GIG REVIEW: Cataleptic Rites @ The Dome (London, UK)

Cataleptic Rites is a festival blending Black Metal, Death Metal and Doom Metal with a lineup that shares a ritualistic sound of pure Extreme Metal malevolence and occult atmospherics. This promises to be an interesting event to say the least. With a pre-show on Friday before the all-dayer on Saturday, I will be sharing my experience of the entire festival.

Friday 21st February

Deitus start off the weekend, blasting in with a ferocious half hour of mighty Blackened Death Metal, blending dissonance with traditional brutality to set the festival going with a storming first assault.

Misthyrming decimate with their astonishing blend of melodically violent riffing and intricate brilliance that glistens in a manner that captivated the whole room in an aura of pure Black Metal magnificence. A beautiful set of their best material played astonishingly. The sheer complexity of their material requires huge levels of skill to perform, skill that these Icelandic madmen clearly possess.

Svartidaudi bring a twisted close to the Friday night. Obliterating drums and convulsing riff dissonance along with howling vocals delivers the black flame of Svartidaudi in all of its might, dropping a hammer of crushing sonic annihilation upon the crowd. A set filled with whiplash groove and punctual musical extremities that were utterly awe-inspiring. Savage, energetic, mystical and chaotic, a perfect follow-up to Misthyrming that showcases true Icelandic excellency with more to come the following day.

Saturday 22nd February

Abduction sets Saturday off to a visceral start with punishing instrumental onslaughts, ferocious atmospherics and howling dissonance. Blending total destruction with eerie soundscapes, the tone has been set and that tone is destruction, chaos and macabre ambience.

Drottinn soar into a scolding Death Metal ritual with harshly discordant progressions and might hammers drums to conjure a crushing assault of morbid insanity with the signature Icelandic intricacies clearly present in their twisted brand of extremity. Creeping through a set of utterly depraved music with precision and endless drive. Drottinn are a band to keep an eye on.

Andavald bring an ethereal state of hypnosis to the crown with their otherworldly blend of melancholy and piercingly furious riffs that blend Black Metal with something totally unique and otherworldly. Anyone who has read my review of their debut record will know how much I adore this band and they do not disappoint with their discordant and sombre performance of blistering magnificence. This has to be one of the most intensely anguishing experiences of the weekend which is no easy feat as part of such a killer lineup.

Dread Sovereign slow things down with a drudge through gorgeously fuzzy, traditional Doom Metal with a blaze of riffs and some marvellous drum work backing up a slew of hauntingly sombre vocals. This performance may seem to stand out on a strange lineup like this one but Dread Sovereign do not falter in giving the first doomy installment of ritualist Heavy Metal excellence.

Nornahetta delve back into disturbing soundscapes with a profoundly odd performance of somewhat industrial tinged Extreme Metal that shook the room with a forcefully percussive sound. Scathing and abrasive, this had the atmospherics but also the unhinged madness that was anticipated. A remarkably unnatural show of contorting, estranged, percussive brilliance indeed.

Saturnalia Temple take us back into stomping doomy fuzz and psychedelic madness with a monolithically heavy, booming set of pure magnificence. The sound of the band is totally crushing with an incredibly dense wall of instrumentals churning out vibrant grooves entwined with a chilling vocal performance. With their new material being weirder than ever, this set felt out of this world with plenty of the bands more known material for good measure.

Wolvennest are simply transcendent. Their blend of otherworldly psychedelia and Heavy Metal is impossible to even summarise, as is their live performing skills with a haunting array of mind-bending instrumentation that is as chilling as it is almost incomprehensible. If ever a band was able to put a whole room of people in a trance like no other, Wolvennest are the band to do it. Gorgeous, sublime and spectral, true sonic prowess takes an hour long journey of ethereally grandiose soundscapes.

Vemod closed the night with an ensnaring assault of Atmospheric Black Metal that was gorgeously trance-inducing with ferocious riffs and blastbeats but with an equally impressive display of melody and ambience. The icy reverberations from their set closed the festival with grace and skill to be remembered. An ecstatically brilliant performance to end such a unique festival of ritualistic treats from the obscured side of Heavy Metal.