Arcturus, Virgin Black, Stargazer
Enigma Bar
Tuesday 27 March


Apprehensions reared when I heard Arcturus would no longer be playing at HQ, trading the larger venue and bigger sound for the more intimate experience of Enigma Bar. Enigma on a Tuesday night was an eerie experience at first; with the only patrons being the gig attendees, it was rather spacious. But that's not to say the turnout was poor - by the time Stargazer took the stage upstairs people were filing in.

I imagine it's hard to find an appropriate support act for a band like Arcturus, whose eclectic and avant-garde procurements can be difficult to get one's head around, let alone replicate or compliment, but things worked out reasonably well. Stargazer have been gigging steadily of late, what with the spate of international acts rolling through in recent months. It's a credit to them that each performance has been an impressive and enjoyable one. By now, most metal fans should just about have their measure, though: technical and heavy with a strong hint of... weird. They're a great live band; the kind where you're happy to just watch the fingers flying up and down frets. The inclusion of a little banter was also good to see.

In stark contrast to Stargazer's relative slew of appearances, Virgin Black have been dormant for a long, long time. As they took the stage, Stargazer's wretched aggression was usurped by the huge atmosphere of a band twice their number. A thundering drum solo set things in motion, closely followed by powerful orchestral and choral sections. Their sound was excellent, certainly making the most of all the venue had and there was a real, tangible sense of the talent and purpose behind their every note. The lead singer (also on keys) was probably the highlight, putting his absolute all into the performance; the whole range of his emotions right there on display. That said, there was a definite division in the crowd - the Gothic and doom atmospheres and epic, near operatic vocals weren't to everyone's tastes. I was impressed by the scale and polish of the performance, although perhaps Virgin Black would've better fit a bleaker and more emotionally devastating setting - this probably wasn't the night for it, as demonstrated by the headline act.

Arcturus. I was completely unprepared for such energy and jovial abandon as freakishly talented vocalist Simen Hestnžs literally swaggered and jigged about, pulling faces and giggling. The rest of the band wasn't taking things too seriously either (in hindsight, my relative sobriety was a woeful mistake). The first couple of songs sounded pretty average: the band so preoccupied with horsing around and looking ridiculous (entertaining as it was) that things didn't quite click. That all changed from the first notes of The Chaos Path, though, as they settled down and brought things together for one of the best, most out-there songs in metal history.

From that moment on... fuck yes. The air of drunken insanity remained - beer-swigging and pirate jigging still prominent - but there was a strong pulse of metal pounding away beneath it all, largely thanks to Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg's inestimable drum poundery. A memorable night in the cheerful company of extreme metal royalty.


Mike Cross