I knew this was going to be a bloody day, hell I even managed to cut myself shaving before I was fully awake. There were a couple of fests in town and after popping along to the Frightfest and getting the werewolves out the way with Julian Sands new movie Romasanta it was time to head off and catch some bloodsuckers in action.
This event was billed as the Italofest as all 4 bands playing were Italian (hardly rocket science). First up were Darkshine who clanked into action and surprised the hell out of me by delivering a furious volley of blast beats. I was expecting the bands here to be a bit more genteel than this and had that idea shattered as the singer went for a high velocity shriek approach. There were moments that bordered on industrial but then again that could well have been down to this venues ancient PA, which was having problems coping with the violent barrage. A flowing keyboard melody did demonstrate a hint of the more Gothic sensibilities I was expecting, but the cookie monster vocals pretty much laid that to rest again. Take some Dimmu, Deathstars and a dash of Susperia and throw it in a pot and you have a band that are likely to have Nuclear Blast waving their chequebooks in the air. One track also had an underlying trollish jig perpetuating the rhythm and went down a storm. If they had just managed to blast in sync and if the guitarist had managed to find a string vest that fitted, they would have been lethal. As it was they were still a very dangerous proposition.
"Bloody hell" were my first thoughts on clapping eyes on Bloody Mary. As the singer’s mic was not working and I was at the back of the venue I wasn’t at all sure if this was a boy or a girl. Realising that was just the sort of comment my parents used to make during Top Of The Pops I chastised myself and went down to investigate. It turned out that Aldebran was definitely a he and musically I was immediately reminded of Pornography era Cure as the guitar licks shimmered away. It was the front man that was most definitely the centrepiece of this performance though. He draped himself off the rigging at the top of the stage and had a fan club of girlies screaming out at him throughout the gig. It suddenly struck me that he also had an uncanny resemblance to Edward Scissorhands. Musically we got a set of strong, dark and gloom laden, sing along anthems that took me back to watching the likes of Balaam & The Angel and The Bolshoi. I wondered if there was such a thing as old school Goth as I got down to last song Face To Face.
The lead singer of Ensoph Nicola (and he is also a he) came on clutching a bunch of flowers. Most of the band were wearing gas masks and Nicola had a big black line running up his torso and over his bald head making him look like he had been run over by a truck. To say they looked visually strange would be an understatement. Jaldabaoth At The Spring Of Time sensuously oozed its way out the speakers and the demented singer cackled and whispered his way through the vocals with an eerie clarity. It was even odder due to the fact this was the first time I have ever been to this poxy venue and actually witnessed a band with decent sound! Flutist Anna joined them adding to the mystical vibe of the music and the singer threw his flowers into the crowd where they were caught by a beefy guy at the front. He immediately passed them to his girlfriend and the singer also proved his masculinity by giving Anna a good old grope. Back to the music, we were getting hit with techno bleeps and jagged guitar riffs and all of a sudden I thought to myself, “this song sounds like Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus”. In fact it was just that and I wonder whether I should be embarrassed having named that song in one. In The Flesh had a very odd scale harmonic flying out adding a dash of prog insanity and all you could see on the stage were the whites of the singer’s eyes. Sophia’s Fall was the highlight as far as the material I recognised was concerned and I am happy to say that Ensoph provided both one of the most interesting live performances of the year to back up one hell of a strange album.
Aesthetically Theatres Des Vampires were pure Grand Guignol, it is as simple as that. Decked out in masks, top hats, cloaks and chains with a gothic romanticism they looked visually stunning. Singer Scarlet was a vision of beauty and her cobwebbed, ripped fishnets certainly caught more than a cursory glance of my attention. It was certainly not a case of all image and no substance as the music soared through the rafters and they got an even better sound than Ensoph. Sure there were backing tracks used but to replicate the huge choral passages. It would have been impossible not to. Grimly fiendish keyboards and Alexander’s cackles cut through the night air and if this had been performed in the East End it would have rattled Jack The Ripper in his grave. I seriously have not witnessed a performance quite like this since catching Screaming Lord Such in action about 15 years ago. A Macabre Banquet unfolded and obviously material from new album Nightbreed Of Macabria was heavily represented. There are moments that remind me a lot of Therion mainly due to the choral accompaniments, apart from that this is a wholly original band that were a delight to witness. I went to the side of the stage and watched through the mesh of iron, which kind of made it seem like I was watching caged animals in the height of bloodlust. Scarlet disappeared only to return in a white wedding dress affair (well it could equally have been a burial shroud) and the band ploughed into La Danse Macabre Du Vampire. The whole place was moving now and practically everybody was dancing along. The misery-drenched tones of The Curse Of Headless Christ slowed it all down but a rousing Luciferia had it all swinging back into action. Scarlet drunk blood from a chalice and is going to have one hell of a job getting it out of that dress and handed communion wafers to those at the front. The closing pounder may well have been an older one that I didn’t know, but on the strength of it, I really should be getting the bands back catalogue. Tonight the blood was the life and one thing is sure, these vampires do not suck in the slightest.