The Dark House

22 September 1998 - Fat Pauly's, Norwich, Norfolk, England - Anathema and Moonspell + DarkSide and Therion (support)

Fat Pauly's was the venue for the presentation of this showcase of black metal/gothic bands. It seems that, if future popular demand supports it, these types of band will regularly make an appearance at Fat Pauly's under the guise of the 'Vampyria Club'.

I don't profess to be an expert on the black metal and gothic scene, being a newcomer myself. However I can remember the likes of The Sisters of Mercy and The Mission. The bands emerging on this new scene appear to me to be a new species of the old breed, only far more heavy and theatrical than their predecessors.

First up then were DarkSide, who were most definitely dark in the black metal sense as I understand it to be. The band members hail from Austria. The keyboard player (who looked like one of the presenters of MTV's 'So Nineties') did most of the talking. I'm not sure if the reason for this was that the vocalist was trying to preserve a mysterious air or because he simply did not speak very good English. Unfortunately his vocals left a lot to be desired, being a monotoned barrage of indistinguishable words. The guitars were suitably heavy but the vocals caused me to lose interest. I don't think I'll be buying the album 'Evolution'. If this is black metal I think I will give it a wide berth and see if there are any lighter bands out there ... has anyone heard of grey metal?

Rating: *

Therion had a nice set up - they had 3 female vocalists (who mainly sang in operatic harmony but occasionally sang separate arias) to set off against 3 guitars. This blend of vocals and guitars worked well creating an intense, eerie feel to the music. I would have liked to have heard more of Therion but unfortunately, after a couple of songs a power cut stopped them in their tracks.

Rating: ***

Moonspell were next, who were billed as co-headlining with Anathema. I got the impression though that most of the punters had come to see Anathema. Moonspell's first few songs were good with infectious beats. The vocalist did a very good impersonation of Brandon Lee as he appeared in 'The Crow' - arms outstretched and head hung low. Unfortunately the theatrics crept into the music too, by means of sustained synthesizer notes: by the time the band performed 'Vampyria' I had reached the conclusion that the theatrics were over the top, detracting from the substance of the music itself as song structure was lost.

Rating: **

Anathema - last but certainly not least. Definitely the most polished band of the evening - they produced well structured, guitar laden songs. They may have been top of the bill but they were also top of the egos, seeming reluctant to take up the punters' requests or to come back for an encore.

Rating: ***

Just then you hear footsteps overhead. You slam the book shut. The footsteps become fainter until finally you hear nothing. Time to make a sharp exit - get out while you can!

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©1998 Dors Productions