Urfaust w/ Kyy, Teloch, TotalSelfHatred - Live Report

On Friday, February 17 there was finally a proper black metal night in the books again for Helsinki. Urfaust, TotalSelfHatred, Teloch and Kyy gathered at Virgin Oil Co. to enchant the audience with a blackened ritual.

Kyy (Photos by Jarmo Siira)

Kyy got the night started. I had been curious to see this band live for a while and after the interview with vocalist G.K. that interest had only grown. The band was certainly the right choice to get the evening going with their raw intensity that had already impressed on their debut album ‘Beyond Flesh – Beyond Matter – Beyond Death’ and translated very well into the live setting.

Kyy (Photos by Jarmo Siira)

The audience was still on the smaller side but that was no wonder on a Friday night in Helsinki, and a gig with a total of four bands. But the people kept on coming and those that made it in time for Kyy got just what they had been coming for: black fucking metal, dirty, straightforward and raw. The few more melodic parts came through stronger live in comparison to the record, and devil’s horns and applause greeted songs like Legio Serpenti. A proper black metal start into the night.

Kyy (Photo by Jarmo Siira)

Next up were Teloch, again a band I hadn’t seen before. They set the tone right away with candles, incense and an overall atmospheric presence on stage. The music presented the more intricate, more melancholic side of black metal after the harsh tones of Kyy, but no less powerful or intriguing.

Teloch (Photo by Jarmo Siira)

One of the best but increasingly rare but cherished aspects of a gig is discovering a band for yourself that you want to see again and also listen to at home - Teloch were that for me. And who’s life doesn’t need some more black metal!

Teloch (Photo by Jarmo Siira)

Of course, Urfaust and their latest work ‘Empty Space Meditation’ were the night’s highlight. It had been a few years since their last ritual on Finnish soil and I had seen them abroad in the meantime, but there can never be enough Urfaust. This evening was long awaited for many.

Urfaust (Photo by Jarmo Siira)

This showed as the space in front of the stage got quite packed. I managed to grab a ritualistic beverage from the bar – a gin tonic of course – just in time for the magick to unfold. The deep, meditative, repetitive and at the same time exciting, ecstatic experience began to unravel. It is not often that something makes my heart break and at the same time makes me feel as elated as Urfaust’s music does.

Urfaust (Photo by Jarmo Siira)

I wish I could live within the universe of their songs. It astonishes me every time I see Urfaust that they can pack so much magick into their music, just the two of them. And this performance was no different. And it didn’t matter that you could barely make out their figures on the fog and light bathed stage – everything was Urfaust in that moment, the whole universe.

Urfaust (Photo by Jarmo Siira)

For TotalSelfHatred the audience to band ratio was inverted from Urfaust: lots of guys on stage, fewer people in the audience. TotalSelfHatred didn’t let the late hour or the smaller crowd stop them, and delivered their signature mix of emotional and intense black metal with despair ridden vocals.

TotalSelfHatred (Photos by Jarmo Siira)

And the audience was certainly up for one more band, eventhough the Friday night intoxication (or maybe it was just the music) had certainly taken hold of quite a few already. After the last notes had subsided it was time to step out into the dark night, surrounded by an aura of black metal haze.