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Celtic Frost, Kreator, Watain - Nottingham, England, 17th March 2007


Event: Kreator + Celtic Frost: European Tour
Written by: Baz Anderson
Published: 19.03.2007

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Celtic Frost, Kreator, Watain - Nottingham, England, 17th March 2007 by Baz Anderson (24)


There was a certain buzz about going for this show, not only was I looking forward to seeing four brilliant bands that I have not seen before, it was also my first time at this venue and not to mention the mighty Celtic Frost were making their long-awaited return to England after 17 years!

Whilst navigating my way to the venue I bumped into no other then Thomas from Celtic Frost who genuinely seemed happy to be back again and very down to earth (and also pointed out he liked my 1349 top, also being a fan of the band.)
Getting to a venue early and waiting quite a while is something I am used to, but the doors for this show surprisingly opened half an hour or so earlier then the scheduled time.

Watain, dripping with blood and clad in chains and spikes promptly took the marvellously set up stage with candles and props - and we were off! Watain were not going to be one of the bands that opens for a big band or two and fails to get the crowd going at all, they took the stage like they owned it and delivered a fantastic set of crushing pure black metal. Bearing witness to the stage attire and aggressive attitude of the band was enough to captivate the fans and myself. They were able to play for 30 minutes this night, and played a few songs from their newly released album including the title track. It was not like we were witnessing an opening act at all, these guys' music and stage show contributed to make them, hands down the best opening act I have ever seen.



Now this is where the confusion started to make itself known. I was expecting, and looking forward to seeing Legion Of The Damned next but it seems they neglected to even tell us they were not going to play! Before the show it had become known the local bookers and promoters in the U.K. had imposed unrealistic curfews that greatly restricted playing time for all bands, and so was obviously so crippling there was not even enough time for the scheduled four bands. Apparently Watain and Legion Of The Damned alternated opening the shows in the U.K. dates affected by these preposterous and absurd curfews.

So as the Celtic Frost equipment was being set up, it became more and more apparent that we were just going to skip straight to the meat of the show.
The lights went down and the dark presence of Celtic Frost made its way to the stage. Band members all with paint on their faces looking as menacing as anything I have ever seen opened the set with a morbidly slow version of "Procreation (Of The Wicked)" and preceded on playing a full set made up of tracks from the "Morbid Tales", "To Mega Therion" and "Monotheist" albums in a truly mesmeric way. I have never heard Celtic Frost so slow, so fast or so heavy as the set they gave us, the varying tempos in the songs and diverse nature of them all came across perfectly live. Hearing old tracks such as "The Usurper" played with such intensity was a real treat, as was an insanely heavy "Ain Elohim" from the new album. The band closed with the long and haunting "Synagoga Satanae" to leave the impression of having witnessed probably the most diverse set I have seen.



By this point being squashed against the barrier was taking its toll and energy was low but I had to stay there for the German thrash legends Kreator.
Mille and crew took to the nicely decorated stage, that had back (and side) drops of images of the "Enemy Of God" album, and exploded onto the scene with "Violent Revolution" and "Pleasure To Kill" - the latter sounding quite brilliant performed live with the emphasis on the drums compared to the old recorded album version. The band took the stage well, Mille was fired up and ready to combust and received a couple of "Kreator! Kreator!..." chants throughout the night.
The setlist was made up mostly of new songs from the last two albums and old favourites from their oldest albums. The two worked well together but although hearing songs like "Enemy Of God" and "Voices Of The Dead" was very enjoyable, the best songs of the set were old classics played with such aggression. The encore of "Flag Of Hate" and "Tormentor" were probably the best two of their set sounding better then ever before and leaving a great impression afterwards.



All three bands were superb, I would have been even more annoyed about not seeing Legion Of The Damned if Watain didn't put on such a great set, but still it has to be said that everyone that went that night paid a lot of money to see four bands playing full sets, but we were denied this because of someone's extra money making scheme.
Celtic Frost were the best of the night by quite a way and what a return it was for them after 17 years. All hail! Celtic Frost is back!!

