When I started writing for Two Guys Metal reviews, one of the main personal objectives I had set out for was to promote and expose the very best of France's hardcore and metal scene, a goldmine of talent severely lacking of the recognition it deserves. Moreover, it hurts me all the more to run into all too many French heavy music enthusiasts claiming that you can count all of the great French metal and hardcore acts on one hand. To these people I dedicate this following article, and to these people I proudly present to them 8 more bands for them to count.
Last Thursday at the Glazart, Paris celebrated the 5th anniversary of one of
the country’s' most heavily armed record labels: Throatruiner records. 8 bands,
8 of France's most devastating acts lined up to delivers nearly 8 hours of
sonic mayhem.
Right from the get-go, the show kicked off by
jumping straight to business with the first of 8 loud, bleak and incredibly abrasive
bands scheduled for the evening: Calvaiire.
Fronted by none other than the head Throatruiner himself, Matthias Jungbluth,
the metallic hardcore act made for an
explosive opening act with its noisy dissonant guitars delivering chaotic
syncopated riffs over cataclysmic drum grooves, coupled with Matthias' inhuman
vocals (a hybrid between Jacob Bannons' vocals and those of a pissed of
humanoid insect from another planet).
Lined up next and ready to keep our blood
pumping were the Bayonne-based hardcore act known as The Rodeo Idiot engine, ready to blast our ears with their 30
minute set of wailing guitar riffs and Gatling drums. With their solid
half-hour setlist, the band successfully made all hell break loose with a well-articulated
setlist showcasing influences from post-hardcore, sludge and black metal
amongst others. Their energetic stage presence made for an all the more
memorable show, with axes swinging, cymbals swaying and cables flying and
dancing through the air.
Local psychopathic hardcore act Comity stepped up next. Articulating
their sound around a post-hardcore baseline, this eclectic and innovative band
from Paris kept the show going with their dense, volatile compositions
effortlessly tying together influences from mathcore, post-hardcore and noise
rock within their ambitious lengthy songs. With a fine-tuned sense of
bittersweet melody sprinkled on the bands' set, Comity led the show with a fine
balance of winding riffs and crushing sludge-driven landscapes.
The fourth band of the evening, the
Lorient-based ear-wreckers known as Death
Engine were up next. Out of all of the bands scheduled to play this
evening, this one were quite possibly the loudest and the noisiest. Take the
climactic, long-winded compositions of a post-metal song, the crushing slow
edge of Neurosis, the down pouring desperation of post-hardcore and add a bleak
shoegaze-inspired wall of sound and some noise-rock grittiness and what you get
is the uncompromising sound of Death Engine. Yet another brilliant show by a
promising and original band brilliantly standing out from tonight’s' heavy
lineup.
The second half of the evening started off with
quite possibly one of the most pissed off bands of the night, the Holy Terror
inspired hardcore act from Paris known as Cowards,
here to promote their latest chapter in the bands' ruthless discography, titled
"Rise to Infamy". The band started off their set slow and steady with
a sludgy, massive, evil opener, setting the tone for the rest of the show
before letting all hell break loose and unleashing their pitch-black brand of
sonic savagery. More than a mere hardcore act, Cowards draws from the bleak,
tortured realms of black metal and the groovy low end of sludge metal to
deliver filthy, hellish vocals (inspired by bands such as Arkangel and
Kickback) , guttural baselines and dissonant riffs, making for the perfect
balance between cacophonous chaos and groove.
After the demise of one of Frances' most infamous hardcore bands, Cowards seem
to make for a serious contender as one of france's most abrasive bands, with
their incredibly abrasive sonic savagery and their great stage performances.
Next up on stage were the Toulouse-based four
piece Plebeian Grandstand, ready
open up a black hole with their impenetrably black, apocalyptic sonic wrath.
With their great stage presence and incredibly dense sound delivered at maximum
volume, the band managed to keep their audience present after five sets worth
of relentless heaviness. Not unlike Death Engine, the audience was once more
hit by a thick wall of sound, yet this time with a strong, distinct
experimental black metal edge delivered with the intensity and aggression of a
hardcore act. While this kind of music doesn't always work as well live as in
the studio, Plebeian Grandstand did a great job when it came to taking both the
atmospheric vibe and their ruthlessness to the stage.
