“The Nordic Descent” tour must be carrying in its wake a touch of that famous Nordic climate as the UK is treated to its one light dusting of snow for the year. And of course as is tradition, once the first flakes touch ground all roads are rendered seemingly unusable which means our journey to the venue is inevitably delayed, throw in some minor confusion with passes on the door and we are unfortunately only able to catch the tail end of tonight’s opening act.

But if what we were able to catch is any indicator of the night to come then we are in for a real treat. If you have somehow turned up expecting a night of pittable riffage and demonic theatricality then I’m sorry but you’re in the wrong venue, Anthrax and Kreator are down the road. No, tonight is a celebration of doomy, bleak and gorgeously emotive soundscapes and Faroe Island collective Hamferð fit perfectly into that description.

The dichotomy of vocalist Jón Aldará’s haunting vocals over the heavy chugging guitars creates an impressively weighty atmosphere, backed up by the minimal staging that at times presents the band as nothing more than smoke-shrouded silhouettes. The overall effect is a striking one to have walked in on part way through and we wish we had been able to catch more of it.

A flurry of discordant guitar scrapings, pulsing electronic rhythms and devilish snarls distort, twist and fuse into an unrelenting assault on the senses for our next act of the night. Finland’s Oranssi Pazuzu are truly a world unto themselves. The soundscapes the band create ooze atmosphere, the propulsive opening number “Bioalkemisti” throws you head first into the fray dragging you forward with a rhythmic bass line whilst simultaneously throwing in elements seemingly at random such as a split-second guitar screech or sudden cut to a choral track to keep you off balance, almost refusing to let the audience know where any song is headed next. 

Even when the group pulls back on the unrelenting tempo the undertone of uneasiness remains. At moments sounding like the deranged accompaniment to some lost experimental Giallo film, the haunting bass notes of a track like “Hautatuuli” conjure up feelings of some dark presence stalking in shadowy corners. Couple this with the eerie whispered vocals of the track and the effect is sinister to say the least. 

The hour-long set is a hypnotic experience and as the final notes are left to ring out over the band exiting the stage, the room is left with a strange combination of feeling both totally drained and energised at the same time as we await our headliners for the night.

Still on a come down from the simmerling-ly oppressive offerings of Oranssi Pazuzu, the subtly measured build to instrumental opener “78 Days in the Desert” is a fun contrast as Iceland’s own high plains drifter outfit Sólstafir lead us on their gothic-post-metal-western adventure. Persistently sounding on the verge of breaking with emotion, but nonetheless still crackling with energy the compelling vocal qualities of frontman Adalbjorn Tryggvason reverberate wonderfully in this live setting as we round off track 2 of the night, ‘Silfur-Refur’.

Having just recently released new album Hin Helga Kvöl (Century Media Records) the group of course choose to throw in some helpings of newer tracks among the classics. “Blakkrakki”’ picks up the pace early on with its galloping drums and guitars. “Hún andar,” paired with 2012’s “Fjara” acts as a mid-set cinematic intermission while title track “Hin Helga Kvöl” sees the band briefly cast off the post-Rock elements for a straight dive in the darker, raw emotional side of the band’s black metal leanings. 

Although hard-hitting throughout the songwriting still leaves plenty of space for the music to breathe creating lovely vast sonic vistas and by the time the night’s encore is reached in the form of the extended epic “Goddess of the Ages” you feel as if you have been taken on a journey as the band bring it to a sweeping finale.

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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY BILL MAWDSLEY
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