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Live Reviews : Cradle of Filth & Earth Rot @ Capital, Perth 14/05/2018

By on May 15, 2018

Images and Words: Stephanie Fothergill

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The queue was to the kebab shop past the alley as doors opened. People streamed through, but the line didn’t seem to go down with a steady influx. Inside Capitol the air was buzzing with excitement and anticipation, being a Monday night seemingly irrelevant. A line across the barrier formed, calling the only support band of the night, local legends, Earth Rot. Red lights flooded the dark stage and Earth Rot soon began pounding their blackened death beats. No foreigners to the stage, both national and international, Earth Rot have opened for numerous big metal acts across the shores and their performance once again proved why.

Frontman, Jared, is overly expressive, making him a joy to watch as he holds nothing back from his performance, killing vocals and bass whilst managing to headbang violently and not miss a chord. Likewise, guitarists Tom and Colin toss their long luscious locks around, shredding seamlessly. Dan in the back on his impressive kit blasts at inhuman speeds with incredulous precision. The four-piece band warmed up the crowd, mosh pit going hard, the anticipation for Cradle Of Filth rising and peaking as Earth Rot ended their set, fans screaming for more Metal.

The crowd cheered for Cradle at nine as blue lights beamed down on an empty stage. Soon enough the lights dimmed, sparking another roar from the crowd and red lights flooded the still empty stage. White and red lights flashed as the members of the band began to enter. Cheering madly, the intensity rose with screams and whistles, waiting for Dani to enter. Red lights glowed as he appeared and the band stood with their backs to the crowd before the symphonic intro, “Ave Satani”. Now facing the crowd, clad in layers of black cloth and leather, the onslaught began with “Gilded Cunt”.

Horns and fists in the air, hair flying, stale beer and sweat temporarily masked by the vast aroma of hair products, “Beneath Howling Stars” played and a headbanger screamed, “Fuck yeah this is EPIC!”. After the stunning “Dusk and Her Embrace”, Dani amped up the crowd, his smooth English accent making the edges of my lips curl up in a smile. Giving thanks to Earth Rot, Dani preceded to introduce “The Death of Love” dramatically, stating its origin based around a French serial killer and paedophile, Gilles de Rais.

Guitarist Richard was full of energy the whole set, twirling in circles, his long coat and hair circling around and around. Hollow stare and puppet-like movements, his theatrics were impressive. Ashok, also on guitar, performed for the crowd, letting the punters against the barrier take turns at stroking his precious guitar. Loving every minute of the performance, a smile kept breaking his grim demeanour, showing the band was enjoying themselves as much as the fans. Bassist, Daniel was not quite as active, but he was still a pleasure to watch, his strong arms holding up his bass as he played it vertically in the air.

“Nymphetamine (Fix)” set the horde off even louder and crowd surfers enjoyed their short bumpy rides to the barrier to be escorted back out by bored looking security. A few random drunks stumbled causing a little chaos and a small scuffle with security side of stage, but other than that the crowd was in high spirits, enthralled to be witness to the “88th day into Phantasmagoria”, as Dani put it.

Celebrating 30 years since the release of masterpiece Cruelty and The Beast, Dani asked for a roar from the crowd and was severely disappointed, demanding to hear us, we screamed louder and in return were greeted with “Born in a Burial Gown”. Frenzied again, aware the night was drawing to a close, no one held back, band and crowd giving it their all. Keys taking lead, blue and green lights dancing as the moshpit swirled. Lindsay seemed uneasy on some of the vocals until Dani joined in, creating perfect harmony. Martin drummed ferociously behind his little barrier making it hard to watch him in the shadows at the back.

Dani joked with the crowd as he announced the last song, “From the Cradle to…” as everyone yelled “Enslave” he stated, “Actually we wrote a new one with a different ending”. Laughter ensued as the final song of the night blasted through the walls of Capitol. The barrier to the back bar, the venue was full and they hype never died.

Overall, a night of enjoyment for all, the band looking forward to a big night of drinks and the crowd still seemed oblivious it was a Monday night. I heard exclamations like “Bloody Damn good moshpit” and “I’ve almost lost my fucking voice”, certain indications of a successful night.