The tiny Black Heart in Camden holds court to an evening of droned out sludge, traditional heavy doom, and more English black metal than you can shake a stick at tonight. Despite the snow and ice and downright awful weather, the turn out is solid and the promise of a little something special from Winterfylleth is enough to drag even the most anti-people person out on a cold and miserable evening. At least, that's the reason Scene Point Blank made it out!
First up, are Bast who go on pretty early, but still draw a decent crowd for their mighty sludge-driven atmospheres. Blackened coils of doom wrap around their mesmerising and filthy drawls of guitar which move and shift towards the occasional hint of beauty before forgoing all that nonsense for effortlessly deep and crunching rhythms of might. The trio are tight and even a couple of technical issues (their fancy projections are occasionally interrupted by an Acer screensaver, kinda funny) aren't enough to throw them off their pace. Bast are certainly a band to keep your eyes and indeed, ears on.
Witchsorrow take to the small stage next and fill the venue with darkness and heat, their take on doom rolling through occultic and ritualistic vibrations via cavernous depths and expansive melodies. Hypnotising structures of gloom meander throughout the enraptured audience and whilst Witchsorrow aren't exactly breaking any rules here, their precision and passion is evident throughout and their performance is delightfully majestic.
Winterfylleth arrive on stage to the instrumental strains of "Æfterield-Fréon," taken from their incredible latest record, The Threnody of Triumph. Winterfylleth never fail to impress on the live stage and this last year has seen them progress from tiny little pubs, playing to three people and a bunch of uninterested locals, to major festivals whilst never forgetting the fans who have supported them from the very beginning. Tonight is full of promise, new material and old material alike was touted, along with a couple of tracks that the band hadn't yet played live and damn, Winterfylleth deliver.
From The Threnody of Triumph, "Void of Light," "A Soul Unbound" and the monumental "The Swart Raven" breathe with a mythical energy, and older tracks such as "The Ghost of Heritage" and the always triumphant "Defending the Realm" show that Winterfylleth have consistently and constantly moved forward whilst staying true to their roots. They play with urgency and a clear and obvious pride in themselves and their creations, and the audience are at their mercy at any given second. It's wonderful to experience and if the looks on Winterfylleth's collective faces are anything to go by....they feel exactly the same. The band close on the magnificent "Mom Tor (The Shivering Mountain)" during which glasses are raised, fists are flung and shouts of complete joy are thrown at band and crowd alike. Extraordinary.
