Watain, Withered, Book of Black Earth, Nightbringer, Vision of Mara.13 Oct 08, Denver

Watain, Withered, Book of Black Earth, Nightbringer, Vision of Mara
13 October 2008, Cervantes, Denver, CO
by Ryan Starr

I don’t like weekday shows, especially weekday shows in Denver. But I’d be completely insane to pass up an opportunity to see the infamous Watain. So I, along with my band mates, made the pilgrimage to Cervantes to see the band that has been a huge inspiration for us. But in order to see Watain, we had to check out four other bands, and endure horrible sound quality. First, let me say that Cervantes is a cool venue, but the sound guy has no talent what so ever. Either there was no mix, or everything was so loud you could hear nothing but white noise. Perhaps if they at least did a sound check, things would be different. But despite pleads and complaints to improve the sound, the “technician” ignored it all and went back to surfing the net. So, before I get to the bands, I want to encourage promoters and fans in the Colorado and lower Wyoming area to start emailing/writing/calling the venue and voicing their concerns. This is the second tour I’ve seen there, and I've only been to two shows there, that has had totally unacceptable sound and something needs to be done about it. Now on to the show!



Opening the show were Visions of Mara, a Denver black metal band. They do a decent job at interpreting the classic second wave sound, but there really wasn’t much there to keep my interest musically. There was also little offered in stage presence, but that can probably be blamed on the small crowd at the start of the show. As a matter of fact, they were forced to start the second the doors were opened, in front of no one. I imagine they were a bit deflated, I know I would be. That said, they stuck it out and did their thing, and I give respect for that.



Nightbringer, another local Colorado band, took the stage next. For some reason, they don’t play out much, so this was the first time seeing them, and I was impressed. Their style of black metal reminds me of Burzum, but with better use of harmony and a brooding atmosphere. To compliment the menacing music they arrive on stage cloaked an in corpse paint, one guitarist bleeding and covered in scars. Apparently, he becomes possessed by the music and Satan forces him to put knife to flesh, or it’s just a painful gimmick. Either way, it was a solid performance and they were the better fit for the show of the two local openers.



The first band on the tour package was Book of Black Earth. This is the point where the sound from the PA went from nonexistent to white noise. Nothing was audible, not in the front or the back. Not even from outside the venue or behind the sound booth. That said, it’s really hard for me to tell how they were playing, but my impression was good. They commanded they stage, captivating the crowd, despite the lack of clarity. So either the crowd was stupid, or Book of Black Earth is just really good at what they do. I’m going to put my money on the latter.



Next was Withered, who suffered from the same sound as BOBE. There set was marginally better though given their slow tempo doom style, allowing their music to come through mix a little better. So I just sat back and tried to take it all in. my overall impression was good, though I got a bit bored toward the end. I would probably see them again, hopefully with better sound.



Finally, after suffering through 4 sets of terrible sound, we get Watain, who finally got a good mix. The crowd’s attitude went from entertained to rapturous. From the moment Watain stepped on stage they had the crowd in the palm of their stinky dead hands. Yeah, I said it, these guys smell, but that’s intentional. Watain is all about death, they look, sound, and smell like death. Even the stage has dead pig’s heads and a dead rat on display. Watain definitely don’t hold back for a show, and that really sets them apart from the rest of the bands, and apart from most bands playing today. Watain’s set featured mostly new material from Sworn to the Dark, but there was no lack of old material either. It was truly an awe inspiring performance, and hopefully they come back very soon.



Sure, this was a great show, but it could have been so much better. The quality of sound was simply criminal. So when these guys come back around, I suggest you see them, and hope that the venue respects the bands more than Cervantes in Denver.



More Photos

Official Watain Website
Official Watain Myspace
Official Withered Website
Official Withered Myspace
Official Book of Black Earth Myspace
Official Nightbringer Myspace
Official Visions of Mara Myspace

 

well, i hope they dont. instead, they should just kill and keep on playing. or play the springs!
~gR~