It’s never easy going first, especially when opening up for the likes of the Filth who are a notoriously tough crowd to crack, but She Must Burn take on the challenge with gusto, and put their heart and soul into their performance. Launching straight into recent single ‘Possessed’ after a dramatic orchestral entrance, the band headbang their way through a short but sweet set. Joe Sinclair is a charismatic and commanding frontman, dominating the stage with his menacing stance, deathly howls and guttural screams. Keyboardist Aimy Millers‘s stunning vocals and symphonic flourishes are unfortunately drowned out at the beginning, but somebody must have had a word with the sound guy as the levels improve as the set goes on. The London-based metallers close with the epic ‘Eclipse’ and by the end the warmed-up crowd have progressed from polite nods to raised horns – even a few chants of “She must burn!” can be heard. These guys are definitely ones to watch and it’s evident that they have walked away with some new fans.
Next up are Aussie extreme progressive metallers Ne Obliviscaris who are an intriguing watch from start to finish. Their set goes through several twists and turns, switching from fast-paced thrash to beautiful and enchanting violin solo passages from clean vocalist Tim Charles. The contrast between the violinist’s cleans and lead vocalist Xen‘s harsh screamed vocals works well, and Charles’ outgoing, warm nature balances out Xen’s enigma. Complex time signatures and lengthy tracks make Ne Obliviscaris more of a band to sway along to than mosh, but this doesn’t matter as the audience are gripped by the performance and are in awed appreciation of the high level of musicianship displayed on stage.
When headliners Cradle of Filth finally arrive before their adoring fans who have been waiting in anticipation all night, all hell breaks loose as soon as the first guitar chord is struck with mosh pits opening up immediately as the crowd goes insane. Diminutive dark overlord Dani Filth is as charismatic as ever, and has the crowd in the palm of his hands for the entire set. His unmistakeable high-pitched howl sounds exactly as it does on record and keyboardist/female vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft‘s operatic vocals are equally incredible.
The real star of the show here though is new guitarist Richard Shaw, who steals the spotlight with his hilarious quips at the audience. At one point he vanishes from the stage, reappearing axe in hand in one of the upstairs balconies. Two scantily clad ladies also make an appearance on stage, dressed as nuns during one song and flicking ‘holy water’ over the crowd. This tongue-in-cheek side burlesque show could be viewed as a little tacky by some – not that anybody here is complaining!
It’s all wonderfully flamboyant and over the top, just about everything you would expect from a Cradle of Filth show. The set list is a winner, with new tracks ‘Blackest Magick in Practice’ and Right Wing of the Garden Triptych’ blending in seamlessly with old favourites such as ‘Queen of Winter, Throned’ and ‘Lord Abortion’. New material is actually surprisingly scarce considering they’ve recently released an album. Encore track ‘Nymphetamine’ spurs a delightful singalong, and the classic ‘Her Ghost in the Fog’ is a triumphant end to a brilliant set, leaving the battered and broken crowd still hungry for more. To those who were wondering if they should still give a shit about Cradle of Filth? The answer is hell fucking yes.
