LIVE REVIEW: Sojourner & Havukruunu @ Rebellion, Manchester

The nights are drawing in and the temperatures are dropping, winter is nearly here. Which means one thing for music fans; the hectic winter touring block is beginning to hit full stride. Operating as a co-headlining package, SOJOURNER and HAVUKRUUNU arrive at Rebellion in Manchester, with their respective brands of black metal the perfect soundtrack to the chilly northern climate.

Whilst tonight’s co-headliners atmospheric and melodic approach to black metal may not be the most aggressive and ear-piercing noise the genre has to offer, as the first band on the bill, and easily the heaviest of the four bands playing tonight, local outfit BURIAL are in razor-sharp form as their opening set injects bouts of adrenaline from the first note to the last. Quick with blunt, northern banter in between songs, the band let their music do the talking and the result is audibly explosive. Hefty riffs flowing in top gear are the order of the day here and Derek Carley‘s vicious snarls are laced with venom, adding a sense of gritty rawness to their blackened death metal aural assault. The only sombre moment of the set comes as Carley dedicates Satanic Immolation to Mike Woods, the former EXXXEKUTIONER and HEAVY SENTENCE guitarist whose tragic passing surfaced in the week of the show. It’s a fitting tribute to a figure that lit up the Mancunian metal scene and demonstrates the impact Woods had on this community as fists, pints and devil horns are raised in tribute. A fitting reflection on the community-driven local scene, something which BURIAL are very much cemented in.

Rating: 7/10

NECRONAUTICAL have been going from strength to strength as of late. Having delivered the goods with their third full-length release Apotheosis, released back in August, tonight’s apparition marks the first time the quartet are performing material from their latest record and it helps propel the band’s live impact to even greater heights than before. Slotting in organically with their back catalogue, their set feels fresh and exciting with the new material drawing some of the best reactions from the crowd. But, as strong as the material itself is, it is in fact the band’s ability to not only replicate their studio recordings in a live setting, but to deliver them in such an emphatic fashion that makes for the biggest talking point. Donned in matching uniforms and corpsepaint, keeping true to the black metal aesthetic, Slugh‘s commanding performance of the drums keeps the pace flowing with bassist Anchorite whilst Carcarrion and Naut provide ample bite with their frost-bitten riffing. Naut himself is a born performer, with his shrieks and howls never losing their voice in the chaotic mix and his ability to command a room full of people with alluring stage presence is nothing short of commendable. It’s a real statement of intent from NECRONAUTICAL and judging from their live efforts, as well as the warm reception to their new material, it looks like their trajectory is only going to be upwards.

Rating: 8/10

Credit where it’s due, the logistics of SOJOURNER performing live in a beast that many bands will never have to face. Given that their multi-national personnel spans numerous countries, which is fine for recording and releasing studio output thanks to an inter-connected digital world, live is a whole different challenge itself. After making their debut live outing at last year’s pre-show for North of the Wall Festival in Scotland, tonight’s co-headlining performance feels much more refined and therefore much more successful. Whilst last year’s debut at North of the Wall felt jaded and inexperienced in places, Manchester is blessed to witness a tight and spell-binding performance. Largely, this is down to the band themselves as the outfit has been refined from eight to five, and the band benefit from this to a great extent.

The riffs hit harder and are more streamlined, Emilio Crespo‘s leading growls are commanding and given enough room to breathe alongside his bandmates’ complex atmospherics and the twin guitar passages from Mike Lamb and Chloe Bray dance harmoniously in the mix. Speaking of Bray, her guitar-playing was impressive enough, but where she truly shone was with her vocal deliveries. Operating as the perfect counter to Crespo‘s harsh deliveries and the way in which she composed herself on stage was utterly angelic. Whilst it was perhaps disappointing that the folkier instrumentation resorted to being projected through a backing track, what it allowed was for SOJOURNER to present a much more precise performance on stage. And given their tightness as a unit, it bodes well for their future on the live front.

Rating: 8/10

And so it falls to HAVUKRUUNU to close proceedings. The Finnish quartet have been bubbling away in the black metal underground for some time now and whilst it was perhaps surprising that they would be the last band on the bill over SOJOURNER, the band squash any lingering doubts through a compact and commanding performance.

Covering a wealth of material across their two studio releases, 2015’s Havulinnaan and 2017’s Kelle Surut Soi, the band’s melodic leaning black metal worked an absolute treat in the live setting. Fill-in drummer Atte, who stepped in replace Kostajainen who was unable to travel for the tour, gave a resounding performance behind the kit, never breaking stride in the ebb and flow of their rhythm whilst guitarist Henkka, bassist Sinisalo and guitarist/frontman Stefan operated a three-pronged assault with epic riffing acting as the backbone to their live sound. Stefan himself impressed with his dual duties of combining with fellow guitarist Henkka and his leading vocals switched from Pagan-esque chants to razor-sharp snarls as easy as a snap of the fingers. With dynamic tempo changes from fast-flowing chaos to whimsical and haunting immersion, the band forged and delivered a soundscape that whisked you away to the cold Arctic darkness. And despite running way over the allotted curfew time, HAVUKRUUNU gave a solid performance, one in which ensured the evening ended with a flourish.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Manchester from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here: