Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Boogaloo / Zagreb / Croatia
Concert date: 22.03.2009
Attendance: 600
Ticket price: 250,00HRK
Early this year, a four-band package set off on a European tour full of hate: the Full of Hate Fest. The tour was supposed to stop at Štuk in Maribor, but the show got moved to Orpheum in Graz, and sadly death metal veterans Obituary were missing from the lineup there, so heading to Zagreb’s Boogaloo was way more than a decent alternative. An incredibly nice hall, perfectly suited for this kind of gig, hosted a solid dose of brutal riffing, growling, ass-kicking, spilled beer, … for almost four hours.
Sadly, we caught Keep of Kalessin just as they were wrapping up with the closing track off their current record Kolossus, Ascendant, but even those few minutes were enough to notice that the Norwegian black metal outfit is tight and precise as hell. Keep of Kalessin built their name as one of the most interesting new products of the Norwegian black metal scene with the EP Reclaim, released in 2003. On it, the band’s mastermind Obsidian C. was joined by legendary black metal musician Attila Csihar (Attila sang on Mayhem’s album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which is widely regarded as the first black metal album ever) and drummer Frost (Satyricon, 1349, Gorgoroth). The EP lifted Keep of Kalessin into the elite of the Norwegian black metal scene, which the later releases, Armada and last year’s Kolossus, only confirmed. Their dynamic, varied black metal builds a proper atmosphere, but live it’s all the more obvious that Obsidian C. with a single guitar can’t fill enough space, and every now and then KoK sound a little hollow. And although the band members’ look is closer to some Italian power metal bastards, that doesn’t outweigh the fact that at times experimental and technical black metal with thrash and death metal influences is something more interesting on the black metal scene. The closing title track of the latest record confirmed just that, backed by the loud support of an already nicely packed Boogaloo.
After KoK said their goodbyes there was just enough time for a quick beer, because the legion of damned Dutch death/thrash metallers, Legion of the Damned, were already climbing onto the stage. The Dutch band is pretty much the equivalent of hitting play on a VHS tape full of old-school cult horror flicks from the eighties, since they draw tons of inspiration from exactly those B-movie brews. Add some thrashy riffing and Maurice Swinkels’ rough growling on top of the lyrics, and the effect is like a horde of zombies pumped full of adrenaline and steroids that escaped from one of Romero’s classics. Legion of the Damned carved out three quarters of an hour of the evening, uncompromising and brutal, and filled the cauldron to the brim with the blood of all four albums, naturally with an emphasis on the latest record, Cult of the Damned. With House of Possession the guys made a nicely thrashy homage to Raimi’s cult splatter mess Evil Dead, and the song would be a fantastic soundtrack for that moment in the film when Ash straps a chainsaw to his arm and grabs a shotgun. “Hail to the King baby!” With Son of Jackal, Legion of the Damned remembered good little Damien from the cult classic Omen and took us the rest of the way on a ghost train of more or less successful references to horror movies and the occult. Sadly, the guys suffer from a similar live problem as KoK, since their lone guitarist Richard Ebisch can’t cover the space of two guitars well enough, which really shows during the solos, where the only backing is average bass playing rather than the sickly good riffing a proper thrash band should have. Still, Legion of the Damned deserve a “Clatto Verata Nicto”!
After the Dutch bowed out following a successful set, the third act to stomp onto the stage were the legendary butchers, Florida’s “Tampa Bay” death metal champs, Obituary. As one of the pioneers of death metal, they’d surely deserve a headliner slot on status alone, but these days it’s sadly sales success and a more commercial orientation that count. Still, in a good hour Obituary proved they’re sharp as a guillotine blade and brutally heavy like a big sledgehammer (Hammer Smashed Face, heh heh). The moshing during Obituary seemed endless, and the veterans also had the best sound of the night. Ralph Santolla’s guitar (Deicide, Death) cut like a meat grinder, Ralph was flawlessly precise and visibly more than happy on stage. I can only bow down to Donald Tardy behind the kit in true Wayne’s World style, because I’ve never heard such a filthy-good snare sound. Donald pounded the skins with “Show No Mercy!”, no mercy and no mistakes, and offered more than the typical death metal blast beating and abuse of the double bass pedal. The bulk of Obituary’s charisma, though, is surely carried by the legendary vocalist John Tardy, one of the very first to use a lower growl, and a more unique growler is almost impossible to find. Even though you couldn’t imagine a worse frontman when it comes to talking to the crowd, John more than makes up for it with an unforgettable, uncompromising approach and an unmistakable, brutal and aggressive voice. They fired off the death metal classics one after another anyway – Chopped in Half, The End Complete, Final Thoughts and Threatening Skies sounded like atomic bomb explosions, and the unmistakable “palm-muting” over the riffs like helicopter blades spinning. Of course the title track from the album Cause of Death was there too, considered one of the most important and influential death metal releases, along with the obligatory finish with the even bigger classic Slowly We Rot. But Obituary haven’t rotted one bit in twenty years of existence, they’re still fresh and energetic, and their death metal still sounds exactly like real death metal should!
Finally, the Swedish vikings Amon Amarth took the stage, who have been touring tirelessly for the past few years and (way too) often besiege our stages as well. The Swedes marched confidently into the set with two songs from the new record, and despite the hopelessly bad sound at the start, which was so muddy that the songs were almost hard to recognize, it was more than obvious that the album Twilight of the Thunder God has already caught on nicely. The terribly poor sound continued into the banger from the previous record With Oden On Our Side, Asator, which sadly came off pretty weak, and the excellent song was further ruined by the damn annoying red strobes that harassed the whole thing. The guys steered the attention back to the current record with three more songs, and between songs frontman Johan Hegg kept thanking the crowd in nicely learned Croatian. With Ride For Vengeance, Amon Amarth went back to the first studio album Once Sent from the Golden Hall and at the same time did some advertising for the recently released reissue of that record. Under the Northern Sky was a nice surprise, and then iron-clad classics and staples of the repertoire followed through to the end of the set, led by the already slightly overchewed Death in Fire. The Swedes closed the main set with the classic Victorious March and, of course, toasted the crowd in their own style with “skal” at the announcement and gulped beer from the ever-present horns. They kicked off the encore successfully with Cry of the Blackbirds, though the impression was slightly spoiled by the sung-along Pursuit of Vikings. This time, sadly, Amon Amarth once again completely overlooked the excellent albums The Avenger and The Crusher, and the worse sound repeatedly played tricks on them too. Otherwise, Amon Amarth keep routinely and tightly wrecking European stages.
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
KEEP OF KALESSIN: 1. Origin (Intro) 2. A New Empire’s Birth 3. Crown Of The Kings 4. Winged Watcher 5. Ascendant 6. Kolossus LEGION OF THE DAMNED: 1. Intro 2. Pray And Suffer 3. Werewolf Corpse 4. House of Possession 5. Son Of The Jackal 6. Intro 7. Cult of the Dead 8. Slaughtering the Pigs 9. Diabolist 10. Bleed For Me 11. Legion of the Damned 12. The Final Godsend AMON AMARTH: 1. Intro 2. Twilight of the Thunder 3. Free Will Sacrifice 4. Asator 5. Varyags of Miklagaard 6. Fate of Norns 7. North Sea Storm 8. Guardians of Asgaard 9. Ride For Vengeance 10. Under the Northern Sky 11. With Oden On Our Side 12. Death In Fire 13. Victorious March —dodatek— 14. Intro 15. Cry of the Black Birds 16. Pursuit of Vikings
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