Setlist:
Intro
Year of the Rat
Beyond The Veil
Shadowman
The Wretched
Protection
Tender Trip on Earth
Encore:
Down
Magical Fix
Photos [credit – Daniel Gray @ DeadBySunrise.co.uk]:
Video:
Review by Andew Doherty from MetalZine UK:
This was an evening of outfits, jewellery and Goth Metal. Three bands, three different interpretations of the style. Plenty to look forward to.
First to play was Unsun. The show had just started when I joined the 60 or so spectators. I walked into a crashing beat and an out of tune female vocalist. At the end of it, the singer breathlessly mumbled the next song, which I recognized as “Clinic for Dolls”. This highly charged track was much better. “A Single Touch” followed. We were promised the presence of love and a good headbanging song. The driving riff and the strong vocals made for a good song and reminded me why I like this style and this band. It was punchy, dark and above all catchy. The music induced headbanging, but of the lighter variety. The instrumental work was impressive and the songs were good but the vocals were variable. The singer, striking with her blonde hair and frilly black dress, could hold a note but seemed to be having trouble when switching up or down the range. “Whispers” was announced as the final number, which went down particularly well with the Polish contingent supporting their fellow countrymen. Driving and moving, this song was a catchy crowd-pleaser and reflected what the band can do, as well as being just what was needed to leave a good impression.
A full-bodied Margriet Mol appeared on stage, accompanied by her Gothic colleagues. This was the same lady whose photos I had seen on the merch stand with a rose in her hair and bats flying around in the background. “Delilah’s Lie” was straight from the crypt. This busty woman’s ghoulish screams could strip the paint off walls. Where Unsun had been catchy, Asrai’s performance was about mood and power. If a skeleton had emerged from the back of the stage, I wouldn’t have been surprised. Dark and shadowy musical images accompanied Ms Mol’s forceful singing. With make-up for the occasion, her expression and eyes suggested that she meant everything she was singing and more. “In Front of Me” followed. Her voice reverberated across the room in accompaniment to a dark and heavy electro-beat, but she equally proved her ability to deliver dark sadness and emotion. The steady beat of the drum and the dark anger of the guitar work set the sullen tone. The guitarist’s face was mysteriously hidden behind a mop of red and black hair. For me, the stand-out song was “Hollow”, presented to us as a new one. This song provided plenty to move to as well as the trademark Darkwave atmospherics. An electro beat worthy of fellow Dutch Gothsters Clan of Xymox whistled through the catchy and dark heaviness. I sensed that Ms Mol was pleased with the way it went. So were we. “Shadows” ended the band’s show. This afforded Ms Mol a final chance to impress us with her lungs. The keys rang out, the dream beat solidly and the guitars struck a punitive rhythm. Ms Mol cosied up to the guitarists. “Shadows” capped off a thoroughly dynamic performance from Asrai.
The Underworld was about two-thirds full. The dry ice rose on the stage. Darkness descended to the background of gibberish and the faint but increasing tones of “Year of the Rat”. Tristania had arrived. Most of the band members had changed since the last time I saw them play live. In the clean vocal department, the pint-sized singer Mariangela Demurtas formed a partnership with the mountainous Kjetil Nordhus of the mothballed Green Carnation. When not counterbalancing Mariangela’s angelic strains, Kjetil gestured in the gloom. In spite of looking scary alongside demure and goth-clad Mariangela and his more conventionally attired colleagues, as our presenter this evening, he was always gracious, full of good humour and charm. But Tristania are about much more than personalities and vocalists.
It was clear that the band was well-prepared. A carefully considered performance was laid on, except for the fact that Kjetil couldn’t remember whether tracks were new or old, but who cares about that anyway? As it happened, much of the set came from the latest album “Rubicon”. The professionalism was all the more remarkable for the fact that the band had set out from Bergen at 4am. The female guitarist from Octavia Sperati was the only one to look understandably worn out. The performance remained sublime. The technique and timing were immaculate. To add to the three guitarists and the drummer, Kjetil introduced violinist Pete Johnansen for “The Passing”. After the melody and energy of “Year of the Rat”, Mr Johansen started to create beautiful Darkwave emotions, enhanced by Mariangela’s melancholic tones. I had heard it said beforehand that Mariangela isn’t as good as her predecessor. I disagree. Less operatic, she proved that her voice is versatile and rich. The guitarists supplied the power on “The Passing”, then we took a short pause for some headbanging before returning to the chorus and that emotion-filled violin. The mood varied between heaviness, sweet voices and the impassioned violinist, but the melody remained constant. The rendition of the moody and sinister “Sirens” was darker than the recorded version on “Rubicon” and the drum’s jungle beat more pronounced. Kjetil did full justice to the shadowy lyrics, delivering them in an awesome and almost frightening fashion. The thunderously dark track “The Wretched” followed. Gestures matched the blackened mood and guitarist Anders Hidle’s growls. Next, to provide a balance, the Kjetil – Mariangela combination provided the harmonies and a further interpretation of the dark and tender message on “Tender Trip on Earth” off my personal favourite of the older works, “Heart of Glass”. The main set finished with “Shadowman”. Kjetil took the opportunity to pay a warm tribute to his predecessor in the band. He explained that this was the first Tristania song that he learnt, adding that he was the new member “so I do the laundry”. “Shadowman” was delivered with the customary delicacy and edginess. The crowd was frantic for more and the band came back to play the richly rhythmic “Protection”. This was beautifully delivered by Mariangela who then broke out of her shell and proved that she is no withering flower by headbanging and rocking on the energetic “Down”. We still hadn’t had enough so back they came for a second encore. Kjetil was still on form, explaining the drummer’s tardiness as due to the fact that “he’s approaching 50 so he doesn’t know so much about computers”. “Amnesia” was the track that Tristania chose to end the night with. I’m not sure what the drummer needed a computer for because he banged out the rhythm powerfully as Kjetil provided the deep tones and Mariangela supplied the ghoulish accompaniment as if it were Halloween already. The pace, power and energy got the crowd going one last time. Tristania were good on the last occasion I saw them in 2004 but this evening they were spectacularly good. Their songs captured the imagination and full advantage was taken of the range of talents within the band. This was a dynamic performance and rounded off an excellent evening’s entertainment.
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