Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	March 19, 2007
Event:	Kreator + Celtic Frost: European Tour
Location:	Rock City, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Galleries:	Celtic Frost, Kreator, Watain - Nottingham, England, 17th March 2007 by Baz Anderson (24)

There was a certain buzz about going for this show, not only was I looking forward to seeing four brilliant bands that I have not seen before, it was also my first time at this venue and not to mention the mighty Celtic Frost were making their long-awaited return to England after 17 years!

Whilst navigating my way to the venue I bumped into no other then Thomas from Celtic Frost who genuinely seemed happy to be back again and very down to earth (and also pointed out he liked my 1349 top, also being a fan of the band.)
Getting to a venue early and waiting quite a while is something I am used to, but the doors for this show surprisingly opened half an hour or so earlier then the scheduled time.

Watain, dripping with blood and clad in chains and spikes promptly took the marvellously set up stage with candles and props - and we were off! Watain were not going to be one of the bands that opens for a big band or two and fails to get the crowd going at all, they took the stage like they owned it and delivered a fantastic set of crushing pure black metal. Bearing witness to the stage attire and aggressive attitude of the band was enough to captivate the fans and myself. They were able to play for 30 minutes this night, and played a few songs from their newly released album including the title track. It was not like we were witnessing an opening act at all, these guys' music and stage show contributed to make them, hands down the best opening act I have ever seen.



Now this is where the confusion started to make itself known. I was expecting, and looking forward to seeing Legion Of The Damned next but it seems they neglected to even tell us they were not going to play! Before the show it had become known the local bookers and promoters in the U.K. had imposed unrealistic curfews that greatly restricted playing time for all bands, and so was obviously so crippling there was not even enough time for the scheduled four bands. Apparently Watain and Legion Of The Damned alternated opening the shows in the U.K. dates affected by these preposterous and absurd curfews.

So as the Celtic Frost equipment was being set up, it became more and more apparent that we were just going to skip straight to the meat of the show.
The lights went down and the dark presence of Celtic Frost made its way to the stage. Band members all with paint on their faces looking as menacing as anything I have ever seen opened the set with a morbidly slow version of "Procreation (Of The Wicked)" and preceded on playing a full set made up of tracks from the "Morbid Tales", "To Mega Therion" and "Monotheist" albums in a truly mesmeric way. I have never heard Celtic Frost so slow, so fast or so heavy as the set they gave us, the varying tempos in the songs and diverse nature of them all came across perfectly live. Hearing old tracks such as "The Usurper" played with such intensity was a real treat, as was an insanely heavy "Ain Elohim" from the new album. The band closed with the long and haunting "Synagoga Satanae" to leave the impression of having witnessed probably the most diverse set I have seen.



By this point being squashed against the barrier was taking its toll and energy was low but I had to stay there for the German thrash legends Kreator.
Mille and crew took to the nicely decorated stage, that had back (and side) drops of images of the "Enemy Of God" album, and exploded onto the scene with "Violent Revolution" and "Pleasure To Kill" - the latter sounding quite brilliant performed live with the emphasis on the drums compared to the old recorded album version. The band took the stage well, Mille was fired up and ready to combust and received a couple of "Kreator! Kreator!..." chants throughout the night.
The setlist was made up mostly of new songs from the last two albums and old favourites from their oldest albums. The two worked well together but although hearing songs like "Enemy Of God" and "Voices Of The Dead" was very enjoyable, the best songs of the set were old classics played with such aggression. The encore of "Flag Of Hate" and "Tormentor" were probably the best two of their set sounding better then ever before and leaving a great impression afterwards.



All three bands were superb, I would have been even more annoyed about not seeing Legion Of The Damned if Watain didn't put on such a great set, but still it has to be said that everyone that went that night paid a lot of money to see four bands playing full sets, but we were denied this because of someone's extra money making scheme.
Celtic Frost were the best of the night by quite a way and what a return it was for them after 17 years. All hail! Celtic Frost is back!!

Written, and photos by Barry Anderson