From Sint-Amands, a town in the province of Antwerp, came A Thousand Sufferings, a band I had seen before but without making a lasting impression. They were already halfway through the set when I arrived, which is unfortunate because I really love intros and first songs. Those always showcase the passion and enthusiasm of a band. However, there seemed to be no lack of enthusiasm and passion with A Thousand Sufferings. Their blend of doom, dark and black metal was highly enjoyable and immersive and I don't think I am the only one who thought so. Even though this quartet doesn't bring anything new or innovative to the scene, they managed to play their blend of styles with a convincing flair. So you won't hear me complaining about these guys. I guess we will see each other again soon...

Germany's Nailed To Obscurity played their very first gig on Belgian soil and it was one that I won't forget easily. With a solid sound and a captivating stage performance, these guys immediately became a first highlight on this evening. They found their own sound, somewhere between Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Moonspell and Amorphis and guess what, those were some my favorite bands in the nineties. So it goes without saying that I enjoyed this gig a lot, enough to buy the CD immediately afterwards. I hope they will return to Belgium soon because Nailed To Obscurity is one of those things today's doom metal scene needs. Melodic, intense, versatility and heavy. More please...

Then again, I'm also pretty much always in for the suffocating heap of aggression that Alkerdeel brings to the stage. There are still certainties in life, and being brutally beaten down by the grinding noise of Alkerdeel is one of them. Wherever these guys appear, hell is about to break loose and that is exactly what happened at Het bos. The didn't hesitate to blast their blackened sludge over a jampacked venue and the audience willingly underwent the punishment. Much like their gig at Desertfest in October, these Zomergem residents came and conquered with a ferocity that resembles a stampede. 

By the end of Alkerdeel, I had to run a personal errant which took me quite some time. When I returned to the venue, Marche Funèbre had already played the majority of their set, seemingly enjoyed by a full crowd. Of course, Marche Funèbre are one of Belgium's best known doom metal bands, crafting their trade since 2007. What I heard was an excellent and well-attuned band that clearly honors the sound of the nineties while also welcoming a modern touch. Certainly not bad and worth checking out decently next time.

I don't want to have to introduce Primordial because they have been doing this for decades. They played their first gigs before some of their fans made their very first steps. They are nothing short of legendary.

owever, if you want an introductions, here is what Wikipedia says: Primordial is an extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. It was formed in 1987 by Pól MacAmhlaigh (bass) and Ciarán MacUiliam (guitars). Their sound blends black metal and doom metal with Celtic music.

Undoubtedly, this was the absolute highlight of the evening, making me wonder why they have to play awesome but small venues like Het Bos instead of headlining at large ones. Very early into their gig, I found myself thinking "why the hell aren't these guys the biggest thing in the black metal scene?". Their gig was simply breathtaking, almost perfect even. They also didn't seem to work on sheer volume like most of the other bands, but mainly on excellent sound quality, which is a very, very good thing. See, most bands want to play as loud as possible, which doesn't always result in something satisfying. So for that, my compliments to "Young Daniel", as frontman Nemtheanga called the soundman. 

Speaking about Nemtheanga. I my opinion, he is one of the greatest frontman in extreme metal history, still perfectly capable of lifting both the band and the audience to the required level. Of course, he is back up by brilliant musicians but still, what a performer he is. He constantly pushed the crowd to scream harder, go wilder and back it up by becoming the best damn Primordial there is. So yep, this was an amazing concert, for me personally highlighting in a trance-inducing version of 'Gods To The Godless".

​About an hour later, I was at home, eating chips with cheese dip and watching two o'clock turn into three o'clock. This was a great night, full of good music, nice people and tasty beers. By the way, I have to say that DJ Aldo has some obscure gems in his collection and isn't afraid to blast them through the speakers between the bands. Book that guy for your wedding, it will immediately be followed by an inheritance...(haha).


​Serge

This looked like the perfect opportunity to start going to gigs again, after staying away for a few months to focus completely on the launch of The Metal Deck. After all, it was about time that we published some more gig reviews and what better way to start than with a load of fierce black metal.

So, in an extremely good mood, I headed towards Het Bos, one of Belgium's nicest venues, grabbed a few drinks, looked through a heap of records, cds and merchandise before the actual concerts would start. I don't know how some reviewers always manage to show up too late for the first bands. I'm always too early...

From the first seconds of Germany's Shrine of Insanabilis' set I knew this was going to be a harsh but awesome night. They immediately kicked off with everything that makes the black metal scene so interesting: trenchant riffs, eerie screams, some death growls and plenty of variation. I really enjoyed their hypnotic passages but I was always a bit disappointed because the songs (and especially the slower, almost psychedelic parts) were a bit too short for me. By varying between fierce blast-beat driven passages and slower, hypnotic ones, these guys definitely convinced me of their abilities. On a side note, I really enjoyed the stage presence of the guitar player on the left side of the stage. At times he looked at the audience as if he was getting ready to smash the skulls of anyone who was not headbanging. He's quite a big dude so I'd definitely start headbanging if he looks at you.

Irish trio Slidhr suffered some technical issues in the beginning of their set which clearly harmed their entire concert. After the guitar fell out a second time, I could see the disappointment and frustration in their eyes, but nonetheless they stubbornly went on with the gig. The audience didn't seem to mind and enjoyed the whole thing anyway. And why not? After all, Slidhr came up with some awesome blackened sounds, brutal enough to slash your eardrums and immersive enough to remain interesting. I enjoyed most of their set from a comfortable couch near the merchandise stand. I quickly discovered I was tapping my feet along with the music and shaking my head in approval. So yeah, I think Slidhr definitely deserves another shot in Het Bos.

