Just as I had expected, last Wednesday certainly was a fine night for doom metal in Paris. Sorry for the anticlimactic intro to this article, then again what else can you expect from a band like Pallbearer, whose reputation has yet to cease growing, spreading like wildfire amongst metal and rock fans since their relatively recent beginnings (2008). The Arkansas-based quartet dropped by on this European tour for their 2nd date in our very own city of Love, following up their date at the Glazart last summer with a gig, surprisingly enough at the Social Club, at the heart of the city.
The band
was thankfully greeted by a fairly packed venue (or should I say club?) for a
Monday evening, a wise, well-informed group of concertgoers that were about to
get hit with full force by the hand of doom. On the menu tonight were 7
magnificently delivered compositions drawn from both of the bands’ studio
albums, starting out with the epic Worlds
Apart off of Foundations of Burden and
closing off with the somber, melancholic Given
to the Grave off of their first album.
The sheer sonic intensity that night was unlike anything I had heard in quite a while, as this was certainly one of the loudest shows I have been to in quite a while. To give you an idea of what I mean by that, the frontrow audience (me included) were amazed and slightly startled by the fact that chunks of the ceiling had started to fall unto the floor. One thing that startled me about this Clarity was not that big of an issue nevertheless, as every instrument onstage seemed to have its own space in this solid yet coherent wall of sound. I was surprised to hear quite a significant amount of sharpness in the high-end of the bands’ sound, which made for a relatively different yet equally satisfying feel than on their studio efforts. The trebly high end of the bass guitar popped out from the mix quite a bit allowing every note of the basslines to be heard with great clarity without overshadowing the guitars, the drums or the vocals (the latter of which was slightly quiet but not to a bothersome degree). Despite the fact that the venues’ walls visibly weren’t handling the sheer amount of awesomeness shaking up the room, audiences it did not take more than a couple of minutes into each song to lull a fair share of the audience into a daydreaming trance, with a good of them closing their eyes and letting the dark yet beautiful sonic landscapes sweep them away.
The sheer sonic intensity that night was unlike anything I had heard in quite a while, as this was certainly one of the loudest shows I have been to in quite a while. To give you an idea of what I mean by that, the frontrow audience (me included) were amazed and slightly startled by the fact that chunks of the ceiling had started to fall unto the floor. One thing that startled me about this Clarity was not that big of an issue nevertheless, as every instrument onstage seemed to have its own space in this solid yet coherent wall of sound. I was surprised to hear quite a significant amount of sharpness in the high-end of the bands’ sound, which made for a relatively different yet equally satisfying feel than on their studio efforts. The trebly high end of the bass guitar popped out from the mix quite a bit allowing every note of the basslines to be heard with great clarity without overshadowing the guitars, the drums or the vocals (the latter of which was slightly quiet but not to a bothersome degree). Despite the fact that the venues’ walls visibly weren’t handling the sheer amount of awesomeness shaking up the room, audiences it did not take more than a couple of minutes into each song to lull a fair share of the audience into a daydreaming trance, with a good of them closing their eyes and letting the dark yet beautiful sonic landscapes sweep them away.
Judging
from the state of the venue after the end of the show, it is fairly safe to
assume that the Paris Social Club had rarely heard such a level of crushing
heaviness echoing between its walls. That night, Pallbearer quite literally
tore this venue a new one, and by god was it satisfying!
Robin
Thank you to Lauren, to the band and everyone
who made both this amazing show and this live report possible!
Setlist (unofficial)
1. Worlds Apart
2. Devoid of Redemption
3. The Ghost I Used to Be
4. The Legend
5. Foundations
6. Foreigner
7. Given to the Grave
1. Worlds Apart
2. Devoid of Redemption
3. The Ghost I Used to Be
4. The Legend
5. Foundations
6. Foreigner
7. Given to the Grave
Pallbearer
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