A Watain concert is always an extra sensorial experience that needs to be fully embraced with all your senses. The smell, the visuals and the music all create a portal through which one can travel into unknown dimensions far from this wretched world. On the the 7th of May Watain stopped in Budapest for the Hungarian leg of their “Agony and Ecstasy Over Europe Tour” and such a portal was opened in Barba Negra.
The bands chosen to open this special night in the land of the creators of “Anno Domini” and “Totális Metál“, as Erik well put it, were the Finns from Concrete Winds and the Swiss duo Bölzer. If I already saw the latter once, I did not know too much about Concrete Winds‘ albums as they have not been on my playlist regularly. So this was the best occasion for me to check them out, especially since two thirds of the band had played at some point in Vorum, a death metal band I highly appreciate (“Poisoned Void” kicks fucking ass!!)
When I arrived at the venue Concrete Winds have already started playing so I went in the front to watch them butcher the nerves of the audience. I was amazed by their musical skills, the inhuman speed the drummer slaughtered its kit with and by the surgical precision the two guitarist tortured their instruments. The band emanated sheer brutality and in this noise trepanation the absence of a bass guitar was hardly noticeable. It was definitely good to see them live and appreciate the way they do their craft, but for my taste this type of industrial mutilation is too devoid of any feelings. I am 100% sure that a younger version of me would have loved this audial massacre and would have bought the albums when they came out, but this actual version of me just enjoyed the show and that was it.
Waiting for the stage to be rearranged, I paid a small visit to the merch stand to supply myself with some Watain goodies before the Bölzer show. I’ve always been amazed by how well the band sounds as a duo, with only one guitar and the drums. Just as Concrete Winds, Bölzer does not have a bass player but that doesn’t affect their music in any way. KzR‘s vocals and guitar pretty much make up for the bass guitar and HzR (also in Antiversum) does a great job behind the drum kit. The stage was properly set for their performance, with lots of lights and fog that created a strange atmosphere during their setlist. Even if not a big fan, I understand why Bölzer is considered a force in the black/death metal underground and why their performances need not to be missed.
After almost an hour Bölzer ended their show and the change over started in order to reveal what was hidden on the stage: the great Temple of Ain, the black church of Satan. One week after the Pope’s visit in Budapest, Watain came to cleanse and purify the city with blood and fire and death. And this is literally what happened in the next 1 hours and 15 minutes.
Drenched in blood and covered in corpse paint, the 5 Swedes marched on stage while “Night Vision” played through the speakers. As Erik set fire to the ritual candles and to the inverted crosses flanking the stage, the band attacked the first track of the evening, the album opening “Ecstasies in Night Infinite“. What happened next was a pure night of black metal darkness and evil, with a band hungry for blood and violence.
I must say the playlist they made for this tour is one of the best they had in years, with some new tracks from the latest album and with lots of good stuff from their dark past, including some gems I personally haven’t witnessed live ever before, like the magnificent “Waters of Ain“. “The Howling” and “Serimosa” sound very good live and they fit perfectly together with the older tracks as well. (On a personal note I would love if at some point they’ll decide to play “Septentrion” too, that one is a killer song).
Despite a short technical issue with Pelle‘s guitar during “Towards the Sanctuary” which forced the band to cut the song in two, the sound and the overall performance were top class. Towards the end of the “Devil’s Blood” Erik came down from the stage and started to personally smear those in the front row with the holy blood he held in his chalice, before throwing the rest on the faces and clothes of those waiting for it. In the meantime on stage Alvaro took over the microphone and finished the last lines of the song in a manner that underlines the perfect coordination and symbiosis which exist between the band members.
After the classic and vicious “Malfeitor“, the weeping chords of “Water of Ain” begun, while Selim‘s voice floated over the audience from beyond the veil: “…The union without union, the center of nothingness, it’s the dimensionless everything. The moment of space time, when the space time itself becomes null and void, what could be perceived as death or chaos“. Hearing his voice again gave me goosebumps and while Watain started their final journey to Transylvania, deep down I was still somehow hoping to see Selim walk on stage and accompany them on guitar, like he’s done several times in the past. Unfortunately this did not happen in this plane but the way the band performed this amazing track will haunt me for a long time. Not only that Hampus is the right person to play this track, he’s also able to play Selim‘s final solo on an almost 1 to 1 scale, which is fucking incredible. When he started the solo and the final part of the track I just could not hold it anymore and started to weep with my eyes closed, while my spirit was flying through black portals far away in the universe. It is hard to describe what I felt in those moments, but I will never forget them as long as I live. Even now when I’m writing these lines, two days later, I still have the chills while remembering them. I have never witnessed this track live before and to be honest I never thought I will actually see it, so, even if I know they will probably not see this review, I want to thank Watain for including this amazing song in their setlist, as this one will always have a special place in my heart for so many reasons.
The show ended with the usual “XIII” outro during which Erik ritually extinguished the altar’s black candles and paid his homage to the gods and the audience. What an intense night that was! Watain is the best black metal band in the universe and those who don’t agree can fuck off. Hell Satan!
PS. No photos in this review, as I did not want to use the phone, I just wanted to drown in the moment.
Watain Setlist Barba Negra Budapest 2023 AB:
1. Night Vision
2. Ecstasies in Night Infinite
3. Legions of the Black Light
4. The Howling
5. Sworn to the Dark
6. Towards the Sanctuary
7. Serimosa
8. Devil’s Blood
9. Total Funeral
10. On Horns Impaled
11. Malfeitor
12. Waters of Ain
13. XIII – outro
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