Italian black/doom metalers FORGOTTEN TOMB have returned to Portugal and to Side B, Benavente, this time accompanied by two Swedish acts. Notredame Productions added the fourth (national) element.
The affluence was pretty good considering both the moment and date of the gig, which started with EREB ALTOR performance. This Swedish collective mixtures old school classic doom metal with some harsh vocals, sang by both the guitars and bass player. Viking references are their main lyrical theme, and grant them the total epic ambience they seem to prefer.
As for INVERNO ETERNO, the subjects are not quite the same. Minimalistic depressive black metal, played with an agonizing feeling that infected the audience and created one of the most intimate recent moments at Side B. Now featuring Vulturius (Irae, Morte Incandescente) on the bass, they showed an impressive evolution since the first time we saw them, maybe four / five years ago. The commitement of their music seems to connect with their audience expectations and so the ritual flows in a natural communion dark aura.
Setlist: 1. “Depois que Tu Morreste”; 2. “Eternamente”; 3. “A Beleza da Vida em Dias que Não Existem”; 4. “Enquanto a Morte Demora”; 5. “O Cansaço de Viver”; 6. “saudade revisitada”; 7. “Desaparecer em Sintra”; 8. “A Caminhar Para o Vazio”.
The four swedish guys came back on stage after having played with Ereb Altor, once they are also the members of ISOLE. This was their first appearance in Portuguese soil. The 40 minutes time they played seemed to be a step behind everyone’s expectations, once their epic traditional doom metal did not fascinate the audience. But there was no lack of quality or professionalism. Simply, the reaction was not as strong as they sure expected.
FORGOTTEN TOMB were the headliners for the first time in that position in Portugal. We must say that the last album they created was somewhat like a break in their evolution, and therefore the reason why we went to Benavente was the expectation about the 10th anniversary of “Springtime Depression” album performance. Rapidly these Italian black/doomsters showed what they were there for, and gained the audience with an intense and direct concert. They played the best tracks of “Under Saturn retrograde” (namely “Reject Existence”), the huge “Disheartenment” and ended with the awaited medley of “Springtime Depression”, where “Todestrieb” took the main role. Even the new songs resulted better live, and so the 60 minutes concert flowed very fast, leaving us waiting for more dark sounds. But hey, it was a fine gig that surely left no one unsatisfied.
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