How Samael Turn On the Light of the World and Melechesh Set Menza pri koritu Ablaze with Royal Fire! (2011)
Author: Rok Klemše
Venue: Menza pri koritu, Ljubljana
Concert date: September 13, 2011
Attendance: 150
Ticket price: €20/€24
Swiss veterans Samael, whose first pioneering black metal releases set the course for European black metal south of Norway, are no strangers to our stages. They last defiled them this past December, but in the questionable company of headliners Finntroll they didn’t come across as resoundingly as they could have. Back then the Swiss were promoting the Antigod EP, which heralded the album Lux Mundi, but this time they hit the road with a fresh, well-received full-length. One of the last warm, sunny September days wasn’t exactly what the concept of a black metal night called for, but it sure felt good to down a beer in the sun before the show and get ready for the slow cooking in the Swiss sauna that followed. A big dose of skepticism before the gig came mainly from the venue, since it was hard to picture modern, industrial sounds in the “hole” that is Menza pri koritu. But as it turned out, the first two support acts were even harder to stomach.
Swiss band Fluxious were the first to climb onto the stage, in front of an empty hall. Eyebrows went up right from the start thanks to the singer’s getup, a little dress with a bow and high heels, as if Fluxious had shown up straight from their prom. And their music felt just as awkward, like listening to an amateur school band. The singer’s sweet voice and the band’s jazzy pop melodies weren’t convincing in the slightest, which was reflected in the number of people in front of the stage. You could count them on the fingers of one hand (a sloppy butcher’s hand, at that). Maybe Fluxious would work better in a different setting, but this time they felt… weird, like serving a fatty, juicy T-bone steak to a die-hard vegetarian (or worse, an eco-bio vegan).
Just when I thought that once Fluxious were done, the real metal show we’d all been waiting for would finally begin, the stage didn’t get wrapped in black and the hellfire of black metal. Instead it took an unexpected detour into the ghetto. Straight out of the Swiss “hood” onto the stage of Menza pri koritu leapt Minkus, who until then were a complete unknown to me and probably to most of the crowd. They quickly showed, though, that they’re just a poor clone of those nineties “rap metal” bands led by Limp Bizkit. So for half an hour we got a jump-da-fuck-up attitude, quasi-groove moves and a cliché mix of screaming and rapping, which stuck out of the concept of the night perhaps even more than Fluxious did. The tiny, skinny singer managed to squeeze out an enviably aggressive and brutal vocal at times, but that’s all I remember about this utterly unnecessary support act, who apparently dug deep into their pockets to buy their spot on this tour. Fo shizzle, yo.
Still, third time really was the charm, because the Slovenian debut of “mesopotamian blackened thrash metal” outfit Melechesh was a bullseye. Led by charismatic frontman Ashmedi, the band delivered an hour-long mystical, occult journey through Sumerian and Mesopotamian myths and legends, in a way that makes it perfectly clear live why this band has risen so mightily out of the underground in the past year or two. If Melechesh were still swimming in obscurity with their first three albums, then with their previous record, the masterpiece Emissaries, they climbed into the ranks of the bigger and more respected names of the genre, and with their new magnum opus The Epigenesis, released via Nuclear Blast, they only cemented their phenomenal form and their rise among the biggest names in black metal. The band fired up a well-oiled machine without mercy, spitting out one crusher after another, and they underlined the oriental nature of the music visually and with smell too, thanks to burning incense sticks. The setlist was mostly made up of songs from the new album and from Emissaries, while the furthest back Melechesh traveled was to the album Sphynx with Triangular Tattvic Fire. A few more songs would definitely have been welcome, say Genies, Sorcerers and Mesopotamian Nights, and an epic like Caravans to Ur is probably something we can only dream about (although the band promises they’ll occasionally play the 11-minute epic The Epigenesis live too, which sadly didn’t happen this time). The band proved that every instrument matters in Melechesh: drummer Xul filled the shoes of former drummer Proscriptor (Absu) with dignity, and the drum heads suffered under his blows like whipped slaves building the pyramids. Surprisingly, the bass plays an important role in a black metal band too, but the best part is undoubtedly hearing Ashmedi’s breathtaking, oriental-sounding guitar lines, and session guitarist Aethyris (ex-Absu) was also extremely confident, starting the show hidden under a scarf, as is Melechesh custom. Ashmedi let us down this time with poor communication with the crowd, spending more time on his guitar and tossing out a cliché line or two every now and then. The guys also lose points for somewhat worse sound and for a setlist identical to the one Melechesh played on the tour with Nile earlier this year. Still, the band’s debut here will stay a fond memory, mostly thanks to the energetic crowd that gave the band wings, so I hope the royal fire gets lit here next time with liters of gasoline and a headlining tour of their own.
