Borders have the been the bane of international live music for as far back as my memory goes. Especially when it comes to extreme music and people outsiders would judge to be of questionable morals. Although Sweden’s black metal masters, Marduk, had filed their documentation in order and on time – they hadn’t received their visas to fly over and tour Canada and America and up until the day of their planned Montreal gig, their appearance was still questionable. Thus, it wasn’t to be and the band seems to have dropped off the tour altogether. Which leaves Greece’s Rotting Christ as the headlining act as the tour continues on almost as planned. Joining them are Holland’s Carach Angren and Montreal’s native sons, Necronomicon.
This of course leaves the promoter(s) in a sticky predicament – Marduk are of course the main draw of the tour, and even though offering rebates on tickets and lowered admission costs at the door, the risk becomes elevated that disappointed fans stay home and not attend the shows. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case as the opening band, in a non-characteristic event played to a fairly filled house. That band being Montreal’s Necronomicon – a band that has weathered the storm for more than two decades now and have been on tour for over a year before landing back on familiar shores.
Necronomicon received a warm welcome and went on to pummel their home town fans with a relentless set of tunes from the most recent release (“Advent Of The Human God” out on Seasons Of Mist) all the way back to “The Silver Key”. Despite Rob “The Witch” being the only remaining member in what has been a turnstile of ever-revolving members over the years, the band played together as if they had all been together from day one. The rabid crowd roaring their support at every break.
Next up was Carach Angren; playing symphonic black metal with a quirky edge. I am certain that fans of bands such as Dimmu Borgir enjoyed their set, but for myself, as a longtime fan of black metal, I found very little to root for. Theatrical in appearance, while also looking and sounding rather cartoony. Although,in all honesty, segments of lyrics were intriguing and seemingly well put together. At times, the guitar harmonies were grandiose but I found it hard to rise above the overall feeling of camp.
On a live spectrum, however, for fans of the band; their performance was highly energetic and the audience seemed captivated. Throughout the night, the backs of many attendees proclaimed “You Came To The Wrong Forest, Motherfucker”. Meaning teeshirt sales had been high, and fans more than likely impressed.
Now headlining was Greece’s Rotting Christ – a band with a cult following whom seldom reach North American shores. In existence since the late 80s, and who seem to alter their musical style and approach roughly every decade; the boys had a few unforeseen surprises in store this time around. The only other time I bore witness to Rotting Christ was during their North American jaunt, opening for Cradle of Filth in the 90s – back when they had become something of a Gothic Rock band – an era I truly appreciated yet am among the few that feel that way. These days, the band has returned to its black metal roots, although not entirely, and the surprise was that they played tracks off of their early albums. I never expected to hear “Non Servium” live, least it be a cover from another band paying homage. A pleasant surprise that, for me, was the epitome of the evening and the icing on the proverbial cake.
They topped that off with a pair of tracks from “They Mighty Contract” – further upping the “wow” factor and I became to hope they would continue with a track from “A Dead Poem” or “Sleep Of The Angels”, but that wasn’t in the cards. Perhaps their track selection was influenced by the supposed company of Marduk, that remains unknown, but hearing these older works probably salvaged the night for the disappointed legion hellbent on an evening with the mighty Marduk. Rotting Christ are an important staple in the history of black metal, in their own right, and this evening served as a reminder for anybody who may have forgotten that fact.
I was glad to see a packed house. Sometimes unforeseen things do arise and in live music, more often than not, we can point our boney fingers of judgement towards the boarders with disdain, but seldom towards the artists and promoters as many seem to do via social media.
Written and photographed by Kieron Yates.
