With all the hipsters off at Roadburn it was only the true kvlt elite filing into the Underworld tonight, indeed the main bar area of the venue was closed off so it really felt like an intimate affair. With a nice austere ‘gladiators about to die’ sounding intro tape, the book of the dead was opened and Canadian band Necronomicon took the stage. They looked the part too and even though there were only the two up front (in fact all three bands tonight were trios) they utilised the stage well and if there was an olympic sport of hair twirling they would surely be back here later in the year. Musically they played a blazing and ferocious deathly black style with incredibly hoarse and gruff vocals from singer Rob ‘The Witch’ Tremblay. Their rather insectoid looking make up and style was a bit reminiscent of Behemoth in places and if I had been put on the spot I would have thought of them as a Polish band. When they took a breather the singer informed us that although they have been around for 20 years this was their first time in Europe and they certainly seemed to be giving it their all. It was only when they started playing ‘Return Of The Witch’ that the penny dropped and I realised I had actually reviewed the album of that same name. Obviously it had not really stuck in my memory that well and I have to admit I felt a bit guilty about this. The solid drum salvo and the sound of crunching cymbals rang in our ears and a nice guitar solo sailed off the stage surrounded by a thorny spiked melody. Everyone seemed to be into it and songs got large rounds of applause and the band fed off it even stating that they were happy to have a beer with us all after they got their make up off. Necronomicon certainly deserved a glass raised in their direction; let’s hope they are not another 20 years before they come back.

 Impiety are no stranger to these shores. Statuesque singer Shyaithan informed us that they had been here 4 times in the past but it was their first time in Camden. I assume he meant this venue as The Purple Turtle is just down the road. Mind you he has probably never returned with the same band as this is something that is constantly in a state of flux. The bald but shorter guitarist really looked the part but by comparison the big mop of hair hidden behind the drum kit looked really out of place, luckily he made up for this by knocking seven shades of out his kit. Chants and feedback came out the speakers before they literally flew into their savage set. At first the sound was stripped down, raw and organic sounding but it worked with perfect clarity. A shout of ‘Christ Fucking Christ’ flew off the stage making ears ring and it was obvious about its intentions. Plenty of people were down the front banging heads in time to the onslaught. We were showered by spit from the front man so I quickly backed off. Songs such as the title track from new album ‘Ravage And Conquer’ were flung out with beastly intent and came across as seething cauldrons of hate. ‘Dominator’ thrashed blackly and was a powerful, ugly and glorious racket. After a bit of a technical break which was well needed for piss and beer break they were back twice as angry and summoning the ‘Nuclear Baphomet Goat.’ The apocalypse was served up and it felt like our faces were melting along with it. Finishing it off in style with a tribute to Quorthon and a cover of Bathory ‘Sacrifice’ the Singapore slayers had decimated us again. Follow that. (PW)

Despite this being a big festival weekend, Absu still manage to pull a good crowd in terms of both size and dedication as the pit looks at the very least lively if not messy. It’s a good few years since I last caught the Texan triumvirate and this time they play in support of new album Abzu. ‘Earth Ripper’ tears its way through the venue with ravaging fury and menace as bassist Ezezu unleashes a rasping vocal assault in tandem with Proscriptors contributions. There’s a very old school thrash feel in the simplicity of the performance as much as the loose rattling riffs and headbangable rhythms while the Sumerian melodies that occasionally weave their way in invoke an aura of magick.’Night Fire Canonization’ launches a tirade of scything guitars and Middle Eastern menace that drags us straight into the black of night. ‘Highland Tyrant Attack’ takes us back to the Cythraulian era and kicks up a relentless, filth-laden furore. As the intro to ‘Tara’ plays out to the sound of bagpipes I have to wonder if they ever use the real thing at a show. The cheese-factor seems to be prevalent tonight too in the guise of Proscriptor’s between-song introductions/banter that has me feeling as though I walked into an episode of Tales From The Crypt with the cackling squawk of the Crypt-Keeper. It’s a bit cringeworthy and adds a certain shambolicness to proceedings…and it has to be said this isn’t their tightest performance. Absu’s live shows aren’t all bells and whistles (or bagpipes); they are fairly static on the stage and while they aren’t a bad live band, for me there was a spark missing tonight. Still, the crowd seemed appreciative and it could have been much worse. (LH)

Review Luci Herbert and Pete Woods

Photos copyright Pete Woods