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Londonist, UK
Jan 11 2009
Londonist Live: Gorgoroth, Serj Tankian
A special two-for-one offer on gig reviews this time. Londonist saw
the slightly odd combination of Gorgoroth (old-school Norwegian black
metal) at Scala on Wednesday, and former System Of A Down frontman
Serj Tankian the next night at the Astoria. Musically they were worlds
apart, despite a shared taste for heavy riffs.
Gorgoroth are not a band for the faint-hearted. Once arrested in
Poland for a "blasphemous" stage show that included naked women on
crucifixes and gallons of blood adorning severed animals' heads, the
band is known for its bleak worldview, its harsh and unrelenting
sound, its members' brushes with the law (what's a little GBH between
friends?), and its ability to protect against trains. This London show
was perhaps a final chance to see the band, as lead singer Gaahl and
bassist King Ov Hell are involved in a bitter dispute with the band's
co-founder Infernus over who exactly has the rights to continue using
the name Gorgoroth.
The outcome of the legal battle is uncertain, but this Londonista has
to admit to a certain sense of anticlimax at the gig, due mainly to
the appalling sound mixing which made it next to impossible for any
but the most dedicated fan to tell one song from another. While for
many black metal bands, bad production is all part of the aesthetic,
Gorgoroth's recent sound on record has been cleaner, while retaining
the evil atmosphere; to have everything turn to undifferentiated mush
was quite tiresome, to say the least. Still, Gaahl was a mesmerising
stage presence; brooding, aggressive and fully corpse-painted up (see
the 'Norwegian black metal' section on photographer Peter Beste's site
for some great examples), he looked and sounded like some underworld
deity as he led the crowd in sweetly unironic chants of "Hail Satan".
Serj Tankian, the next night, had a similar taste for getting the
crowd to chant; his taste was for the equally adolescent "Fuck
Bush". But Serj has never been one to shy away from addressing
politics (albeit of the earnest and sixth-formerish kind) through
music, as his work with System Of A Down shows. But even the
hardest-hearted capitalist would have been won over by the music,
thankfully, which was a treat. Londonist went to the gig not having
heard Serj's solo album, but if it sounds half as good on record as it
did live then we'll be happy.
Retaining the offbeat quirkiness and Armenian/folk influence of SOAD,
the set was heavy and lighthearted at the same time, with only the
self-consciously zany Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition crossing
the line from sublime to ridiculous. Although credit should go to the
talented backing band who were technically excellent, Serj, wearing a
white circus-master suit and a top hat, was the undoubted star of the
show, in high spirits and fine voice. His unique vocal style can be a
Marmite proposition for the uninitiated, but the fans at the Astoria
swooned in awe. Songs from the album Elect the Dead were rounded out
with covers of Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys and Girl by
the Beatles, which was apparently "appropriate" for a gig in London
(er, Serj, Liverpool is thataway). A version of Elect the Dead's title
track accompanied only by piano was the last song, a melancholy end to
an energetic and attacking performance.
On a final metal note, Akercocke and others are playing a benefit at
the Underworld on 10 December on behalf of Decapitated (RIP Vitek);
tickets available via the Underworld site
http://londonist.com/2007/11/londonist_live_ 70.php
Jan 11 2009
Londonist Live: Gorgoroth, Serj Tankian
A special two-for-one offer on gig reviews this time. Londonist saw
the slightly odd combination of Gorgoroth (old-school Norwegian black
metal) at Scala on Wednesday, and former System Of A Down frontman
Serj Tankian the next night at the Astoria. Musically they were worlds
apart, despite a shared taste for heavy riffs.
Gorgoroth are not a band for the faint-hearted. Once arrested in
Poland for a "blasphemous" stage show that included naked women on
crucifixes and gallons of blood adorning severed animals' heads, the
band is known for its bleak worldview, its harsh and unrelenting
sound, its members' brushes with the law (what's a little GBH between
friends?), and its ability to protect against trains. This London show
was perhaps a final chance to see the band, as lead singer Gaahl and
bassist King Ov Hell are involved in a bitter dispute with the band's
co-founder Infernus over who exactly has the rights to continue using
the name Gorgoroth.
The outcome of the legal battle is uncertain, but this Londonista has
to admit to a certain sense of anticlimax at the gig, due mainly to
the appalling sound mixing which made it next to impossible for any
but the most dedicated fan to tell one song from another. While for
many black metal bands, bad production is all part of the aesthetic,
Gorgoroth's recent sound on record has been cleaner, while retaining
the evil atmosphere; to have everything turn to undifferentiated mush
was quite tiresome, to say the least. Still, Gaahl was a mesmerising
stage presence; brooding, aggressive and fully corpse-painted up (see
the 'Norwegian black metal' section on photographer Peter Beste's site
for some great examples), he looked and sounded like some underworld
deity as he led the crowd in sweetly unironic chants of "Hail Satan".
Serj Tankian, the next night, had a similar taste for getting the
crowd to chant; his taste was for the equally adolescent "Fuck
Bush". But Serj has never been one to shy away from addressing
politics (albeit of the earnest and sixth-formerish kind) through
music, as his work with System Of A Down shows. But even the
hardest-hearted capitalist would have been won over by the music,
thankfully, which was a treat. Londonist went to the gig not having
heard Serj's solo album, but if it sounds half as good on record as it
did live then we'll be happy.
Retaining the offbeat quirkiness and Armenian/folk influence of SOAD,
the set was heavy and lighthearted at the same time, with only the
self-consciously zany Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition crossing
the line from sublime to ridiculous. Although credit should go to the
talented backing band who were technically excellent, Serj, wearing a
white circus-master suit and a top hat, was the undoubted star of the
show, in high spirits and fine voice. His unique vocal style can be a
Marmite proposition for the uninitiated, but the fans at the Astoria
swooned in awe. Songs from the album Elect the Dead were rounded out
with covers of Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys and Girl by
the Beatles, which was apparently "appropriate" for a gig in London
(er, Serj, Liverpool is thataway). A version of Elect the Dead's title
track accompanied only by piano was the last song, a melancholy end to
an energetic and attacking performance.
On a final metal note, Akercocke and others are playing a benefit at
the Underworld on 10 December on behalf of Decapitated (RIP Vitek);
tickets available via the Underworld site
http://londonist.com/2007/11/londonist_live_ 70.php