Gig reviews

That was eloquently put You were really close! Too bad they didn't play 'Over & Over Again', I got to hear that on the gig with Black Sabbath fortunately. Rocking pics

Yeah, I was actually first inside the venue. It pays to talk to security guards

Maybe they'll play it next time. I'd have seriously loved to have heard Slow Death live. Would have been trippy contrasted with the other material. But of course, the crowd wanted to go ape shit, and that track is so mellow.

Rahkoi wrote:

Admittedly that's more likely to happen in Sweden or the Netherlands, I think. And they'd also know what 'Fahrrad' means.

Love the pics, pf!

Okay, this gig was on the 29th of December last year but I guess I could finally review it. It was the gig of a band that is the subject of both love and hate, HIM

They came back from England earlier and did a couple extra shows because the new year show, or Helldone festival, sold out so quickly. The show on 29th didn't sell out quickly so I thought since I haven't seen them, why not go. It was still pretty packed and there were people from all over. The warm-up was a band called At The Hollow and they also had a DJ (Jussi 69) before and after the gig (who played Sisters Of Mercy for example, I might add).

HIM came on stage at around 23:00. I could see that Ville especially was slightly tired from all the gigging, but it didn't stop them from putting on a good show. Instruments were stellar and Ville sounded pretty good, better than I expected. I think the rest of the band stole the spotlight in this performance though.

They did a normal set with usual encores, clearly nothing extra which was understandable since they came from a long run of shows and this was the first of 3 shows in a row. I'm sure the show on 31st was better and longer.




It was good to see them in a place like that, however since I think they could have done even better in some aspects I can't give it a full 5 heartagrams out of 5. They'll have to settle for 4.

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So jealous. Always wanted to see HIM at Tavastia, or at least in Suomi. One. Day.

Love the pics. I hope you danced your heart(agram) out

Kadavar was awesome when they opened for The Sword.

Rahkoi wrote:

Okay, this gig was on the 29th of December last year but I guess I could finally review it. It was the gig of a band that is the subject of both love and hate, HIM

Your enjoyment is all that matters.

Darth Paul wrote:

Kadavar was awesome when they opened for The Sword.

phantom_fingers wrote:

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La maschera del demonio

How about a thread where we review people's gig reviews?

I give Radkoi's gig reviews a 10/10

Uncle Acid w/ Danava and The Shrine   live in Richmond VA

The Shrine were up first, I got there just in time to hear a few songs from outside of the place. They sounded great from what I could hear.

Danava was up next. They were really tight. They reminded me of a goofier Iron Maiden.
things started to get a bit strange by the end of their set  

Uncle Acid really fuckin killed it, so good.  There was a strange kind of love I could feel resonating through the crowd, it was really something.  Everyone was in kind of trance.
I did have my wits about me enough to document their setist  

Mt Abraxas
Waiting for Blood
Over and Over again
Mind Crawler
Dead Eyes of London
Deaths Door
13 Candles
PusherMan
I'll Cut You Down
Slow Death
Melody Lane

encore:
Runaway Girls
Desert Ceremony
Withered Hand of Evil







got silas some new digs  

They played Over and Over Again and Slow Death? Sweet
That's a cool shirt too

Epic set, great pics    Glad you felt the aura of strangelove in the room, too. It has to be some kind of mind-altering sonic sorcery    I really want to see Uncle Acid again... over and over again

Did you notice the little bobble head Jesus on the bass drum at all? Spun me out when I saw it

Woe to Earth
Heaven has dropped its gates
Who is this who comes from Edon
Dressed in death’s red robe?



Wovenhand. If I was a christian, I'd want David Eugene Edwards as my preacher. As if to show the frailty of people, the show started with a little hiccup in the sound system. I felt like it took a while for the show to really warm-up, but when they got going it became clear that they brought the Spirit with them. They laid out sounds that made one want to close one's eyes and just sway to the hypnotic rhythm. It was hot and sweaty, a feverish mix of church mass, swamp rock and Native American ceremonies.

A few songs especially made this gig and showed that some songs are meant to be experienced live. Salome for example had a special, mesmerising, dynamic.



As far as rating.. I'll take one point away because this was one of the few shows that didn't have Emma Ruth Rundle as warm-up, and another half a point because practically all the songs they played were from Refractory Obdurate or Star Treatment. I think a few older songs would have fit in well, plus they didn't play 'Go Ye Light' or 'Field Of Hedon'.

But because the show was good overall, their hypnotic tunes made it feel somewhat longer than it was (1,5 h approx. which is good, with 2 encores) and they played 'The Quiver' from the new album, I'll give half a point back. So in conclusion I give them 4 Jesus Headbanging Christs' out 5.

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Plus one dancing Jesus

So glad you got to see them Great photos, too.

Unfortunately I wasn't stoned and I certainly wasn't drinking because plans fell through for me to be able to do either... nevertheless, I left the Ufomammut and Monolord gig with a musically induced high of epic proportions  

Monolord were incredibly, bone-jarringly heavy. I forgot to take note of every song they played since a bunch of cock knocker blow-ins were kind of wrecking the atmosphere for those of us who were near them in the pit but I know Died a Million Times, Empress Rising and Cursing the One were in there. Possibly We Will Burn, plus a couple of others.
At one point the vocalist/guitarist Thomas Jager came into the crowd while he was shredding   I was a few feet away.







By the time Ufomammut hit the stage it was hot as Hades in the crowd. The atmosphere was oppressive... as if a giant, invisible demon were bearing it's weight down upon us and bathing us in it's scorching, humid breath...
And then came the drone... the eerie projected visuals... the energy of the band... I was immersed in a swell of sound... floating in a nebula of audio art... whisked away to another cosmic plane for a while and totally, happily lost in a sludgy sea of what I can only describe as inter-dimensional dooooooooooom  









The setlist was a little different to that listed on the physical copy of the setlist (at least if memory serves me right it was different) which I mustered up the guts to ask for when Poia hopped off the stage. He was an absolute sweetheart, utterly obliging. I can't remember what we talked about because I was starstruck, but I remember I said something that impressed him My camera battery was flat so I couldn't get a photo. NEXT TIME!
Vito (Ufomammut's drummer) was standing next to me for a while before Monolord's set. Me and this guy looked at each other in disbelief but both of us were too shy to talk to him. But his aura was so intense!

If Ufomammut or Monolord are playing near you, GO SEE THEM!

The pics aren't great but I was too busy enjoying the music to care. I did snap a little interaction I had with Poia    I smiled and bit my tongue at him as I pointed the camera at him and he smiled and flexed his right arm I liked making him grin and goof off while he was on stage    Shame my camera caught the moment a tad late because of stupid low light settings.