On Monday evening, the Norwegian black metal legend Abbath filled the Viennese scene to capacity. But the direct comparison between the past and the present makes it clear – the fat years are over. The 50-year-old has been moving in circles for some time now.
History repeats itself time and time again. Best childhood friends share a common hobby, form a band and eventually become successful. You ride this wave of success. Over the years, the young people who see the old pioneers as their idols and emulate them come along. At some point, cracks begin to appear in what were once best childhood friends. The reasons are varied. Fame, limelight, drugs, alcohol, envy – you can mix and match the terms and a direct hit is guaranteed. What is the case in the large pop and rock sector does not stop at the popular subgenre of black metal. In this case, the two protagonists are Abbath and Demonaz, who shared a total of three bands over a period of almost 30 years, celebrated respectable success around the globe with one (Immortal) and even became a family through marriage. What remains are deep rifts, a divorce, animosity and separate projects, which of course don’t come close to the great things they did together. Good CVDemonaz, who is years older than him, hasn’t written as many good songs as his old friend, but has kept the band name. Abbath took the majority of the audience with him and founded his solo project of the same name in 2015, in which he used countless musicians, went through various alcohol setbacks and personal crises and released three albums that do not go beyond the rating of “good class”. The appearance in the completely sold-out Viennese scene is the 32nd day on tour – no problem for a 50-year-old who has lived at least three normal lives with his rock star behavior. With an experienced but not outstanding team, he takes the stage for almost 75 minutes and turns a spring-like winter Monday into the El Dorado of the week for many fans. The scene pioneer from picturesque Bergen has to contend with all sorts of problems. The sound this evening is completely overdriven and loud; it is only towards the middle of the set that one recognizes instrumental nuances that are not unimportant for the fine playing. Abbath solo songs like “Dread Reaver”, “Ashes Of The Damned” or “Acid Haze” may strike a chord with younger fans, but they are just a cheap imitation of successful Immortal songs like “In My Kingdom Cold” or “Beyond The North”. Waves”, whose magic can still be experienced even through the muffled sound. After more than 30 years in the business, Abbath is gradually running out of creative steam and this evening the frontman lives more from his biting humor and friendly charisma than from the songs he performs. As he gets older, he becomes more like his great KISS idol, Gene Simmons, and his pointed tongue often flicks out in a frivolous manner. When he’s not riffing or soloing, he mumbles a few humorous announcements and thanks the enthusiastic Viennese in German. In addition to the set list, the steps and insults also seem rehearsed and choreographed. Private tragedy With the striking corpse paint and the programmatic armor, Abbath plays his way through the evening in a routine manner, the big highlights, surprises or memorable moments are left out, at least today. Things get more emotional at the merch table, where Abbath’s team kindly put out a condolence book for his mother, who died during the tour, in which numerous fans from all over Europe wrote with some heartfelt messages. After the tour, the band leader, who refuses to use social media, can deal with the greetings and well-meaning slogans of perseverance from his followers and hopefully also find the appropriate time to mourn. Except for a Poland show that clashed with his mother’s funeral, Abbath didn’t cancel any gigs. The Show Must Go On. In this respect, too, he is now closer to Gene Simmons than ever before. For the tour’s supporting program, the Norwegian did not choose similar make-up pot combos from his area, but rather two hearty thrash metal bands with a strong speed metal rake and light black metal. feeling. The US squadron Toxic Holocaust around frontman and solo entertainer Joel Grind has not been a guest in Vienna for ten years. Since then, only one studio album has been released, about which people prefer to keep a cloak of silence. Accordingly, Grind and the two colleagues rely on riff-heavy highlights from the older days. “In The Name Of Science”, “War Is Hell” and the headbanger “Nuke The Cross” invite the fans to a mosh pit and sweat it out, but the general fire was also burning fiercer in the TH camp. Especially when you compete against the next generation in a direct comparison – in this case Hellripper. It’s about the future. Behind that lies the 28-year-old Scot James McBain, who likes to openly position himself against the right, quoting the old heroes Kreator, Darkthrone and Venom and combined with a humorous contemporary social media track. Songs like “Nekroslut”, “Goat Vomit Nightmare” and “The Nuckelavee” really cut into the meat and with his last studio album “Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags” he even managed to enter the charts last year. Audience and musicians are going wild together in Vienna. McBain tells us in advance about a successful tour. “It’s going great. “We almost only had great shows, and the Abbath fans always showed respect.” If Abbath is stuck in the present and Toxic Holocaust lives in the past, then the future belongs to Hellripper. The next studio album for 2025 is already being worked on diligently. Meanwhile, Abbath continues to sail in the nebulous sea of averageness – and everyone is waiting for an Immortal reunion…
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