Doomination of Europe 2003 Tour Diary
"Too Much Shit Tour"
DUBLINSet lists
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are mine, The Words The Crawled, Autumnal Fires, The Insolent Caul, Narcisstic Funeral, My Sullen Sulcus, In Mourning My Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Till Light Enshrouds, Blackened Desire
Adrian Butler (Mourning Beloveth) 7th-Feb-2003
And so it begins........
The day of reckoning for the terrible onslaught of the Doomination of Europe begins with a 6am rise and a drive to Ballymena in Northern Ireland to pick up our Doom bus and Doom van (5 hour round trip!!) The original van was of the matchbox variety so we swiftly booked a bigger one and the phrase "Too much Shit" was born. The Prophecy were met by Brian (MB) arrived at the venue mid after noon and our tour manager extroardinaire Heiko arrived at the airport to be met by Frank (MB). Morgion arrived late yesterday evening only to retire to a hotel for some rest.
The Troops of Doom assembled in Dublin for Day 1.
Doors open at 7:45 and The Prophecy take to the stage with songs from their new album. Their mix of Doom and furious death goes down well enough for the Dublin crowd and lead on to Morgion - their 1st European date and a good start for them too.
Mourning Beloveth headline this gig only because it was the official launch of our new CD 'The Sullen Sulcus' leaving all the rest of the dates for Morgion to headline.
Merchandise sales are very good and with our topped up fee (cheers Emerald) we get off to a great start financially and general performance wise too.
Rhett Davis (Morgion) 7th-Feb-2003
In the beginning there was Dublin.
I can't describe a better town or such a warm reception to what was a great show for everyone. In many ways the Irish are true to metal and true to having a good time! In so many ways I wish I could have this kind of reception at home. I'd like to thank Eamon Dorans for good beer, good friends and a truly amazing show!
Matt Lawson (The Prophecy) 7th-Feb-2003
The Prophecy's start to the Doomination of Europe Tour began at 5am Friday morning when Carl and Christian met me outside my work where I had been on the night shift. After a short delay getting out of Cleckheaton (I've worked there almost 18 months and still don't know the place) we were on the road to Holyhead with me and John, the gear in one car and everyone else in Carl's car. We made Holyhead in good time and found a parking space for Carls car after talking to a shop assistant in Holyhead who told us to park near the church in a mixture of Welsh and English (probably calling us all cunts!) Now the fun began as we had to fit Katie, Greg, Carl, Christian, John, 3 guitars, a bass, a keyboard, 2 amps and drum equipment in my car with me driving. Quite a squeeze. Fortunately we're all fairly skinny and the port was only a couple of hundred yards away. We got to the check in and I gave the woman at the kiosk the tickets. "There are 6 of you...in there?" she asked quite sceptical. She could probably only see the small assemblage of hands poking out from beneath the piles of equipment. 200 yards later it was HMS customs and guess what, we got stopped. Fortunately we didn't have any weed on us. It was quite a sight as guitars were unloaded to reveal the 4 people in the back. The car was searched thoroughly (extra thoroughly even!) with sniffer dogs and bomb sensors. The dog was more interested in eating the bits of last week's onion bajis on the floor of my car. Anyway we were passed and got our first autographing opportunity when we gave a cd to the customs officer. So onto the ferry we went (and those speed humps are murder...with a car full of 6 people every bump scrapped the car exhaust and we were lucky not to get grounded). We docked in Dublin at 11am and separated up with me and John going to the petrol station outside the port while the others grabbed a mini cab. We met up and instructed the guy to take us to a car park near O' Connell street where we were to meet Brian from Mourning Beloveth. We grabbed a couple of hours sleep and a bit of food while we waited finally getting Brian to take us to Dorans where we met with the Morgion guys and the rest of Mourning Beloveth less Adrian and Darren who had gone to fetch the 2 vans. So we cracked on getting our first taste of proper Irish Guinness for a number of years and setting up for the gig. We were up first and seemed to go down well with the Irish crowd. Morgion were on top form that night, respect to the sound guy as well as they really blew me away. Adrian coming across a lot like Carl McCoy of Fields of the Nephilim. Their blend of epic doom/death was superb and went down really well. Last up and headlining this gig were Mourning Beloveth and you could tell these lads had the home crowd tonight. With frontman Darren rocking like a motherfucker and the crowd lapping it up! A great start to the tour for all three bands.
