Doom metal is certainly enjoying a tide of attention in the metal mainstream but predominantly the traditional, stoner and sludge varieties. However, a night of death doom is not commonplace in London and tonight, gloom descends over the capital as Danish death doom metal merchants Saturnus return,playing the intimate Black Heart for an exclusive UK stop on their current European tour.
First up is London's own Eye of Solitude, formed in 2010 and already with three full-length efforts to their name. For an opening act, the audience is thick and deservedly so. This five-piece dish out death doom metal with an orchestral vibe, made particularly apparent tonight with the overbearing taped keyboards in the midst of the poor murky sound the guitars emit. With lit candles raising the temperature of the room in tandem with the encouraging crowd numbers, the band's lengthy setlist feature among them two new songs typical for Eye of Solitude and not likely to disappoint their subscribers. The audience reaction is encouraging for such a young band and closer 'Lost' concludes an impassioned set of melodic doom metal that embraces the extreme.
Final support comes from Marche Funebre from Belgium, another relatively young act with two albums bearing their logo and last spotted in this same venue at the dawn of 2014. Playing death doom again, this band differs from the opener by incorporating some more traditional doom principles into their metal. Lengthy odes to melancholy enriched with guitar grooves over sweep the audience as they are confronted with a combination of clean and growled vocals while the music lurches between the pained and the aggressive. The band members appear to be enjoying themselves with vocalist Arne Vandenhoeck verbally acknowledging the playful hecklers. The audience's response may not be emphatic but they do illustrate their sign of appreciation at the close of each track.
The Black Heart becomes very heated when headliners Saturnus take the stage. Formed in 1991, this Danish collective are old hands when it comes to death doom metal. As their years of experience portray, these Danes have honed their music throughout the years, releasing some of their strongest material at the tail end of their discography. In addition to death doom, the music contains a wide array of riffs that would not sound out of place in a melodic death metal affair and adds another dimension to their mournful music.
The setlist journeys throughout Saturnus' career trajectory with such hymns of loss including the older likes of 'I Long', 'Empty Handed' and 'I Love Thee' as well as the later 'All Alone', 'Murky Waters' and 'Forest of Insomnia'. Members of the audience frequently shout out 'Christ Goodbye' and vocalist Thomas Akim Grønbæk Jensen attempts to pacify these shouts by promising that the song will arrive soon. The doom-laden music suits the dreary nature of the Black Heart, which is convenient since the miniscule stage inhibits any kind of hyperactive stage presence (not precisely appropriate for sombre music anyway) but the members of Saturnus manage to sustain the audience's eyes by diligently playing their music with the sound of the venue better for them than it was for the supports.
Despite the lengthy nature of the songs and the slow tempos, the set paradoxically flies by and the Danish doomster arrive at their curtain-calling song 'Christ Goodbye', which solicits the most dominating ovation for tonight. Well-executed, this eight minute long song punctuates the set with a satisfying end and sees the punters vacate the venue with smiles on their faces. Death doom should not be this rare in the capital and is certainly refreshing amongst the tide of the other doom subgenres that enjoy a fair share of attention in London's live circuit.
FUTURE GIGS
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