Daemonia Nymphe
DARKHER/PROMETHEUS AND THE SATYRS
ISLINGTON ACADEMY, LONDON
RITUAL WONDERS DRAWN FROM THE HEART OF ANCIENT GREECE
NOT MANY GIGS feature a sword dance halfway through, but this is Daemonia Nymphe’s way of ensuring fans don’t forget this midsummer spectacle. Masked openers
PROMETHEUS AND THE SATYRS [7] cast the circle with a creepy performance that sweeps from post-metal and dark ambient to the more experimental corners of pagan folk fusion. There’s no actual singing, just chanting, mysterious sounds and a dancer with a doll. No one knows what’s going on but the nervous applause soon turns into genuine appreciation. In complete contrast is DARKHER’S [7] solo acoustic set. There are no theatrics, just Jayn H Wissenberg, her guitar and heart-achingly beautiful, dark songs with highlights of Hollow Veil and Moths. Her presence is phenomenal and her performance so rich that she leaves the room perfectly charged for DAEMONIA NYMPHE [8]. The Greek project have been running since 1994 but tonight they push the boundaries of a larger stage with an array of mostly masked guests including Dead Can Dance’s former percussionist Peter Ulrich, two dancers and a puppeteer. It’s wonderfully over-the-top but captivating. Like Wardruna, their atmospheric sounds transport us to another world; in this case it’s Ancient Greece complete with the myth-based songs and arcane instruments. All the chanting, bells, medieval bagpipes and tribal drums make tonight feel more like a ritual than a rock show. Forget pyrotechnics and huge video screens, sometimes the old ways are the best.