Justin Christian (Morgion) 11th-Feb-2003
Things have been a bit hazy the last few days...feels like we're blasting through the days and not sleeping much at that. So far so good. First show in Dublin saw a larger audience than expected. We spent the previous night at the Central Hotel in Dublin (best wishes) then met Mourning Beloveth, Heiko, The Prophecy at Eamon Doran's. Duncan Patterson (ex-Anathema) from Antimatter and Alan from Primordial as well. We sold a lot of merchandise and the audience was good. I think we (Morgion) had a rough set (first show) but the people loved it. We found out that we can't use our amps due to European outlets and a lack of converter for our pedal/effects. After the Dublin show Gary, Rhett and I stayed at Alan's - MISTAKE!!! Crazy Irish buddies never sleep!
Next day - Ferry to England for the Bradford show.
Darren Moore (Mourning Beloveth) 7th-Feb-2003
Arrived with the equipment at Eamon Dorans at 5:30 - fully fucked. The crowd packed in (173) paying and The Prophecy took to the stage. They blew me away. After hearing their first demo I wasn't expecting much but they killed - were tight and Katie's (keyboards) first gig too!. Morgion next and the crowd were warming to the night of doom with a lot of nodding heads. Morgion blew me away also and Adrian's voice, matched with the power of the guitars was mesmerising to say the least.
We took to the stage to our home crowd and played an extended set of 15 hours. Murf did a great job on the sound and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it.
We headed different directions after the gig and Rhett and Gary got their taste of the old Fart/Scobes 1-2 which they seemed to enjoy!?
BRADFORD
Set lists
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are mine, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Till Light Enshrouds
Darren Moore 8th-Feb-2003
8:45am Ferry from Dublin to Holyhead (UK).
With Dwayne driving the Red van and me on mini-bus duties it was a long drive to Bradford. Arrived in Bradford in plenty of time - set up the gear and ordered a round of pizza. Mmmm, hot meat special, and some cider from our friend Keith. Hello to Tefra boyos also.
A bigger crowd than expected (80-100) people turned out.
Ataraxie (Fra) opened the show with their extreme form of Doom/Death. The local boys The Prophecy were next and got the crowd going (these boys are tight - and not just their set ha ha). Mourning Beloveth played a short set due to Ataraxie playing too long and got a good reaction. Morgion have now settled and their set tonight seemed to be an improvement on Dublin even thought I enjoyed the Dublin set more.
A lot of alcohol, chair racing, some mayhem with the MDB boys and a round of champagne (Cheers Fred!). Sleeping arrangements were made and Mourning Beloveth were coupled with the "Ould Lad", Carlos.
Adrian Butler 8th-Feb-2003
A nice early rise at 6am and we started the arduous task of gathering up all the bodies from their lairs of rest. Those at Alan's (Primordial) house didn't get any sleep as Fart/Scobes teamed up yet again to prolong the night and show our American friends how to party. After we got on the ferry and had a fry-up (I don't know where I put it-maybe it was survival mode kicking in-nearly gave me a hernia). A few more stories of last night and a bit more getting to know each other set the scene for what we now knew was going to be a great tour. How could you go wrong with 3 doom bands on tour together?.
Got to curry country and into the venue at Bradford in good time. The notorious Rio sound system stories were banished tonight and comments from the locals saying it was the best sound Rio's ever had and all 3 bands went down very well. The crowd was good and even a few members of MDB showed up to lend their support, nice to meet them again after their trip to Ireland last year.
Cheers to Fred from Ataraxie for the huge champagne toast we all had! - a very good night and wholly entertaining. The chair race with myself and Frank got a few laughs and a few sore ribs, wrestling and Darren's dive on Frank didn't prompt any reaction from the security who looking on in amusement and were very lenient in my opinion. It's just the Irish having a laugh. No drugs = Drink = Madness.
The pottin hasn't made an entrance yet but maybe tomorrow night with the absinthe to follow.
Greg O'Shea 8th-Feb-2003
The strength of the show was proved by the venue, paying an amount over the agreed fee. This has never happened before at Rio's in its history. I've never ever seen so many people in the venue at 7:30pm before which is testament to the pulling power all three bands on this tour have.
Justin Christian 11th-Feb-2003
Bradford Rio's. Met with Ataraxie who opened the show to a yet full crowd. The Prophecy were in their hometown and did very well which was confirmed by Andrew of My Dying Bride. We talked and hung out with him and Aaron of the band who reminded us they are fans of Morgion but Aaron thought we looked bored on stage. I explained that we were tired but he insisted that a band should give 110% under any conditions. All in all not a huge show but pretty good. The crowd was more subdued in this venue. I believe The Prophecy is the tightest band on the tour, even they've only had 3 shows prior to the tour. Mourning Beloveth are also especially impressive and passionate. Heiko mentioned that they have the best stage presence.
