity.

DK - It was the best gig I’ve ever had the chance to play, Bloodstock itself is one of the best festivals around so playing there was pretty special. The Bloodstock New Blood team really looked after us which was great because it made you feel like you belonged there. Everyone was super nice and helpful, I wish we could have them around at every gig! It definitely opened doors and we still regularly see people we met purely through Bloodstock.

MIT - Ah yes Bloodstock Festival… What a delight that was. A great festival and a mind-blowing experience. As the guys have said, many doors were open for us after that although we did end up parting ways with our singer at the end of that year which set us back a few steps.

MH- Three years after the first work, you released the follow-up to it called ‘Starfisher’, so would you say it followed the same path as ‘Time of the Trilobites’ or this was a very different beast?

Would you say it showed your evolution as musicians and as a band? How did you record it?

SN - It was literally and figuratively quite a different beast altogether. First off, we had parted ways with our previous singer from TotT (hence the three years between releases), and had recruited Joe with whom we wrote Starfisher. We also took a more DIY approach rather than head into the studio and recorded the bulk of it ourselves. The change in line-up definitely had an impact on our songs, the music was a little bit experimental in places, a bit quirkier and grungier.

MIT - With a lineup change you’re inevitably going to get different influences and styles thrown into the mix. The album to me felt a little quirkier in places and showed another angle of personality that exists within the band. It wasn’t as ‘dark’ as the previous release, but it was a welcoming change and a challenge to write as the music definitely evolved somewhat and was trickier to play.

MH- How was the feedback to your second work? I read some very good reviews, so were all like that? I think, that just like the first EP this one is also sold-out, so how many copies have you done of ‘Starfisher’? What did you feel by selling all the copies of the EP? Satisfied that people reacted well to your work?

SN - Overall we had great feedback on the release, we sold all the copies we made, and it’s been a great couple of years for us playing these songs. People didn’t always quite know what to make of us - we’d been toeing the line between serious, groovy metal and those quirkier bits and our usual odd time signatures. We like to keep people on their toes.

MIT - I think some of our previous fans were unsure of our new release, as the ‘voice’ of the band had changed, but a lot of folks loved the new direction we were heading in and that goes to show as we no longer have any physical copies of the EP left. Starfisher was very different in lots of ways, but as we were recording it ourselves we had a lot more time to experiment and work on little intricacies in the music which allowed us to take our music somewhere a little different and open ourselves up to a new audience.

MH- Lyric wise, who wrote them and what kind of subject you guys like to approach in your songs? They seem to be quite related to the outer-world with songs as ‘Fornicate Galactic’ or ‘Betelgeuse…’, so you guys fascinated for what could be out there?

SN - We’ve always had our singers write the lyrics, who based them on the atmosphere of the music and their own inspiration for it. Often the rest of us made them work around some working title that stuck ;-) Musically we’re inspired by exactly those things you mentioned - space to me is incredible. It’s the basis of everything, really. Also in terms of lyrics, it's impossible to ignore the world around us, politics, human relations and that sort of thing. Personally anything that moves me, good, bad or otherworldly, is inspiring to me.

MIT - Ha! Deep down we’re all massive space nerds. Personally I’ve always been fascinated by the space between us, our world and the unknown beyond the sky. Our existence is so tiny in comparison to what is out there and the curiosities of how we came to be is a great canvas for writing lyrics. Sometimes looking at the world from a different perspective invoke different emotions and that in turn creates music and words a little left-field and outside of the box.

MH- Just last year you made a heavy change in the band with the departing of Joe Head, which was your vocalist, when I saw you guys live you still didn’t have a new one, so are you thinking on staying as a three-piece? So with now being a three-piece who is doing the vocals? Is Dave and Mit sharing them?

SN - Parting ways with Joe was a very difficult decision for us. He’s incredibly talented but we felt we weren’t facing the same direction musically. The three of us (Mit, Dave and myself) had been a very steady core for a long time and finding someone to complement us in the same way had proved very difficult even before. We quickly came to the realisation that this was probably meant to be all along. We’d basically come full circle after it hadn’t worked with either singer. Mit and Dave are sharing vocal duties, and I have to say they’re taking to it brilliantly.

