Degial, In Solitude & Watain at Svandammshallarna

Aside from the fact that I have been left feeling spiritually raped from last weekend - also not withstanding the fact I have really only just managed to recover today, I have had little time this week to dedicate to my precious little secret here.

I have been fortunate enough to do some freelance editing for a local magazine and also an art book, which have both been taking up my time and mental aptitude (or whatever shreds I possessed this week), while at the same time leaving me feeling very satisfied.

So with that in mind, I figure I'll just write a simple blog post since I don't have many remaining intelligent faculties to rely on for the rest of this week. Though like most things I declare out into the world, this will probably end up being something time-consuming I promised myself I wouldn't do so I could sip a cup of tea in bed instead.

Last weekend was a very special treat and a great reminder that my moving to Sweden was indeed the right decision. Last Saturday I went to a sold-out concert where Degial, In Solitude and Watain played in that order and holy fucking hell, what a gig. I don't normally write gig reports since, as I mentioned earlier, I am far too emotionally invested in the experience to try and remember things to record later - but this time around I feel somewhat responsible to document it since it was such a momentous event.

Pre-gig, most of my social congregation were seated in the park outside the venue - which might I add was a beautiful time in itself. The park was absolutely stunning with a beautiful pond surrounded by huge and ancient trees, the entire place was overwhelmingly abundant with green and vegetation - a stark contrast to the total death that awaited indoors (though perhaps not entirely so either). It was the perfect place to sit, catch up and have pre-drinks with various people who traveled from all over Europe and Sweden .

I left the park early since I was told there was going to be a pianist playing before Degial and also in between bands. A creepy looking pianist sat up and away in a sectioned off area and played what I would describe as serious, melancholic piano music; on top of this music were various recordings such as the very haunting and disturbing words of J. Robert Oppenheimer, amongst other things. I just stood around for most of the pre-gig time watching the crowd, the masked pianist and listening to the audio. What was interesting to note is that I don't think a lot of people in the 1500+ crowd even noticed the pianist and presumed the sound was just playing from a track; I kind of like that fact because those who actually did notice him would have gotten a rather unique surprise.

I am still super impressed by Degial - this being the third time I've seen them and they remain dark as sin. Degial live really manage to capture that ugly, swampish death metal sound that invokes a terrible, terrible black from within. Total dark death - and quite literally so due to the distinct lack of front lights; all they had were purple back lights which created the perfect eeriness to accompany the music. I spent most of the time grinding and baring my teeth, wallowing in the filth mist like some predatory animal so it was difficult to take a better image but this does at least capture what it looked like:

In Solitude put on a stellar performance, probably the strongest one I've seen yet. I was mildly disappointed they didn't play 'Poisoned, Blessed and Burned' but they made up for it by playing their new single, 'Sister' for the second (?) time live. It was pretty fucking brilliant and the crowd appeared to really get into them. I wasn't standing in the most optimal place to get the best sound but had I been standing somewhere in the centre I know it would have impressed me better.

Although, of course, the highlight of the night has to be Watain. I would say their performance alone was absolutely amazing however I have to make mention of the amount of EFFORT they put into the aesthetics surrounding the band. Upon the walls on either side of the stage area were countless, hundreds, of bones pinned up in various designs - some skulls and bones still had moss, insects and spider webs crawling all over them. This added an interesting element of life in contrast to the total funeral I was witnessing before my eyes. I can't help but think that the presence of life was in some way symbolic of the birth of their new album and perhaps even direction, or maybe that's just me.

I made the conscious decision to break away from headbanging the entire gig to take the time to actually watch, appreciate and take some photo's. The sheer magnitude and force of the band could be felt from far away from the stage; from the blazing fire scorching up high into the air, to the sparks and clever changes in lighting; as someone close to me observed, it really did feel as if we were looking into the gates of Hell. I have no idea how the people in the front row managed to survive the intense heat coming off the flames that made very frequent appearances throughout the show, because I know I sure felt them from back where I was standing.

It was great to hear older classics classics such as 'On Horns Impaled' and 'Devil's Blood' and also the new track, 'De Profundis' as the opening song, including the intro to the album, which in itself was just fucking wonderful. Not to mention how the backdrop (the inlet to 'The Wild Hunt' LP)  looked killer behind the band - I didn't think they could top the 'Lawless Darkness' backdrop, but this new one added a totally new dimension to the stage presence. I also remember one particular moment when E sung with his arm in the middle of a flame for quite some time, I'm not quite sure why but for some reason it was hypnotic to watch.

I also think it was the intricate, not-so-noticable pieces that really contributed to the gig as a whole, such as the dead roses lined up in columns on the sides of the walls down to the pig-skin flags - everything there was quite evidently hand-made (and well-made, for that matter) while also designed and placed with significant intent and purpose. I can't help but admire how much this band give back to the overall live experience - even if it's just for themselves, I'll willingly be subjected to it.

I don't think I could adequately describe in written words how the night left me feeling so I won't make any attempts to. Suffice to say, I skipped the after-party and went to my hotel room instead.

So much for this being a quick and easy post.