The Ring of Fire and Blood/ Sangre Cavallum/ Stalker Vitki.
27th October 2.001:
Les Joyaux de la Princesse/ Absinthe Project Presentation/ The Ring of Fire and Blood.
(Sociedade Uniao Sintrense)
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I always thought that for most of the best musical projects we admire something really special can always be done when organising a live event. I have assisted to an important number of concerts and festivals, but the lack of a certain atmosphere, in many cases, has been a dominant factor that determined the final result of some of the concerts. Of course I am talking about certain bands which definitely require some conditions to play or with which a special surrounding must be prepared.
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In the case of what happened during the last
days of the month of October, 2.001 all my expectations were surpassed thanks
to the best organised event I have the immense fortune to assist to. My biggest
respect an admiration to the people behind Produçoes Sol de Ferro who
achieved the highest level in their thorough work. The first day of the unforgettable
event started visiting the surroundings of the museum, later we entered the
place and had the chance of an interesting guided visit to appreciate the jewels
the place keep inside, a valuable start to intr
oduce ourselves deeply
in the special atmosphere. 
As previously announced, the
concerts of the first two nights were limited to 90 people, who were going to
witness the event comfortably sat on the little theatre of that incomparable
localisation. The opening band were the Portuguese Sangre Cavallum. They have
made a substitution in their line up changing one of the drummers we saw in
the first Arcana Europa festival by a bassist player who added a more consistent
result and backed the sound perfectly. This band is undoubtedly one of the best
neo folk acts currently found in Europe, they had shown their capacity in the
aforementioned festival one year and a half ago, but this time, although presenting
a less percussive and in some way different show, they again could develop their
best sound presenting an own view of the traditional ways, blended with some
modern approach using a good variety of instruments. Unfortunately they are
yet to release recorded material, although a tape was planned to be published
through their own Forgotten Blood label, out by the Winter Solstice 2.001. Sangre
Cavallum made us introduced ourselves in the pure nature of the north of Portugal
and Galicia, thus growing occult sentiments and installing in our subconscious
a freshness which came directly from those lands and from their clean sound,
which was backed by the acoustic guitars and bass and the keyboard melodies,
but mainly carried by the flutes, bagpipe and drums. They helped their music
and atmosphere with slides projected be
hind them which thematically
accompanied perfectly their music. Soon, and after a break, we saw entering
the stage Michael Moynihan and Annabel Lee (Blood Axis) together with B'eirth
(In Gowan Ring). They started the first notes of what was going to be the purest
form of folk music from nowadays, presenting own tracks and interpretations
of several traditional tunes. The kind and worm presence of B'eirth voice and
his special double guitar (?) initiated the night, while Annabel Lee on violin,
who every time plays better and better, and Moynihan on Bodhran, helped to create
the proper entering stage. All that first night was based firstly on the In
Gowan Ring tranquil songs, which later were substituted by Blood Axis material.
But in between, and what was a real surprise was the show of Ian Read and his
songs under his well known project Fire & Ice. I saw him at the Leipzig
festival back in 1.999 (that time helped by Annabel Lee and two Backworld members),
but this show in Portugal surpassed all my expectations. Ian voice sounded better
than ever, and he sung with such a sentiment, with such a profound and sincere
feeling, that I am not able to describe what he transmitted during that nights.
He involved the air with such a special aura, building a bridge from his inner
self to the ones capable of receive the message. I do not remind all tracks
he interpreted since all three night are all mixed in my mind, but as far as
I remember we could feel several from his latest masterpiece, "Birdking",
with titles like "Greyhead", and o
thers from his wide
discography like "Call Up The Four Winds", "Seidkona", "Gilded
By The Sun", and classicals like "Corpus Christi", "Michael"
or the wonderful "The Seeker". This last one, as everyone should know,
was once covered by Blood Axis themselves and was a luck to see it interpreted
live by all of them together. One of the more intense moments was when Ian poured
his soul while singing "Benediction/Malediction", which was originally
included on the Current 93 album "Swastikas For Noddy", hardly in
a few occasions I have had the chance to see a singer so devotee to the words
that where going out of his inner self. The Fire & Ice songs were usually
divided in two parts combined with the great Blood Axis', interpreted with a
very subtle manner. Blood Axis walked a long path giving space to some European
and Irish traditional folk songs, but still had a place to stop the journey
and visit some others which have made Blood Axis great over the years. Besides
"The Seeker" with Michael voice backing Ian's, they gave us a new
approach to songs like "Lord Of Ages" or "The Hangman And The
Papist", both with unexpected interpretations based on the main instruments
named before. Moynihan adapted his voice reciting over the instrumentation 
in a
very special way providing them of an equally intense but newly result. Also
"The March Of Brian Boru" was every night performed, helped with the
bass and the bagpipe players of Sangre Cavallum, being this way the more faithful
versions to the original, specially close to the one included on the "Ten
Years Of Madness" compilation released by the great Russians Achtung Baby!.