LONDON
Set lists
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are mine, The Insolent Caul, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Darren Moore Saturday 9th-Feb-2003
Drive to London and now everybody is getting to know each other. I didn't know what to expect from 5 Americans and 6 English but we are all the same people - METAL People!!
Arrived in London in good time - good venue, backstage and a fucking shower.
Ataraxie again supported and again went over time - not a good thing. I won't keep mentioning sets cause every night now the bands seem to be getting better and better, more relaxed on stage and a good atmosphere between the 3 bands helps a lot.
Plenty of interviews and a Terrorizer and Metal Hammer presence will help spread the Doom name. Met our Irish friend Erroll and didn't forget his package.
Some Northern Lights made an appearance and it was a relaxing night. 150 audience.
Matt Lawson 9th-Feb-2003
Driving - 2 hours in London (trying to get the fuck out of it!) and 2 hours to Dover.
Adrian Butler 9th-Feb-2003
We arrived early enough at the venue. Got the "Too Much Shit" all in. The Underworld venue is cool with nice backstage etc and the promoters/staff were very accommodating. Some smelly fuckers got to take a shower and scrape the muck off our already weary bodies. After last night's session everybody was a bit worse for wear and got to freshen up for the London gig.
Ataraxie started to play at 7:30 to a small but increasing crowd. The sound was as good as last nights and looked promising for the rest. The Prophecy put on another storming show and kept to crowd of doom miserable for when we started up after. We played 4 songs and got a good reception. I was here for Moonspell a few years ago and never thought I'd get to look from the other side of the stage, cool.
Morgion played an excellent set with an even mixture of old and new songs from their forthcoming album. Merchandise sales were good tonight with all bands doing very well. Ataraxie sold out of all their cd's!
Finished the gig and took a late night tour of London trying to find a way out of the fucking place. A few stops and a reading of the moon and the stars and we eventually found our way south to Dover. Its fucking freezing outside too!!
Greg O'Shea 9th-Feb-2003
Terrorizer and Metal Hammer Mag's both came to the Underworld venue to provide coverage of this year's premier Doom Metal event. All three main bands were flooded by interviews and promotion work ranging from magazine to website interest.
Justin Christian 9th-Feb-2003
London - Camden Underworld.
Interesting layout. Had a wonderful backstage area stacked with food and water. Mourning Beloveth finally got to go to the showers (stinky bastards!). Everyone played their best sets this night and all were pleased with themselves. There was a good crowd and merchandise sold pretty well. The crowd was chanting "Morgion" during our set and we were allowed a little extra time. Although this gig played the agreed amount, the first 2 shows paid us extra because the nights went better than expected. We had a chance here to do some interviews and film some of the show. Afterwards it took us 2 hours to find our way out of London (brutal!). We arrived at the ferry to France in the middle of the night after me and Rhett kept Darren awake with stories and laughter.
PARIS
Set lists
Morgion: All the Glory..., Mourners Oak, Cairn, Crowned in Earth, Black Stone Wielder, Nightfall Infernal, Invalid Prodigy, A Slow Succumbing
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are mine, The Words The Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning My Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Adrian Butler 10th-Feb-2003
Arrived at a very foggy Calais at 6:30 am to board the ferry to mainland Europe. With Darren at the helm of the mini-bus and Carl on the gear van driving duties. A brief check of the engines for oil and that strange knocking sound has disappeared!! Maybe it was the gods of doom poking some fun at us for once. Got some coffee for Darren. His "Keep talking to me" comment to Heiko prompted some action especially when tiredness caused him to swerve just a LITTLE bit. Ahhh the suns up!
Greg O'Shea 10th-Feb-2003
Arriving at the venue (which Gary and I walked past at least 7 times) we were shown to the part of the venue we'd play - which was downstairs in what was a converted wine cellar. Somewhat reminiscent of the Cavern club in Liverpool (where the Beatles were brought to fame) we thought we may have problems with the sound due to the shape of the rooms. These fears were soon banished when the place filled beyond capacity and the rowdy frogs began to show their appreciation and loosened their necks to the sounds of destruction. First on stage were local band Despond who delivered a convincing performance proving Doom is very much alive in France.
Next on the bill was The Prophecy who took the milling Parisians by surprise with an awesomely powerful melancholic set.
