Thulcandra / 229 / London
A trip to ol’ London town on a stormy night, and to 229 on Great Portland Street for the first headline tour to the UK of German black metal band Thulcandra.
First up in support, we had London three piece Wounded Not Dead. Thiago Carvalho (vocals & guitar), Adriano Ferraro (drums) and Rimon Jaoude (bass & synths) formed in 2014and fuse the influences of death metal, psychedelic-progressive rock and jazz fusion. Their latest album “The Alchemist” was released on May 2023.
Tonight they delivered a blistering live performance which was epic and ferocious in equal measure. The vocals were brutal and the riffs blistering in pace and volume.
Next up are Overthrow who released their “Ascension of the Entombed” EP last October, on Redefining Darkness Records. Like with Wounded Not Dead, the set was delivered with power and emotion. Drawing on the death metal genre it mixes in elements of Grindcore, the sound is a little more accessible to the newbie and reminiscent of bands like Obituary and Entombed.
The strong guitar riffs are impressive backed by a raucous blasting beat. The vocals have a nice diversity to them, with singer/guitarist moving with ease from low pitch and high pitch delivery.
Finally, our first chance to catch Thulcandra, a German black metal band from Munich. To dater thewy have released five full-length studio albums, the latest album “Hail the Abyss” which was released in 2023 through Napalm Records. Dressed in smart black, with long hair, they have a striking presence on stage. Visually it had me thinking of something stylish such as Klone.
The band's style is much more like a melodic black metal from the previous offerings, and the difference is a great juxtaposition. Think of the likes of Dissection and Sacramentum.
Steffen Kummerer (guitars & vocals), Alessandro Delastik (drums), Mariano Delastik (guitars) and Carsten Schorn (bass) delivered a crushing set. The mix was crushing and well balanced, so all the elements were evident. A rock solid performance with Steffen on great vocal form.
A brilliant night. This is a short run of only three shows, and I can’t wait to see them again real soon.
