God Seed – Live At Wacken (Indie Recordings)
Sunday, 24th March 2013
Ah, yes – the infamous Gorgoroth legal battle. Thanks to founding member/guitarist Infernus’ inability (or unwillingness) to write new material last decade, then-bass player King ov Hell and singer
Gaahl hi-jacked the band’s name and proceeded to make a few tours out of it. The duo eventually lost in court, but not before they recorded a live set in 2008 at Wacken that re-created Gorgoroth’s legendary (and controversial) 2004 live recording in Poland, which featured all sort of blasphemous images, including actual humans nailed to the cross, impaled sheep heads, and…Satan. Look out!
Joined by all-world drummer Nick Barker (Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Lock Up, etc.) and guitarist Ice Dale (Enslaved), God Seed’s set comprised exclusively of Gorgoroth songs that King ov Hell and Gaahl composed from 1999 and up. Upon further review, there are some serious teeth to these compositions, such as the grinding “Carving A Giant” and “Procreating Satan.” The mix is relatively clean and professional, although the audio portion lacks without the accompanying visuals. One has to feel bad for the naked dude and chick dangling from the cross…hopefully they were compensated appropriately.
Without the band’s seminal early albums to add variety to the set, the shortcomings of this particular era of Gorgoroth are thrust to the fore. A lot of these songs lean more toward the death metal side of the fence, with “Teethgrinding,” “Wound Upon Wound,” and “Of Ice and Movement” showcasing a brazen and brutal side of Gorgoroth, but lacking the cunning atmosphere and simplicity that helped define the band’s mid-90’s era.
God Seed dissolved shortly after this performance (Gaahl “retired” from black metal), rendering this release somewhat moot, especially when one takes stock in the fact Gorgoroth is still functioning at a high-level. The only real functionLive At Wacken serves is to remind those of the legal battle and outlandish stage show, decency laws be damned.
(This content originally appeared on Blistering.com)