The crowd went wild for Mourning Beloveth who served up their unique offerings with the style, passion and power that we've all come to expect from the Irish night after night.
Morgion came on to applause, played to the full house headbanging and left the French in chaos.
Justin Christian 10th-Feb-2003
Paris-Black Dog. A disappointing looking café with great ambience upstairs and a tiny stone cellar downstairs that smelled like mould and had no room for the normal set-up and no sound man. However, we overcame this to find out that the acoustics were actually pretty good and the place filled up easily. Despite all of our 'sleepiness' we all did very well. When Morgion went up we had worse than usual electrical problems-we blew our powerstrips (smoke and all) and after 20 minutes or so ended up playing with little or no effects/pedals. The crowd waited around and went nuts for us. I thought it was the worst set yet but people were chanting, singing and moshing right up into us. Brian and Darren went off for us to get things started and when we did a sloppy version of Candlemass 'Black Stone Wielder' the entire crowd sang along. We were asked repeatedly to keep playing on past the curfew until we ran out of songs. The other guys from Mourning Beloveth said that it was as good as it gets and were more excited about the performance than we were. Wonderful experience. Bill Steer from Carcass was in attendance and we spoke to him a bit. We stayed at Richard of Despond's house that night and finally got a decent nights sleep and a shower.
Driving on to Spain currently.
I would like to add that we could not have asked for a better bunch of talented, warm caring individuals to be on tour with.
Matt Lawson 10th-Feb-2003
We stopped at a French equivalent of a transport café and saw beef on the menu but forgot 'Langue' means tongue. YUK!
Darren Moore 10th-Feb-2003
Arrived in Paris 2:30 local time. French drivers are insane - Paris parking is as bad too. 12 hours driving has taken its toll on me and I had to sleep on the van. 12 hours driving was filled out by stories from Rhett and Justin which stopped the insanity and sleep from taking hold.
After a rest some beers were nice and pasta. Black Dog is small but the atmosphere was fucking great. Met the most amazing and accomodating people in Rose and Olivier and we all slept in their respective houses.
Got very drunk and woke up in Paris-Nice!
Had a friendly chat with our first groupie and met Bill Steer of Carcass.
MADRID
Set lists
Morgion: Solinari, All the Glory, Mourners Oak, All the Loss, Cairn, Crowned in Earth, Nightfall Infernal, Black Stone Wielder
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, Narcissistic Funeral, All Hope is Pleading, The Words that Crawled, In Mourning my Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Adrian Butler 11th-Feb-2003
Arrived in Spain...Basque Country. Stopped off at a road café for a piss and got lots of strange looks from the truck drivers in at the bar. I think we are going to a hotel soon to rest for a while before going to Madrid tomorrow for the gig. Fucking French toll bridges! They're everywhere but we are in Spain now and the 5th gig and 4th country is around the corner. Darren is rubbing Olbas oil into his chest (and Greg's eyes ha ha) - Was it the sumo wrestling in Bradford or the cigarettes that Frank needs the Olbas oil for? The Autogrill for food.
1:27pm: We stayed at a motel in the end last night for some well deserved rest and a wash (yippee!!) Had some tortilla con hamon and tea for breakfast. The countryside up here in the Basque Country is a bit like home and further south we go the more redder the landscape becomes. The sun is out but its fucking freezing again. The vans are ok and everybody is recharged and ready for the show in Madrid tonight. 185Km to go.
Darren Moore 11th-Feb-2003
Paris to Madrid.
Rest for me on the driving stakes as "The (Other) Machine took over and we drove and drove as Heiko (nickname - Soup Nazi) pushed us further. Stopped for food and strange looks over the Spanish border - John forgets his bag - a good re-route and all was ok. Fookin young lads!!
Another 100K to a travel lodge - shower - sleep and on to Madrid.
Darren Moore 12th-Feb-2003
Spain - vast plains and me driving-huge mountains - across the Pyrenees. The sun is shining and everybody is relaxed. The bus really struggles up those fucking mountains, not helped by the Northern Lights.