Blood Axis presented also the new "Song Of The Comrade" from a translation
of a Miguel Serrano text. This was a surprise because its plainness, only with
the presence of voice, Bodhran and accordion. Also another new song was performed,
the nice "Follow Me Up To Carlow". During the first two nights the
members of all bands were rotating including the presence of Robert Ferbrache,
who played electric guitar, of course during some Blood Axis tracks. The night
was complete with "The Ring", offering their best of their individual
material. On the 21st the opening act was the Portuguese project Stalker Vitki.
This one man project based his show in slides adorning the scene, projecting
the complementary images to the ambient music. He was periodically changing
his previously recorded tracks, travelling from the more ambient, to some darker
spaces and going from a tranquil electronica to more industrial inclined parts,
ending with a reciting text by Maurizio Janeiro (one of the main organisers).
A very special and proper project in images and sound to fill with mystery and
new energy the stage that later again was filled with the presence of the several
musicians of "The Ring". This second day was even, I think, more intense
and complete than the first. Only Fire & Ice presented some different songs
while In Gowan Ring and Blood Axis maintained nearly the same show. I know that
some people missed the more "aggressive" side of Blood Axis and maybe
expected a full instrumentation show, but what was seen that night in my opinion
was a perfect example of what could be done in a location like that. Of course
if you did not have the chance to see them live during their tour in 1.998 throughout
Europe, that opinion may be understandable, although I think that the more we
expect a very concrete show from a band the more we can be disappointed, of
course I am quite happy to have had the chance to see that new facet of such
admired band.
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A week later, and this time inside the enchanting
city of Sintra, the third and last night of these shows trilogy was presented
inside a nice theatre. The opening act was the legendary Les Joyaux de la Princesse,
a project I was looking forward to see live since I have never had the chance
to assist to one of their few shows. They based their performance on their work
dedicated to the International Exposition of Paris in 1.937. The scene was decorated
with a few objects with a direct reference to the exposition itself as well
as with some projections which also reflected several historic events from the
first half of the twentieth century. The music backed the drummings of Erik
and Viginie while she was also in front of the microphone reciting texts. The
music as presented in the limited box and the single released after the precious
object, combined more ambient tracks with sounds inside a neo classical vein
and others with a more industrial inclination. The climax were growing in each
song directly from the drum parts which mostly started slowly while later they
were becoming more powerful adding a more lively pulse in some kind of crescendo
that Erik could maintained, the marching drums were slowly down as each compositions
reached its end, going back to were they started. His partner also give a nice
complement to the drumming and both completed a very intense night full of remembrance
increased by the nice visual accompaniment. Some of the tracks, the ones oriented
to some kind of personal power electronics, were the predominant of the latter
part of the show, which also found their peak with the intensity of the drummings.
A show which I felt short, but that was lived with the passion that the combination
of images and music left with great intensity. 
Surely most of the public who assisted were undoubtedly awaiting the highlight
of the night, and that was the presentation of the Absinthe project that both
Blood Axis and Les Joyaux de la Princesse had recently recorded. It was supposed
that the album, long time announced by Athanor as a vinyl edition and that due
to its long duration it has become a full length CD which later will be released
as a double 10", were going to be available at the concert, but the artist
seemed to be working on it just until a few weeks before the event and there
were no real time for its release. Anyway we could assist to a unique performance
that probably will not be repeated again. Annabel Lee entered the stage first,
with his violin which was going to be the background together with the recorded
music. It left vivid impressions to the listener, maybe one of the most and
accomplished works of both artist filing the atmosphere with both a tension
and a calm that was filtering like the drink through our minds. Moynihan and
Konofal were sat in a wooden table decorated with candles and old books, a table
presided by a bottle of Absinthe that both were sipping through the whole performance.
Both musicians presented a little theatrical performance reflecting perfectly
the moods that the drink was producing. The legendary drinking were combined
with the reciting poems by Michael that were also an essential part of the show.
They achieved a very clear situation induced by the drink while from time to
time Erik was joining in the drums. The drank poets could provide the perfect
scenery while the music sounded absolutely overwhelming projecting a situation
that can be hardly repeated again. When this review is included in this site
the CD version of the project will be already released and probably the public
will have a slightest idea of what could be seen in Sintra.
The third part of the night and after breaks in between was again the performance
of "The Ring" presenting many songs that were listened last week but
with a bigger duration of the whole performance. The entire night lasted more
than five hours, presenting the artist a generosity hardly seen before. Again,
the members of the unique band were performing their songs, If I remember correctly,
only Ian Read presented new ones in relation with the past weekend. All the
members of Sangre Cavallum also joined to participate in several pieces all
together or individually. This long and last performance served to build an
incredible end to two inimitable weekends. The band members themselves thanked
the organisers for such a professional and passionate dedication, and all those
who have the chance to assist to one or each of the shows witnessed some events
that hardly will be repeated in the story of this music genres.
F. Paco González. (November 2.001)
Note: All photos included here were taken during the shows of the 27th October, since the audience was asked by the organisers, after the museum responsibles own requirement, to not take any pictures during the first two dates due to the special characteristics of the place. Unfortunately not all wanted to respect this simple norm.
