Steelheart Promotions assemble a stacked bill topped by The Infernal Sea performing The Great Mortality in full to celebrate ten years of their second album.
All live pictures courtesy of Andy Pountney (Instragram).
OLD CORPSE ROAD (Website)
‘Good evening, we are Old Corpse Road,’ announces Mike ‘The Wanderer’ Wessen before the UK folkloric black metal crew launch into Opening The Circle (Of Campfires & Evening Mists). Given the short set time and with a big bill to follow, Old Corpse Road rifle through their set. Paul ‘The Prior’ Taylor, a new addition to the ranks, shares vocal duties offering harsher tones to The Wanderer’s spoken word/clean vocals.
One thing that always stands out with Old Corpse Road is the use of keys and effects. The gothic sense of atmosphere evokes Cradle Of Filth with heavy organ sounds and choral effects. Demons Of The Farne is one of the best examples of this.
Whilst being energetic, full of enthusiasm and having a stack of great songs to share, the sound mix in the venue is muddy. For a band like Old Corpse Road, with so many moving parts, the mix needs to be better. This is no fault of the bands as they give it all they’ve got. Longtime fans lap up their short set and provide a solid start to the night.
MIŠKO BOBA (Bandcamp)
Miško Boba are Lithuanian/British black metal band. ‘We scream in Lithuanian!’ says singer Kanopa, before launching into Gedulas ir Viltis. It is fast and furious stuff with their songs deeply rooted in Lithuanian folklore.
Kanopa is an imposing force, fronting the band. With a single horizontal line of red paint across her face, it is clear these songs mean a lot. Much of the set is made up of new songs from an album that the band are curretnly working on.
Of the new material, Šimtas leaves a huge mark. The story behind the song is that Lithuanian was banned as a language but there were a brave hundred who smuggled books to keep the language alive. The song has an excellent melody and epic sound. It is the epic sound that characterises the story. Another newbie is Paneriai, all about the the Paneriai massacre during World War Two.
ARROGANT DESTRUKTOR (Bandcamp)
An almighty howl is what Arrogant Destruktor announce their arrival with. They have the black metal sound but incorporate the black’n’roll style. Black War Machine has some nice guitar solo work however the sound quality takes a dip again.
What is noticaeble with Arrogant Destruktor is that they are a lot more aggressive than Old Corpse Road and Miško Boba. Steel and Spell is a highlight with a relentless tempo and bludgeoning nature. The Birmingham band are keen to make use of their time and squeeze seven songs into their set.
A.T. encourages the crowd to get involved with them through a collective fist pump. They get a great crowd reaction and when a call of ‘faster’ comes from the crowd, the last track, War Commander, ramps things up. There is some more excellent solo work as the band close their set.
ONEIROS (Facebook)
‘Are you with us Manchester?’ asks Alex Wills as Oneiros take the stage. Again, there is a shift in style and delivery from the previous band. Their latest album, Ruminations, forms part of their set with some new stuff thrown in for good measure.
Sun Gazing is an early highlight. When the song kicks in, there is a good hint of Gojira in the guitars and the atmosphere is excellent with plenty of heads banging. Whispers has a nice harmonic section in the middle that adds a nice dose of colour and more atmosphere.
Born Of The Void is another from Ruminations before Crest Of Selene; a new cut. It’s a furious song with a real scything nature – it builds into an epic furore -Alex Wills plays a great solo in the middle adding to the epic nature of the song. Oneiros smash it out of the park with their performance and whet the appetite for new material on the horizon.
THE INFERNAL SEA (Website)
The Infernal Sea’s, The Great Mortality, is a harrowing concept record focused on the devastating medieval onslaught of the Black Death. Musically and lyrically, the album explores themes of apocalyptic plague, widespread human despair, religious hysteria, and the grim inevitability of death.
Through relentless black metal aggression, venomous vocals, and eerie melodies, the tracks depict the horror of infectious disease and the collapse of societal order in 14th-century Europe. The album acts as a atmospheric, mercilessly dark historical study, capturing both the visceral terror and existential dread brought on by one of humanity’s deadliest catastrophes.
THE GREAT MORTALITY
With a tonne of dry ice inhabiting Manchester Rebellion, The Infernal Sea strip things back. They are decked out in hoodies rather than the signature robes that the band have used in more recent years. Rebellion’s new screen backdrop allows for an animated visual showing the cover of The Great Mortality.
D.L. is vicious in his vocal delivery, prowling the stage with mic in hand. He gets the crowd fully immersed as they throw horns towards the stage. There are many great songs on The Great Mortality. Way Of The Wolf is a fan favourite and is obviously played early. Is is the massively epic The Bearer. Whilst not being in the centre of the album, it feels like one of the real centrepiece songs on the album.
‘It’s been ten miserable years since we released The Great Mortality,’ howls D.L. before Purification By Fire. From there, the band grow in strength as they power through the album. Pestmeester is a relentless battering ram of a song and Entombed In Darkness keeps that relentless nature up. Plague Herald has a few succinct tempo changes and piles on the oppressiveness. Like The Bearer, Brethren Of The Cross is another epic that just sears itself into the psyche.
A few deeper cuts in the form of Agents Of Satan and Tannis Root help finish up a fiendish set that showcases how good a band The Infernal Sea. Hopefully, we’ll get the next chapter in their sonic story soon.
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