Metal Mass – Mastiphal, Virophage
8th of May 2015
The Black Heart, London, UK
The Friday’s concert was for many a warm-up night before the next day’s festival, and the venue gathered a considerable number of black metal fans. London’s Virophage was actually a pleasant surprise of the evening. It takes a lot to impress me but the band certainly managed to keep me focused on the stage after 3-4 songs. The raw sound at first was a little bit bothersome for me and I was struggling to find any riffs but it did change quite suddenly All in all, I think Virophage acted as a worthy support for the mighty Mastiphal. The Polish black metal legend brought the proper annihilation that night! Serving Parvzya almost in its entirety, the band did not forget about classic anthems such as For a Glory… and Summoned Howling. Did anyone miss the keyboards? I didn’t… And I think it was great to hear the old material with the new heavier touch which gave it some extra character. The crowd immediately appreciated the atmosphere which resulted in a reasonably aggressive mosh-pit that made the Black Heart hot as hell. My personal favourite, Nihil Esse was the definite climax of the gig. The atmospheric beginning soon to be turned into the real black metal havoc – perfect live song. The band seemed to be very harmonious and Flauros’ characteristic vocals have made a lot of people contented. Finishing with the title track from their latest album, Mastiphal proved the inevitable strength and intensity of their music, surely making a lot of us remember that night for long. Now, let’s hope their new opus will be a perfect addition to their career with a lot of great concerts to come. That was certainly one of those.
THE GOAT TAVERN 