Recommended Aussie Tunes:Psycroptic | The new single "A Fragile Existence" | Listen

Live Reviews : Abbath, Ruins & Vyrion @ Max Watt’s, Brisbane 15/10/2015

By on October 16, 2015

Words: Jake Patton

Images: Rebecca Reid

(Click here to view the full gallery)

Black metal is not a genre I profess to be an expert on, it is something that I only dabble in and enjoy in bits and pieces. But after I have missed seeing Immortal a few times, I swore I wouldn’t hesitate to miss out on any similar acts again. You can imagine my surprise when after only a few months of inception that Abbath would make his way to Australia with his solo project, and how eager I was to attend. But more on that later.

I guess I should preface this by outlining that I am a Vyrion fan. I first heard the Brisbane black metallers at a local show 18 months ago, and instantly bought their albums at that time. It was just something which caught my attention, and I guess I would consider the band as one of the ‘quiet achievers’ of the local Brisbane scene. Having not heard much from them since that time, I was really excited to hear that they had picked up the local support slot for this show.

ABB_3590

Vyrion

 

Vyrion has a sound that I can only describe as the perfect infusion of thrash and black metal, and it’s a sound that translated perfectly onto a larger stage, as opposed to the smaller ones I have seen them on previously.

Probably the only thing that I didn’t enjoy about Vyrion’s set tonight was the duration. I know they were only a curtain raiser, and I know that there were another two bands to follow, but I personally felt like they were starting to get the crowd in and involved over their four song set, and just as it looked like they were going to get more people involved, it was time for them to finish.

It pains me to say it, but Ruins was kind of a letdown for me. I say this because normally something associated with the Haley brothers (Psycroptic), would give me a really big kick, but I just couldn’t get into tonight. Don’t get me wrong, instrumentally and technically I saw a lot of the trademarks of a ‘good’ act, but I just feel like it was a bit flat. Ruins was extremely tight, with each instrument working off each other, building upon Dave Haley’s exceptional drum work, and it did get better for me as the set progressed, but it’s something I am going to have to give another listen to at a later date.

ABB_3881

Ruins

Probably my main criticism with Ruins comes down to their vocalist, who has a really good vocal sound, but chose to stand behind the mic stand. I’m not saying that this can necessarily be a bad thing, but I personally think that removing the mic stand and freeing up the vocalist to move around a bit would add an extra element to the show. I think crowd engagement was the main thing that was missing for me from this set, which could be fixed with a few minor tweaks, and is something that could quite easily cement these guys as a premiere act in Australia.

After an amusing changeover, where one roadie was sound checking guitars, while also doing the bass kick drum bins, the lights drew for Abbath to take the stage in a cloud of smoke from the smoke machines. Before I talk further about Abbath, I want to clarify that I am a fan of stage effects – pyrotechnics, stage lighting, banners, props, basically anything that will enhance the effect of a show and further immerse you in it. This also includes smoke machines and the ambience that they can bring. What I am not necessarily a fan of, is having constant thick spurts of smoke coming out and engulfing the entire band to the point where for a good quarter of the show, even standing directly at the front of the stage, I was unable to see Abbath, or any of his band members, who were standing a good 30cm in front of me.

ABB_4062

Abbath

Performance wise, after more than 25 years Abbath still has it. The band members he has enlisted to perform with him are exceptional and help magnify his own performance, with King Ov Hell on Bass providing quite the sight, and Per Valla on lead guitar giving probably one of the most engaging guitar styles to watch in a long time.

I often find it funny how sometimes with music and live shows that one thing catches your eye and makes it is difficult to focus on anything else. For me tonight, the times that I could see him, I was honestly transfixed by the drumming from Creature. I am not a drummer, but there was just something about the way he was performing which kept me fascinated. There was no flair, no ego, just a quiet persistence in going about his business that was just mesmerising. I haven’t felt that way about an artist since watching Francessco Paoli  from Fleshgod Apocalypse the first time, and was simply blown away.

ABB_4206

Abbath

As another stark reminder as to why it is important to respect the stage space of any artist, during ‘Fenriz Hunts’ an inebriated fan actually knocked the microphone stand which hit Abbath in the head, at which point Abbath who was visibly frustrated, picked the mic stand up and simulated hitting the fan with it. At the conclusion of the song, Abbath shared some words privately with the poor fan, who looked visibly distressed that he had done something to one of his idols, and it seemed like it was all ok after that. But I guess it is just a reminder to all fans attending shows that artists have stopped shows and refused to continue playing for less than this – go out and enjoy yourself, but respect their space, or you risk ruining the night for all the other fans out that night.

Closing with an encore of ‘The Storm I Ride’, ‘ Warriors’ and ‘Withstand the Fall’ provided the perfect climax to a set which had slowly been building to that point, and was the perfect parting gift for the fans in the room. Overall, I enjoyed my night, and from the tracks that Abbath played off the upcoming album, it’s actually reignited my excitement towards hearing what lies next around the corner for the Norweigan black mettalers.

About