The Posters of Gigs Past - part 1

I've been collecting gig posters since 2011. Most of them were simply nicked when no-one was looking, because I figured they'd be thrown away or recycled.


 Festa Kiboko was hosted by an entity known as Basement Radio in December 2011, at Frieda's on Bree Street. The previous Basement Radio party was called Kiboko FM (Hippo FM). The music (world music, and some fusions between folk and modern music) and the vibe were fantastic, and I had interesting conversations with interesting people. The braaied mielies and fresh bananas were yummy.

 Thanks to an Emperor tribute in December 2011, I checked out more of Emperor's material, and subsequently became an Emperor fan. I wanted to recognise the songs played on the night (I'd heard only I Am the Black Wizards at that point), so I checked out the albums In the Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welikin at Dusk, and maybe one other album. Thank you Blackcrowned, Wildernessking and A Walk with the Wicked for sparking my interest in Emperor!

Rock The River 2011/2012 was my first music festival. I went with my sister, and two friends. I enjoyed myself immensely, and saw some great performances from various bands. (I didn't enjoy being in the dubstep section of the camp though.)  I was at the metal stage for almost the entire festival. I bought my first international band t-shirt (Megadeth Rust in Peace album artwork with black and white back patch), as well as my first two metal CDs (AGRO's Rewriting History and Emperor's Emperial Live Ceremony). I saw in the new year at the metal stage with Crow Black Sky, who put on one of the most spectacular local metal performances I've seen. The band wore custom-made armour, there were skulls scattered on the stage and there were cool pyrotechnics. RTR 2011/2012 was a great introduction to music festivals.

A very late 'Best of 2012' list

I didn't get round to listening to as many 2012 releases as I wanted to, so my list would probably look different from the list below. I also didn't write as many reviews as I wanted to write on this blog. In no particular order:

Sigh  - In Somniphobia (avant-garde black metal with jazz influences)
 Wildernessking (South Africa) - The Writing of Gods in the Sand (black metal)
Absence Of Light (Kenya) - Vyom Chakra (death metal)

Sindulgence (South Africa) - Recollections (progressive death metal)
The Ocean Doesn't Want Me (South Africa) -  As the dust settles (post-metal/ sludge/doom)

Grave - Endless Procession of Souls (old-school death metal)

Sophicide - Perdition of the Sublime (technical death metal)
Electric Wizard -  Legalise Drugs & Murder EP (doom metal)

Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone (melodic death metal)

Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron (atmospheric black metal)

My album of the year was In Somniphobia by Sigh. I found to be a refreshing and highly original listen. Had I listened to more 2012 releases, my album of the year choice would probablly be different too.

The most disappointing album I heard was Psalms for the Dead by Candlemass. It fell short of being a suitably grand send-off for a doom metal institution.

Wildernessking - The Writing of Gods in the Sand Review

From the ashes of the blasphemous black and roll band Heathens rose a phoenix known as Wildernessking. Last year, Heathens released a single entitled Morning, hinting at the new musical direction they would be taking under their new moniker. The Writing of Gods in the Sand is Wildernessking's 7-track debut album.

Vocalist/bassist Keenan Oakes' screeching vocals provide a powerful opening to Rubicon, the first track. The bass lines firmly anchor the song, while the guitars harmonise beautifully. A guitar solo of melancholic beauty graces the ear later on. Discovery has a slower tempo and sparser sound, the latter of which creates a picture of an empty wasteland. The overall sound then thickens as the bass and vocals explode in. A galloping instrumental interlude ushers in a faster tempo, with a great guitar solo. I found myself very moved by this song - the acoustic guitar part, coupled with a deep-sounding drum beat added to my feeling of pathos, as did the sadness-infused bubbling of the second solo. Overall, this album has a deeply moving quality about it. Ending off the song was a piano accompanied by more bubbling guitar notes. Great rapid drumming and harmonised guitars introduce River. This rock-esque track is a definite headbanger. Utopia's introductory passage has dirty-sounding, distorted guitars. Somewhat staccato rhythm guitars lead into a slow interlude with a solitary guitar and crackling background sounds. The guitars then pick up a gallop, and the full band comes thundering in. Spoken words are layered with a black metal rasp, making for an interesting contrast. An echo-filled solo is joined by a counter-rhythm, creating another example of effective layering. Sorrow saturates Surrender. The droning guitars echo almost-forgotten cries for help. The song's slower tempo also contributes to the sorrowful mood. At the fade, the lead guitar lets forth the musical equivalent of a deluge of tears. The nature themes in Wildernessking's material show themselves not just in the lyrics and sound, but in the vocals as well - Oakes' voice reminded me of a wild wind throughout the album; I imagined the type of wind that howls angrily during a storm.The pace picks up again on Reveal, with its booming drums. Guitar counter-rhythms (an element which I like to hear in black metal) appear once more. This song feels like a giant wave racing across the ground. The haunting solo has an ethereal, echoing sound. The Writing of Gods in the Sand ends off beautifully with Infinity. The track begins with a delicate acoustic guitar passage. A melancholy march begins as the other instruments join the guitar. The guitars lead into a faster paced section which soars. This part of the song is given extra punch from the rumbling bass - it's not often a bass part catches my ear.  The acoustic guitar returns to close off the song, ending the journey into a stunning aural wilderness.

As the album finished playing, I sat transfixed for a few seconds. A shiver rolled down my spine, like a wave rolling onto a winter shore.

Review: Emperor - Emperial Live Ceremony (Live CD)

On 23 December last year, I saw an incredible Emperor tribute show at ROAR in Observatory. The stellar lineup consisted of A Walk With the Wicked (death metal), Wildernessking (black metal) and Blackcrowned (black metal). The set list that night consisted of the tracks from Emperial Live Ceremony, so when I came across the CD, I eagerly snapped up a copy.

The tracks on this CD were recorded at London Arena 2 in 1999. Sound engineer Thorbjorn Akkerhaugen captured the music well - the sound  is of a high quality. However, the guitars seemed to get a little bit lost in the mix at one point. While I was listening to this album, I could get some idea of what it would have been like to have been at LA2; the atmosphere of the performance was also captured on the album.


Curse You All Men! sets the scene with a sinister and grand mood. The melodic guitar parts contrast well with  the distorted guitar parts. The keyboards  on I Am The Black Wizards add an extra layer of drama to the the song, and enhance its mood. This was the song that first drew me to Emperor (it remains a favourite); its sheer grandiosity has not faded with multiple listens.


The crowd's necks must have been broken after With Strength I Burn - it's a high-energy, headbanger of a song. The high energy continues into Sworn, with some demoniacal blast beats. There are great guitar riffs in this number as well.


The rhythm and atmosphere of Inno A Satana make it another of my favourite Emperor tracks. Lead vocalist and guitarist Insahn does equally well in growling and clean singing. The words ''Inno A Satana'' are sung cleanly, and have a power about them that grabs me by the throat. Insahn's operatic-sounding clean vocals were well-executed throughout the set. Ye Entrancemperium is a fitting closer, with its emperial sound, good guitar work and soaring vocals from Insahn.


Emperor is known as a legend of the Norwegian black metal scene. They definitely deserve that title - melody combines perfectly with wildness to create a sound worthy of their name.