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We were a little late arriving at the gig and as such the French black metal outfit Otargos – who had replaced Lordaeron as support) were already partially into their set as we entered. They instantly captured our attention though as their pure black metal blasted the eardrums of the Wednesday night Liverpool crowd.
I'd listened to a few of Otargos' songs on their MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/otargos) and enjoyed them even though I didn't think they were anything to write home about. I really wasn't expecting them to be so good live! Certainly a good start to the gig!
Up next were Aussie blackened thrashers Deströyer 666 who took the stage bedecked in black leather and spiked wrist guards to great acclaim from the now pretty densely populated Masque crowd. They launched into a furiously face-melting set that the crowd lapped up.
The Australian anti-christs whipped the crowd into a frenzy and got one of the biggest pits of the night going. From what I gathered from chatting to people most people actually came to this show for Deströyer 666 so it would make sense for them to come over as headliners next time!
So onto Watain. Well, not quite. You see it took Watain 45 minutes to take to the stage after Deströyer 666 had finished their set. They had an intricate stage setup featuring candles, rat corpses, skulls and flaming crucifixes that took a while to set up. It all looked very good but was actually completely unnecessary. The gathered masses were certainly starting to get impatient. However, as soon as the band appeared all was forgiven!
Watain lined up on stage, backs to the audience, while vocalist E knelt to the black altar in front of the drum kit. The inverted crucifixes blazed into life and Watain unleashed the hellfire with Malfeitor!
I have to admit that Watain are probably the most evil looking band I've ever seen play live. Each member is decked out in dirty corpse paint and pig's blood - with the exception of live bassist Set Teitan who had his bald head painted entirely black - and old leather which gave them a truly terrifying undead look. Coupled with E's possessed stage presence and you have one horrifying yet hypnotizing live spectacle!
Devil's Blood, Sworn To The Dark, Waters Of Ain, Reaping Death and On Horns Impaled followed in quick succession as Watain blasted through their too-short set. Many people unfortunately had to leave to get the last train or bus home but there was still a good number of maniacal Watain fans present to start a savage pit!
They ended the night with an encore which was a well-received cover of Bathory's Sacrifice and a promise to return next year. Lets hope they keep that promise!
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