MIT - It took us 8 years, 2 EPs, 100s of gigs, 1000s of miles of travelling, and two very talented and different singers in the band for us to come to the realisation that we are, and always were, meant to be a three-piece. Back when we started both myself and Dave gave vocals a go, but personally I didn’t have the capacity and ability, let alone the balls to get up there and sing. However, after everything we have been through as a band over the last 8 years, the desire to keep pushing ourselves, to strive to be better and continue writing, I found the confidence in myself (and a few singing lessons helped) to think, ‘fuck it’ you can do this, let’s go for it, and here we are! It’s still a learning curve and I am still trying to find my voice, but I’m enjoying the challenge and so far the songs are taking great shape which means something is working right, haha!

MH- Being a three-piece, what did that change on your way of writing songs? And playing live, there’s more stage available, right? Eheh Also what kind of challenges does that change brought to Jackknife Seizure?

SN - The way we write songs has actually not changed that much. We jam A LOT and there’s no shortage of inspiration. The three of us have always clicked so naturally, plus with less people in the room there’s also that little bit more focus. On stage it does mean I can no longer hide behind a singer!

MIT - We’re experimenting a lot - with new tones and sounds. I’m now using two amps simultaneously to create a larger wall of sound and my pedal board has grown twice in size! The only real challenge we have is the workings of vocal duties. Writing lyrics ourselves, coming up with melodies to compliment the music has been challenging, but it’s so rewarding when we get it right. We’re also keeping a few songs more instrumental too, which creates a nice dynamic in our upcoming record.

MH- Like I said above you guys are writing your first full-length, anything you want to advance already? Is it going to follow the path you have been travelling so far or people can expect a lot of differences? Any idea for a releasing date?

SN - It’s been a slow but steady process so far, what with all of us having work and private lives to combine, trying to pay the bills and all that typical rock star stuff ;-) Like I’ve mentioned before we’ve been playing some new songs at the few gigs we’ve done so there might be some snippets floating around the internet. Having different vocals will always change the sound, but I feel with it being just the three of us now, we’re back to our roots musically as it were, to what we were meant to do all along. It feels like a very natural progression and we’re very excited about the new stuff.

MIT - As I mentioned earlier about how the change in the band’s ‘voice’ can have an impact on your existing fans, I feel this next release will do the same, but all we’re doing and concentrating on is writing the best music and songs we can between us, using our collective voices, emotions and personalities to create what ultimately will be another chapter of music in the evolution of this band, and in our opinion, probably the best yet.

MH- What’s your opinion on the scene of this great city called London? Would you say there’s a nice atmosphere between bands, promoters and venues? When thinking on stage conditions, crowd space, etc, what would you say are the best places to do live gigs in London?

SN - There’s a great camaraderie between bands, we’ve really had mostly good experiences playing in London.

MIT - London has a lot of venues that have been around for decades, some of which have sadly been closed down due to corporations and money greedy assholes, but it hasn’t killed the music scene. There are always a handful of gigs happening every single day all over London covering all sorts of genres. A lot of people, bands and promoters we’ve met over the years have been very accommodating and supportive. There is obviously an underlying competition between bands, and some promoters, but I think it’s healthy competition. It keeps everyone on their toes and keeps us fighting the good fight to keep writing music, playing shows and bringing people together with the power of music (I think I’m going to puke in my own mouth with that cheesy line), but it’s true! I don’t think it’s fair to say where the best place is to do a live gig as we haven’t played them all yet, haha!

MH- Well, time to go!! Thanks for your time and hope to see you guys again in the near future!! Last words as on most of these things are yours!! Cheers!!!

SN - We hope you’ll keep an eye out for the album when it’s there, we promise you won’t be disappointed! And as per usual, follow us on social media to keep track of where we’re at and where we’re playing next.

MIT - We may be a little quiet at the moment, but there’s a lot happening behind these closed doors. New music will be hitting your ears soon and we hope you enjoy the songs as much as we enjoy playing them. Much love!

