On this stormy
Saturday night, the black metal fans of Montréal had a dark
rendez-vous at this cool venue located on Saint-Laurent boulevard.
The gigs organized by Sepulchral productions are always interesting
and worth seeing, this one was no exception. After a slight delay
that gave me the time to hang out with my disciples of the
underground metal world of Québec's metropolis, the show was ready
to start.
Havan
is an ambient project by Frédéric Arbour known for his
involvement with funeral doomsters Longing for Dawn and also as the
owner of the dark ambient label Cyclic Law. I'm nowhere near a fan
nor a specialist of this genre so I was in an unknown territory for
their set. It was a long introduction for Gevurah's set, the music
was highly atmospheric but it didn't have a lot of variations and
details. It was basically a long, creepy, soundscape quite fitting
for a horror movie or a video-game. It was pretty good but a tad
boring. I believe the piece was written or executed for this precise
evening.
Gevurah
stepped on stage and they began their set while Havan's
ambient overlong introduction was still underway. It was the Montréal
duo's first gig since the release of their excellent EP
“Necheshirion” (Profound Lore) almost exactly two years ago (read
my review: here). The creative core of the duo got the help from two live
musicians. Étienne Lepage (Venificium, Longing for Dawn, Sui
Caedere) plays the bass and the current drummer of Verglas
(black/punk) is the percussive force. X.T. (bloodied yet unbound) who usually handles the
drums decided to concentrate on the vocals and A.L. handles the incisive and aggressively melodic guitars. Their black metal sound is right between the more dissonant
approach of Deathspell Omega and the more riffy, in your face sound
of Scandinavian (especially Swedish) black art. They were pretty good
considering it was their debut live performance, the vocals could had
been louder and the bass a bit more present but their mix was quite
decent. They're currently working on their debut full length album
and while they played no new material (4 songs from the EP, 2 from the demo from what I've been told), it's safe to say it will be a tremendous record. Their tracks can be intricate, long and they're not exactly to include some doomier or atmospheric influences. Illuminated by fiery candlelight, the troop offered a strong performance.
This was Sortilegia's
first gig in Montréal since their solid set at Messe des Morts II
(2012) when they played with their fellow Toronto friends
Thantifaxath and were supposed to open for Darkspace (a like minded
band) who were finally replaced by Archgoat. It was a very cool gig and I was
excited to see them for a second time. The duo's full length release
“Arcane Death Ritual” (available on all formats, I personally got
the tape) released in late 2014 was well represented through the lush
atmospheric but raw black metal delivered throughout their
presentation. The guitar plus drums lineup is more than adequate even
though it can appear to be minimalist or simplistic. Also, in Sylvus
(now apparently dead? Lame!) , Anastasia is a damn fine guitarist
who's able to captivate and hypnotize with a wide array of notes. The
raw yet well composed songs can surely explain the deal the Ontarian
band got signed to a label such as Vàn Records (one of the best in
Europe).
The occult and
bloody theatrics also plays an important role in their performances.
Cloaked in dark purple robes and the face soaked in blood, Koldovstvo (her pseudonym) delivers profoundly noir metal with an incense smell. Sortilegia are
masters of ritualistic death music.
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| Sortilegia's picture courtesy of Matthew K. B |
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