1349/ Goatwhore/ Nachtmystium/ Averse Sefira

Date: 04/01/07
Venue: BB King Blues Club, NYC
Reviewed By: Rich Catino and The Goat

Palm Sunday. It was dark and rainy night and what better day to attend a concert of satanic bands …

Andy’s review for Goatwhore:

This is the way most stories go and what better way to see a line up of black metal. I mean, come on, this music is not for sunny days of wild flowers blooming and birds chirping. This is Black Metal. It helps if you growl and yell aloud as you read those two words.

We caught the tail end of either Nachtmystium or Averse Sefira, I never really found out who it was, but I was impressed. They were really quite good. I sort of wished we had gotten to B. B. King's early enough, but I was also glad we got there in time for Goatwhore. This was the real reason I had wanted to go.

Goatwhore took the stage. I was so caught up, I failed to catch what the first song was and reprimanded myself thoroughly. It was a blasting mix of low churning guitars and blastbeats as you can well imagine. The next song was one of my favorites, “Invert the Virgin.” It was played perfectly and the chorus was unmistakable. Once again, the guitars were not over the top and the drumming was solid.

Lost in the ecstatic daze of seeing a live show (sadly, I must confess it has been far too long), I got swept away by the dark energies and turbulence that Goatwhore was delivering from their stacks. Before I knew it, Falgoust was announcing “Graveyards and Dead Angels,” which is a marvelous ditty that incorporates other styles in the Goatwhore sound. There is a darker, doomier side to the Goatwhore that escapes in these moments.

Goatwhore delivered both old and new tracks a plenty. The sound was tight. The songs unfurled like banners to a more cursed deity and seemed like hymns to all that is unholy. The old and new materials mixed well, with one not seeming better than the other. The precision that Goatwhore was able to deliver their destructive voice will remain in my mind as one of the better demonstrations of a band suited to the stage.

Rich’s Review of 1349:

Apparently last years tour with Celtic Frost payed off as 1349 now return to headline. Playing Black Metal in the spirit of their hero’s Bathroy, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Burzum (which you will learn from our interview), 1349 bring to the States this authentic form of extreme music from Norway.

Wearing the standard uniform of choice by Satanic musicians, black leathers with spiked wrist bands and corpse paint, 1349 make an impression instantly once hitting the stage. This music is not for the faint of heart, geared for those of us with an appreciation for a dark imagination and a understanding of the black arts. You are instantly assaulted by battering guitar riffs and Exorcist like (remember Regan?) vocals which come across as speaking in blasphemous tongues.

The band’s repore’ with its audience was much better this time around as singer Ravn interacted much more slapping hands and thanking his audience for coming out.

The band played tracks from all three of their albums including “I Breath Spears”, with “Sculptor of Flesh”, I am Abomination”, and “Slaves to Slaughter” off their latest release “Hellfire”.