When Death celebrates Life – GRÁ in Athens

 

gra-athens

March 21st, 2019 – Morning Athens greets me with sun-washed eyes. Still sleepily blinking it is right in that blissful moment of morning tranquility, which is preparing to overflow into a frenzy traffic jams and the ordinary human insanity. The reason I am visiting the city of the Olympic Gods is the upcoming concert of Swedish Black Metal band GRÁ, organized by Bowel of Noise Records and Temple Athens. I am pretty fast with directions and orientation, and a little before 8PM I am headed to club Temple. I gather a lot of Mediterranean wind and cold before the doors open and I take shelter in the (still) gloomy peace of the club. Two Greek bands are going to warm up for GRÁ – Nihilism and Order of the Ebon Hand.

We had to see Nihilism in Bulgaria a month ago, but for some reason that did not happen. The band started out as a solo project, which became a full-member band last year. In January they have released their debut album.

Their performance is fully in sync with the philosophy that they follow. Nihilism and self-denial in every single aspect. Very restrained, measured stage presence, almost no contact with the audience. Their music contains notes of depression and atmospheric depth, mixed with moments of aggression. If you’re curious, you can hear their debut ‘Obscurite Noir’ here.

Set list Nihilism:

Obscurite Noir I, II, IV, III, VI, VII

The next band Order of the Ebon Hand is far more impressive as in outfits and presence. Actually they are not new in the Black Metal scene. Formed as far back as 1994, at the moment only Merkaal remained from the original line-up. They have two studio albums. Very theatrical, almost pathetic performance. Their music is cracked with blast beats, and the presence of keyboard further seals it. With their stage presence and outfits, they brought me back twenty something years ago, when the European stages were ruled by the second Black Metal wave in the face of bands such as Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon… Their set was pleasantly long, attractive and musically saturated, and it warms up the audience properly for the forthcoming performance of GRÁ.

Set list Order of the Ebon Hand:

BEHOLD THE SIGN OF A NEW ERA
TO ALLOCES
ΑΙΑΝΤΑΣ
THE SLOW DEATHWALK
FOR MARCHOSIAS
DREADNAUGHT
KNIGHT OF SWORDS
WINGS
THE SKULL

Without a doubt, GRÁ is one of the most charismatic and influential bands you can see. GRÁ are like an ancient spell, the strength of which you can not ignore. Even if you don’t fully understand the words, its mystical energy will possess you and will enchant you. And because we, the Black Metal fans, always look for some sort of symbolism and something more special in the stars above us, GRÁ’s concert in Athens coincides with the First Day of Spring and the first day of the full moon. A new beginning in a ritual praising the God of Death. Although, in its nature, the full moon is the beginning of an expected end, just like Spring. And we have to enjoy them while they’re here, because the end always leaves you either destroyed or purified. After the performance of Order of the Ebon Hand, there is temporary silence and harmony ruling the stage.

The thing that distinguishes GRÁ from every other Black Metal band is that their music has always had a deep ritualistic sound, infectious tribe rhythm and an ethereal, but very gloomy melody, which immerses you in their own ancient, surrealistic world. A little raw and cruel, but really beautiful. As Dimman shared, „I can play blast beats, but I don’t like them. Songs need to have a rhythm. Something that will lead the audience.“ Heljarmadr adds, „Music should make your body move and even dance. It doesn’t matter that this is Black Metal. It’s great that on our concerts the audience doesn’t just headbang, but it dances and even claps their hands.“ Yes, we are The Devil’s Tribe and „Ritual drums will echo…“ forever and ever!

Preparations for GRÁ’s ritual begin. Maugrim and Heljarmadr bring out their 7-string beasts, which in a couple of minutes will open the doors to Charon’s Kingdom. For anyone who missed it, Ola Englund recently gave Heljarmadr a 7-string Solar Guitar and its debut was on Athenian stage. Music always sounds different with some more strings. From both sides of the stage there are placed banners with runes, which mean ‘HELL’. They place two huge candlesticks through the drums and the unaltered Salvia divinorum, which plays its role at the end of the set, but for that later.

Impatience has so got over me, that moments have stretched into hours. More than two years have passed since my last encounter with the guys and the fact that I am there in front of that stage makes me feel like I was sucked into another dimension. And that feeling gets even stronger when GRÁ start their set. The start is given by ‘Necrology of the Witch’… ‘Payback for old sins…’. GRÁ have selected 13 compositions, which cover all of their craft. We pay due to our boatman with ‘A Coin for Charon’, we fall under the magical rhythm of ‘Ramsvarta Tankar’, which caused a lot of controversy when it came out, but personally I love it, because of the passion, which throbs at its heart. Somewhere near the middle of the set though something happens with the drums, but GRÁ do not lose their spirit and while the problem is fixed Maugrim and Heljarmadr start an improvised instrumental of ‘Det Sista Han Sade’. Three are the songs from their latest album ‘Väsen’, that the musicians have featured in their set.

The end of the set is also its culmination. ‘Helfärd pt. I’ from the cult EP which came out in the distant (already) 2010. The intense intro blows my brain and my senses away every single time. I sink into the slow rhythm, my cells one by one start to tremble in the frequency of the dense dissonance that Vediger, Maugrim and Heljarmadr pull out of the strings. And here the Salvia goes into action. Heljarmadr slowly lights it up and starts blowing the smoke into the audience. Smell of Death. Yes, this plant smells like death. Whoever felt this smell once can not forget it. He can only look for that moment, that will take him out of the nightmares living deep inside. Maugrim sings the main light motif in the song ‘Gå i Hel!’. His deep voice rises into a terrifying scream, mixed with notes of despair and ominousness. As a soul, thrown into the Abyss, praying for mercy and salvation. I close my eyes. The smell of Salvia is sucked into my senses. The atmosphere thickens and saturates with a sense of decay. Death, which is fighting for a breath of fresh air and some light. Death, which can exist only through the rituals of Life. I lose myself and I give myself up to the sensation of being there. Touched by the warm caress of the Abyss… When I recover and open my eyes, GRÁ are already leaving their instruments and accept the greetings of the audience. Perhaps this is one of the most emotional and influential performances of ‘Helfärd pt. I’, that I have ever experienced.

I feel cleansed. Alive!

Until next time, GRÁ! Until next time my wonderful guides on the path to the Inevitable!…

Set list GRÁ:

Necrology of the Witch
He Who Comes
A Coin for Charon
Krig
Ramsvarta Tankar
Offerrök
Döden ser, Döden tar
The Devil’s Tribe
Klagan och Längtan
Kraft
Till Sörjerskorna
Where Shadows Dwell
Helfärd pt. I