Full of Hell and The Body in Paris (@La Mécanique Ondulatoire 29/04/2016)

Merely a couple of days after the noise shattering onslaught that was Rotten Sound’s show at the Glazart, Paris was once again struck again by a call of extreme music of the finest kind. If any of the bands’ respective backcatalogs weren’t enough, one needs to give Full of Hell and The Body’s jaw-drop heavy One Day you will Ache like I Ache to guess that the night was going to end with a severe case of tinnitus. After all, by combining the monumental sound of The Body with the ear-piercing noise onslaught of Full of Hell one can expect no less than a hellish racket ready to shatter the earth and skies. With a reputation devoid of any tendency to disappoint on stage or in the studio, it should come to no surprise that the cavernous Mécanique Ondulatoire of Paris opened it’s doors with only a handful of tickets left for sale.

Full of Hell were up first, jumping right into business by blasting away with quick fire rounds of chaotic, abrasive outbursts of magnificent and torturous grindcore songs of the finest kind. Sure enough, the onslaught was as loud as one might have expected, though anticipation did little to undermine the sheer intensity of the bands’ set. Ear protection was an absolute necessity to reduce the loudness down to a level roughly equivalent to that of a loud concert without ear protection. Thankfully, the bands’ sound remained surprisingly clear and comprehensible throughout their set, allowing us to instantly recognise which songs were being played (which may pass off as a luxury in the context of certain grindcore shows). Taking what little space they had at their disposal onstage, the 4-piece sure displayed some impressive stage presence, with frontman Dylan Walker tearing his throat to shreds while pulling off the most pissed-off glare you’ve ever seen. Drummer David Bland’s performance was nothing short of mind-blowing, blasting away at insane speeds that are barely comprehensible to the human brain. Given the speed and intensity of the show, it should certainly come to no surprise that the bands’ set barely reached the 30 minute mark. Despite what would seem like a short set, the band delivered every bit of promise within that short span of time, leaving little to no room for disappointment.

Following up on this high-note, The Body were ready (no pun intended) to keep things going, slowing things down ten-fold with their pachydermic sound. The two-piece from Rhode Islands’ raw, guttural atmosphere submerged the jam-packed room with an impressive wall of sound, with sludgy riffs and gloomy drone doom sections. The stone-paved walls of the narrow venue reinforced the cavernous acoustic of the bands’ imposing sound; the drumset crashed and pulsated with an incredible force atop the immensity of the guitar sound. Despite the more drawn out, slow nature of the bands’ music, the set did not seem to last much longer than that of their tour comrades, which did make for a slight disappointment. With that being said, the disappointment would not be there had The Body delivered a short performance half as good as the one they played.

A great evening of extreme music thus came to a close. Far from overstaying its welcome, it will have certainly marked the minds and ears of its enthusiastic audience that made the show an overwhelming success, undoubtedly leaving some of them with some ringing ears as a keepsake. Living up to their reputation and name, Full of Hell & The Body have yet again conquered the city of Paris, guaranteeing an abundant and eager turn out for Full of Hell’s next date in Paris alongside Nails.

A huge thank you goes out to Kongfuzi booking, Matt and the bands for making this article possible!

Be sure to check out the bands on their websites and social media

Full of Hell

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/fullofhell

Bandcamp

https://fullofhell.bandcamp.com/

Official Website

http://fullofhell.com/

The Body

Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/thebodyband/

Bandcamp

https://thebody.bandcamp.com/

Refused in Paris (@Le Trianon, 01/12/2015)

Whether you love them or hate them, Refused are the best example of a band whose artistic delivery and impact match their gargantuan ambition. The same way “Who wants to be a Millionnaire” contestant John Carpenter confidently baffled the world by calling his dad to boast about his 1 million dollar winning, the ballsy statement that is “The Shape of Punk to come” has baffled the world with its accurately foretold prophecy. What was once a grossly underrated band rose up and returned to the scene, greeted by the newfound fan base and praise they deserve. Returning to Paris for the 2nd time since their reformation, the punk quitet from Umea, Sweden were greeted to a Sold-out show at the large, prestigious venue known as Le Trianon.

Scheduled to open up for the band were a local four fifth all-girl band known as X Syndicate, whose sharp attire consisting of black and white suit and tie combos combined with their voluminous haircuts and makeup made for quite the first impression. The bands’ blatantly straightforward overdriven blend of punk n’ roll bordering on slow thrash, while incredibly simplistic, did make for a nice starter for the show… at least initially. While there wasn’t anything all that bad about the set, the bands’ lack of inspiration seemed to become more and more evident as time went by during the course of their uninterrupted mishmash of metal guitar 101 riffs. The vocalist did give out a solid performance, though her microphone was all too often way too low in the mix. Most disturbing of all was the staleness of the performers whose onstage attitude made them seem a lot more preoccupied by the press photographers at the front of the stage than their actual audience. Overall, I couldn’t shake the bitter aftertaste hinting towards a sense of shallowness after listening to a somewhat fun but all too generic set of riffs and songs.