Deathwish Inc.'s very own French protégés were
up next to hit the stage to play a set I, for one, had been waiting to see ever
since having first heard their album. Birds In Row were finally back to kick
some Parisian ass and were largely prepared to do so. The Laval based
screamo-infused hardcore punk trio quite simply conquered the stage along with
each and every square inch of the venue as soon as they unleashed their fiery
energy. Each and every band member was at the top of their game, blasting away
and fueled by an unmistakably genuine sense of passion. Seeing a band sing and
play their hearts out like this was absolutely enthralling, to the point where
their 35 minute seemed to have flown by in what seemed to be a mere 10 minutes.
Last but certainly not least on the bill for
the evening, As We Draw were there to close off the show. For their headlining
set, As We Draw had decided to make use of their 50 minute set by dedicating it
to their latest album, the cosmic voyage that is "Mirages", allowing
them to properly lay out their somber sonic textures and set up an atmosphere
for the set. Their show made for a perfect balance between bursts of frenetic,
heartfelt aggression and cathartic, floating sonicscapes with clear, spaced out
instrumentations beautifully intertwining with one another to create a
distinctive, introspective, raw and visceral live sound unlike any other.
By brilliantly combining the likes of heartgripping essence of Post-hardcore with the compositional ambition of post-metal, As We Draw will take to the moon and back and make for yet another prime example of an underrated display of brilliance deserving of more recognition in France and overseas.
By brilliantly combining the likes of heartgripping essence of Post-hardcore with the compositional ambition of post-metal, As We Draw will take to the moon and back and make for yet another prime example of an underrated display of brilliance deserving of more recognition in France and overseas.
And thus yet another great evening had come to
a close. I walked out of the Glazart that night more confident than ever in the
french heavy music scene. If this night was proof of anything, it would be of
an incredible amount of talent and passion deserving more exposure. I can only
urge you to look up these bands to hear this all for yourself and find out for
yourself why this goldmine of a record label deserves our utmost support and
attention. French readers out there will also be glad to hear that this might
be the last Throatruiner fest, which give us all the more reason to make sure
events like these happen more often.
Robin
Photos by Rémy Barbe
A Huge thank you goes
out to all of the bands and especially to Matthias of Throatruiner for making
both this live report and both interviews possible. Long live Throatruiner!
CALVAIIRE (Noise/hardcore, Laval)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/forceps
http://facebook.com/calvaiire
THE RODEO IDIOT ENGINE (Noise/hardcore, Bayonne)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/consequences
http://facebook.com/Therodeoidiotengine
COMITY (Noise/hardcore, Paris)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/the-journey-is-over-now
http://facebook.com/pages/Comity/351656149310
DEATH ENGINE (Noise/hardcore, Lorient)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/mud
http://facebook.com/deathenginesound
COWARDS (Hardcore/sludge, Paris)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/rise-to-infamy
http://facebook.com/cowardsparis
PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND (Black metal/hardcore, Toulouse)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/lowgazers
http://facebook.com/pages/PLEBEIAN-GRANDSTAND/160680714032
AS WE DRAW (Post-metal, Laval)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/mirages
http://facebook.com/aswedraw
BIRDS IN ROW (Hardcore/punk, Laval)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/collected
http://facebook.com/birdsinrow
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/forceps
http://facebook.com/calvaiire
THE RODEO IDIOT ENGINE (Noise/hardcore, Bayonne)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/consequences
http://facebook.com/Therodeoidiotengine
COMITY (Noise/hardcore, Paris)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/the-journey-is-over-now
http://facebook.com/pages/Comity/351656149310
DEATH ENGINE (Noise/hardcore, Lorient)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/mud
http://facebook.com/deathenginesound
COWARDS (Hardcore/sludge, Paris)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/rise-to-infamy
http://facebook.com/cowardsparis
PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND (Black metal/hardcore, Toulouse)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/lowgazers
http://facebook.com/pages/PLEBEIAN-GRANDSTAND/160680714032
AS WE DRAW (Post-metal, Laval)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/mirages
http://facebook.com/aswedraw
BIRDS IN ROW (Hardcore/punk, Laval)
http://music.throatruinerrecords.com/album/collected
http://facebook.com/birdsinrow
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