Norwegian black metal divas Keep of Kalessin have been a fixture on our stages for the past few years, so for that reason alone it would have made sense for KoK to warm up the crowd for Melechesh and not the other way around. But oh well, at least we got a few extra minutes to cool off outside the hall, since it was heating up faster than the fairer sex (and probably a few members of the “stronger” one) during the Norwegian pretty boys’ set. KoK surprised everyone with excellent form and a spectacular performance at Bonecrusher Festival at the start of the year, but this time they spoiled any illusions of being back on the right track with a boring, uninteresting show, crowned with a song selection identical to the one we got in March. Of course, the Norwegians didn’t make us happy with a single song from their magnum opus Armada, but they stuffed us generously with tracks from the last two records… and of course the Eurovision hit The Dragontower was not missing either. With dragons in their eyes, KoK took their leave from the fashion catwalk, ahem, stage, and into oblivion. Until they make us happy again in a few months, probably with the same setlist once more. Yay!
Up to this point we’d happily digested only Melechesh, while the rest of the acts more or less got stuck in our throats, but veterans Samael, as befits them, closed the night in top form. Although we know Switzerland mostly for its holey cheese, watches, knives and Ricoliiiiiiiiiiiiii, this Central European country is also home to at least a trio of cult metal bands that left a strong mark on the history of metal: Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Coroner and yes, Samael too. The Swiss outfit drew attention with their first two albums, Worship Him and Blood Ritual, which are still among the better representatives of the second wave of black metal, and with their later work they laid the foundations of “post” black metal and industrial. Samael staged a powerful night of excellent industrial, backed by a strong visual element, above all mystical projections that effectively built up the aura of enigma and mystery surrounding Samael. All eyes were on charismatic frontman Vorph for the entire show, dressed in a red jacket and skirt, as he raw and aggressively unleashed carefully selected songs spanning every era of the band. Old school fans (myself included) got their due, especially with the hellish trio of classics Baphomet’s Throne, Flagellation and Into the Pentagram. On the wings of Vorph’s brilliant performance and the hard-hitting industrial sounds we then sailed through the rain, into black holes and all the way to Jupiter, and the great show was helped along by a guitarist who, despite the hellish heat, spun around the stage the whole time like a girl with a hula hoop, and by the agile and lively Xy, who this time pounded the drums more than usual too. The unique Vorph, full of studied but extremely effective moves and gestures, held the crowd in his fist like a pro from the first second to the last, when Samael said goodbye with the classic My Savior.
Fittingly, Samael were the peak of the night, when the sweat in Menza was running down the walls, and the crowd’s intense involvement stopped for a moment only when the heat drove us out of the hall for a few moments. The band’s great energy and a set of almost two hours make for a nice send-off until the Swiss visit us again.
Photos: Nina Grad
Setlist
MELECHESH: 1. Illumination: The Face Of Shamash 2. Sacred Geometry 3. Deluge of Delusional Dreams 4. Ladders To Sumeria 5. Grand Gathas Of Baal Sin 6. Triangular Tattvic Fire 7. Ghouls Of Nineveh 8. Rebirth Of The Nemesis
Photo Gallery
