For many years Black Metal has been at war with itself about the sanctity and purity of the genre. There are those that believe anything that deviates from the Nordic template of Satanic adoration is heretical and has no place appropriating the mantle of Black Metal. However, there is another camp that believes Black Metal is a style rather than an ideology and like any musical genre it is ripe for evolution. This section believes Black Metal has a power and evocativeness that goes far beyond an obsession with old nick and therefore can be used to soundtrack any manner of subject matter.
Read MoreThe last time I was in this iconic venue it was the mid-nineties. It was called Paradise Factory and I had jettisoned metal in favour of a brief but passionate fling with hardcore rave. The main reason we are here tonight is that Rebellion is still out of action (thank you national rail) and the metal community has taken an “any port in a storm” attitude to what is now ground zero for Manchester’s commercial dance scene. This is an intriguing quadruple bill of four acts flirting with black metal but taking it off in all sorts of immersing and alien directions. Its promoted by the manc metal juggernaut that is Badgerfest, which means we can forgive the indomitable Badger for placing his very own projects in two of the four available berths.
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