On the back of his latest album Ámr and after playing over east with the likes of Belphegor and Revocation, Ihsahn brought his band to Perth for a chilly Tuesday night of heavy metal and proggy tunes. It’s wasn’t quite as cold as the northerners would be used to, but certainly enough for many Perthites to put on their winter best.
I might as well get the negatives out up front (don’t worry, it’ll get positive in the next paragraph). Arriving at Amplifier Bar, we were greeted by the customary smell of raw sewage permeating the place. Needing to use the bathroom, I discovered they hadn’t technically run out of toilet paper. Hey, it can’t run out if it hasn’t been stocked in the first place. Maybe this was their attempt to prevent the drains from backing up more. In fact, the whole place was so dirty I’m glad I’d updated my vaccinations that day. Seriously though, if there’s one venue that needs a visit from the building inspectors, it’s Amplifier.
Thankfully the faults of the location didn’t reflect on the bands themselves. First up was Bolt Gun, one of Perth’s more ambient acts. I couldn’t help but notice the gong they brought with them, which certainly got put to good use. They only played one 30 minute song, but man what a song! Starting with pulsating synth increasing in intensity, they steadily added further instruments through the first few minutes. First drums, then guitar, then bass, then the occasional vocals. It’s not often you can use words like “movements” and “crescendos” when describing a local band, but it feels great when you can. Their set was like being enveloped in the waves of the ocean and I hope I can see much more of them in future.
As the venue really began to fill up, the sound of church bells flooded the room and Snorri entered the stage. Dressed in leather jackets, hoodies and bandanas covering their faces, they blistered through a great set of black metal. You could definitely hear the influences from Ihsahn’s early Emperor work, as Snorri had an especially raw sound reminiscent of those early bedroom recordings of the 90s. I sneaked a glimpse of their setlist and couldn’t help but notice that for their final number they had the ambiguous stage instruction “detonate explosive”. Thankfully that didn’t happen and they finished their set without incident. I’d heard great things about these guys before I saw them and they didn’t disappoint. Check them out if you like your atmospheric black metal.
After I’d made a quick stop at the pub down the road to go to the bathroom (seriously Amplifier Bar, get your literal shit together), Ihsahn took to the stage and began to completely blow my mind. They started the proceedings with “Lend Me The Eyes Of Millennia” off the new album, immediately blasting me with a wall of sound. I hadn’t heard much of Ihsahn’s music before tonight and I was certainly missing out. My first exposure to the band was on the Eremita album, which was a much proggier affair, so I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer brutality of many of the songs performed that night. Much of the setlist was off the latest album Ámr, but the band did perform songs going right back to classic Emperor like “Thus Spake The Nightspirit”.
Something that struck me as odd was that they didn’t have a dedicated bass player, but it didn’t seem to matter too much. They still covered the bottom end, using guitars with eleventy strings that might as well have been basses and guitars. Overall I can happily say that they achieved musical perfection. I didn’t hear a single bum note or anything. If there was one thing I might mention is that Ihsahn’s voice sounded a little strained, but that wasn’t all that bad really. Certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying the hell out of their set. As I was listening to the last two songs of the night I wondered what instrument I could hear playing. To my delight it was a series of amazing saxophone solos. What a fantastic way to finish off the night! Every band needs sax solos! I need more sax!
I would absolutely call the night a success. I’m a bit sad there was no Hahn Superdry at the bar so I couldn’t make my amazing pun Is-Hahn-Superdry, which I’m quite proud of. This is but a minor point though and I really hope that Ihsahn can make it back to Perth sooner rather than later. Hopefully in a better venue worthy of the band.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Tammie Molotov – Molotov Enterprises & Photography
