2010 18
The Devil’s Blood – Wacken Open Air 08/08/2010
The Devil’s Blood are essentially the last band of the festival, appearing in the Wet stage at 2:00 AM. By then we are beyond exhaustion and into a semi- conscious, feverish state and the last thing I want to do is attend a gig. Fortunately for me, this may have been the best gig of the whole festival.
The Devil’s Blood are from Holland. They play what can loosely be called occult rock. It’s the kind of thing that Coven or Black Widow used to play in the late 60s, before Black Sabbath and Pentagram took it to another level. They also worship Roky Erikson and are reminiscent of a whole bunch of groups (from Jefferson Airplane to early Merciful Fate). It’s difficult to describe what they sound like. Basically, ethereal melodies are woven with Satanic lyrics (Oh, did I mention they are Satanists?). It would be the perfect soundtrack to a Polanski film- if Polanski ever attempted to film The Illuminatus Trilogy or anything for Hammer studios.
Not many people have come to see the band and the tent of the Wet Stage is barely half- full. The ones who are here though, know they are about to witness the best- kept secret of Wacken. The roadies place black and red candles on top of the amps and three backing singers take their place behind microphones. They are wearing black hoods and robes. Then, the lights are dimmed and the band comes out.
The two guitarists are naked to the waist and drenched in something that looks a lot like blood (Samhain- style). They flank the singer (her name is F The Mouth Of Satan apparently), who wears a lacy dress and is also covered in the red stuff. They start with Come Reap and River Of Gold and the guitar interplay is stunning. In fact, all the Black Mass Theatrics would be utterly ludicrous if not for the the music itself. The guitarists trade deads and complement F’s eerie voice. The discrepancy between the beautiful guitar harmonies and the macabre lyrics creates an eerie vibe and everyone in the crowd is entranced. The smoky, candle- lit atmosphere helps as well. Most people move to the groove, but I see some who have closed their eyes and sway back and forth with the music, mumbling to themselves. The ambience gets claustrophobic after a while.
As for the band, they play The Heavens Cry Out For The Devil’s Blood and seemlessly integrate it with The Four Horsemen, from Aphrodite’s Child’s awesome 666 album. Voodoo Dust is slowed down to a mesmerising crawl, like a prayer to Lucifer. They finish with Christ Or Cocaine and leave the stage in a wail of feedback. No encores. Bottom line, you really owe it to yourself to check this band out. They deserve to be huge.
Setlist:
1.Come Reap
2.River of Gold
3.The Heavens Cry Out For The Devil’s Blood
4.House of 10,000 Voices
5.Queen of My Burning Heart
6.Rake Your Nails Across the Firmament
7.Voodoo Dust
8.Christ or Cocaine
(-Dimitris Kontogiannis-)
All photos taken by -manoc- for CnB magazine
About the Author: CnB
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