The “Apostles of Darkness” tour featuring Rotting Christ, Melechesh, and Hate commenced on Wednesday, March 9th. Jaxx in Springfield, Virginia, hosted the inaugural show to an admittedly small but very enthusiastic audience. Hate did not arrive in the State in time to perform, so openers Lecherous Nocturne and Abigail Williams served as warm-ups for the headliners.
The pairing of Melechesh and Rotting Christ is an obvious one, as both bands share a stylistic bent in common. Melechesh went first and laid down a ferocious precedent for their first ever North American tour. Guitarist and vocalist Ashmedi screeched with a voice like an Assyrian sandstorm and he and rhythm guitarist Moloch traded sonic blows as they called upon Mesopotamian deities of fire and wrath. New material from their most recent LP, The Epigenesis rang out with album-grade clarity combined with the combustible atmosphere of a live performance. Melechesh's sound could be compared to Nile in terms of the Arabic scales that appear throughout the material, but they set themselves apart by refraining from packing too many notes into their riffs. The result is warm and melodic, and it would be fair to say that Melechesh deals in high concept heavy metal as much as they delve into black metal. Ambient playback via a sampler took up space between songs, and Ashmedi incited the crowd with little effort. The set was just over 45 minutes with few moments of rest, and the fans were up to the challenge. It was a fine standard to set for a first night out.
Next came headliners Rotting Christ, who also had no trouble selling themselves to the crowd. As mentioned above, the Greek quartet employed many of the same methods as their Assyrian counterparts. The group is renowned for their immersive live performances that are raised to a cinematic level with carefully timed sample playback. Their timing is impeccable, and for all the smooth and careful playing, the guys certainly know how to throw down a jam. Frontman Sakis is handy with his axe and forceful with his delivery. He lead the crowd with a raised hand like a Greek strategos would lead spear-wielding soldiers into battles of yesteryear. A wide selection of the sizable Rotting Christ discography made the cut, including the much-loved title track, “Non Serviam”. The set was a mixture of soaring moments and sullen explorations beyond the Styx, and not a note was missed in the process. If anything, fans can rest assured that both Rotting Christ and Melechesh are in fighting form for the dates to come. There will be plenty of ancient madness to go around, so be sure to catch the date in your town!
The dates are as follows:
Mar. 09 - Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA
Mar. 10 - Championship Bar & Grill - Trenton, NJ
Mar. 11 - Montage Music Hall - Rochester, NY
Mar. 12 - Rocko’s - Manchester, NH
Mar. 13 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
Mar. 14 - Crazy Donkey - Farmingdale, NY
Mar. 15 - Petite Campus - Montreal, QC - CANADA
Mar. 16 - Mod Club - Toronto, ON - CANADA
Mar. 17 - Blondie’s - Detroit, MI
Mar. 18 - Peabody’s - Cleveland, OH
Mar. 19 - Reggie’s Rock Club - Chicago, IL
Mar. 20 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
Mar. 22 - The Republik - Calgary, AB - Canada
Mar. 23 - Starlite Room - Edmonton, AB - Canada
Mar. 25 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
Mar. 26 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
Mar. 27 - DNA Lounge - San Francisco, CA
Mar. 28 - Chain Reaction - Anaheim, CA
Mar. 29 - The Key Club - Hollywood, CA
Mar. 30 - Brick by Brick - San Diego, CA
Mar. 31 - U.B’s Bar - Mesa, AZ
Apr. 01 - The War Legion Underground - Amarillo, TX
Apr. 02 - The Marquee - Tulsa, OK
Apr. 03 - Rail Club - Ft. Worth, TX
Apr. 04 - Emo’s - Austin, TX
Apr. 05 - Walter’s - Houston, TX
Apr. 07 - Brass Mug - Tampa, FL
Apr. 08 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Apr. 09 - Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC
Apr. 10 - The Casbah - Charlotte, NC
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