VESTINDIEN AND MADDER MORTEM – 30.07.2024 – BERGEN

The ever-reliable purveyors of quality music known as Dark Essence Records, one of the world’s premier metal-related labels, are not merely a lovely bunch of people; they also have a knack for organizing some incredibly interesting gigs in the city center of Bergen from time to time. A perfect example of what I am referring to occurred last night when the two excellent albeit musically different acts that are Vestindien and Madder Mortem paid the venue named Stereo a visit. The whole thing was marketed as a Beyond the Gates warm-up show and that worked like a frigging charm as the turnout was rather impressive. On a slightly irrelevant note, I quite like Stereo and always have a great time whenever I attend concerts there, but let us get back on track and briefly discuss how the two talented groups fared, shall we?

Vestindien went on stage a little after 8 PM and played a concise, hard-hitting, and deeply atmospheric set that lasted for approximately 35 minutes – a gloriously dark and mesmerizing 35 minutes, I might add. There is nothing contrived about what these gentlemen do nor how they go about things. Their two full-length albums are flawless and passionate strokes of musical genius with a caustic edge to them, and it was brilliant to experience songs from NULL and Verdande in last night’s gloomy setting. The living candles, the raw and unpolished sound, the harsh and claustrophobic nature of the compositions, how the invigorating spite of the studio outputs was conjured up and spat forth – everything simply came together, and they certainly kept me engaged throughout. As I said to Bjørnar E. Nilsen (Vulture Industries) after the show, it was more black metal than black metal with respect to how they managed to evoke that unmistakably thick, massive, and overpowering feeling of suffocating darkness of their LPs and then channel it into their performance in such an authentic and convincing manner. It was just a really cool and memorable experience that left me wanting for more. The highlight of the whole evening was “Humus” – no question about it!

Madder Mortem have always been a fascinating and beguiling listen, but I personally consider their last few outputs, namely Red in Tooth and Claw, Marrow, and Old Eyes, New Heart, their best and most outstanding creative offerings, so I could not have been happier when they decided to air some of their newest material last night. A few classic cuts from the melancholy past were thrown into the pot too, which made for a varied and delightfully unpredictable set, and the skilled ensemble churned out every single note with gusto, fervor, and unfiltered devotion. The sound was rather murky at times and some of the instruments lacked a bit of definition and clarity from time to time, but when such well-written and emotionally charged tunes as the catchy “Unity” and the thunderous “Towers” roared out of the speakers everything was gelling, and everyone was reveling in the vigor of their charismatic brand of prog-esque metal. Other gems included “The Head That Wears the Crown,” “Cold Hard Rain,” “Master Tongue,” and the crowd-pleasing “Jigsaw (the Pattern and the Puzzle).” Tightly executed and right on the money, Madder Mortem made sure everyone walked away smiling knowing they had been in the company of two superb bands who delivered the goods and stirred the emotions.

https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/

https://maddermortem.bandcamp.com/album/old-eyes-new-heart