Live Review: Necronautical With Wolvencrown/Sanhedrin at The Black Heart, London (06/02/22)

It’s a cold and very windy Sunday in February. I’ve been out of bed since 5:30am, working from 7am until 3pm, doing over 23,000 steps throughout the day and stuffing my face with Tapas in the evening. I was ready for bed at 7pm. Why am I starting this review by telling you about my day? Simply because there are few bands that could liven me up enough to break through the lethargy of my day and leaving me grinning from ear to ear. I was knackered before the first note of the very first band was hit. Unable to have a beer because of antibiotics and work again in the morning. However by the end of this show, I could have gone another couple of hours.

The Black Heart is nice and packed for opening band Sanhedrin, a black and death metal band that only recently reformed (2021) following a 4-year run between 2009 and 2013. It’s a new line-up and a fresh outlook that sees them blast through a blistering 30-minute setlist of in your face heaviness. A very ‘no-frills’ performance, there’s little conversation coming from the stage. Instead Sanhedrin let their music do the talking and by the response of the crowd, everyone is glad to have them back.

Atmospheric black metal band Wolvencrown really should need no introduction as they are a simply phenomenal outfit who sound as though they’ve been doing this for 17 years instead of just 7.

It’s clear from the reaction of the crowd that a fair few people are here for them and them alone. So even a short delay to the start can’t dampen any spirits, although having to cut the set short because of the runover almost did. None of that matters though because Wolvencrown put on a clinic of beautiful brutality. Where their atmospheric melodic highs and lows are as equally stunning as their guttural black metal savagery. Time flies by in an instant and it was one of those rare occasions where I wondered if the support band had blown the main band off the stage already. That’s how good Wolvencrown where.

Silly me though. I should never have doubted Necronautical who have been on blistering form as of late. Releasing the incredible new album ‘Slain in the Spirit’ last year and killing it at Bloodstock, much to my delight. This is stop 3 of a 6-stop tour around the UK and considering it is a cold Sunday night, the Black Heart is still packed as Necronautical begin things with a roar.

From the start Necronautical exude intensity but importantly, have a more accessible sound. Most notable when they play tracks form their latest release. The title track is immense sounding, the acoustics of the venue matching the head-banging ferocity of the rhythm. As they only have an hour, it’s a sharp run through but one that flies by in a blur of crunchy, crushing metal. Forget the cold outside, Necronautical bring the heat and everyone in the venue is basking in it.

It’s an incredible night of music. From Sanhedrin to Wolvencrown to Necronautical, every band puts on a strong performance and it’s a great showcase of the extreme.