Blind Haze/Amulet – The Dev 17/11/18 Life in London really is very fast paced and if you’re Metal lovers (and me and Inês really don’t care about only one genre) you have a lot to see!! Some are more expensive, others less and then, there are others which are free like the next gathering we had. Back to The Dev and this time to watch the return of Amulet with their new singer. But first came Blind Haze, a new band (at least for me as I’ve never had seen them before) coming from Leeds. For what I understood they went through heavy changes in the last year and only the bass player and vocalist Conan (no, not the barbarian) is still in the line-up.

Although, as in most of the gigs at the Dev, we don’t see too much of the bands playing what I could watch was a blast of pure high adrenalin Hard Rock infused with some Heavy riffs. A sound anyone into Heavy Metal will tell you that fits as a glove in a Metal bar. The band released a couple of EP’s in the past and as a new single which feature already the new guys and it was one of the tightest songs they played in this concert. ‘Snow Queen’ is a very catchy song and it gave to all of us in the Dev a good excuse to headbang a bit!! End of their part and hour to soak a few more beers before Amulet went on stage. Now we had seen them on the Frost & Fire fest already with this new vocalist but now we had more time to get on with it. Mazza, is an Italian singer which is more known for being the vocals of Asgard, an Italian Power Metal band which released a couple of albums a few years back. Now the main difference between him and Jamie, the former Amulet singer, is the vocal range. Mazza as a longer wallowing voice, which for me makes it a bit hard to listen to the old songs with him but there are few bands which changed vocalist and didn’t suffer from that. He has a great presence on stage much into the Power/Heavy Metal vein and that was felt throughout the gig. As for the rest of the band (and having in mind that from the debut album released in 2014, only the duo of guitarists is the same) they played tight and concise, never forgetting to have a lot of fun. Especially the duo, Marek and Nip delivering riff after riff and contaminating the crowd with their Heavy Metal. They presented some new songs as ‘The Satanist’ which will be part of their second album and must say that from that first hearing, things are getting hot for that side and we can expect a very enjoyable sophomore album. Overall a very cool night of Heavy Metal in the Dev which ended with Marek spinning some records all night long and beer flowing (G&T for some eheh)!!

Toledo Steel/Primitai/Airforce/Satan – The Lounge 24/11/18 Well let’s just say like Jon Bon Jovi ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’ so to end a month of November full of gigs we headed back to the Lounge to witness the return of the mighty Satan to London. But before them still plenty of time to see some other bands. First band going was Toledo Steel, but as I was working that Saturday until late, we miss completely their gig. A shame as the guys from Southampton are one of our favourites acts to watch. Well we can’t have it all, so I hope to catch them a next time. So the first band we watched was Primitai, a fifteen year old veteran band which were promoting their fifth album, ‘ The Calling’ released a few months back. They play a very catchy melodic Heavy Metal which relies in the excellent work of the guitar duo and a very strong voice. Honestly their music didn’t make me too excited, so after seeing around half the set, we spent the rest of the time, talking with some friends and nagging Doug Sampson, from Iron Maiden fame eheh!! And Mr Sampson would be next on stage as he’s the drummer for the veterans Airforce, a band formed back in 1989 which after a few years disbanded reunited in 2008. Their Heavy Metal is pretty old-school, full of Hard Rock nuances, a great work from the rhythm section and the powerful vocals of the Italian Ivan Giannini. They played mostly the songs from their two EP’s (‘Sniper’ the last song to be played was in fact my favourite one) but had time to put a new one called ‘Son of the Damned’ which will be included in their new album!! A band to maintain under our radar!!! Finally it was time for the mighty Satan to take the stage (or the lack of it) as hostage!! They opened with ‘Trial by Fire’ and ‘Blades of Steel’ from their debut album ‘Court in the Act’ from 1983 (I was 8 years old, fuck eheh) and I was caught in the eye of the storm. Impossible not to be surrendered to the magnificent Heavy Metal from these maniacs. As there was almost no stage, this was even more a very special concert and Brian Ross showed why he is one of the main voices in the UK. They played songs from the four albums where Brian sings but of course they highlighted a little more the new one, ‘ Cruel Magic’ released just a few months back which has some very catchy tunes as ‘The Doomsday Clock’, ‘Ophidian’ or ‘Into the Mouth of Eternity’. They slowed down a notch but the catchiness and heaviness it’s still there.