Refused were then next in line and prepared to take on their avid fans. As the time for the bands’ set to start off came night, the audience was greeted and treated to an introduction with Kendrick Lamar’s King Kunta, suggesting the bands’, an unexpected yet pleasant choice that got a fair share of the audience pumped up. The Swedes took to the stage looking sharp as ever with their buttoned shirts and fired up with Elektra off of their comeback record Freedom. While the opening number for the show did feel somewhat underwhelming, the band quickly got back on track after getting warmed up for the first few minutes, getting all fired up in time to unleash The Shape of Punk to Come  unto the audience as a follow-up. Vocalist Dennis Lyxzén visibly needed a song or 2 to get warmed up but as soon as the initial tracks gave him time to get in the groove he quickly turned into a juggernaut. With a fair balance of songs off of Freedom and the classic The Shape of Punk to Come to please and win over old and new fans alike, the band delivered an incredibly fun and intense live set, brilliantly articulated and punctuated with breaks and builds to keep the show fresh and dynamic. Admittedly not a fan of larger venues such as Le Trianon, particularly in the context of a punk show, I was very impressed by the bands’ ability to make the best out of their setting and close off the typically large gap between the stage and audience through their explosive stage presence and their interaction with the audience. With Dennis swirling his mic chord and jumping around like an acrobat while busting some sweet moves, the band shows little to no signs of ageing  and are visibly still fully charged up with the electrifying energy that inked their music and name in punk rock anthology. With each outburst of the bands’ syncopated rhythms and danceable rock grooves contagious enough to tear lesser prepared venues down to the ground, Refused had their audience on their toes and running wild in the pit.

Having lost nothing in the way of their militant spirit, the band also took a brave stand to address the COP21 summit as well as the tragic events having struck Paris only 2 weeks earlier. The quintet from Sweden had played at le Bataclan the last time they toured France and were very adamant in spreading a message of unyielding love and solidarity to their audience. “THIS is our Weapon! Please take care of each other!” the band cried out, with Dennis Lyxzén on the brink of tears as they fired up “Rather be Dead”, during which he jumped into the crowd to yell the refrain alongside the fans.

Thanks to the bands’ incredibly rich sound, Refused offered a superbly paced and diverse set, crashing down with hard-hitting powerhouses all the while steering clear from a one-dimensional sequence of the same grooves and moods. I was most notably pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the dance-able rock numbers such as the new Servants of death which helped to switch up the mood for a bit.

The bands’ live Bombination in 14 bursts flew by in what seemed like a mere half hour, closing off the main set with a brilliant rendition of the classic “Worm of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull” before leaving the stage. A sold-out venue full of fans cannot be fooled though, as every single person in the room were fully aware that the band had still some unfinished business to attend to. After a roaring ovation of fans calling out for the closing songs of the evening, the band returned to the stage to the iconic opening riff to “New Noise”, to which the crowd lost their minds and split pit from side to side before wreaking havoc. To add some more the icing on the cake before bringing an evening to a definite close, the band followed up their anthemic encore with the crushing “Tannhäuser / Derivè”, the perfect encore for the bands’ phenomenal set.

With a set such as this one, Refused leave no doubt as to the band’s relevance in today’s rock scene, their latest creative output and their explosive live shows stating loud and clear that these Swedes are going to keep tearing it up for years to come. Don’t believe what they say, Refused are fucking alive and kicking it harder than ever.

Robin.

Thank you to the staff at HIM Media for making this live report possible!

Live photos by Nessie Monteiro.

Setlist 

1. Elektra

2. The Shape of Punk to Come

3. The Refused Party Program

4. Dawkins Christ

5. The Deadly Rhythm

6. Françafrique

7. Rather Be Dead

8. Coup d'état

9. War on the Palaces

10. Servants of Death

11. Refused Are Fucking Dead

12. Thought Is Blood

13. Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine

14. Worms of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull

15. New Noise

16. Tannhäuser / Derivè

Chelsea Wolfe w/A Dead Forest Index in Paris (@La Maroquinerie 18/11/2015)

The week following the dramatic events in Paris was most certainly a rough one for its concert venues. With the city still on edge and on high alert, a lot of artists understandably chose to cancel their French and Parisian shows, whereas some chose to withstand the tension and courageously maintain their parisian date on their tour schedule. Fortunately for her Parisian fans who’ve eagerly waited for her return, Chelsea Wolfe was part of the latter group; La Maroquinerie was booked full and our diva of darkness visibly had no intention of delivering any less than the her very best performance for the grieving city.

