You know what they say, third time brings the harm right? Let’s cut to the heart of it – Watain are the reigning lords of black metal and here the fuck is my reasoning – Watain have protected
and perfected the sincerity and authenticity of the black metal genre over many others for decades – Watain are masters at taming the chaos. The self proclaimed vessel of Satan; letting
the currents of their Temple lead the way. These black metal elites ascended to the alter – and eroticism was ripe at the Factory Theatre on Sunday night with all the black bells and whistles;
suggestive symbolism, allusions, ritualistic acts of worship are all strong characteristics in the art and literature of the Swedish juggernauts and self sustaining agents of Satan, Watain.

This indeed was a ritual – the Sunday black mass and we were caught right in the eye of it. Alice was dragged down into Hellerland and it was transcendent…

Black metal has relentlessly striven to remain underground, inaccessible to the mainstream and to those who are ‘not committed’. Bathory and Venom pioneered it, Mayhem, Satyricon,
Darkthrone and… Watain sneered at it. To the listener this gives greater appeal. And to truly witness these acts live, it is as if you have been transported to another realm…. You are so far
removed from yourself during these ‘rituals’ it is difficult to grasp reality.

We were all susceptible and eager, oh so very eager to succumb to the mirthless and contemptible smile of Watain. The smell of burnt leather and incense consumed the hall, shadows of red engulfed the punters, as if we had been smeared by the devil himself. It was difficult to separate hell from the plane…

Such delights, oh such delights, and it was relentless; merciless with such a rich and diverse troupe. ‘Invocations to Satan’ such as Malfeitor, from 2010’s Lawless Darkness was received with
pure delight from the hordes. These physical and spiritual constitutions peculiar to these individuals in particular are not for entertainment or spectacle – we hear time and time again…

…Though with the amount of theatrics partnered with a black metal live show it’s hard to make that distinction. Watching Watain perform is much like trying to touch the sun – our feeble
minds and bodies cannot cope with the heat.

Moral of the story – choose Pazuzu…