High notes for the rhythm section, especially Graeme English bass tunes which reverbed throughout the tiny spot!! After these awesome gigs we had DJ’s putting everything from Burzum to Rhapsody, from Thrash Metal to Doom Metal and everything in between and inflate guitars and swords eheheh. All this until 4 AM, so who says the nights in London always finish early??? The amounts of alcohol drunk is also a secret, but I can say to you that in the next day the head was still in its place!!!!

Suicidal Angels/Death Angel/Sodom/Exodus – Electric Ballroom 06/12/18 Finally, I had a very good excuse to go to a mythical place in London, the Electric Ballroom!! Being open for ages, although it received its actual name in 1978, it has a capacity for around 1500 people and it’s a very fine place to see a gig with lots of space. Promoted as the Headbangers Ball tour, a shame this program doesn’t exist anymore, as also the station which broadcasted it (yes, I know MTV still exists, but it has been kidnapped a few years ago and replaced by some wanna be low life TV), it promised us a lot of fun and overall I would say it did. Opening was the Greek machine called Suicidal Angels and they are as precise as you wish any weapon will be. From the first chords that the Greek quartet put the pit in fire and songs as ‘Eternally to Suffer’ or ‘Bloodbath’ just revived that fire. Their Thrash Metal with some modern flicks here and there was the right accelerant for the huge crowd already present in the Electric Ballroom and when the band said farewell with ‘Apokathilosis’ things were starting to be in the right spot. And next contenders, Death Angel, took the chance and from a blaze made a whirlwind!!

I’d seen them in August in Portugal but I have to say (maybe because of the place, the crowd, etc) that in this one they truly dominate. Mark Osegueda, commanded the troops from the first second of ‘Evil Priest’ and the crowd responded with a furious pit and lots of headbanging. They went through most of their discography, balancing more recent tunes with older ones (although these ones were received in a more energetic way by the crowd). Rob and Ted delivered riff after riff and it’s a delight to listen to a 33-year-old song like ‘Kill as One’ sounding as fresh as in the day they recorded ‘ The UltraViolence’. Bay Area fucking rules!!!! We needed some refuelling so as soon as they finished we went to the bar to grab a few pints before the enormous Sodom hit the stage. Maybe because Death Angel was so good, Sodom for me felt a bit tiring although we can’t say nothing about the set-list chosen. With the exception of ‘Partisan’ and ‘Conflagration’ (both present in their most recent EP released in 2018) and one from ‘Tapping the Vein’ from 1992, all the rest were from the era 1985-1989. ‘Blasphemer’, ‘Outbreak of Evil’ or ‘Tired and Red’ were authentic trips to the past delivered by the efficient oiled machine led

by Mr Angelripper and now with two guitars behind him, one of which in the capable hands of Frank Blackfire (the man behind the ultra-riffs of ‘Agent Orange’ or ‘Persecution Mania’. A fucking relentless machine which doesn’t seem never to brake!! And speaking of travelling to the past, what to say of the Exodus gig? They played 6 songs from their debut ‘ Bonded by Blood’ from 1985, 3 of them in the opening of the show. Impossible to keep quiet!! The crowd which never stopped moshing, crowd-surfing and headbanging, got wilder and I have to say this was probably the concert (here in London) where I saw most bodies flying!! Nothing like a good fix of old school Thrash Metal to do that!! They still had time for my favourite song: ‘The Toxic Waltz’ and for a few less old eheh like ‘Impaler’ or ‘Blacklist’. Fuck I was tired, but it was a delight to see all this old bastards in stage having lots of fun and showing to the young kids how it’s done!!! Overall, money very well spent in a gig not to forget!!! Thrash Metal is in the house!!

