One of the first live concerts in Russia after the quarantine was Metal Against Corona Fest, a local indoors event, on October 2nd. It was held in the center of Moscow, at Live Stars club and the show was also streamed on Facebook, VK and YouTube. Five bands announced for the night were Fausttophel, Addict, Blackthorn, Sinful and Sunwalter.
I attended the event mainly for symphonic extreme metal act Blackthorn. They were the third on the bill and by the time the band came on stage, the audience was already full of enthusiasm. If during the first two bands the dance floor was almost empty, now there was an anticipating crowd. And, of course, the girls looked happy to see smiling people around. Everyone was having an amazing time even despite the fact that due to the current situation, the audience and musicians were obliged to wear masks everywhere except the stage.
The setlist was composed of mostly new songs: seven out of eight were the tracks from the upcoming album, including a cover of Rammstein’s well-known hit “Sonne”. All-time banger “Hexshadow Turned to Flesh” ended the almost 45 minutes long concert. During this last track, both the band and the audience were going crazy. They were headbanging, jumping and screaming, realizing it was probably the last concert before the second wave of the virus. Blackthorn did a very good job despite the fact that Polina, the drummer, played with both her legs traumatized. She sprained one of her ankles two months before the concert and twisted the other one just a week before the show.
After the gig, all the fans had the opportunity to take photos with band members, talk to them and have some pieces of merch signed. The girls were very sweet and friendly and seemed to enjoy every second of connecting with their fans. All in all, it was one of the best shows I’ve been to. Maybe it’s because of half a year concert break, but I feel like everything went perfect. See for yourselves, the performance is now available for watching on Blackthorn’s Youtube channel.
Setlist: 1. Intro + Sabbath Calls 2. The Nethersource 3. Sonne (Rammstein cover) 4. Feast Upon Lifeblood 5. Hosts of Sylvan Gloom 6. Nightshade Crypt 7. Black Streams Arcanum 8. Hexshadow Turned to Flesh
Metal Goddesses 