Blackest Of The Black 2008 tour:
DANZIG, DIMMU BORGIR, MOONSPELL, WINDS OF PLAGUE, SKELETONWITCH
The Warfiled - San Francisco, CA
11/10/2008


After my relocation to Berkeley I started to check what concerts take place in Bay Area. Unfortunately I missed SONATA ARCTICA, because I didn't know how to get home from San Francisco after the show. And in November I decided to attend DIMMU BORGIR gig for sure. Tour's headliner DANZIG is not the band of my interest, but MOONSPELL was something I wanted to listen to. There were two more bands: SKELETONWITCH and WINDS OF PLAGUE. A month before the show I purchased my ticket for 33 bucks and found out that The Warfield club is situated in SF downtown and concerts don't usually end later than 12:00pm, and last BART train is at 12:22pm. DANZIG was the last band to perform this night, so I could easily leave before they finish, main bands for me were DIMMU BORGIR and MOONSPELL.

As I visited this show not as media with accreditation, but as private number, so everything I wrote here is my subjective opinion. I actually went to the show fro MOONSPELL and DIMMU BORGIR. Also described some details more for people, who are from Ukraine and Russia, where I came recently from.

Show start was at 7pm, and door opened at six. At 5:45pm I took my BART train to the Powell station - 5 minute walk and I reached The Warfiled. I showed my ID and got my ticket. All the tickets are in envelopes sorted alphabetically by last name.



I was examined by security. Since, I'm not a terrorist, I was let in :) Club employees in the hall informed, that all who are going to buy alcohol have to take Id check and get their hands stamped (in US only persons who are 21 and older are allowed to purchase alcohol, even beer). Beer prices are 6-7$ for 0.33 or even 0.5 liter - robbery as for me heh. All fans also could buy tour and bands that were tonight T-shirts, 20 bucks each. On the walls were the pictures of famous bands and musicians, which have ever performed here. After little look-around I got in. My section was floor. Here is the bar with tables and few rows of seats. The floor itself is going down to the scene with three big steps (like amphitheater). I decided to stand on the second such step, near its hedge, so I was 10 meters from the scene, almost on same level and in the middle. Great place to watch whole show! Upstairs is a huge balcony with seats. Fresco on the ceiling and red and golden colors let you think, that you're in the theater. Waitresses were running around getting the orders and bringing the beer. Security people are near the scene, here is also the zone for media. Only they are allowed to take the pictures. There is a plenty of security inside, each has flashlight, they are here to keep order and take out the ones, who take illegal pictures. 2 guys near me were thrown out for photographing MOONSPELL with their cell phones. Same time some people were smoking pot without any problems :) Also security didn't bother the cool moshpit.

At 7:05 first band SKELETONITCH started to play. These guys are from Ohio, musically are black/thrash metal. From black metal they have only vocals, and their music is real heavy/thrash with nice solos. I can't say, that this band really fell deep into my mind during their 20 minutes performance. But I managed to take 2 pictures of them (for that moment I wasn't sure if it's prohibited to photograph).





Next performing band were deathcore Californians WINDS OF PLAGUE. Keyboardist girl and vocalist with mohawk were the first remarkable things. Unfortunately, keyboards were almost muted. Music is more interesting, that from previous band. Core-parties with thick guitar sound sounded great and vocalist was really killing. By the way, this band is signed by Century Media.

Now was the time for Portuguese gothic metal group MOONSPELL. Big banner with the cover of the last album - "Night Eternal" was hanging behind. I knew the setlist in advance:

1) In Memoriam
2) Finisterra
3) Night Eternal
4) Moon in Mercury
5) Opium
6) Full Moon Madness

Fernando played well with the crowd, asking all the people to put their hands up and headbang. During the one song, three guys from DANZIG team (I guess one of them was their drummer) brought chairs and box on stage and started to play poker. Crowd liked that joke, and MOONSPELL guitarist stepped his foot on the box and after just sat on it. After few rounds cardplayers went away. Group from Portugal presented finest gothic metal, but too few unfortunately. Such a great band was given same time as other two, which are class lower for sure.

Instruments and amps of DIMMU BORGIR and DANZIG were on stage all the concert time under covers, so there was not so much space for three first bands. DIMMU team started to prepare the stage for performance: bases with shining drums and metalic keyboards with pentagrams. There were steps between drums and keyboards for Shagrath. MOONSPELL banner was replaced with "In Sorte Diaboli" CD cover picture. Список песен боргиров я также знал заранее:
1) Intro
2) Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
3) The Serpentine Offering
4) The Sinister Awakening
5) Reptile
6) Kings Of Carnival Creation
7) Spellbound (By The Devil)
8) Puritania
9) The Sacrilegious Scorn
10) Mourning Palace

Lights were turned off and musicians appeared on stage one by one during the Intro. First was drummer (though Hellhammer recorded "In Sorte Diaboli", he didn't played in this tour), then keyboardist Mustis, ICS Vortex, guitarist Cyrus (Galder became a dad recently, that's why he left at home), Silenoz and Shagrath. DIMMU started with Progenies... - track from "Death Cult Armageddon" album. When Vortex was singing his clean voice parties, he was highlighted. Fog and light show created great atmosphere, cool were musicians costumes and corpsepaint. Shagrath presented two tour-musicians - guitarist Cyrus from SUSPERIA and new drummer Daray Brzozowski, who played in VADER. After thay played two songs from last album, people were singing together with the frontman. Nobody was against old stuff, so DIMMU BORGIR played Reptile - first track from "Spiritual Black Dimensions". Then Kings Of Carnival Creation ("Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia") was performed. Metalheads were headbanging as crazymen, my neck was hurting too :) After that we all heard old song from my most favorite album "Enthroned Darkness Triumphant" - Spellbound. After that tech Puritania ("Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia"), and another one from "In Sorte Diaboli" The Sacrilegious Scorn. Fat dot was well known and fave song - Mourning Palace! 60-65 DIMMU BORGIR set went to the end, I wished more :). The show was amazing!

Since it was only 10:15, I decided to stay and have a look at headlining band DANZIG. DIMMU's keyboard and drums platforms were taken away, skull decorations were now on almost empty stage (comparing it was crowded in the beginning of the fest). After two songs of Glen Danzig I left club and went home.

Today's gig was amazing! DIMMU BORGIR setlist was really cool, because they played songs from different their albums! When they were playing in SF in spring, they played mostly "In Sorte Diaboli" songs.