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Abbath Brings Out Immortal Classics In Camden With Fierce Support From Hellripper

It must be a fine line when embarking on a solo career, or at least launching an eponymous band. While as an artist one strives to explore their talent, or simply write music they themselves want to hear, there will always be fans who want to hear material from your previous endeavours. Abbath Doom Occulta, is a prime example of this quandary. On one hand, his three albums under the Abbath name have all been excellent, with plenty to get excited about and new songs that have thrilled fans old and new, but on the other, he made his name, and indeed his image, as the iconic frontman of black metal legends Immortal. This Summer, Abbath launched a tour of Europe with something a little different in mind; "Return To The Raven Realm," sets which consisted entirely of Immortal songs and Metal Underground was there in London to catch this interesting presentation.

Taking place in the Electric Ballroom, probably my favourite of the venues located right near the tube station, fans were queuing up for quite a while in anticipation, swapping stories of other gigs they'd been to and so forth. When the doors opened, the black metal horde poured in where they were soon greeted by perhaps one of the best suited support acts I've ever seen. Much has been made about Hellripper, the blackened speed metal band masterminded by Scottish musician James McBain, but to my shame, this would be my first time really listening to them. Abbath has never shied away from his influences, particularly Motorhead, and so it was very apt that opening the evening there was a band which took as much from the punk aggression of Discharge as they did the blackness of Bathory.

There were plenty of Hellripper fans in attendance, and plenty more after only a song or two, because they were absolutely superb! Kicking off with "All Hail The Goat," (which a latecomer would repeatedly scream for them to play later,) it was clear immediately that they were going to be a lot of fun. The enjoyment continued with songs like "Nekroslut," "Goat Vomit Nightmare" and "From Hell," which all cut through the crowd like a knife through butter. The band are often compared to Midnight for a few reasons and hearing these songs, it's definitely easy to spot their similarities, although both travel similar roads, each arrives at their destination. This was an absolutely exhilarating performance helped all the more by tracks such as "Nunfucking Armageddon 666" and "Bastard Of Hades," before they closed with "Headless Angels," and I can't wait to see them again!

Hellripper would be a hard act to follow for any band, but fans needn't have worried as Abbath and his co-conspirators bounded on stage and launched into the familiar notes of "Sons Of Northern Darkness," the first of many old favourites to be brought out tonight. Straight away, the audience is struck by the presence of Abbath. His image is one of the most recognisable in black metal and clad in armour and other such garb, plus he's not afraid of pulling a few of the faces that have made him so endearing to metal fans the world over. His voice is also unmistakable, almost frog-like in his delivery, including when he talks to the crowd in between songs, which can make him a little difficult to understand, but it's still part of his charm.

As this was a set filled with classics, practically every song received a great reception tonight, with some personal highlights including "One By One" and "All Shall Fall," the latter of which being the title track of the final Immortal album that Abbath appeared on. Elsewhere, staples like "The Sun No Longer Rises" and "The Call Of The Wintermoon" filled the air with as much vigor as they've ever had, which in turn creates a brilliant atmosphere, conjuring up ideas of Blashyrkh, the frostbitten land created by Immortal and the subject of most of their music. As you might have expected, it was the namesake song, "Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark,)" that closed the show, which at twelve songs did feel a little short but nonetheless, they packed a hell of a punch in the time they had. This was a great celebration of past achievements and a reminder of just how much of an impact Immortal had on black metal music itself and I'd certainly recommend this experience, though next time I hope to be hearing some of the newer classics Abbath has penned over the last nine years.