Sound of Memories, Inner Reflections, Bleed and Dagara at Le Klub

Another night, another show. This time it was back to Le Klub, that legendary metal venue that I love oh so very much. This time in the much darker, dungeonlike lower room, I got to see some good friends and check out four top notch local bands, one, Sound of Memories, who I have covered many times before, another, Bleed, whose singer I am tight with, and two more, groups that full imprressed me with developed and interesting sounds. This was a great evening made special by some fresh top notch talent showing the magic of the underground.

Sound of Memories were the first band to play, fresh out of an interview with the noble Sons of Metal Webzine. This was the first time I got to see them play a full forty five minute long set. They debuted a new song and played a lot of their upcoming material. Let's just say that Sound of Memories have a bright future ahead of them, not only is this a band who grasp the unrelenting magic of melodic death metal, but they can deliver live. So while, sure, they still have a few minor issues they're working out because they are a new band, they are still a blast to see live. This is not a band to be taken lightly, and as they get more live experience in their upcoming French tour I can see them becoming a true metal force.

Inner Reflections were the next band up and their unique brand of modern thrash metal certainly got a mosh pit started. The thing that really appealed to me about this band was the amount of raw energy they brought to the stage. More than that, they are extremely tight live, the riffs executes with sniper like precision. Furthermore, the chainsaw guitars brought down lines torn from the guitar of the late great Hanneman. One thing I really dug with this band was the solos, they were extremely tasty and showed off a wonderful understanding of the magic of metal guitar. All in all, Inner Reflections gave more than just a metal show, they brought forth a full fledged transcendent experience.

Bleed were the penultimate group to play, and while I am familiar with their singers other group, Thanatic Eyes, it was my first time seeing these guys do their thing live. I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism and tight set that they had. The bass attack is especially tight, giving a strong bottom end with a stunning forward momentum. Their is almost a Slayer like vibes at times giving added might to Bleed's unique brand of Death/Thrash. Though there weren't a lot of people in the room the mosh pit got pretty violent. I'd be excited to see them with a larger and more violent audience so more stage diving madness could occur.

The final band of this fine Thursday night was Dagara, a rather unique group who fuse African elements with a nu metal tinged brand of death metal and use two vocalists. Contrary to what that description might have you think, Dagara is actually really tight live and have a lot of cool ideas. While I would like to see them use the djembe more I liked a lot of their tracks as they were. This is the sort of group who you could go see again and again and still get something new out of their show. It was impressive to see that they had a lot of dedicated fans their too. Dagara are certainly starting to make an impact in the local scene and it would be excited to see them rip up the stage once more.

All in all, this was a great soiree showcasing groups who understand the spirit of the underground. Sound of Memories are rising stars, young men who get the spirit of melodeath in a way that too few modern bands really grasp. Inner Reflections are crafting new and unique sounds in a way that not a lot of their contemporaries really do, I'm excited to have gotten their album to review. Bleed showed me that Unscarred is not the only good Parisian thrash act and left me begging for more, hopefully they'll have a headlining gig soon! Finally, Dagara are unique, powerful, and very interesting, who knows where they'll go next? So dear reader I leave you with this, if the underground is what we live for, then tonight made my life worth living.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Sound of Memories: https://www.facebook.com/soundofmemoriesofficiel?ref=ts&fref=ts

Inner Reflections: https://www.facebook.com/InnerReflectionsOfficial

Bleed: https://www.facebook.com/bleedparis

Dagara: https://www.facebook.com/DagaraOfficial