Justin Christian 12th-Feb-2003 Madrid - Ritmo and Compras
This venue was inside a rehearsal building with a guitar store in an obscure corner tucked away in the city. It was a nice looking venue-big stage, big room with nice Spanish tiling. Upstairs was a dressing room/lounge/bathroom stocked with Mahou/Spanish Beer-bad! + food. I think there was a certain quite arrogance to some of the bands and audience here. The singer/guitarist of Autumnal was very nice and they did a great set - very passionate. Desire from Lisbon, Portugal drove up 7/8 hours to play second. They are very tight and have good presence. Many candelabras and such....epic doom metal. The crowd was not very responsive and even less so for Desire. Mourning Beloveth guys are fans of Desire and picked up one of the 2 cd's they didn't already own. Then, The Prophecy and Mourning Beloveth tore up the stage. Darren was so passionate this night that he puked on stage but didn't miss a beat. I was getting really sick this night and very feverish. Took some Ibuprofen from Christian which made me sweat all over the place - a wet set for me. By the last couple of hours the guys in the other band had to make their own headbanging audience for each other. People would not approach the stage, even after Greg's nudging. Didn't sell much. Kind of a lame show.
P.S "Effekies" = Effects per the sound man!
EVORA
Set lists
Morgion: Solinari, All the Glory, Mourners Oak, All the Loss, Cairn, Crowned in Earth, Nightfall Infernal, A slow Succumbing, Black Stone Wielder
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning By Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Christian Moore-Wainwright (The Prophecy) 13th-Feb-2003
The Road to Evora
I don't have much to add to others comments on how the gigs are going so far. The Prophecy are really settling in to playing live and for me I am starting to lose most of my nervousness before going onstage. Everyone that we are touring with is cool and the other 2 bands are very supportive. I had never heard Morgion or Mourning Beloveth in a live setting before and I am very impressed indeed!
Before arriving on this tour I had an idea of what it would be like and I can honestly say that I was almost completely...wrong! We have all been sitting cooped up in the van/minibus almost all day, everyday to get to the venues. We arrive tired and finish playing even more tired. I was tired and wound-up last night because we were playing in Madrid, a city I have always wanted to visit. I saw nothing save the inside of the venue and played to a crowd who were more interested in the local supports. It's difficult, but as I mentioned above, the guys we are with are great and that is what makes this fun. Someone is always ready for a laugh or a quip. Besides even if a crowd is unresponsive...we're still playing to them in Spain. That, for me is the ultimate reward.
Justin Christian 13th-Feb-2003
Arrived here about 5pm.The other bands had soundchecked the day before. This was quite an event. They built a festival (1st Annual) out of the show - Outdoors with a big tent, stage, barricades, lights etc and was sponsored by Super Bock (Portuguese Beer - Yummy but bad headache) Apparently the local council paid for the set-up and the hostile lodgings that night for us. They took us to the cafeteria that evening to eat with the students(14,000 in this college alone) that evening. Interesting meal: Fish (either fried or baked?) green beans, carrot shreddings and rice....something like 'Tang'. Fish had too many bones but we were grateful for it. Matt wolfed it down with a smile. We walked past a chapel that had a wall made of human (earthquake victims) bones but we couldn't see it as it was closed for the night.
By 9:30pm the show started and there were a lot of people in attendance (The National paper released an article on the show) These people went all out-access passes, posters, printed tickets. The crowd was pretty well into it-not like some previous cities but much more than Madrid. There were 3 opening bands all from Evora and they shared the same drummer. We met most of the guys in the other bands and they were very cool and also fans of all of us. Met Fernando from Moonspell - a bit rigid but gracious. The first band Mythus were pretty good - very epic and a nice surprise. Between sets the venue played Dead Can Dance which we loved. The second band - Process of Guilt was a very nice surprise also - very reminiscent of Paradise Lost 'Gothic' and Anathema 'Serenades'. We were impressed. The 3rd band - Karseron were more fast Death/Black Metal, pretty good - intense songs. Now The Prophecy killed the Portuguese as expected, lots of energy, tight performance - the crowd loved them..Mourning Beloveth also impressed the Portuguese with a crushing set and a lot of energy and dialogue with the crowd. By our set it was 1:45 am and much of the crowd had left but those who stayed were big fans of Morgion and the other guys on the tour were front and center. We played a long set. We closed with a loose cover of 'Black Stone Wielder' which the crowd loved and asked for more but we couldn't oblige. I met a sweet passionate girl named Cati who invited me for a keg tap guzzling timed contest - she won. Cati proved there are beautiful sweet women in Portugal. All the people were warm and friendly - Great show for everyone!
