Syqem, TesseracT, Periphery

So tonight I had the honor of going out and hanging out with three of my favorite bands, Syqem (with whom I have an interview to share with you guys), TesseracT and Periphery. Together they provided a memorable first date to what promises to be one of the greatest tours of the year. I was blessed by Dio himself when I caught them tonight in Paris at the Nouveau Casino, a venue to which I had never been before. Suffice to say I was impressed by the quality of the sound and liked the setup. It was definitely an enjoyable place to see a show and I got to spend the vast majority of it just a foot away from Misha Manshoor himself!

The first band on the night was Syqem who took the stage minutes after I interviewed them. They played a tight set however they were held back a bit by technical issues. Still, they proved their worth as a live band and I'd love to go see them again in the future. In particular, their live rendition of the track Rewind really struck me. It was tasty and provided a bit more flavor than the album mix. They truly proved themselves to be skilled and professional musicians who are fully capable of embarking on a tour of this magnitude. Overall, their tightly polished sound and pummeling 8 string guitar riffs were very tasty and really set the mood for the djent madness that was to come.

Next up was TesseracT, a band who I like but don't love. Until tonight at least. They played an absolutely transcendent set that seperated the soul from the body and took the listener on an epic journey. Their soundscapes were beautiful and it just blew me away that a band could create something of such majesty in a live setting. I would see them again in a heartbeat, they just had so much to offer. I could have literally listened to them play for another 6 hours and still would have been very much content with my lot. They definitely set a high standard for Periphery to match.

And of course Periphery blew right past the standard set by TesseracT. With an absolutely destructive hour long set culminating in a full on rendition of Racecar I threw my back out headbanging to their strange time signatures and crazed riffs. I completely eschewed the pit in favor of appreciating the musicians skill and I'm glad I did. I loved the solos and was blown away by Misha's technical ability. It was an honor to stand close enough to touch his guitars and watch his genius at work on the fretboard. The rest of the band was equally tight, they gave the songs a new meaning for me and took my love of their music to a whole new level. Suffice to say, I'm going to be listening to a whole lot of Periphery in the next few weeks!

In conclusion, tonight was an evening to remember for me and four hundred other djentlemen (and djentlewomen). It showed some magnificent bands who are really pushing metal to a whole new level. After three sets I went home very content, glad that I had seen some of the most cutting edge bands on the modern scene. The passion they show live suggests to me that the djent movement and its related prog subgenres will never die, but instead grow stronger and become a veritable force in popular music. If you have a chance to see these guys on their current European tour you must do it! They are all wonderfully tight, and they will only get better as the tour goes on!