The final performance of Lingua Ignota, part of the second Perpetual Flame Ministries weekend, was always going to be an intense evening – a night of Sinner Get Ready, the final album before deciding to end the Lingua Ignota name due to the physical and emotional toll writing and performing it takes. The curation of the lineup for the two nights is spectacular, the first night featuring music from Jo Quail and Hide, this night featuring Ashenspire and Ken Mode (a band I’d wanted to see for a while too).

Ashenspire provide a strong start to the evening, their interesting, progressive, approach to black metal is thrilling. They’re a band who clearly wear their politics on their sleeves, with songs like “The Law of Asbestos” describing the ways capitalist practices have made live more difficult for the working classes – the yell of “This Was Done With Full Intent” repeating through the track and lines like “A corner cut, a penny saved, Grenfell burns again and again and again!” really cutting through. This evening is my first time discovering Ashenspire but I’ll definitely be deep diving into their recordings – they’re the perfect mix of well written, scathing, lyricism with music that, while abrasive, sounds stunning – likely helped by a healthy dose of saxophone throughout.

Ken Mode are a band I’ve wanted to see for a while, ever since hearing Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should a few years back – I understand they’ve had some lineup changes but the brutal, heavy, noisy approach of the band remains. From the second the heavily distorted bass kicked in the wall of sound didn’t really let up. For four members there’s a lot of layers to the sound – the synth lines and occasional blasts of synth work perfectly with the abrasive guitar sound and overdriven bass. Part way through the set the guitar is swapped for a second bass and the sound is just huge. An incredible set and perfect for this evening.

The first part of Lingua Ignota‘s set is just Kristin, on her own on stage, lit by four lights on stands, singing live over a track with visuals projected at the back. It makes sense in context, the intensity and the vulnerability of the songs is increased without the distraction of a band in the background. It also means the room is deadly silent, even the bar staff keep the room quiet – there are no distractions, it’s just the crowd and Kristin, her vocals going from stunning singing to a visceral growl through the set. The stage being lit just by lights on stands means as she moves to different areas creates an interesting mood too – while standing on the speakers infront of the stage she’s illuminated by just one light, bright upon her face as the crowd watches on. There’s a point part way through the set where she disappears into the crowd – you’re either close enough to hear the songs sung to your face or you just see a glowing light above the audience.

The second half of the set sees Lingua Ignota take to the grand piano on stage, which has been messed around with somehow to make half the notes ring out in a metallic way. The incredible sound of her voice sits nicely upon the slightly scratchy piano – it’s stunning and it’s intense. Kristin has previously mentioned the emotional toll of performing these songs and even I come away understanding exactly why. Even being part of the audience for the hour was quite emotionally draining. You hear Kristin work through dark moments in her life and, lyrically and musically, they’re incredibly intense. She’s previously given the reason for retiring the project’s music as “It is not healthy for me to relive my worst experiences over and over” and, honestly, you can feel it. An incredible performance but I definitely felt like I needed to decompress afterwards.