So me and my good friend Dom are fuckin’ rushing to get to the concert; we were running late due to lack of prevision of our part and even if the subway system in Mexico City is very reliable it’s normal to suffer a delay of some sorts. The concert was supposed to start at 8:00 PM and we got there 15 minutes late and to our dismay we were informed upon arrival that Carpathian Forest had started punctual… so this review will lack the first 15 minutes of the unholy Black Metal assault upon Mexican soil.

As soon as I got inside the 200 people crowded room I forgot about Dom and I made my way to the front part of the stage (which was no easy feat, mind you) to find myself almost face to face with Vrangsinn (who was playing bass guitar) and Bloodpervertor (who was playing guitar). Only seconds after positioning myself Nattefrost growled into the mic: “Skjend Hans Lik!!!” and everyone in the audience was consumed by pure Black Metal mayhem.

After the song finished I took my time to examine the stage and soon I noticed the first fatal mistake which I must admit, I didn’t notice before. Carpathian Forest was playing without keyboards… oh well, maybe it isn’t one of those bands where keyboards play a major role, but there are certain moments like the end of The Swordsmen were keyboards are absolutely necessary.

The sound was a bit saturated at times although the drums performed by Kobro sounded crystal clear at all moments as well as Nattefrost’s vocals. The band didn’t have a lot of stage presence, but it was definitely better than many others, with Vrangsinn, Bloodpervertor and Tchort headbanging all the time and there were even some funny parts (Vrangsinn fuckin' Nattefrost's ass with his bass) and some lame jokes by Nattefrost ("this song is dedicated to my asshole... It's Darker than You Think!!!") which made me laugh a bit anyway.

I really think Carpathian Forest’s blend of Black Metal with old-school Punk and Hard Rock works perfectly live and people really get pumped up with it. Proof of that was the quite big and aggressive moshing going on, specially during Carpathian Forest where the people went crazy.

Highlight for me was definitely Nattefrost’s vocals. I've always loved Nattefrost's style (specially his clean/semi-clean screams) and live he delivers them perfectly.

Overall I was quite happy with the concert even though they didn’t play a lot of time (around one and a half hour), specially because it was great to hear some of my all time favorite songs live (The Swordsmen and Black Shining Leather). Even though it is quite far from being one of my favorite concerts, it sure was a very enjoyable one. If only they had played with keyboards...

Some of the songs they played live (in no order):

Black Shining Leather
The Swordsmen
The Angel and the Sodomizer
Sadomasochistic
Bloodlust & Perversion
It's Darker than You Think
Mask of the Slave
Bloody Fucking Nekro Hell
Return of the Freezing Winds
Carpathian Forest
Skjend Hans Lik