LIVE REVIEW: Gaerea @ The Star & Garter, Manchester

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, there were few things to be optimistic about. The world as we knew it had ground to a halt, live music had evaporated and there was a surging anxiety towards an uncertain future. However, if there can be any positives to take away from that abysmal year was that metal continued to produce albums of jaw-dropping quality. Portugal’s GAEREA are on such band as 2020’s Limbo set the extreme metal world into a frenzy. Now, approaching two years since that record’s release, the band finally grace UK shores to present their craft live in the flesh. And the resulting performance at The Star & Garter in Manchester is simply jaw-dropping.

Before that though, GOSPELHEIM take to the confined stage and there’s a healthy sized crowd awaiting these hometown blackened rockers. With a reshaped lineup following the rightful dismissal of drummer John Badger, the quarter do more than a acceptable job of whipping up the crowd thanks to a amalgamation of blackened elements and traditional heavy metal. The dual guitar-play is devilishly cool and the rhythm swings organically from the first note to the last. A fine opening set indeed.

Rating: 8/10

Fellow Mancunians WODE enjoyed a surge in popularity following last year’s Burn In Many Mirrors and coming on the back of last year’s appearances at Damnation Festival and a resounding hometown show at this very venue, their supporting slot to GAEREA only bolsters their stock. And just as water is wet, the band do not disappoint. Cuts from last year’s record sound as primal as they are calculated, with the likes of Lunar Madness and Vanish Beneath not only being expertly dispatched, thanks to a flurry of blastbeats and precise riffing, but are met with rapturous adoration from the now densely packed crowd. The sound is razor-sharp, with each element of the band allowing room to shine with M.C‘s vocals in particular cutting through the mix with the utmost authority. It feels like we are on the precipice of something truly remarkable with WODE, the extreme metal world is theirs for the taking.

Rating: 9/10

Given the quality of what came before, for lesser bands they might experience a wilt under the spotlight but GAEREA are quite simply out of this world. Masked and anonymous, they skulk to the stage (now washed alight with the house lights, a feature that remains throughout their set) and from the first ominous tones of opener Conspiranoia emerge, you just get the feeling you are about to witness something special.

From there, what follows flashes in a blur. Conjuring an aural descent into the abyss, the band are simply relentless. Wave upon wave of caustic riffing, booming blastbeats, venomous vocal snarls and eerily choral chants parallels the piercing light of the aforementioned house lights and the packed crowd are transfixed. Material from Limbo sounds even more remarkable in the live setting, with Glare and Null being particular highlights, and any doubts of the band’s enormous soundscapes being suffocated in such an intimate environment was resoundingly squashed as the mix was tuned to perfection. In a performance of little respite and with the immersion never broke for a moment, GAEREA are simply astonishing. Black metal has the ability to transfix and push the boundaries of contemporary performance, this Portuguese quartet achieved that and then some. Truly sensational.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Jacob Kazara Photography here: 

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