Well, when did I first see Gorgoroth? 2007 maybe, 2008? Probably the scariest band I’ve ever seen right. Not so anymore, I actually think I shouldn’t have gone and kept the cash to see Midnight. And not because they weren’t good, they were. Hoest from Taake is one of the best black metal frontmen around, and as a replacement for Gaahl, I’m not sure if they’d find one more suitable. He was much more violent looking on stage too.
So why did it feel so lacklustre? Because Infernus looked like Jake the Snake in corpse-paint with a massive floppy handlebar moustache? No King ov Hell either but those other guys performance was spot on. No candelabra but that doesn’t suit Hoest’s performance, full of hatred and ugliness. Is it me? Have I just seen way more black metal now and the old school are looking old and tired.
Or is this more indicative of society as a whole? Where things that were once genuinely mysterious, occult and scary are now internet memes and joke videos. Reduced to make those who don’t get it laugh at it. Someone’s art, persona, aesthetic, grown over 31 years and gone from scary to silly, from genuine to indifference in the space of half that time. It happens to everyone. Kiss and the Crüe. It happened to Mayhem, Immortal and Gorgoroth. Age catches us, every winter adds up and here we are again. I need to stop waiting for anniversary shows and hit up the new bands again that cost £10 to see. AC/DC are touring again, £100.