Review by: Iain McLure
Wolvesrot – (U.K)
Opening the night at Audio in Glasgow are Scotland’s own Wolvesrot. On the night the message got around it was to be an early start for the gig. Doors at 18:30 and Wolvesrot hitting the stage at 18:45. An odd choice since the venue’s bar licence was only valid from 19:00? This is probably more a council problem than with the venue but still confusing getting in punters early then telling them to wait until the first band is most of the way through their set before you can buy a beer.
Wolvesrot set didn’t disappoint though, the sound was amazing (as it was for all the bands. Well done sound engineer[s]) and I was particularly fond of the kick drum trigger sound – clicky but not too obnoxious and deep but held its own in the mix for faster passages. +1 for sound again.
The whole band was tight but tonight the drummers were the stars of the show, particularly Wolesrot’s two-footed blast technique that was spot on for their whole set.
I felt the show was almost channeling a performance like something that Dissection would be playing if they were still around today. My only critique is there wasn’t any banter before/in-between songs and not even a thank-you post set. After only a 20 or max 25 minute set, the crowd were left wanting more and thinking there was more once the last song ended. If a band is in full corpse-paint, character, stage-persona mode when playing and not wanting to say thankyou or engage the crowd, I’m all for that when it works. But, when opening at 18:45 and wearing jeans and t-shirts, a quick “Cheers, We’re Wolvesrot, have a good night, this is our last song” can go a long way.
https://www.facebook.com/Wolvesrot
https://www.instagram.com/wolvesrot
https://wolvesrot.bandcamp.com/album/demo
Ante-Inferno (U.K)
Continuing the masterclass that was the drums for the night, Scarborough’s Ante-Inferno were next to a near full-house. Having seen Ante-Inferno a few times now I had a feeling they were going to be my favourite of the night and they didn’t let me down. Candelabras and incense set the tone as their intro track rang out through the club that the atmosphere was about to change for the worse/better?
Near perfect sound for a small club like Audio (fast becoming a favourite venue this year) is an achievement alone whereas the tightness of the performance and the drum sound again, winning points with me. Their vocal style is a big favourite of mine and particularly the pained/wailing that’s used throughout I’ve become very fond of in recent times.
Lighting was on point for the night (well done road crew/venue) and the use of minimal colours for the set, basically only white & strobes in blasts, was a classy touch. Who doesn’t enjoy a shit-ton of smoke, blast beats and some strobe on a Saturday night?
My favourite performance of the night, I’ve been waiting since ‘Death’s Soliloquy’ came out in November to see many of the tracks live and tonight I had my fill.
4.7 Candelabras 🕯️ out of 5.
https://www.facebook.com/ANTEINFERNO
https://www.instagram.com/anteinferno
https://ante-inferno.bandcamp.com
Ultha (Germany)
Now speaking of smoke……Ultha had A LOT of fog! Taking the stage with a towering presence, Ultha Vocalist/Guitar ‘R’ asks ‘Should I call you chavs?’ to a rapture of ‘Noooo’ from the crowd. Obviously, a nice joke from someone on the road with them as it is not a term of endearment for the UK public exactly. Carrying on R states that they will ‘be playing 5 songs, this takes 55 minutes. Enjoy’.
With that Ultha launched into a set of perfectly executed contemporary black metal, as they define it. By this time the room was fully warmed up and with spot-on sound again, Ultha’s first time in Scotland was definitely something for them to remember and be proud of.
Another flawless set thundered out of Audio’s impressive PA to cheers and applause of Glasgow’s black metal faithful.
Highlight for myself was their third track, ‘Dispel’ as I just can’t get enough of the clean tremolo picked intro/outro and hearing it live was a life-changing experience for me as a guitarist.
Purely red lighting for the whole set with no lighting changes is a bold move but it paid off for Ultha as they were able to show why they are a headlining band and let the music and atmosphere do the talking. A solid 5 minutes of pure tremolo picking and blast-beats had my arms getting tired just watching and listening. As the night concluded and the lights dimmed one last time, shouts for 1 more song could be heard but we had already been told there was 5 songs to be played and we had heard 5 songs.
4 red lights 🚨 out of 5.
https://www.facebook.com/templeofultha
https://www.instagram.com/ultha_youexistfornothing
https://ultha.bandcamp.com