Casketfeeder/Anakim/Decrepid/Basement Torture Killings/Desecration/Thanatos –The Black Heart 08/12/18 Another massive day for us in London as this Death/Grind fest was an all dayer in the Black Heart with no less than 6 bands playing. So things started really early with Casket Feeder but their mix of Death Metal and groove wasn’t particularly of our tastes so we came outside to drink and mingle a bit. Next was Anakim, who were doing their first gig with their new singer, Matt Small and I would say it went pretty ok being his first time with the band on stage.

They played a few songs from their debut ‘Monuments to Departed Worlds’ and put some heads banging with their massive Death Metal. Local bangers Decrepid were next and again they produced a blast of whirlwind hair in the pit.

Formed in 2005, these guys have quite a presence in stage (although there wasn’t a lot of it to use) and received a very warm welcome from the audience.

The fact they were playing at home also helped eheh! Good old school Death Metal is what they do and they do it quite alright!! Next was Basement Torture Killings and I really wanted to see these guys but I stayed outside drinking with the friends and lost it completely!! My bad!! Inês tried to warn me but I was in full mingling status!!! But I got my shit together because Desecration I would not lose. The veteran Welsh trio is a must see for all into Death Metal and they completely stole the show. They showed why they are one of the best UK Death Metal machines: fast songs (balanced with some breathing moments), excellent riffing, powerful growling and a blasting killing rhythm section (what a fucking drummer!!). The pit was wild, necks were hurt but in the end everyone was glad to be there. To end the night, we still had our main reason to be there: Thanatos. Finally, I would have the chance to see the Dutch veterans and experience live songs as ‘Dawn of the Dead’, ‘And Jesus Wept’ or ‘Angelic Encounters’.

And it was very much worth the while. The band is in a terrific form and showed why they are still

one of the best Dutch Death Metal hordes. Thrash/Death Metal like it was done in the early 90’s with brutal catchy riffs and powerful vocals courtesy of Stephan Gebedi (the man behind the creation of Thanatos). The only thing bad I would say was that it was already a very long day and you could see that in the crowd!! But in overall an excellent gig, thanks especially to the two last bands!!!

Bast/Esoteric/Mournful Congregation – Nambucca 09/12/18 One more trip to the Nambucca for a very heavy doomy night!! The place was quite nicely composed when we arrived to witness for the first time Bast, a London band which has made quite a stir with the release of their second album, ‘Nanoångström’, a few months before this show. They play a mix of Black, Doom and Sludge which in the ends sounds pretty like being dragged in the mud while the sun is arising. You feel happy for the sun, but you are all drenched in mud. The powerful trio (vocals are mainly done by the drummer) went through their songs as a caterpillar morphs into a butterfly and had its climax in ‘The Ghosts which Haunt the Space Between the Stars’, a 12-minutelong track which grows into you as the minutes pass. Intense!! And that’s a word you also use for the second band showing up: Esoteric. Anyone that watched a set by Greg’s long-term experiment knows how it can be. Very long songs, full of experimental effects, Greg’s growling echo and slow intensive pace. ‘Abandonment’ and ‘Cipher’ from their latest opus ‘Paragon of Dissonance’ from 2011 and two new songs, were the ones chosen to strangle the crowd, which was in awe with their performance. I’ve seen them quite a few times now and sometimes it can be a bit over too much but not this time, everything went flowing and with a great sense of musicality. Very nice indeed. The next band brought even more levels of density with them: Mournful Congregation. I’d seen them a few years ago (ten, I believe so) in SWR Barroselas Metalfest and I was really curious to see them again. Since that date, they have released two album and this concert was to promote the newest one, ‘The Incubus of Karma’ released back in March of 2018. So no surprise when they opened with the two first tracks from that album: the beautiful monotony of ‘The Indwelling Ascent’ preparing our minds for ‘Whispering Spiritscapes’, a calm, sometimes very bleak, track that pulsated throughout the venue. The rest of the set was always a balance between heaviness and melancholy, something that captivates me a lot in the music of Mournful Congregation. A great night and an adjective to it: intense.

