The last gig I attended in a church so I recall was when I sang in my junior school choir. Yes, houses of worship are not places I usually frequent and I never thought I would be seeing a band perform in one of my own volition. Truth be told, I find churches uncomfortable and unwelcoming places full of judgemental hypocrites but as much as I was on edge, it still made for one hell of a unique experience and one that I think will go down in doom metal history. Walking through the doors the olfactory senses were hit with an overpowering whiff of eucalyptus and the ears met with calming classical music; having attended a CofE school as a kid it brought back strange memories of morning assembly when everyone had to walk silently and take their seats in single file and the performance would not start until everyone was seated; not something I ever thought I would relive at a metal concert! It all felt incredibly civilised and institutional and as the night progressed it began to seem all the more surreal.

There was a lot of build up to Pantheist’s performance, making the most of the ambience which is only right given what a monumental occasion this was and as the British doom act begin their set it straight away propels to a place incapable of reaching in a regular gig venue. The green lasers firing out from the stage are spectacular and acoustics pretty incredible as slow, crushing rhythms boom across the hall with immense power and clarity. Sounding like a church organ, the keyboards really amp up the sense of drama, and play a big part in creating a rather intense atmosphere. There is a sombre stillness as they open their set with ‘One Of These Funerals’ and vocals gradually seep out as they slide into ‘Loss Of Innocence’. The juxtaposition of deathly croaks and silky croons works for me even if some complaints of singing off-key. I am personally really happy that they played more off the recent self-titled album which they neglected last time I saw them back in May. I love the psychedelia that swirls around on ‘The Storm’ as Kostas’ warbles emit an air of lethargy. ‘O Solitude’ is introduced with a recommendation that the audience imagine they are in a Greek orthodox church, which kind of makes sense hearing the Gregorian chants over a pew-rattling wall of bass-heavy sound. An Eastern melody rises like the desert heat and together with the exotic fluorescent pink lights this one is quite engrossing. A 90 minute set is all well and good but by now I am sobering up and dying for a beer thus braved the cold outdoors and the busy Saturday night pubs over the road for a much needed pint.

As much as I enjoyed the first band, Skepticism were in a whole other league. Celebrating their 20th anniversary and their first ever UK gig, this was a performance many people in attendance had been awaiting for a long time and there is an air of reverence as frontman Matti walks up the aisle and takes his throne (yes, an actual throne, I shit you not!) Depressive is an understatement as he leads the funeral procession, wearing a tux and corsage he looks every bit the grieving groom whose bride-to-be got run over on her way to church. The tempo remains continuously snail-like, the tone utterly humourless and despite having never heard their music until earlier today their stoic misery had me well and truly captivated. As for any negative thoughts I previously had about the church, by now it seemed 100% fitting and actually felt like the church was a very real set for this theatrical display and to be in a regular venue would be a mere dress rehearsal. Matti remains completely in-character throughout these 90 minutes; no “thankyou, here is our next song” nonsense just wall to wall despondency with no hope in sight. As he takes the pulpit, bathed in a sea of white light and smoke, he really commands the attention of the audience and what is most striking is that he seems to feel every note and lyrics with the greatest intensity as his grief pours out through a fearsome, deathly croak. Still, an outstanding performance from the frontman would be worthless without the band to back him up and thankfully the musicians are equally competent. The guitarist, while looking a little wet behind the ears, doles out riffs (if that’s the right word here) that are cutting and strained with each note managing to sound more miserable and tearful than the last. The way the piano booms out is scary and as for the bass…well Pete said it best when he shouted to me “the vibrations are going through my bottom!”…sums that up pretty well! This was quite simply an exceptionally stunning performance and it’s going to take a hell of a lot for anything to top that in 2012.

Review Luci Herbert

Photos Copyright Pete Woods