MURCIA
Set lists
Morgion: Solinari, All the Glory..., Mourners Oak, ...All the Loss, Cairn, Crowned in Earth, Nightfall Infernal, Black Stone Wielder
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning My Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Rhett Davies 14th-Feb-2003 On the road to Murcia
Hell could best described by the drive to Murcia and the 2 compilation tapes given to me during the London gig. I'm convinced that the giver or "Evil Bastard" (as I'd like to call him) gave me these tapes to further stretch the bonds of our sanity. Over the course of 11 hours Matt, Darren and I listened to these comps over a dozen times easily. At one point exhaustion and boredom gave into hallucinations of things not recorded. By the end of the drive we knew each bands songs to the point of utter perfection. Once we arrived we loaded in and played a show later described as a "11 hour waste of time". I was happy to meet a few locals who came to see the show and support the calling of doom. Looking back I think playing one show in Spain is wise. But I am glad that the few who came enjoyed what music could offer. Autumnal was a musical giant but their vocals could use some serious coaching.
Adrian Butler 14th-Feb-2003
11:55am: It's a beautiful morning and love is in the air as we leave Portugal to head for Murcia in Spain. Everybody is a bit fucked from last night gig and I'm sure it will stay in everyone's mind for a long time - Very special night.
The setting was in the courtyard of a 16th century college with 14,000 students. Evora took everybody's breath away with the architecture,the hospitality and the very impressive organisation. It was just the best so far. Over 350 people paid in and the gig was filled with a very appreciative audience.
With 3 hours sleep I woke up with my phone wedged into the side of my face and covered in drool (I remember setting the alarm but that's about it I think - All Hail Super Bock!!!) and it still didn't wake me, come to think of it Rhett was in the bunk beside me and I didn't hear his plane-taking-off type snores either!!??
Driving through Santa Ollala now, a small town - look there's 1 horse! There was some destruction on the Mourning Beloveth stage last night as Brian took a tumble just as he hit the last chord and fell knocking monitors offstage. Spectacular!! And it's on tape!
There's a big olive oil tanker in front now - Time to sleep.....
Justin Christian 14th-Feb-2003
1:30pm: The hardest thing to do was wake up the morning after in Evora, Portugal.
Barely enough sleep, no hot water so no hot showers. Quaint little breakfast....we appreciated it. Drove all fucking day to Murcia,Spain.
Arrived late - 9pm or 9:30!. Skipped soundcheck. Autumnal opened again - even better set than Madrid. I like their sound and you could see that they were happy with their set. We decided that we were all so fucking tired that we would cut our sets short since we had a guaranteed amount for the show and not much promise of sleep before driving 10-12 hours to Irun. The Prophecy played a tight set as always and were able to muster up enough energy to convince the Murcians. We stood up front to support and encourage the audience. The audience was a bit better then Madrid but not a huge turnout. Adrian Butler's girlfriends family showed up(they live nearby) which was a nice gesture for him. Mourning Beloveth also performed perfectly with great energy and good sound. They did 3 songs and the crowd was getting more enthusiastic. We did our set last(after the worst overhead music between bands) I think it was our tightest set(probably because we were tired and slow). The crowd was very appreciative and we closed with Candlemass again. I think Adrian started to lose his voice during the set......we'll see. At any rate, all 3 bands got some great footage from the show.
We decided to forger ahead in our battered state to Irun as opposed to feigning rest with 2/3 hours and a shower. We barely got through the first 2 hours with Dwayne and Adrian starting to doze at the wheel. They switched drivers, slammed red bulls and we were better off by sunrise. Long drive....We're hoping to get rooms before the show for sleep and a wash and return after the show for some real rest.
Greg O'Shea 14th-Feb-2003
Its been a long week for everyone - made only worthwhile by actually knowing that after this 6/7 hour drive you and all the other bands are gonna rock the house. I think some people are handling the lack of sleep and food a bit better than others. Everyone at some point has found it hard to be friendly with someone. The promise of a hotel tonight and a couple of easy holiday days are cheering everyone up a bit.
IRUN
Set lists
Morgion: Solinari, All the Glory, Mourners Oak, All the Loss, Cairn, Crowned in Earth, A Slow Succumbing, Invalid Prodigy, Black Stone Wielder
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning My Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Justin Christian 16th-Feb-2003
France - Driving to Belgium.
We arrived after driving all night from Murcia. We were all beat and irritable. We skipped soundcheck and went to the hotel (Los Fronterios - Pension) for a quick shower and a nap. Went back to the club to meet some guys who took us to a local restaurant for our first real meal. 3 rounds (Pasta, Chicken and Fries and Flan) with bread wine and water. Awesome meal - put us all out. Crowd was about as usual for Spain - The venue made tickets and posters that looked good. Not a lot of people and not a lot of energy. Everyone was smoking hash inside. Autumnal opened for the last time. The 3 of us busted out tight sets despite no monitors that worked and some technical glitches. We all crashed hard after the show except for the few of us who advanced to a nearby club until 6:00am that was full of old and desperate Spaniards. Now - we forge on to Belgium, Holland with 3 days off.
