Photos and Review by Jeff Lasich
Back in November, when the package tour with Mayhem, Watain and Midnight was announced, I could hardly contain my excitement and couldn’t wait for the spring to come. But as usual, Watain got screwed at the list minute and were denied visas into the US to support their new record, The Agony and Ecstasy of Watain. This happened at the very last minute, so another band was not able to be added to the tour. But the show must go on, and it did.
The tour made a stop at The Roxian Theater in Pittsburgh on March 30. Playing first was the maniacs from Cleveland, Midnight. The band plays in executioner masks, which is only fitting since they killed during their set. Midnight play fast, dirty, sleazy metal similar to Motorhead or maybe Venom. Athenar and Commandor Vanik spent the 45 minute set running back and forth across the stage, jumping on amps and playing with the crowd. The band had the crowd fired up playing favorites like “Lust, Filth, and Sleaze,” as well as “Satanic Royalty” and “Evil Like a Knife.”
After a short break in the action, fog started to fill the stage and the lights got dark. Mayhem hit the stage for the first of a three act set. The stage set up was simple this time around. Last time I saw them, several pig heads adorned upside down metal crosses scattered across the stage. During the first act, singer Attila Csihar, clad in a robe and hood, haunted the stage like a phantom. His general presence was unnerving and unsettling. The first set was more recent records, including songs like “My Death, Malum” and “To Daimonion.” Act 2 had the band dressed in black hooded robes, playing songs of their debut record, De Mysteriis Dom Sathans.
Opening with “Freezing Moon,” the band also played “Pagan Fears,” “Life Eternal and Buried by Time and Dust.” Another short break brought the third act. For the final part of the show, the band removed their robes and hoods while playing in front of a giant backdrop sporting their classic logo. The act opened with “Deathcrush” and the final song of the night was “Pure Fucking Armageddon.” Although Watain was certainly missed this night, both other bands brought their A game, leaving everyone in attendance happy with the carnage they just witnessed.
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