We were ending the night in total darkness, because what else could we get when the Norwegian black metal royalty Abbath took the Pandæmonium stage at the end of Thursday’s festivities?

“Good evening, goddamnit!”
- Abbath (vocals, guitar)

Through some trick of wintry magic, the stage was filled with smoke through which the band appeared so suddenly they could hardly have walked out like mere mortals. Or the smoke was just so thick we were unable to see it. Either way, when the band was there, they were ready to deliver one hell of a party to Copehell!
Abbath himself was on top, squatting down to silence the crowd, then rising to make us shout with admiration - up and down he went, like a monochromatic yoyo! The man was clearly enjoying himself, and he was letting us enjoy ourselves as well. Never has black metal been as fun, as it is in the hands of Olve Eikemo.
While Abbath was obviously the main magnet of attention, it was good to see that the entire band got in on the fun, and that they had clearly been briefed on the tone of the show. Both Ole André Farstad and hired gun Andreas Fosse Salbu were living it up, walking back and forth on the stage, playing up against each other, and delivering lively performances, and Ukri Suvilehto even rose and played the drums standing up for parts of the show.

It was Abbath people had come to see however, and he lived up to his reputation as a frontman. Crab walk, audience interaction (often in Norwegian), and all the rest - he was a powerhouse this evening, and he had some gimmicks up his leathery sleeve as well. For Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark) he donned a mighty horned helmet with, for some reason, a built in wig so his already long hair now reached his butt. Given this, it was probably the safest choice to take it off again before engaging in his pyromantic display at the end of the show.
Given the fact that the show was on at the same time as the Hades headliner Lorna Shore, maybe it wasn’t so surprising that the crowd size was modest at first, but as people came to their senses, more and more flooded in to watch this show instead. We were, slightly surprising but not unwelcome, treated to a best of setlist with all Immortal covers. Why exactly he didn’t play any songs he’s put out under the Abbath name, I cannot say, but it was a party nonetheless.

Yes, Abbath was a party. He’s always a party, but tonight was still him on his very top, and we loved it. Talk about ending the night on a high note.

Setlist:

Sons Of Northern Darkness (Immortal cover)
In My Kingdom Cold (Immortal cover)
Tyrants (Immortal cover)
All Shall Fall (Immortal cover)
One By One (Immortal cover)
Intro (Immortal cover)
Mountains Of Might (Immortal cover)
The Call Of The Wintermoon (Immortal cover)
Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark) (Immortal cover)
The Sun No Longer Rises (Immortal cover)
Withstand The Fall Of Time (Immortal cover)