Adrian Butler 16th-Feb-2003
3:32pm: Road to Belgium
Sitting in the equipment van with Darren at the wheel and Matt on the other side of me. A bit of leg room makes it all worthwhile - that fucking mini-bus hasn't got any space to stretch out in,let alone sleep at times (after this journey in the van I was barred from it as I slept instead of keeping Darren awake by talking to him!!) ha ha . Irun is a nice city at the very north of Spain (Basque Country). We arrived very late and skipped soundcheck and went to the hotel for sleep except for the 2 Adrian's. I fucked off for a look around the city but most things were closed so I hopped into an internet café to let the folk at home know of the tour progress. We got to the venue and were whipped off to a restaurant for the best meal so far. We got up to leave after eating our spaghetti but then were told to sit back down and a plate of chicken and chips was brought out and tira misu after for dessert - nice......
Tunk venue was really cool except for the lack of monitor mix whatsoever. Autumnal opened the last of their shows with the Doomination tour to a good reception. I think they've really enjoyed themselves the last weekend eternal praise goes out to them for their help and support. The Prophecy rocked again and I hope the word spreads about them after this tour as that they might get themselves a label. Mourning Beloveth put on a good set with 4 songs and no stage destruction tonight (Brian!).
I was assigned to merch duties after this so I missed Morgion's set but what seeped thru the walls tickled the misery inside. The promoter gave us a book of the printed tickets to keep and a few posters were taken as souvenirs of course. A good nights rest ahead with a late start for Belgium planned. I think it was steak all round at the next truck stop in France. I had the beef tongue to try it out. The sight of the rough tongue surface remaining didn't put me off as I wolfed it down. Poor Frank got a bit of blood in his and rectified it was eventually with some finger pointing at the chef and amid shouts of "cook it!". Its gonna be a late arrival in Holland for Mourning Beloveth after we drop everyone else off at Belgium but the manna from heaven awaits. I think we are starting to speed up the songs a bit so medicine is needed!
ROUEN
Set lists
Morgion: Solinari, All the Glory, Mourners Oak, All the Loss, Cairn, Crowned in Earth, A Slow Succumbing, Black Stone Wielder
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning My Days
The Prophecy: Dawn, Ashes, The Prophecy, The Killing Fields, Blackened Desire
Justin Christian 19th-Feb-2003
We arrived to a bar in an industrial area. Big floor space inside, tiny stage with small PA speakers and not enough room for all members to stand out front. We were greeted again with baguette bread, cheese (stinky!) and delimeat and Kronenbourg beer (ok).
Fred (Ataraxie) brought some rustic cheese that tasted as bad as it smelled and some great brodeaux red wine of which we drank a lot. Ataraxie opened up and I was pleasantly surprised at their set - some really great stuff (I kind of missed it in Bradford and London). The Prophecy slayed as always but to a rather subdued crowd. No one got up in front of the bands as I remember. The club did fill out a bit throughout the night so I guess it was pretty good for a Wednesday. Mourning Beloveth crushed the audience despite some early tuning issues(see red wine above for Adrian Butler) We played to a few less people but a responsive crowd. And of course were coaxed into ending with Black Stone Wielder. We hung out with some locals after the show and mostly everyone is intoxicated. Frank received many free caramel flavoured vodka drinks. I was accosted in the restroom by a cute French girl that was drunk and her guy friend. She came at me with warm lips and I obliged but it ended pretty harmlessly - good timing to use the bathroom.
Adrian Butler 19th-Feb-2003
For some reason this venue from the outside reminded me of Barnstormers in Dublin. Inside was much bigger though. The PA speakers were smaller than my micro-stereo at home! But somehow they made enough intelligible noise when the doom flowed through them. We were served up with stinking cheese, bread, food and wine. The cheese was ok actually when mixed with the wine. I had about a bottle and a half before we played and was a little too pissed not to notice an out of tune string for the first song - bastard! Never again. I went for a walk around the area and saw nothing but industrial areas and many many car shops for miles. This gig was a bit lower down the list of favourites but everyone did ok and there was a very appreciative crowd inside. Only 2 more gigs to go - Fuck where did the time go?
