November has been a month packed with lots and lots of shows, one of the highlights of the month definitely was the fact that Tavastia hosted plenty of bands for black metal fans to enjoy, with the pinnacle of the evening MAYHEM. The legendary Norwegian black metal act invited GAAHLS WYRD as guests and GOST and VOODUS with them as support acts of the night. I was planning to attend the whole event, however, exhaustion hit me, and by mistake I went to the wrong venue, meaning that I was only able to make it in time for GAAHLS WYRD. Check out our gallery.
Gaahl is one of the most legendary figures in the Norwegian black metal scene. I’ve never had the opportunity to see him perform during his time with GORGOROTH, so I was happy the opportunity came to me in the form of GAAHLS WYRD. The band definitely makes a lasting impression with an impressive setlist, the band plays five songs of their debut album “Gastyr – Ghosts Invited”, which are combined with songs from both GORGOROTH and TRELLDOM, making it a very varied and captivating sequence of songs. After the impressive opener “Ghosts Invited” with Gaahl himself appearing from the back of the stage, the magistral “Carving a Giant”, convinced the audience right from the start.
Gaahl is definitely an interesting presence on stage, demanding yet distant, with slow gestures, no speeches in between the song but at the same time once in a while reaching out for someone’s hand in the audience, the frontman plays with the crowd from start to beginning and is able to create a magical atmosphere, which then is supported by the songs. The TRELLDOM cover “Slave til en kommende natt” followed rather early, but the true highlight of the show was an original GAAHLS WYRD track “Carving The Voices”. After the momentum was built, the band surprised us with a couple of songs, only to end their set with “Exit – Through Carved Stones”. The classic makes sure the show ends in a perfect manner, these 45 minutes definitely were a highlight of the whole month.
Setlist
- Ghosts Invited
- Carving a Giant (Gorgoroth cover)
- Slave til en kommende natt (Trelldom cover)
- Ek Erilar
- Carving the Voices
- Høyt opp i dypet (Trelldom cover)
- From the Spear
- Alt Liv (God Seed cover)
- Through and Past and Past
- Exit – Through Carved Stones (Gorgoroth cover)
The crew quickly took over the stage and stripped it down from anything related to GAAHLS WYRD to make space for MAYHEM‘s production. A backdrop was raised displaying the cover of their brand new album “Daemon”, which definitely was also a great release this year. MAYHEM plays an important role in the history of the Norwegian black metal scene. The band’s history is interesting, to say the least. The debut album of the band “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas” is one of the most legendary black metal albums of all time, but after almost three decades, the intelligent “Daemon” is proof of how the band still hasn’t lost their skills over time. Supporting that statement is also their live show as MAYHEM plunged into “Falsified and Hated” from the new album, while a cloaked and masked Atilla took a central spot with his ominous presence, which is a huge contrast to the rest of the more minimalistic and static band, as the frontman often uses skulls, bones, crosses, and is wearing a priest-inspired outfit.
The setlist was divided into three parts, which dove into their oeuvre from 1984 up until now. Of course, there was a lot of attention to the new album, but other classics also filled up a fully-packed Tavastia. The newer tracks “Red Blood”, and “Worthless Abominations” were proof of how great the new album really is. After a short break, the band came back dressed in their black cloaks, and we all knew what time it was. The Norwegian black metal band soon started playing legendary songs such as “The Freezing Moon”, “Pagan Fears”, “Life Eternal”, and “Buried by Time and Dust” coming from their groundbreaking record “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”. The response to these songs was great.
The band took a little break and ended the evening with their third set of songs, which was mostly dedicated to their EP “Deathcrush”. Mask gone, Atilla growled through the remaining set of older material such as the title track, “Chainsaw Gutsfuck”, “Ancient Skin”, “Carnage”, and the climax, of course, being “Pure Fucking Armageddon”.
GAAHLS WYRD and MAYHEM definitely made up for a deadly combination. With precision, aggression and a lot of passion, the bands delivered great sets of songs for a sold-out Tavastia.
Setlist
ACT I
Falsified and Hated
To Daimonion
My Death
Malum
Bad Blood
Symbols of Bloodswords
A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun, Part II
Invoke the Oath
ACT II
Freezing Moon
Pagan Fears
Life Eternal
Buried by Time and Dust
ACT III
Intermission (Silvester Anfang)
Deathcrush
Chainsaw Gutsfuck
Ancient Skin
Carnage
Pure Fucking Armageddon
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[…] November has been a month packed with lots and lots of shows, one of the highlights of the month definitely was the fact that Tavastia hosted plenty of bands for black metal fans to enjoy, with the pinnacle of the evening MAYHEM. The legendary Norwegian black metal act invited GAAHLS WYRD as guests and GOST and VOODUS with them as support acts of the night. I was planning to attend the whole event, however, exhaustion hit me, and by mistake I went to the wrong venue, meaning that I was only able to make it in time for GAAHLS WYRD. Read our live report. […]