Sounds of Silence

Lights dim. Fog rolls in.

A cloaked figure walks across the stage.

He stands behind a small podium, three candles resting along the edge, flanked by two longer ones. He seems to flip through a book, but my vantage point partially fails me. The microphone is pressed tightly against his lips; his face is unseen, save for quick glances of his mouth every now and then.

Fog continues to roll in. Chanting. Guttural words. A pagan ritual?

Am I at the right concert?

This performer was Void ov Voces, the opening act for Ulver at the Palác Akropolis in Prague. His show consisted of two vocal pieces - songs? chants? hymns? - that managed to set an eerie, pagan mood to the small venue. The audience was captivated, ears bent forward, intently taking in this man's vocalizations - which, I realized afterward, included throat singing. For a band like Ulver, whose roots come from the black metal scene, it felt fitting to have Void ov Voices open the show; in a sense, it almost felt like a dark blessing.

Enjoyable as it was, though, I found myself itching for the performance to end and for Ulver to come on stage. After the opening act finished, we had to wait half an hour until the band finally showed up; it was an annoying wait, but well worth it.

"Eos" was the opening song, off of Shadows of the Sun. It was accompanied by a stirring video of a lioness hunting a pack of zebras, specifically attacking a foal. It was a darker version of The Lion King's Circle of Life. At the start of the video was the sun, rising into the clouds; at the end, the moon became the dominant fixture. Day turns to night, zebras turn to food, and life goes on.

Though I love the band very much, I must admit that aside from Perdition City, I'm not very familiar with their other albums. That is, I've heard the other albums a few times now but I can't recall most of the songs. Actually, the albums have distinct atmospheres to them and I could likely tell you what album a song is from if I heard it, but I wouldn't know the lyrics and such.

Still, I enjoyed the concert. They played the one song from Blood Inside that I know, "Operator", and it was accompanied by a crazy video of a man committing suicide in a bathtub with a razor blade. One of the song's lines is, "Truth is a hospital." Kristoffer Rygg, the band's singer and leader, yells the final word but on the live version they played, he said it softly. A bit disappointing, as this was one of the few parts I could actually sing along to, but it was an interesting little change.

Only two songs were played off of Perdition City: "Hallways of Always" and, my favorite, "Porn Piece or the Scars of Cold Kisses." The latter was a shorter version, and it worked, considering the first four or so minutes is very atmospheric and might not fit a concert setting. It was awesome, though!

Seeing Rygg (Garm, Trickster G., or Godhead as he apparently goes by now) was awesome. He's got a great look, with thick arms covered in tattoos and a ridiculously long beard - and topped with a black beanie.

The concert's conclusion was rather interesting. After the last song was done, the band left the stage. Naturally, the entire audience stood their ground, applauding for an encore. This made me think how encores are now just another part of the show; they're not particularly special. It's become too fake. At the Pixies concert last year, they had a legitimate encore: we all started to leave the auditorium as we thought the band finished, only for a song to start up. Everyone rushed back to the stage - quite a frenzy! At this show, there was no encore. Ulver returned, but only to take their bows. The image on the screen behind the stage read, "The rest is silence." As we clapped and cheered, Rygg took a microphone and said that it was a bit ironic, as the rest really is silence: they didn't have any material ready. Then they left.

I understand how an electronic band like them would need to prepare material and couldn't really start jamming out a random song, but to hear the words "not have anything prepared" just comes off as very unprofessional. It left a bad taste in my mouth, as that was what the band left us with.

Ultimately, I can't complain. I saw one of the European bands that I listen to in Europe, and that's something I never would have thought would happen. The show was great, and the venue was quite cozy.

And the Czech metal heads were really no different from American ones!