ROTTERDAM
Set lists
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, The Words That Crawled, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning My Days
Justin Christian 20th-Feb-2003
Now this club was a refreshing sight. Big stage,lights,backstage with beer and snacks. The sound was awesome and the venue cooked us dinner - Chicken in a thick peanut oil sauce, rice, salad - very good. Hamish (MDB) met us as we arrived and stayed in our company until the end of the show - very nice and down to earth bloke (sorry I missed him in Bradford). We dropped some prises on the shirts and cd's to get them sold - did really well on merch sales. Many beautiful ladies at the show - sweet girls - no attitude. Met some internet acquaintances. The show was great especially for a Thursday - 82 paying attendees. I heard that the government funds the events for this club, so they're always covered. We saw some funny band stickers in the back - "Retarded", "Prostitute Disfigurement". All bands played very well with good energy. Pantheist opened and the crowd was pleased. We got some good video of the bands.....the audio didn't work out so well. After the show we hung out with some drunk locals screaming to the metal over the speakers. Pim of Officium Triste and Simone (Metal Queen) took us back to their place to stay...great apartment with lots of space. Anita (DJ, Baroeg) joined us as well - very sweet woman with a great spiritual sense...We stayed up far past dawn...beautiful women...wish we could have stayed another night. Next morning some of us went to a coffee shop (hash bar) and purchased supplies at a great price. Said our goodbyes...drove back to Gent for the last show.
GENT
Set lists
Mourning Beloveth: The Mountains are Mine, My Sullen Sulcus, Narcisstic Funeral, In Mourning My Days
Justin Christian 21st-Feb-2003
By now we knew this place pretty well-spent the last few days off in Gent - saw the city, ate Belgian fries (awesome!), slept and spent a few late nights here at the venue. We were slated for a public jam session last Tuesday but we were a little in the dark about this and we were a bit tired, so the 3 bands decided not to do it. We also didn't have a lot of extra material to play outside of the sets. Some of us went to the venue to hand out with those who showed up. We met some more great Belgian people - friendly, beautiful. One girl in particular took me out to a couple of other bars before calling it a night.
Last show: There was a sense of farewell between all the bands as this is the end of the tour. Pantheist opened once more; heavy majestic doom - local boys did good.
The Prophecy went over very well - you just can't say enough for this young band - great! Mourning Beloveth pummelled the Belgian's with their crushing riffs and vocal melodies - they pulled out a new set with an extra new song from the current cd - Awesome!
We took the stage for "the final hour" of the tour and played all of our rehearsed material. I was advised that the turnout this night was more than usual - small place packed up quite tightly. Merch sales were excellent. Some more friends showed up - a sweet girl from Doom-Metal.com came out from Greece just for this show. Lies (name?) was there as planned. I think we took the crowd by surprise - they seemed quite enthralled and all our tourmates were front and center for our set. One of the Mourning Beloveth guys said it was the best set of the tour and I would probably agree - great show to end with. We finished off the Poteen...but it didn't mix well with my earlier kebab pitta dinner - had an aftershow puke to clear me out. Had a crazy night of antics drink, drugs and friends to celebrate the tour. Lies and I talked at length...this woman has a lot of strength inside her. And besides her intelligence and honesty is her amazing appearance. She stands about 6'3" with legs for days and a head of red/blonde hair to her waist - beautiful. She had not heard any of the touring bands before and was very impressed - she said she was overwhelmed by Morgion and could not explain her thoughts with appropriate words. I will make a point to come back to Belgium and visit Lies.
Well that's the end of the tour...now we return to England, to Ireland and then home. This has been an amazing experience....full of fun, sacrifice, glory and lessons. We are all much more educated in the process of touring and I would love nothing more that to do this again a year from now - Doomination of Europe 2004. All the guys in the bands are like brothers now and I know everyone will miss each other as we return to the ordinary life.
Adrian Butler 21st-Feb-2003
The end of the tour. I can only echo what Justin has said above. It was a totally amazing experience. Everyones got lots of stories to bring home - Leaving Frank in Gent ha ha - Adrian's (Morgion) "Tsuber! Thanks for asking!" - "Bur Dur Dur Dur Dur" - "Too much shit" - The in the mini-bus entertainment - The merging - The bad driving - The smell of clutch oil going up the mountains in Spain - the getting lost. Everyone has become close friends after just 2 weeks and we are all looking forward to the American leg of the tour in the summer. It's a long trip home to Ireland now and time to recount the stories and experiences we've had while they are still fresh in the mind.
Doom on...............
- Doomination of Europe 2003
(20 August 2003)
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