LIVE REVIEWS
CELESTIAL DARKNESS
Ihsahn and Tribulation bring the wonder to London’s newest metal fest
ISLINGTON ACADEMY / THE UNDERWORLD / ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON
FRIDAY
The inaugural Celestial Darkness is the brainchild of the people behind Camden’s trve cvlt Cosmic Void festival, and if its brief is more eclectic, the culture of camaraderie is every bit as tangible, even more so when the crowd are unified in thrall to DORDEDUH. Forgoing the traditional Romanian instrumentation, the spiritualism that rises up sounds prismatic and newborn, a devoutly invoked cinematic sweep bolstered by Edmond Karban’s alternating far-flung and blackened vocals. EREB ALTOR’s sense of the epic is more conventional, blending blasts and mid-paced riffs to moderate effect, with Mats’ reedy, ICS Vortex-esque vocals putting wind in their sails.
On a more meditative bill PRIMORDIAL are the best chance at proper heavy metal rabble-rousing. An hour-long set leaves room for just uptempo songs, and a live spontaneity with little banter gives a real gung-ho drive throughout, brand new title track How It Ends a magnificent do-or-die bolstering to the brilliant As Rome Burns.