Sabbat
23rd May 2018
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd, Photography by Mark Derricutt.
Last night it was as if the city itself knew that the apocalypse was approaching, the wind fierce and biting cold as the fans clad in black, many sporting impressive battle vests trooped towards the welcoming blackness of Auckland’s one and only Whammy! Bar. Once cocooned inside her four walls the disciples of metal prepared for the night that lay ahead of them; with three tremendous local bands and of course the mighty Sabbat bringing the night to a close, it promised to be an evening that would go down in local history.
Following the opening of the night by Extinction Campaign a death / thrash metal band based in Auckland it was the turn of the treacherously named Spiteful Urinator to take the stage. The D-Beat Punk four piece that hail from Hamilton were like getting kicked in the teeth and tasting that distinctive, slightly bitter taste of blood, the tip of your tongue poking at the cut and wanting to explore further… Harder than concrete and faster than a nosebleed they assaulted those in their presence, their vocalist Dane Bailey coming out into the audience to perform while bassist Tonamu Namioka almost struck fear into the heart of those who bore witness to his hallowed screams. Tracks such as ‘Maggots & Teeth’ and ‘Grip turns to Fist’ saw the audience bay for more, Spiteful Urinator not afraid to bring it crashing down upon their skulls. Finishing on ‘Hyperbole’ – they left the crowd on a high, adrenaline pumping through their veins, skin bristling. Some bands can just not be fully appreciated until seen live and Spiteful Urinator are one of them.
With lightning fast changeovers that ensured that the steadily building crowd were never left long in between fixes, Wellington’s own Bulletbelt soon took to the stage, their fans pressing in closer. Since re-formatting their line-up Bulletbelt have grown in strength, the addition of both Josh O’Brien and Scott Spatcher-Harrison having seemingly rejuvenated the band overall. A fact that was clearly evident when they supported Venom Inc. back in February. Once again Harrison arched himself over his mic, the ends of his long coat nipping at his heels as he and the rest of the band ripped through ‘Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live’ from their latest release Nine Centuries, an absolute triumph of an album. With each and every member on form, O’Brien in particular cutting a blazing path with his finger work tonight their set was promising to be yet another brilliant performance.
But then it happened.
Harrison announced that they were about to lay down some new material, fans cheering at the prospect of being some of the first to hear this new work, composed and written by this current line-up. First track up ‘The Voyager’ began with a throbbing bass line courtesy of Tim Mekalick, which over the top of were laid some hefty riffs that conjured up images of barren fields covered in fog, wild horses stampeding through, their hooves pounding the earth. The track continued to pick up the pace, Harrisons vocals rising up from the depths and winding themselves through, before a melodic and well placed breakdown saw Mekalick and O’Brien participate in some nice back to back dueling guitar work, before the song came to a triumphant end. Dedicating their second new song to the boys in Sabbat the title of the track; ‘Faster Than Death’ told you everything you needed to know (yes, it’s break-neck fast). One thing is for certain though – if this is just a taste, an aperitif if you will of what is to come, then fans should prepare themselves now, as Bulletbelt’s next album promises to be one of their very best yet! As Harrison encouraged the fans to get moving “I wanna see some action, you don’t go into Sabbat cold!” Bulletbelt laid down their final track for the evening; ‘Cloak the Night’ also from their latest album Nine Centuries closing the set out in pure death metal splendour as Harrison dramatically introduced it with a diaphanous whisper. Always a deeply gratifying experience watching this band perform live.
Bodies jostled for position, feet finding their placement and anchoring down, ready to hold against the mosh pit as the three members from Sabbat arrived on stage. While not a leather studded cod piece was to be seen – much to the disappointment of one particular fan – drummer Zorugelion was already shirtless and raring to play.
Formed in 1983, Sabbat originally began their career under the name of Evil before a line-up change prompted the name to be upgraded to Sabbat in 1984.With nine studio albums, and multitudes of EP’s, singles, split albums……and more Live Albums than you could shake a stick at, Sabbat have certainly done the rounds and carry with them an arsenal of work with which to entertain their fans. After a couple of false starts they launched themselves into their set completely and utterly, the fans repaying them by immediately creating a vortex of flesh and hair, punctuated by the occasional splash of ale. Spilling onto the stage several times the fans sorted themselves out until one particular shift saw a few punters land heavily, metal protocols kicking in and seeing members of the audience help eachother up while even Sabbat bassist Gezolucifer himself stopped to enquire if the punter was ok.
Continuing on and Gezolucifer delivered lyrics that possibly only the local canine population could hear, the sudden shift in pitch rather impressive to say the least. Dressed in silver and black Sabbat leggings Gezolucifer addressed the Auckland audience as “demons’, a term that they fully responded to both physically and vocally much to the delight of the bassist. On lead guitar Elizaveat was the epitome of laid back and chill; while his fingers burned along the frets like a dragster on a diesel soaked track, his demeanor remained one of calm, his eyes shielded behind a pair of classic aviators. Following a scorching version of ‘Witch Hammers’, Gezolucifer advised the audience that their next track would be more of an emotional one before the three piece laid down ‘Children of Hell’. Hilarity soon ensued as the band attempted to get ‘Hellfire’ off the ground, drummer Zorugelion messing up the beat and causing Gezolucifer to spin around and yell ‘Fuck you, Fuck you, Fuck you’ while laughing, before addressing the audience and telling them “sometimes we mess up, don’t worry”; Zorugelion standing up and bowing to the audience in supplication a slightly brazen grin on his face.
While Sabbat like to fuse together many different styles of metal the audience were also treated to some swaggering rock n roll as Elizaveat killed some time on his guitar while Gezolucifer adjusted his pedals, Zorugelion picking up on the vibe and joining in. “Auckland demons! Brothers of Auckland Demons! C’mon!” Gezolucifer howled, the audience returning the call with impassioned screams and raised goats. Speaking of how Sabbat incorporates varying genres of metal including black, death, speed thrash and prog they laid down before the crowd ‘Samurai Zombies’ perfectly illustrating the fact. “I hope you are happy” Gezolucifer asked the audience, the grins on their faces and raucous cheering a universal answer in any language.
Some audience participation for ‘Darkness and Evil’ – “I say Darkness you say Evil” was yet another chance for the fans to raise the voices in appreciation of the legends before them before ‘Black Fire’ finished the show. Whispers quickly raced around the audience, as Sabbat began to pack their gear, the words “Heavy Metal Samurai’ permeating the air. While Gezolucifer and Elizaveat at first looked to pay no heed, Zorugelion became the catalyst for what was for many an experience they never thought they would see in Auckland on a Wednesday night; Sabbat delivering a cover of ‘Heavy Metal Samurai’ by Metalucifer the side project of Gezolucifer himself.
With the witching hour nearly upon them the Auckland demons ventured forth into the night air, their appetite well and truly sated.
Sabbat:
Bulletbelt:
Spiteful Urinator:
Extinction Campaign:
Were you there at Whammy! Bar to witness these Japanese Black Metal legends? Or have you seen Sabbat perform somewhere else before during their long career? Tell me about it in the comments below!