Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Venue: Channel Zero, Ljubljana
Gig date: 28.05.2015
The Dutch-Jerusalemite »Sumerian black thrashing« metallers (as they label themselves genre-wise) Melechesh first played here a good four years ago, when they were presenting The Epigenesis, released in 2010. If nothing else, the band under the iron-fisted leadership of frontman Ashmedi really does take its sweet time in the studio, but when the new album comes out, it proves the wait is worth it. We waited almost a full five years for Enki (named after the Sumerian deity), but Melechesh have once again delivered an album that’s already a serious contender for one of the albums of the year. Enki has now brought them back to Ljubljana too, this time once again in the company of Norway’s Keep of Kalessin and Sweden’s prog death/black metal outfit Tribulation.
First on stage were Italy’s Embryo, whom Metal Archives file under melodic death metal/metalcore, which, mostly because of where the band comes from, didn’t sound particularly promising. And as usual, Embryo proved that metal still just doesn’t sit well with Italians (with a few rare exceptions). Then again, for that genre pigeonhole, Embryo actually showed a bit more than expected. The riffs were monotonous, boring and as alike as two peas in a pod, the breakdowns moronic, and the canned keyboards annoying, but a wild drummer and a solid vocalist improved the overall picture a bit. Totally forgettable, but then again, Italy has produced plenty worse.
Quite a few of us were waiting for the Swedish vampires Tribulation even more eagerly than for Melechesh. They masterfully mix progressive death and black metal with a seventies retro approach, led by Led Zeppelin. The lanky foursome, dressed in bell-bottoms and corpse paint, greeted Channel Zero with the smell of incense and Strange Gateways Beckon, a single off their latest record The Children of the Night. The Swedes won everyone over right away with a crystal-clear sound that brought out all the dark stuff that makes Tribulation special, led by outstanding soloing and a fantastic interweaving of riffs. Vocalist Johannes didn’t talk to the crowd much, which of course suits the band’s occult image, but he made up for it with his snarling growl, which fits nicely with lyrics about horror and occult magic. Up front, though, it was mostly the two phenomenally tight guitarists who impressed, along with the dynamic drumming, during which Jakob often reaches for blast beats, though he also offers a colorful range of transitions that are often closer to heavy metal than to death or black metal. Tribulation can also surprise you by working superbly both in the calmer, progressive retro waters of songs like In the Dreams of the Dead and in more straightforward death metal blasts like The Vampyre from the debut Beyond the Horror. May Tribulation rise from their coffins again and come back to our stages as soon as possible.
The outstanding Tribulation were a tough act to follow for the headliners too, and even more so for Keep of Kalessin, who returned to Ljubljana this time in the company of Melechesh (they came along with them years ago, too), but with a weakened lineup and a new album, Epistemology, that merely confirms years of creative crisis and stagnation. Their peak with the majestic Armada is almost forgotten, and this time the Norwegians, now a trio, focused only on their last three records (besides the new one, also Kolossus and Reptilian). After vocalist Thebon left, vocal duties went to none other than Obsidian C., which wasn’t such a bad decision, since his vocals sounded convincing, though singing while playing guitar gave him some trouble. You could hear his slightly weaker stamina, but the epic clean vocals of bassist Wizziac covered for it successfully. Keep of Kalessin did manage to grab the hall’s attention at a few moments (e.g. with the thrash-leaning Judgement and Ascendant from Kolossus), but sandwiched between the outstanding Tribulation and the excellent Melechesh, they came across like… Well, as the great leader says, like a sad fart from Murgle.
Melechesh were greeted by a nicely packed Channel Zero, and the band loved it, as Ashmedi was clearly in a better mood on stage than at their first Slovenian show at Menza pri koritu. Melechesh didn’t overcomplicate things, opening with The Pendulum Speaks from the latest record amid the smell of incense, and they too won people over with a clear, just-loud-enough sound. Hats off to the unnamed guitarist (a session member, who in Melechesh usually share the collective name Nomadic Soul) and bassist Scorpios for sticking to Melechesh tradition and enduring the first song in the heat of Channel Zero with their faces covered. They ditched the masks for Tempest Temper Enlil Enraged, and that’s when Melechesh really slipped off the leash. It was wonderful to hear those ultra-fast thrash metal guitars seasoned with black metal riffs and a strong Oriental flavor, which sets Melechesh apart from the flood of »wannabe« Eastern-sounding bands, since Ashmedi constantly rattles off scales we’re not used to in Western music. This time the setlist, among the black/thrash rippers, also surprised with the most Oriental-flavored track, Genies, Sorceres and Mesopotamian, and otherwise Melechesh strung together a good hour of fury and punchy melodies from their last three albums. They won us over with very tight playing (only Scorpios’ barely audible backing vocals came off a bit worse), and session member Jonathan Garofoli, whom we remember from our own Entreat., Elodea and Slavocracy, drummed like a machine. Melechesh said their goodbyes a bit too soon after a good hour, but the expected, yet explosive and mighty, finale with the epic Rebirth of the Nemesis was worth it. Until next time, when, as Ashmedi promised, they’ll visit us again.
Setlist
MELECHESH:
1. The Pendulum Speaks
2. Temper Tempest Enlil Enraged
3. Ladders to Sumeria
4. Grand Gathas of Baal Sin
5. Genies, Sorcerers and Mesopotamian Nights
6. Deluge of Delusional Dreams
7. Multiple Truths
8. Triangular Tattvic Fire
9. Ghouls of Nineveh
10. Rebirth of the Nemesis: Enuma Elish Rewriteen
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