Wow it has been a long time since I updated this. I do apologise to any of my regular browsers out there but things have been hectic (MA Dissertation + New Job etc). Anyway here is part 3 of the DV8 Report (Finally!)...

Flesh Eating Foundation:
What a fantastic shock to the Sunday malaise that had ensnared me courtesy of a rather substantial dinner at The Guy Fawkes Inn. FEF's brand of sonic dissonance was more infectious than the T-Virus and played with utter conviction.

Zeitgeist Zero:
Cor blimey what a busy bunch! I caught them on the third day in the Duchess but they had been the only band to play all three days on all three stages as different versions of themselves. It was a shame I didn't manage to see the other two incarnations of the band, but if their set was half as good as this one then I'm sure I would have enjoyed them.

Rhombus:
I reviewed the Rhombus' album 'Open the Sky' a few months ago for www.ReflectionsOfDarkness.com, so I was really looking forward to this set. The band didn't disappoint. Their traditional blend of hard Gothic rock accented with female backing vocals, and the obligatory big hat really hit the nail on the head for what modern Gothic Rock is all about.

Pretentious, Moi?:Another solid Gothic Rock band that fed off the tried and tested formula, but in a way such as to make it their own. he band's sound was familiar yet didn't immediately bring to mind any specific sound-a-like influences - which can only be a mission accomplished. I do hope to catch this lot again at some point in the future.

Gene Loves Jezebel:

More specifically Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel. After these guys left the stage, bringing about a close to the weekend, I deffinately felt sold that these guys were the real deal. Jay had all the rockstar prowess of Mick Jagger and the energy to match it. A fantastic sing-a-long of the hit song 'Desire' sealed the deal on a fantastic performance.

*Phew*

I know I have been rather lax over the past two months (time flies unfortunately!) but you can expect pleanty more from me in the coming months. The next bunch of live photos will be courtesy of the next Nightbreed event 'Dark Souls' in December, and tomorrow I'll post some infrared experiments and a link to my new casting call. I will also, no doubt, be posting reviews (or summaries with a link to reviews) for Killing Joke (16/10/10), Dark Souls (11/12/10), and Swallow The Sun (19/12/10) as well as the links and bits of news that have interested me.

I've also begun to rebuild the Imago Mortis website to better reflect my style. I think you will all like it. I've included lots off hidden links and messages throughout it to make it a more interactive experience rather than just a portfolio. I will try to time it so that the main Adversaria website is complete at the same time which will house both this blog and all the various links to my articles around the website.

A few photographs from day one (Friday 16th July) of DV8 Festival in York. The Full sets as always can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/imagomortisuk



Legion:
The first band from Gotham City (AKA Leeds) were a great slice of Traditional Gothic Rock that hung (Upside down) between the early Sisters of Mercy and Rozz Williams' Christian Death/Shadow Project. Deffinately want to see these lot again.

Grooving In Green:
High energy Gothic Rock/Post Punk from former members of Children on Stun and Solemn Novena. Joined on stage at the end of their set by Rosie Lugosi for a fantastic rendition of the March Violets classic 'Grooving in Green'.

Vendemmian:
This heavy post-punk duo were an excellent lesson in stage presence. Taking up less than a quarter of the total area of The Duchess' stage they stomped and flung themselves at full throttle into every song.

The Eden House:

A coming together of Gothic royalty as members of Fields of The Nephilim, All About Eve, NFD, Sensorium etc. forge an alchemaeical mixture of meandering psychedelic Gothic Rock and Ethereal Shoegaze into an utterly hypnotic signiture sound. I'd love to see this project reach the heights it truely deserves.

Pictures from days 2 and 3 including: Luxery Stranger, Screaming Banshee Aircrew, Inkubus Sukkubus, Wayne Hussey, Flesh Eating Foundation, Zeitgeist Zero, Rhombus, Pretentious Moi?, Goteki, and Gene Loves Jezebel are forthcoming.

Just a quick update today as I'm tired :)

I went to Wolverhampton to see KMFDM last night thanks to Gary from the band Deadfilmstar who sent me a free ticket (cheers mate) I took the camera along but due to my own ineptness I was only allowed to shoot Deadfilmstar's set as I forgot to check with the other bands first. If I'd had the presence of mind I would have caught the other bands while they were at the bar (d'oh). Nevermind, as I got some good pics of DFS's set anyway! (I'll post those soon).

Deadfilmstar were on form once again. Gary's sleazed-up-semi-alien-rockstar persona oozes stage presence, the band were tight and the music was fun and full of groove. But again as last time (at Slimelight) it was a short and sweet set lasting about five songs.

AlterRed were baffling, but in a good way. I'd bought a couple of their 'DUST' albums back when they were on Wasp Factory Records and had seen them prior to their change into AlterRed in 2007 and had really enjoyed them. I think that musically the band are still pretty damn good and they have great presence, but the 'Nightmares from your toybox' characters that joined them onstage were somewhat superfluous to proceedings. I can see what the logic is behind it but that area needs some work, though I'm sure the small stage didn't help.

KMFDM... What can you say? Tighter than a duck's arse and heavier than a really heavy thing. The band's veteran status is well deserved as they directed the crowd with a mere flick of their wrists. Sascha and Lucia's chemestry onstage is beyond fault, and the backing of Jules, Andy and Steve was spotless. I honestly can't think of anything wrong with that set. Of course 'Hau Rock', 'Meglomaniac', 'Drug Against War' 'World War III' and 'Godlike' were the highlights of the set, but it's nice to see that even with 26 years worth of material the band don't just do the bog-standard Greatest Hits. Instead they mix it up and seem as fresh as they always have.

The highlight of the night was probably the hour me and my friends spent with the guys in KMFDM after the gig across the road at The Planet. I think that 80% of the conversation was centred around the World Cup, which was surreal enough. But they were a charming and friendly bunch that were quite happy to have a laugh and a smoke with us despite the rain.

Guess who had to take the photo and hence didn't get in the photo :P