Icelandic horde Sinmara won this evening, at least for me. Their black metal sounds and their stage performance were everything I needed to make this a successful event. Highly varied black metal, a bleak and haunting atmosphere, eerie screams, gut ripping and dissonant riffing and arguably one of the best drummers in the scene today, this was a damn enjoyable concert. In fact, this might have been one of the best black metal concert I have seen in years. At one point, there were two women dancing in front of my and I though "why the fuck not". After all, Sinmara came up with some highly danceable passages, along with some of the best blast-beats I have ever heard in a live setting. The stage performance was quite static, as if the musicians were in some kind of trance, and that perfectly fitted with the whole atmosphere of this gig. 

But of course most people were there to see the international cult of Acherontas and their dark ritualistic art. The smell of incense quickly filled the venue while the intro blasted through the speakers. When the quartet finally climbed on stage, they immediately drew all the attention towards them in a highly charismatic stage performance. At one point I thought, "if Gurdjieff would have started a black metal band, it would probably have sounded something like this". An Acherontas concert is an occult ritual, driving on layers of distorted noise and accompanied with screams and epic chants. To me, obviously, it still was a black metal performance, a solid one nonetheless, one that easily kept the audience in its grasp. Many bands play black metal and behave like a black metal band on stage. Acherontas is different, they add a dark mystique to the whole thing, noticeable mostly in the massive charisma of the vocalist.


​Serge

What a weird day it is today, and what a contradiction to yesterday it is too. My country, or at least the capital, Brussels, is under terrorist attack. After explosions in the metro and at the airport our whole country is in lockdown. Anger, fear and confusion take over and we mourn the victims of this cowardly act. Even here in Antwerp I can hear the impact. There are more sirens than on any other day, once in awhile suddenly interrupted by an ice-cream truck whose music now sounds bleak and desolate, like a music box in a dystopian area.

I've been silent all day, not knowing how to write about the exact opposite feeling I experienced yesterday. Yesterday was a day of excellent spaghetti, tasty Geuze-beer, the music of Philip Glass and chianti, completed by three great performances and a free ride home thanks to my Merchants Of Air colleague Björn. It was a day of many familiar faces and very few 'hellos'. I guess I just wasn't feeling very social yesterday. As a matter of fact, I rarely am.

So for awhile I've been thinking about absolute silence on Merchants Of Air today, even though I still have a lot of stuff to check out. However, at some point, I decided to get this review done anyway. Perhaps I wanted to start spreading some positive words from inside this 'warzone', realizing that the people in attendance at Het Bos yesterday might appreciate that. Besides, all three gigs were too good to not write about them. Once again, sorry about the lousy quality of our photos. Let's just say it's not our speciality...

It was quite a strange line-up, if I can be honest. A Shoegaze/post-punk band, a drone act and a psychedelic black metal band on one evening, could that work? Damn well it did, once you saw the general pattern: an immersive atmosphere.

This is actually the third time I review a gig by The Mary Hart Attack. The first one seemed a bit hesitant, the second one was awesomeness in absolute darkness and this last one was tight as hell. These guys have been growing as a band, that's for sure. In Het Bos, they delivered a massive wall of sound, guided by that intense, rolling bass and energetic drums. At the moment, I wonder what's keeping The Mary Hart Attack from completely breaking through. They are becoming one of the most interesting things in the shoegaze and post-punk scene. A new album seems to be on its way and judging from what I heard yesterday, it's going to be a blast.

Up next was Antwerp's own Ashtoreth and his gloomy drone folk set. Armed with a guitar, his voice and a rack of pedals, this one-man act captivated the audience, some lying or sitting on the floor, some standing up. I was standing in the back, with my eyes closed, sometimes imagining some deep percussion over the layers of drones coming from the speakers.

This too was as excellent gig, very atmospheric and somewhat trippy. Ashtoreth formed a perfect bridge between the intense walls-of-sound this evening. It also was too short for me but I guess that's nobody's fault. I just love to be engulfed in drones and soundscapes for long periods of time. 

After the gigs, I heard Oranssi Pazuzu had to cancel some shows due to a wave of sickness in the band. In Het Bos, none of that was noticeable. The Fins blasted their psychedelic and massively immersive blackened metal over a stunned audience. That audience was simply ecstatic and loved every single second of this intense gig.

Helped by a minimal but on-point light show, the songs from Oranssi Pazuzu blended the complexity of psychedelic rock with the intensity of extreme metal, sometimes grinding, sometimes noisy but always enthralling. These guys proved that the evilest of genres isn't dead yet and that original and fresh acts can pop-up anytime.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who enjoyed this show, and something very Belgian happened right after it. In front of the merchandise table, a nice line of people formed, each one gently waiting to be served. Björn and I took our place in line and went home wearing a brand new t-shirt and carrying what is possibly one of the most interesting albums in 2016. 

I will probably soon visit Het Bos again to see Conan & Hemelbestormer and Zion Train. Many other concerts will obviously follow in this great venue but, like most people in attendance, I will always miss Scheld'Apen. It felt good to see the Scheld'Apen facia hanging in the hall as a sign that some scenes will never die...


​Serge