Written, and photos by Barry Anderson






Written on 19.03.2007 by Member of Staff since 2006


Comments

Comments: 15   Visited by: 17 users
20.03.2007 - 00:05
..HumanError..
Account deleted
Nice review . Good work for the pictures .
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20.03.2007 - 00:14
Graveshift

I would also have liked to have seen the full array of bands payed for and for longer than they had, but i thought it was still a brilliant show despite the restraints placed upon it.

i believe Celtic Frost played the best set of the night, but to be fair i was only at the front for Watain and Celtic Frost 's sets and so was not as enthralled by Kreator.

A good review
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"We are the sons of a new millenium!!"
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20.03.2007 - 01:14
hanna of steel
Poison Girl
Good review with nice pics.
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Hell is other people - Jean-Paul Sartre
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20.03.2007 - 01:25
Ernis
狼獾
I would have wanted to see these bands as well....I hope I will see them one day.....
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20.03.2007 - 08:56
Martinikuss

Thanks for photos. It must have been superb concert
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20.03.2007 - 11:34
GT
Coffee!!
Good review and good pictures. What a scandal with the local bookers and promoters
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Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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20.03.2007 - 17:42
Basso
Account deleted
Woa now I can hardly wait to catch theese guys when they play in Malmö! Watain and Celtic Frost is what im looking forward the most to. Great review Baz, got me fired up bigtime!
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20.03.2007 - 17:57
Baz Anderson

I am glad all of you like my review.. it took me such a long time to sort all the pictures and thumbnails and stuff
it was the first time me using this camera at a show as well so I am quite happy with how these pictures have turned out!

Thanks all
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20.03.2007 - 18:16
Warman
Erotic Stains
Exactly 2 weeks left till their show here in Stockholm!
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22.03.2007 - 14:13
Judas
The Amputator
Nice review Baz. Sounded like a really awesome show, I just hope they decide to come to Australia, I want to see Celtic Frost again...
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"Once the game is over, the king and the pawn both go back into the same box."
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22.03.2007 - 20:18
Bas
Retired Staff
that curfew stuff really sucks, the owners of those venues seem to to be really bad assholes... oh well, nice to hear that it was also a great show with one band less!
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BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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24.03.2007 - 18:39
Thryce
Retired Staff
Written by Judas on 22.03.2007 at 14:13

Nice review Baz. Sounded like a really awesome show, I just hope they decide to come to Australia, I want to see Celtic Frost again...

DUDE!! I have great news for you!

According to HailMetal.com, Celtic Frost have lined up two Australian dates in June. The details are as follows:

June 13 - The Manning Bar - Sydney, AUS
June 14 - The Prince - Melbourne, AUS
You owe me one for making your day, lol
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Your favorite band sucks.
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25.03.2007 - 04:36
Judas
The Amputator
Written by Thryce on 24.03.2007 at 18:39

Written by Judas on 22.03.2007 at 14:13

Nice review Baz. Sounded like a really awesome show, I just hope they decide to come to Australia, I want to see Celtic Frost again...

DUDE!! I have great news for you!

According to HailMetal.com, Celtic Frost have lined up two Australian dates in June. The details are as follows:

June 13 - The Manning Bar - Sydney, AUS
June 14 - The Prince - Melbourne, AUS
You owe me one for making your day, lol

AWESOME! Man, I'm having a beer for you this evening. Thanks a lot!

*Goes to save money for flight to Sydney*
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"Once the game is over, the king and the pawn both go back into the same box."
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30.05.2007 - 16:18
__Az__

Awesome review mate, love the pics too.
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06.11.2009 - 16:01
Baz Anderson

I just found the setlists for this show on a random text file on my computer. This was one of the last Celtic Frost shows, so maybe you're interested to see what they did play.

CELTIC FROST

Procreation (Of The Wicked)
Visions Of Mortality
Circle Of The Tyrants
The Usurper
Ain Elohim
Necromantical Screams
Dawn Of Meggido
Ground
Dethroned Emperor
Morbid Tales
Into The Crypts Of Rays
Synagoga Satanae

KREATOR

The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Pleasure To Kill
Some Pain Will Last
Enemy Of God
People Of THe Lie
Suicide Terrorist
Awakening/Behind/Renewal
Extreme Aggression
Phobia
Betrayer
Voices Of The Dead
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Reconquering The Throne
Impossible Brutality
Flag Of Hate/Tormentor
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