Chuck Schuldiner Project

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Kopper 8, Thanatic Eyes and Zuul FX at Divan Du Monde


So tonight I headed out to Divan Du Monde to catch three huge French bands all of which are on the verge of making some huge advances. Up in getting to the show I bumped into a ton of old friends, had a few drinks, and generally prepped for an evening of metal madness. Remember, Divan Du Monde is pretty much the best venue in Paris with great sound, a beautiful and big stage, and some great general services. Not a lot of venues have this kind of pedigree and general air of glory around them, I knew that I was in for something special on this Saturday night.

Kopper 8 were the first band up, their unique brand of thrash tinged death metal was a pleasure to see, especially because I've heard so much about them over the past few months. These guys are loud and proud metal masters who know what it is to bring the rage to the stage. Sure there weren't a lot of people at the venue yet and few audience members were ready to mosh, but Kopper 8 was a lot of fun to watch. These guys are clearly all gifted musicians and the way they bring their brutal sound to the fore is impressive. I'd like to see these guys again, as here they only got to play for half an hour. Yet they clearly are a strong live band and I'll be sure to check out the music they've put on Facebook.

Next up was the band I came for, and one of my personal favorites, Thanatic Eyes. Much tighter than they had been when I saw them at La Chinois these guys came forward and brought the death metal madness to a whole new level. Here the pit really got started and I almost feel like they should have passed later in the night. Thanatic Eyes is a powerful and oftentimes transcendent live act who crack at the spirit of the underground. It was a blast to see them get to play in such a beautiful and professional venue. They have an upcoming European tour and I think that with a little work these guys could become one of the biggest bands to come out of France since Gorod.

The final band I saw was Zuul FX, now I've heard a lot of good things about these guys and checked out a lot of their songs on Spotify and the like, but I was excited to see what they could bring live. Let's just say I was very impressed, be it in the constant jumping of the bands charismatic frontman, the flashy guitar and drum solos, or the colossal bottom end, Zuul FX are a blast live. Not a lot of bands can charge out of the gate with this level of passion and power. These guys get extreme music and when they lay down riffs, you know its time to mosh. With hair flying all over the stage and moshing going insane, they provided an hour of wonderful and pure death metal mayhem.

In conclusion, tonight was simply magical in a lot of ways. It represented so much of what I love about the French scene. Tight bands, loud guitars, and a close knit community of metalheads. Kopper 8 provided a wonderful beginning to the soiree, showcasing the power of their own unique brand of death metal. Thanatic Eyes blew my head off and were easily a main highlight of the night, even if they passed relatively early. Zuul FX provided a fitting conclusion, their brutal riffs and penchant for covers of 90s metal classics showed that this scene is strong and as long as we mosh hard, it will never die.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Kopper 8: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kopper8/151577371571006

Thanatic Eyes: https://www.facebook.com/ThanaticEyes

Zuul FX: https://www.facebook.com/ZUULFX

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