And so the second spring month of 2005 was drawing toward its close. No, don't imagine something happened to shake the entire world — even the ancient writings were not promising us another end of days. And it was 19 April of that year, and the only thing that made this day significant for us was a gothic session at one of the local venues of local scale — the club Oriana, little known to newcomers but long since become a home ground for the regular crowd. The period of winter aggression had passed, the spring depression had sunk into the abyss, and the soul was open for the full and adequate reception of everything happening around. This gothic session was precisely the kind of event that filled the permanent post-winter neutrality of the soul — when old feelings can no longer affect you in any way, and the new, spring ones have not yet gathered their life force. And we thank all the organisers of this event — it was as necessary as air. So: that day we were greeted by four exclusively Kyiv-based bands, two of which were known to at least 80 percent of those present at the session — those were, without question, GRIMFAITH and MALINCONIA, young but already well established within the capital's scene, promising and full of potential. I think it would be superfluous to list the band rosters, as for those who know them this information is entirely redundant, and for those who don't it is meaningless. If one may put it this way, GRIMFAITH and MALINCONIA are bands of the same guild — both play in a gothic-doom style, each charming and distinctive in its own way. Fate had already brought them together on the same stage more than once, which became no small factor in the formation of a close friendship between them. They even have identical lineups in terms of instrumentation: two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals. And it is precisely the vocals that form the boundary that makes one perceive these bands in fundamentally different ways. I think you have already guessed that the dialectic of that last observation lies in the fact that GRIMFAITH has male vocals, while MALINCONIA has — I am not afraid to use the word — operatic female vocals. The other two bands formed a vivid contrast to those already mentioned: one performs music in the Christian doom style (TEMPORARY SUFFERING), and the other in gothic/darkwave (AUDI SILE).
It had been a long time since I felt so genuinely comfortable in a hall like the one at Oriana: an impression of total cosiness was created, for which there were two reasons, perhaps more — a moderate number of attendees and a perfectly chosen lineup for this event.
Let us note the organisation and punctuality of the proceedings. Precisely on schedule we were greeted on stage by the first performing band — TEMPORARY SUFFERING. My opinion may be entirely subjective, but this band deserves to be called the best of that evening. This view can perhaps be justified by the fact that, like the majority of those present, I had not known this band before — yet they were playing excellent doom, in the finest traditions of MY DYING BRIDE, without fear of that comparison. The sounds of the violin pierced you through with a sense of absolute madness and despair; to all of this one could add the quite emotional self-giving of two vocalists who were able to wind up the sparse audience with skill. I will repeat it once more: they were playing Christian doom, and this is not merely an empty and meaningless genre label. All the lyrics were devoted to a single theme: the theme of God as creator of this world. It is rare nowadays to meet people who sincerely profess their wholesome beliefs, and who are so capable of communicating them to others. On this occasion I gave them the greater part of my sympathies — and believe me, not without reason.
Then with her enchanting and bewitching voice MALINCONIA greeted us, through the beautiful vocalist Tetyana. Of their performance let us say this: the material presented by the band — which had only fully reformed two months previously — deserves an excellent rating. Let them forgive me — they so did not want to hear flattering words directed at them, but otherwise it would simply be inaccurate. Certain technical imperfections that an untrained ear would not in principle detect can be fully forgiven this time — but this will be the first and last time such latitude is granted. And yet their music is so melodic and close to a sensitive soul! Particular attention is merited by the surprise the band had prepared for the audience. For no one had expected to hear "Deep Silent Complete" (a NIGHTWISH cover) performed by them. The similarity of Tetyana's vocal rendering to that of Tarja Turunen was simply astonishing. This song finally warmed even the hearts most chilled by the winter.
After MALINCONIA's set concluded, everyone waited to see what GRIMFAITH's answer would be — and it was worthy! Songs that had already become hits — "Vampire to Become," "Spinalonga," "Sex in Heaven" — once again confirmed the band's quite high standing and authority. As always, the musicians felt assured and precise on stage; despite some technical glitches, the performance was clean — one can sense that the band is preparing seriously for achievements greater than the promotional disc released at the start of the year. Well — the potential is there, the technical level as always high — one can only hope that in combination all of this will eventually be realised as a proper full-length album.
And lastly that day, AUDI SILE brought us aesthetic musical pleasure. It should be said that music of this kind has always been the source of arguments and discussions, incompatibilities and disagreements. The band has been known to us since the distant past — afraid of getting the exact date wrong, I will simply say with confidence: since the late 1990s. Even then they were working in the direction they continue today — purely electronic music, though not going beyond the broad umbrella of the term "gothic." Yes, this is precisely gothic, but electronically oriented. One would not wish to try to prove anything here — certain things need to be accepted as they were not only in the moment of their creation, but as the passage of time has made them. Many people take an extremely negative view of this kind of creative work — that is their right, their worldview, which has just as much right to exist as the music offered by AUDI SILE. The band gave everything. A large number of compositions were performed, among which one could hear both the very latest work and older, long-familiar pieces such as "Het z moyei zemli," "Stels," and "Lyst v Ukrayinu." The last thing to say, in the hope of swift future meetings, is an enormous collective thank you to the organisers for the work they put in.