Goudvishal, Arnhem. February 18, 2006.
The small but cosy & dark Goudvishal was the venue for two notable slices of Cold Meat. Other than being Swedish and sharing the same label, there do not seem to be many similarities in the music of IRM and Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio.
The duo IRM kicked off the night with a somethat more noisy sound than displayed on their latest album “Virgin Mind”. The tracks of this release sounded less ambient-like when performed live. Also some songs of “Oedipus Dethroned” were on the menu, which wasn’t easy to digest, as expected. The songs were mononotous, loud and penetrating, the claustrophobic video images didn’t make things easier. What set IRM apart from other power electronics acts were the intense shouted vocals by Martin Bladh, which gave their sound an emotional and personal touch. I found their last song ‘Sebastian’ (of “Virgin Mind”) most impressive, so the concert ended at its peak. By then a large part of the audience had already fled to more sheltered parts of the venue.
The it was time for the band most visitors came for, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. No female participation this time on stage, singer Rose-Marie Larsen was absent. ORE directly started fierce, with the martial ‘War’, from their vinyl-only single 141. The next songs sounded also quite powerful, perhaps this was their most masculine concert I witnessed so far. A few pieces of their ““Satyriasis” split were on the menu, alas without Spiritual Front as surprise guests. Also some new songs were played, which sounded quite promising for a next release. Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio is not one the most spectacular live acts. They look quite static on stage, and a significant part of the music is reproduced by electronic means. Nevertheless I found it an enjoyable concert. Their ritual apocalyptic songs remain good and the percussion and the vocals by frontman Tomas Petersson were particularly solid this time.