Attic/Valkyrja/Archgoat/Marduk – The Underworld 11/12/18 Last concert (at least that we can remember) of the year for us and we were back to the Underworld (although in this era, it’s the first time). The Underworld is one of the most known places in London for Metal gigs and we have seen there quite a few. It has quite a nice space, with the bar outside of the area where the gigs happen and where also is where usually people put the merch table, some stairs to go to the pit (a disadvantage if you’re quite hammered eheh) and the only bad thing: a couple of columns in the middle of the pit which sometimes cuts the view to the stage, if you happen to stay in the range of one of them. This night the venue was quite full (also a usual thing) when Attic started their show. Being a first time seeing them I was quite surprised by their visual and Heavy Metal a la King Diamond.

Their music is quite good, and the vocals of Meister Cagliostro stand out for being so close to the King. They balanced their set between their two albums and the audience really enjoyed their time on stage. Valkyrja came next and we had seen them quite a few times but this was the first with S. Wizen, taking care both of vocals & guitar and, also they had a new album: ’Throne Ablaze’. Which as expected was the main focus in this gig. Their Black Metal is not much my cup of tea as it lacks some of the melody or repetitiveness I usually like in the genre, so after a few songs we headed to the bar for a few beers while waiting for the next assault. You could feel the ambient in the room shift when the time for Archgoat to go on stage came. The Finns are always a crowd’s favourite and it was no different in this one!! With a new record on their backs, the trio led by Lord Angelslayer and Ritual Butcherer, delivered a flawless and precise set of ritualistic hymns which could bring Satan himself to London. The necro Black Metal riffs, croaked vocals and pounding drums was exactly what that thirsty crowd needed!! ‘The Luciferian Crown’ has been delivered!!! Finally to finish the night we had the Swedes Marduk which were promoting their 14th album ‘Viktoria’. Before you get too excited let me tell you that I was never much of a fan of their Panzer speed Black Metal and from the four or five times which I saw them only in one I really liked their concert and, major spoiler, it wasn’t this one. And to make things worse they played my favourite songs as opening ones: ‘Panzer Division Marduk’ and ‘Baptism By Fire’ created chaos and destruction in the Underworld as expected. They played a long set (flawless as always) which I witnessed till the end but as most of the times, at some point it became a little monotonous for me. But that’s my point of view, the crowd for the looks of it had a completely different one eheh!! For me it was worth for Archgoat and to finally see Attic live!!

Agenda July 26 – Cryptic Shift/Desolator/Tyrannos/Slimelord – The Dev (Free entry) 26 – Grimgotts/Intense/Dethonator/HanOwaR – The Unicorn (Free entry) 27 – Godthrymm/Consecration/Elderseer – The Unicorn

August 3 – Gruesome (USA)/Infected Dead/Hand Of Doom – 229 The Venue 3 – Undergand (Dnk)/Deiquisitor (Dnk)/Cryptworm – Nambucca 7 – Odd Crew (Bul)/Slave Steel/Caskets/Wheelie Bin Burial – The Unicorn 10 – Incantation (USA)/Beheaded (Mlt)/Live Burial – Boston Music Room 11 – Skeletal Remains (USA)/Blasphemer/Zealot Cult (Irl) – The Black Heart 12 – Deicide (USA)/Krisiun (Bra)/Damim/Crescent/ Anoxide – The Underworld Camden 15 – Hexix (Dnk)/Zatokrev (Swi)/Watchcries/Urne/ Pupil Slicer – Amersham Arms 18 – Eskhaton (Aust)/Altarage (Spa)/Deus Vermin/ Grim Existence – Boston Music Room 23 – Heavy Pettin’/Tytan/The Big Dirty – The Underworld Camden 29 – Old Man Lizard/Greengo (Por)/Superlord – The Dev (Free entry) 30 – King Goat/Gévaudan/Everest Queen/Purple Kong – The Unicorn (Free entry) 31 – Airforce/Reflection (Gre)/Arkham Witch – The Unicorn (Free entry)

