LIVE REVIEW: Hulder @ The Cathouse, Glasgow

The gift and curse of modernity these days is that there are infinite bands to discover, especially in the black metal subterranean. With the lure of visually noisy bands climbing to the top of the pile thanks to social media, it’s too easy to become cynically jaded into thinking the most popular new acts to ascend to the top are style over substance. It can certainly be debated that black metal in particular seems to have stagnated into a creative block. Yet if you can’t do something brand new, do something older very well. This is where HULDER fits in.

One could argue being a one-woman black metal band affords her attention other typical black metal acts wouldn’t fetch, but her talents absolutely justify her underground popularity, and are demonstrably the reason for a lot of her success. Formed in 2018 and with two demos, two albums and two EPs to her name, HULDER engineers second wave black metal with more complex and dynamic riffs with modern arrangements. Tonight, she bestows The Cathouse with Glasgow’s first live show of hers.

Glasgow’s BRÒNACH are a new black metal trio armed with a demo of traditional, raw black metal. Unfortunately for them, immediately The Cathouse‘s sound is unmerciful, and the bass is too heavy in the mix, masking the guitar and leaving the music submerged in an amorphous sludge. It’s a pity as the music is pregnant with intrigue: there’s an arsenal of icy guitar leads, miserable moods and ballsy aggression. They may not be reinventing the wheel, but pairing classic black metal tones with modern arrangements works for this live show.

Bedecked in corpsepaint and with the fragrance of incense thick in the air (undoubtedly an improvement on the stench that would linger without it), there’s a focus on orthodox black metal tropes, strengthened by the music. A cover of NECROPHOBIC‘s Nailing the Holy One beefs up their set given their short discography and keeps hold of attention. The sound quality inches upwards slightly as the set progresses, but overall, it’s still suboptimal. Nonetheless, the punters are supportive of the home-based support and pledge a solid ovation.

Rating: 7/10

The Cathouse is busy in anticipation of HULDER‘s debut Scottish show. The eponymous frontwoman and her backing band take the stage to an ethereal intro of The Offering. This leads into the ferocious Cast Into The Well Of Remembrance, scathing black metal accompanied by taped atmospheric keyboards. Her style is self-described as dark medieval black metal, paying homage to the likes of older music from SATYRICON, ULVER, and IMMORTAL. Her riffs are more complex and better arranged than others trotting down this beaten track. Plus, the addition of addictive dungeon synth makes the music even more memorable. It’s evident why she is now signed to heavyweight underground metal label 20 Buck Spin.

The sound improved for the Belgian-American, imbuing her compositions with dagger-sharp clarity. Pairing lightly folk-tinged black metal with gothic motivations, namely her singing voice and haunting keyboards, deposits an evocative atmosphere into the venue and really takes off live. The only one in her lineup donning corpsepaint, she effortlessly shifts between singing and her deep growls while wielding her guitar.

This year, she released her sophomore album Verses In Oath, and incorporates most of the songs into tonight’s set. Particular highlights are Veil Of Penitence, Enchanted Steel, Hearken The End and the title track. Her rawer debut album Godslastering: Hymns Of A Forlorn Peasantry is represented with the likes of the prime cuts Hymns Of A Forlorn Peasantry, Purgations Of Bodily Corruptions and Sown In Barren Soil. The crowd seems very reserved for an extreme metal audience; perhaps surprisingly for this city, there are no mosh pits, no noisy screaming and not even much headbanging. Each song is wrapped by encouraging applause though; maybe the attendees are just enthralled by the headliner. The closing song Vessel Of Suffering unleashes HULDER‘s scathing and multi-dimensional atmospherics one last time before forcing us out into the cold weekend.

This was a storm of a show and a rare live experience on these shores. Here’s hoping Glasgow remains a permanent fixture to any of HULDER‘s European sojourns.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Glasgow from Duncan McCall here: 

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