Cradle of Filth + Nachmystium + Turisas + Daniel Lioneye @ Metropolis

Utter darkness fell upon the city of Montréal, Québec. ‘Twas a most unholy Sabbath as the children of the night rose from their darkened dwellings and emerged from the woodwork, heeding the call of their metal masters out of the desire to pay their respects and to hear some ass-kicking, skull-crushing, balls-out heavy metal at the Métropolis. It was the night that Cradle of Filth had promised to pay a visit to town, headlining their inaugural tour of 2011 with three other equally powerful acts by their side, all ready to get piss-drunk, crank up the volume, and let everything out.

“Extreme metal” is the most appropriate term one could have used to describe this show from beginning to end. Raised fists and devil horns abounded throughout the theatre and the streets outside. The fans’ screams at times nearly drowned out the music, and all that kept the rowdy crowd surfers and moshers in check were two rather imposing bouncers in front of the stage. Musically, the wall of sound was uncompromising. Softer, melodic breaks in the nearly incessant sonic assault were few and far between. The aggression was turned up to 11, and it is unlikely that the dials on the guitarists’ amps ever moved from that position. Sex, drugs, and Satan were frequent themes introduced by the fearsome frontmen when explaining what their songs were all about, but it is doubtful that the untrained ear could perceive in the music a literal message edgewise between the dense layering of infernal screams, demonic bellows, seething guitar, earthshaking bass, and the enraged pounding of the drums. The bands’ visual displays were well suited to the aggression of the music, lighting up the stage with all the colours of hell and assaulting the audience with flaring spotlights and burningly bright strobe lights.

The first opening band, Daniel Lioneye, may be an unfamiliar name to most, though it’s more than likely that anyone familiar with mainstream hard rock and heavy metal will at least find in them a few familiar faces – they’re nearly all members of the popular Finnish band HIM. Armed with an arsenal of new tunes from their 2010 album, Vol. II (their first album since 2001), these fine Finns of Viva La Bam fame kicked off the night with a bam indeed. Their sound, as would be expected from any band touring alongside Cradle of Filth, is decidedly heavier than what these funky lookin’ dudes are typically known for. It demonstrates more of a departure from their melodic side into a black metal-influenced realm of sonic brutality that is at times electronic and industrial.

Next on the roster of opening bands was Turisas (pronounced like “Theresa’s”), also hailing from the metal capital known as Finland. They quickly dominated the stage and the highly receptive audience with their own brand of “battle metal”. Straight from their 2011 album, Stand Up And Fight, their ear-slammingly, bombastic repertoire with its folk elements was strongly reminiscent of the power metal sub-genre that Finland is so well known for in the metal world. Sporting their barbaric, war-like garments, their devilish black and red facepaint, some trusty axes and a set of skins ready to take a serious beating, they displayed a fond appreciation for the province of Québec as well as a surprisingly down-to-earth attitude; they casually offered to share drinks with all those in the crowd who were likely to be their newly-won fans after finishing a set of intense anthems. Epic beer-fueled tales of pirates and war were told. 

Nachtmystium, the third and final opening band of the tour, began their set with a declaration of what one might interpret as their philosophical manifesto. Lead man Blake Judd posed the audience a trio of questions: "How many of you like to do drugs? How many of you love to fuck? HOW MANY OF YOU LOVE YOUR FUCKING METAL?" All three questions were met with ear-shattering bellows from the throng of listeners. Judd then dedicated the opening musical selection to the crowd’s "poor decisions." Half an hour of indiscernible screeching ensued, backed by nondescript bass, guitar, and technically impressive drums. The band classifies itself as extreme metal, psychedelic rock, black metal and dark ambient on the internet. As many have probably suspected, the internet is not all-knowing. There was nothing remotely ambient or psychedelic about this band. The "extremity" of their metal-ness only exists in the obnoxious impenetrability of their sound. Perhaps the lyrical content was "extreme," but without a sing-along booklet, there were no words to hear. When it comes to metal, I like good, deep, beastly growls. My preference aside, I found the vocals grating and sandpapery. I scarcely remember the songs. In fact, I don’t remember them at all. There was nothing memorable about this band. The guitarists shredded really fast on their silly spiky guitars, they swung their waist-length hair round and round, and they wore black. I couldn’t make out a word. The drums were fast. Sure, these elements are all necessary (or at least expected) in most metal bands in the "extreme" vein. The problem was, these basic elements were all that Nachmystium consisted of. There was nothing to hold my attention, nothing to make them stand out. Their act was rather tedious. The most interesting part was probably the sound check. Oh, and the fact that a Chicago restaurant named a special after the band.

Finally, the act that every screaming, sweaty, black-clad, alcohol-influenced metal fan in the house had been waiting for that night: the splendidly sinful Cradle of Filth! Hailing from Suffolk, England, this unholy metal band came together in 1991. The filthy cradle from whence they came bred a new style of metal, combining elements of gothic, symphonic and black metal into the lyrically-themed theatrical extreme metal that so suits the stage. Although their sound is perhaps better appreciated on studio-recorded tracks, their stage presence made up for the overwhelming distorted wave of noise that burst from the stage along with the barrage of strobe lights, red lights, blue lights, neon green lights, shine-in-your-eyes lights, and silly haphazard piles of festive string lights that sort of draped across the drum kit and keyboard. The act was more of a visual spectacle than an aural one, with beautifully dark moving pictures projected onto a screen behind the band and the musicians’ garish, ghoulish get-up. The band is infamous for its demonic and dastardly doings, including a blasphemous anti-Christian slogan which could be seen branded on hundreds of shirts in the crowd, as well as the lyrics and imagery in many of the band’s music videos. That is not to say that Cradle of Filth is a Satanic band. Their sparing use of devil-supporting lyrics and demonic imagery is employed for its shock value, according to the band itself. It should also be noted that Cradle of Filth is statistically the most successful British heavy metal band since Iron Maiden.

Vocally, front man Dani Filth rocked out like an angry bird. His high-pitched scream sounded rather like some sort of enraged falcon, which is fine, I suppose. His vocals rather contrasted and clashed with the female keyboardist/vocalist, Ashley Ellyllon. This vocal contrast works well in their studio recordings, but onstage they sort of overlapped and drowned each other out. If it was contrast they were going for, it would have worked more favorably had Dani not been singing an octave higher than Ashley. Without the accompanying delightful darkness of their music videos, I found the band’s performance to be somewhat lackluster. The sound check not only took longer than an entire performace from one of the opening bands, but it seemed to produce a poor result. Maybe it was just the overall obnoxious loudness, but I felt as if I was being bombarded by noise that lacked equalization and balance.

Dani’s non-musical vocals were entertaining. He put on his growliest, scariest, most demonic voice to address the audience, strutting to and fro while reminiscing about the tour bus and dedicating songs to the Goddess of Lust, an apparently frequent companion on their tour. His antics were slightly more interesting than his singing.

The band is in the midst of its Creatures From The Black Abyss Tour of North America, which is largely intended to promote their latest album, Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa. They also have another upcoming album, Midnight In The Labyrinth, which is a symphonic remix of sorts, combining the best of their earliest works.

-Cordelia Black hosts Marvelous Darkness every Friday from 1-2pm