September 1 – Zornheym (Swe)/Concrete Age/Die Kur – The Unicorn 6 – Captain Caveman (Ger)/Controlled Existence (Cz)/ Coproach/Dropdead (USA)/Failure (It)/Farsas (Lit)/ Feastem (Fin)/ Ona Snop/Rat Cage/Whoresnation (Fra) - Chimpyfest VIII – New Cross Inn 6 – Crest Of Darkness (Nor)/Stahlsarg/Terra - Dark Clouds Over Camden – The Black Heart 7 – Assur (Bel)/BBYB (Cz)/Brucexcampbell (USA)/ Burning Flag/ Crepitation/Disuse (Nl)/Extinction Of Mankind/ Gets Worse/Mincing Fury And Guttural (Cz)/Clamour Of Queer Decay/Sick Of Stupidity (Nl)/The Atrocity Exhibit /Yacopsae (Ger) Chimpyfest VIII – New Cross Inn 7 – Abduction/Suffering/Firtan (Ger)/Draugr/Road Mutant/Sanguinem - Dark Clouds Over Camden – The Dev (Free entry)

8 – Anti-System/Despise You (USA)/Entrails Massacre (Ger)/Haggus (USA)/Hot Cops/Moloch/Nazi Killer/ Suffering Quota (Nl)/Trappist (USA)/Warwound – Chimpyfest VIII – New Cross Inn 8 – Hecate Enthroned/Formicarius/Thy Dyling Light/Christgrinder - Dark Clouds Over Camden – The Lounge 13 – Tomb Mold (Can)/Ritual Necromancy (USA)/Of Feather and Bone (USA)/Slimelord – Nambucca 14 – Coffins (Jap)/Deviated Instinct/Coltsblood/ Walking Corpse (Swe)/Blind Monarch/Cryptworm/ Binge Drinker – New Cross Inn 14 – Toledo Steel/Skyrider/Speedqueen (Bel) – The Black Heart 20 – The Sisters Of Mercy – Roundhouse 25 – Demonical (Swe)/Foetal Juice/Pemphigoid/ 26 – The Monolith Deathcult (Nl) – The Unicorn 26 – Nile (USA)/Hate Eternal (USA)/Vitriol (USA)/ Omophagia (Swi) – The Dome

October 5 – Schirenc Plays Pungent Stench (Aus)/Extreme Noise Terror/Binge Drinker/Keelhauling – The Underworld Camden 7 – Exhorder (USA) – The Underworld Camden 10 – Sojourner (Int)/Havukruunu (Fin)/Wolvencrown – The Black Heart 12 – Blizzen (Ger)/Toledo Steel – The Dev 17 – Goat Semen (Per)/Scythian/Sufferer – Nambucca 19 – Saxon/Krokus (Swi)/Girlschool/Diamond Head – Eventim Apollo 29 – Destroyer 666/Dead Congregation (Gre)/ Nocturnal Graves (Aust)/Inconcessus Lux Lucis – The Underworld Camden 29 – Moonspell (Por)/Rotting Christ (Gre) – Islington Assembly Hall 30 – Blood Red Throne (Nor)/Red Method/Deception (Nor) – The Black Heart 31 – Djevel (Nor) – The Black Heart

November 4 – Mayhem (Nor)/Gaahls Wyrd (Nor)/Gost (USA) – Electric Ballroom 15 – Fist – The Unicorn 16 – Tohu/Coscradh (Irl)/Necro Ritual/Vacivus/ Deitus/Antiversum (Swi)/Deathcult (Swi)/Possession (Bel) - Subterranean Manifesto – Nambucca 17 – Demon/Tokyo Blade/Heavy Sentence/Parish – Nambucca 22 – Immolation (USA)/Ragnarok (Nor)/Monument of Misanthropy (Aus) – The Dome 27 – Sacred Reich (USA)/Night Demon (USA) – The Underworld Camden 30 – Amon Amarth (Swe)/Arch Enemy (Swe)/Hypocrisy (Swe) – O2 Academy Brixton