In France there's a saying: the absent ones are always wrong. Well it proved right once again. But, on with the show!
The first band was Necrocult, a local band; I saw only two thirds of the last song, which sounded black metal and necro, but I can't say much more (I don't know them, it's not my cup of tea, so to speak).
Krakow was really interesting. They play some nicely heavy stuff, a kind of stoner with Neurosis influences. The only little downside was the singer's voice, a bit cringe-worthy at times on the high notes. Otherwise they were great. And I was surprised to learn that, with already one album, they still have no label? A good discovery!
Next, Audrey Horne came on stage. Originally they weren't on the bill, but Stonegard cancelled, so Arve Isdal and his band took the place...
Arve Isdal? You mean, the one who plays in Enslaved? Yes, that's him. Audrey Horne was in fact founded by two Enslaved guys (Herbrand Larsen & Arve Isdal) and King ov Hell (from Gorgoroth). Of these three, Arve was the only one present, and so he did two shows this evening - and on the whole tour...
So, what about the music? Audrey Horne plays some cool stuff, mostly rock but it can be quite heavy too. Of course, it was too rock'n'roll, too mellow, for some of the tr00 here, who booed a bit, but most of the audience was quite receptive, even if they weren't really expressive at this stage of the evening. Also, the band was true to their influence, because they started with the Twin Peaks TV song (Audrey Horne is first and foremost a Twin Peaks character).
And, finally, Enslaved...
They were the kings of the evening, of course. Their sheer presence and charisma is impressive - well, mostly for Grutle and Icedale, because Ivar seems to be shyer.
Their show was short, first because it was planned this way, but also because there was a curfew. You see, the Havana Café is also a nightclub, so most show end at midnight. Enslaved played a bit more than one hour, with only one song as an encore (Isa), directly following the others.
The setlist featured 5 songs out of Vertebrae, and then it was quite varied, with nearly all albums featured. I have one complaint here, they didn't play this most awesome song called Path To Vanir. The new songs fitted seamlessly in the whole, no surprise about that.
The show itself was energic, and full of contrasts like Enslaved's music. Light and dark, quiet and aggressive... You get the idea. Add on top of this the videos (the use of natural landscapes and/or black & white stuff reminded me a bit of Neurosis' videos, too) that the band played, and you can comprehend with an Enslaved show can be entrancing.
The audience was very receptive, moshing and shouting. Seems the band was pleased, because they smiled and joked, it was really nice. You could almost feel the communion between them and the audience. And no, I've not got mad or mystic. Oh well, mystic maybe, given the otherworldly feel of their music.
So, you guessed, this was an excellent evening. Enslaved showed once again that they rule onstage, so you'd better not miss them next time they play near you (at Hellfest 2009 for example).
Nice
