Mayhem @ Amplifier Bar, Perth(26/09/10

Fri 1st Oct, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Check out victokwiener’s Mayhem gallery
Check out Original_Sin’s Wardaemonic and Naetu gallery

Another highly anticipated tour, another familiar wait in a long line outside Amplifier Bar. The opening act were due on at 8pm, but doors didn’t open until just after. Eager fans seemed not to mind and the usual conversations about whether legendary Mayhem front man Attila would be stabbing pigs heads and drinking blood abounded. It seems the band have come to the attention of the masses once again with the release of Burzum solo man and Mayhem session member Varg Vikernes, who was imprisoned for murdering Mayhem guitarist Euronymous in the early 90s. Both a feature film about Vikernes and a documentary about the controversy surrounding the early-90s black metal scene have been announced and to top it off, the latest edition of Zoo Magazine has an article featuring Mayhem as the ‘Worlds Sickest Band’. Surely they would not disappoint.

First up were Perth band Wardaemonic, who delivered a blistering set of unrelenting black metal to warm the hungry crowd. Held together by the ever-impressive drummer Dan Grainger, their set was tight and focussed with no breaks between songs, which meant no break in concentration for the audience. It seemed all eyes were on Grainger as he dished out blast beats and fills like they were apart of his genetic make-up.

Steering away from some more diverse metal line-ups that Soundworks touring has offered lately, black metal was well and truly the theme of the night with second support act Naetu taking to the stage. While the band played well and were entertaining, this reviewer can’t help but feel that perhaps the support slots should have been switched as Naetu could not seem to continue the level of intensity that Wardaemonic had set for the evening. Their crowd remained responsive albeit diminished.

...And then there was Mayhem. Wow. Where to begin? This was one of the most intense and downright evil sets ever witnessed. Things on stage looked very tame to start off with. Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Morfeus and Silmaeth were all dressed like your typical metalhead; black t-shirt and surprising for some, no corpse-paint. Then front man Attila stepped up on stage and without a doubt some people threw up. His look was…well, confronting. Dressed in a robe with a double-armed inverted cross and a noose around his neck, he marched back and forth swinging an incense burner hanging from a chain, flashing a demonic scowl that revealed blackened front teeth. He then proceeded to stand in the same spot for almost the entire set, screeching and presenting his adornments to the crowd.

This may sound a bit boring, but it seemed everyone in the room was entranced and ravenous. Red and purple lights pulsed ominously and the sound and vibe were absolutely crushing. The set list covered a lot of the band’s career including earlier tracks like Ancient Skin and Freezing Moon plus later tracks like My Death off 2004’s brutal Chimera.

Throughout the show, the band swigged heartily from bottles of champagne and whiskey and looked to be enjoying themselves – except for Attila of course who looked like he was performing a bizarre ceremony like some sort of diabolical priest. All in all it was a great night, all the punters would have agreed, especially the girl who managed to steal away with Attila’s noose. While it was hard to pick a highlight, the crowd erupted upon hearing Deathcrush, and once again when they closed with Pure Fucking Armageddon.

If you missed the show, well sorry but you really blew it. Mayhem ripped Perth a new one, and it will surely go down as ‘best gig ever’ for those who were there to see it.

Check out Original_Sin’s Wardaemonic and Naetu gallery
Check out victokwiener’s Mayhem gallery