Writhe and Ascend..... 24/2/2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Writhe and Ascend..... 24/2/2012

I was lucky enough to hear from NZmetal.com that Bullet Belt, a Kiwi black metal band is playing in Hamilton! I've never been to a gig in Hamilton of all the 5 years I have been in NZ. All the gigs were all held in Auckland.

So I took it upon me to do a little research about the bands that will be playing and about the venue. I had a conference on the day but didn't care. Haven't been to a gig in years now! Can't remember what I saw last time. Did I tell you I didn't go to see Absu?

Bullet belt have 2 EPs under their belt - The Black Army Stands and the said tour name as above. Bulletbelt are a New Zealand Black Metal horde ruled by battery, distortion, depth and incantations. Forged in 2009 they have recorded two EPs and performed numerous times in their local Wellington region.

Anyway, the gig was at an Irish pub of all places, Biddy Mulligans on Victoria St. On facebook it said doors open 8pm, thinking it was gonna be on time, I got there about 7.50. Lo and behold, I was the 1st customer in! On door duty was Ross, the main man of Bullet Belt. Really nice man & polite and so were the other members of Bullet Belt. He told me the 1st band is on at 9.30! Fuck me! What to do.... After a few fags & cokes, the show started.

Open Tomb

Open Tomb opened up the affairs at 9.20, 10 mins earlier than expected. No intro, no nothing, geared up and got going. Doom metal ala Unholy, Winter here and to be honest not my cup of tea. Very verrrryyyyyy slowwwwwwww and not enough beats to bang my head to. Kudos for the 3 piece to start the show and doom on! Nice Gaywire shirt worn by the guitarist/vocals

Dying of the Light

Second up for the night were Dying of the Light a 2 piece doom band as well, but more catchy the Open Tomb. Only a 2-piece with a Mac Book for programming/drums. They sound more misanthropic in lyrics with that sensation of impending doom. Most of there songs started with an intro from a movie and the backdrop was a video of I guess death & destruction? More palatable to me than Open Tomb. Not much interaction with the crowd but I guess they had a schedule to keep with the Mac Book on tow.

Dying of the Light

Winter Deluge

Next up was Winter Deluge. An Auckland based black metal band in the vein of Immortal, Darkthrone, Cradle of Filth et all but really reminds me of Immortal with the clean guitars in the middle and due to the fact 2/5 of them were wearing Immortal shirts. Boy did they take a long time to set up, they were almost booted off the stage. They were all in corpse paint, haven't seen that in a while! 5 people on the tiny stage with barely enough room to move is quite shitty. Really liked them, good showmanship. The vocalists' paint was smeared at the end of it because it was sweaty. Good set which I think is mostly from their new album - As the Earth Fades into Obscurity. Most of the people in the crowd seemed to come from Auckland because when Winter Deluge finished, most went out with them to the back and seem not be that enthusiastic about Bullet Belt. I managed to snap a copy of their album which I am currently listening to.

Bullet Belt

Then it was time for the band that arranged this tour - Bullet Belt. Having released 2 EPs, they are a tight bunch. I managed to get both their EPs - The Black Army Stands and Writhe & Ascend before they played. I can't believe the baby-faced singer would be a ferocious beast on stage! Can't judge a book by its cover eh? The singer really sang with his heart and it definitely showed! Even with the small stage, they didn't seem too squashed with the 5 of them on it. Since Winter Deluge, I was at the front near the right side speakers and did I get a good pounding. Some people were doing a small mosh & I got caught in the middle of it. Songs as I can remember are from the 2 EPs mentioned and finished off with The Black Army Stands which I guess is their trademark song?

A very good introduction for me to a metal gig in Hamilton. I'll definitely check out more local bands if they do play again in The Tron.

(Pics taken on a point & shot Cybershot camera....)