Ghozt / Wolves In Winter
The Parish, Huddersfield
18.02.22
Review by Dark Juan
So, a couple of weeks ago I was finally tempted by Mrs Dark Juan to leave the comforting confines of Dark Juan Terrace (mainly to get away from her giant and terrifying “Beelezbugs” which she is currently unleashing on to an unsuspecting world populace – Clearly she wishes that everyone around the world to have an experience not unlike camping in the Australian outback) and go out into the heavy, black and pendulous world of Huddersfield, to a splendid bar called The Parish, which is LGBTQIA+ friendly, and is a local West Yorkshire rock hotspot, and a fucking lovely place to have a pint and a babble with like-minded people. Granted, the car park machine was utterly incomprehensible and I was probably charged many shekels too much for parking the Schwerer Gothikpanzer in it, but such a good night was had that zero fucks were given. Is it possible to give negative fucks?
So having got on my glad rags (Sisters Of Mercy hoodie, Blackwulf cap and combat pants. I’m nothing if not sartorially elegant) and collected our good friend Mrs L. Jack (small but fearsome). We proceeded to buy alcohol and mosey on upstairs to have a butcher’s at the West Yorkshire based Wolves In Winter. This is a band with a serious pedigree, being as it features members who have variously played in Chorus Of Ruin, Solstice, Slammer, Ironrat, Lazarus Blackstar, Pigwitch, Slammer and Monolith Cult. The sound guy at The Parish appears to have lost his hearing decades ago considering how fucking LOUD the sound was. However, although my ears were bleeding after a mere fifteen seconds, the sound quality was superb and clarity of each instrument top-fucking-notch. Oh, disclaimer here…. My mate Izak plays bass for Wolves In Winter and his sound and ability make me want to weep and cut myself open because I want that level of talent so much.
A thunderous crack in the space-time continuum emanated from the stage as WIW slammed into gear and opened with ‘Nemesis’. Once I had peeled myself from the back wall of the venue and braced myself in front of the sonic onslaught (front-and-centre, natch) I started to pay attention. This is a band that deserves to be huge. Mixing impassioned, clean vocals with a percussive, doomy assault not unlike being slowly crushed under a 20 tonne concrete block, WIW impressed me mightily. Second track in was entitled ‘Promised Harvest’ and the often short-changed emotional component of doomy metal came screamingly to the fore from vocalist Jake, whose highly-charged vocal delivery tugs at heartstrings in a very similar to one Halifax metal legend, Mr Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost. Sadly, though, there was not enough time for the band to run through ‘Pastime For Helots’, but by jiminy the crowd were not short changed.
Wolves of Winter have everything. Massive, MASSIVE riffs, huge songs, a bottom end heavy enough to spontaneously create sinkholes and a drummer who flails at his kit like he’s possessed by the devil. In short, superb musicians and a sound that encompasses all the bands I listed a couple of paragraphs ago. Also, it was bloody lovely to see Izak again after sojourns abroad for many years. Wales counts as abroad, right?
The Dark Juan Patented Blood Splat Rating System awards Wolves In Winter 10/10 for an awesome set that turned me into an overnight fan. Can’t wait to give them all my money for merch and shit when they eventually sort some out.
https://www.facebook.com/Wolvesinwinter/
And then … the main event. I normally do not do cover bands. An exception had to be made for this, though. Ghozt. I mean, a fucking Ghost cover band. A FUCKING GHOST COVER BAND! I knew nothing about this genius! Let’s be fair, Ghost are a polarizing band at the best of times, personally Dark Juan is of the opinion that they are the most exciting thing to happen to metal in the past ten years and brought back a welcome sense of showmanship and theatre and good old fashioned silliness back into an increasingly po-faced and miserable genre. Also, their mix of modern metal sensibilities and retro chops appeals deeply to Dark Juan. Anyone who thinks they are overrated or lightweight are just plain wrong and I WILL fight them about this. To not understand Ghost is to not understand where metal came from…
However, I am here to discuss Ghozt. Who cover Ghost songs. And WHAT A FUCKING SHOW IT WAS!!! Fronted by a facsimile of Papa Emeritus II, backed by a rabid pack of “Meliora” era Nameless Ghouls, Ghozt took us on an hour and a half of greatest hits. Everything from oldies like “Ritual” through to the latest songs ‘Hunter’s Moon’ and ‘(Call Me) Little Sunshine’, this romp through the best bits of Ghost was intoxicating to say the least. The Ghouls played their black little hearts out, Papa worked the crowd (and there was a sizeable one) just like our actual beloved Anti-Pope should and there were liberal blessings bestowed upon the adoring masses in the form of pin badges and Devil Dollars. Papa II’s vocals were occasionally a little patchy and he occasionally struggled to hit the high notes, but by fucking Satan I was singing every single word back at him and it just DID NOT FUCKING MATTER ONE LITTLE BIT! This was a show that was just sheer, unadulterated fun. The ersatz Ghouls engaged with the crowd more than the actual Ghouls do and all the jokes were in there too (the foiled attempt to play ‘Enter Sandman’ being a particular highlight) and they even played ‘Miasma’, sadly without Papa Nihil appearing to play his kick-ass sax solo. But all the hits were covered – ‘Rats’, ‘Dance Macabre’, ‘He Is’, ‘Cirice’, ‘Guhleh / Zombie Queen’ and ‘From The Pinnacle To The Pit’ being particularly magnificent and it was a fucking joyous occasion for a fraction of the cost of full-cream Ghost. Papa Emeritus (in all his guises, including impostors) and Dark Juan go hand-in-hand to preach the gospel of Satan via the means of stupid words in my case, and surprisingly melodic metal in theirs. Again, the sound quality was absolutely on the money and every instrument was clearly defined and Papa soared over the lot just as he should.
Never have I wanted to buy a Hagstrom guitar and play dress up again as much as I do right now.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System experienced some form of nirvana watching Ghozt play live, and the young gentlemen that he wrangles found it all highly amusing when Dark Juan turned up for work slightly hungover and unable to speak due to overuse of the old voicebox. Considering my knackered throat and lack of desire to work the day after I can do nothing but award Ghozt the full Satanic Panic 10/10 for the most fun I have had at a gig in years.
https://www.facebook.com/thebandghozt/
LINKS:
Venue – https://parishpub.co.uk/
Promoter – https://www.facebook.com/parishevents
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of ‘Dark Juan’ and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.