Absu / Impiety / Necronomicon

The Underworld utilises 'The Other Entrance' tonight, an entrance that is usually reserved for under-attended shows and closes of a section of the venue. But as the night progresses, perhaps it would have been beneficial to have the entire venue open.

Hailing from Canada, Necronomicon are tonight's occult appetizers with their death/black metal. Their sound is very typical of Behemoth, with a strong intensity resulting in the marriage between the two aforementioned extreme metal genres against a thin atmospheric touch. Drums fly at break-neck speeds and the beer-tinged crowd is even offered the odd guitar solo. Their stage presence is austere, the metal fast and their faces cloaked in obligatory corpsepaint. The music may not be ground-breaking but the sincerity of the band's appreciation of playing their first UK show and tour to Europe after twenty years is enough to secure a favourable audience reaction.

Draped in enough bullet belts to equip an army, Impiety burst on to the stage with the ballsy 'Christfuckingchrist' from the 'Kaos Kommand 696' full-length. The swell in the crowd numbers is promising, giving Impiety's last few visits to London have been at the significantly smaller Purple Turtle. The Singapore black thrash trio storm through the Underworld and their music conjures the essential headbanging and moshing that it demands.

Vocalist Shyaithan is with two new recruits to the Impiety camp and they appear to fit in with the Impiety ethic solidly. The setlist leans towards the later end of their discography, naturally including plenty of tracks from the new 'Ravage and Conquer' including the title track. However, it seems strange that the much-lauded 'Torment in Fire' is not played tonight. A technical issue paralyses the set or a brief moment before the band resumes reaping through their performance with 'Nuclear Baphomet Goat'.

It feels like Impiety's set is over too quickly and Shyaithan announces a tribute to Bathory mainman Quorthon after which the three-piece solidly execute their cover of the Bathory classic 'Sacrifice', also from the new album. The rendition is raw and razor sharp, with some voices from the audience growling along to the track. Leaving the stage, more voices are raised in a drunken salute to Impiety. No doubt they will keep returning to these shores and delivering a bestial show.

Absu's return to the Underworld is met with a hail of salutes and the Texans kick off with the opener from their new album 'Abzu, Earth Ripper'. From the opening shriek straight to the final note, chaos ensures with beer flying everywhere, crowd surfers invading the stage and a tide of moshers. Absu's mystical black/thrash metal comes off surprisingly cleaner on record than in the live environment but this could be an issue relating to the poor sound of the drums. Nonetheless, the guitars are sharp and the dual vocal efforts of drummer and mainman Proscriptor and bass player Ezuzu are unique. Proscriptor's position of frontman is another unusual experience as he growls his stage banter from behind a trench of drums.

'Abraxus Connexus' is also served up from the 'Abzu' record but it is the older tracks that attain a more enviable reaction. The Middle Eastern and Celtic folk music influence in 'Night Fire Cannonization', 'Highland Tyrant Attack' and 'Swords and Leather' showcase why Absu are so respected in their mythological take on black/thrash metal that is instantly recognisable as their own sound. Their stage presence is somewhat stunted but the small stage of the Underworld does not allow room for much, not to mention the presence of a frontman behind the drums. However, the audience are here for the music which stands strong tonight and Absu certainly exit on a high note. They could never return to London too soon.

FUTURE GIGS

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