A dark-pop duo going by the name of A Dead Forest Index were given the task to start off the show for the evening and did a solid a solid job at that. The guitar and drum combo from London did a surprisingly good job at creating an immersive, full sounding musical experience all the while retaining the dynamic possibilities offered by their two-piece formation. With clear, soft yet confident vocals accompanied by the pummelling, spacious drum grooves and swelling guitar riffs ambiences bordering post-rock and shoegaze-driven influences, A Dead Forest Index made for a captivating first act.

Then came the time for Chelsea Wolfe to take to the stage and mark her long awaited return.

Being that I had yet to listen to her latest full-length effort, this night was my first time hearing her widely anticipated set of new songs and boy was I in for a surprise. Having seen Chelsea Wolfe on her previous european tour, I was certainly not expecting such a heavy and doomy set of songs. Wolfe was visibly determined to show her teeth to her metalhead demographic, put a heavy accent on her latest pitch-dark release Abyss with its twisted, distorted sounds and its nightmarish ambiences. Armed with a heavy dose of distortion and a crushing low-end, Chelsea Wolfe made one thing clear; she certainly knows how to sharpen her live sound for maximum effectiveness, as audiences were treated to a brilliantly paced set balancing out a hard-hitting opening and closing act with a mellower, more melancholic core. Chelsea Wolfe’s chilling and crystalline vocals were absolutely flawless in delivery and vivid in their emotional imagery, so much so that one would never suspect her recent fragile health (her show in Austria having been cancelled earlier that very same week). The band made for an equally great and equally important part of the exceptional set, displaying an impressive ability to perform with an exceptional sense of finesse and versatility.

While some fans seeing Chelsea Wolfe for the first time may understandably regret the absence of some of her most popular singles in her setlist (notably Feral Love, Destruction Makes the World Burn Brighter, Tracks (Tall Bodies)), one can only give Chelsea the utmost praise for bring such a brilliantly craft and explicitly arranged show to life with such ease and poetry. 

Overall, Chelsea Wolfe’s set was yet of another testimony to her ever expanding creativity, outdoing herself with a set perfectly complementing her previous tour. By putting a stronger accent on the darker and heavier side of her character, Chelsea Wolfe and her band put on a magnifient soirée of somber yet moving musical lyricism.

A huge thanks goes out to Marie Xxme and to Kongfuzi Booking, without which this live report would not have been possible.

A Dead Forest Index

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/adeadforestindex/

Bandcamp

https://adeadforestindex.bandcamp.com/

Chelsea Wolfe

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/cchelseawwolfe

Official Website

http://www.chelseawolfe.net/

Bandcamp

https://chelseawolfe.bandcamp.com/

Jex Thoth w/Öfö Am & Stonebirds in Paris (@Glazart 22/09/2015)

As we count down the last days of september, some of us settle back into our daily grind after some well-earned summer holidays, and what better way to kick back into your working routine than with a class-A show set up by our beloved and trusted harvesters of all things slow n' heavy. Our honored guest for the evening being the spellbinding diva, the ravishing and mysterious Jex Thoth, whose exceptional set at Tuska 2011 had left a mark on my memory.

Opening for the night were two french acts of the sludge and stoner persuasion, the first of which being Stonebirds from Brittany. I will admittedly regret to admit that the show could have kicked off in a more convincing way, as the sound was lacking some of that punchy energy you'd come for a band with such a style. The band did deliver a few tasty bits and riffs towards the latter half of their set, but overall the band's' set didn't have all that much to write about, sorry guys.

We then got served a second local opening dish for the evening, an instrumental stoner rock trio from Montpelier going by the name of ÖfÖ Am. Though the band's compositions did come off as a bit of a patchwork assemblage of riffs and grooves, the simple fact of the matter was that it somehow simply worked. With some great energy to back up their set of effective and well executed riffs and grooves, ÖfÖ Am got the audience's’ blood flowing warm. From galloping riffs to sludgy headbanging sections that will drive any sane, well-balanced individual to start punching walls in, what ÖfÖ Am seems to lack in arrangement seems to be largely compensated in the quality of their riffs. Other than the slightly inconsistent nature of their compositions, one could also regret the band's’ tendency to end their songs in very abruptly, though this didn’t come too much in the way of the bands’ great performance either.

Then finally came the time for Jex Thoth and her band to hit the stage in front of a fairly packed venue of eager fans, fans in front of which she had visibly no intention of letting down as we would soon find out. As tradition has it, the stage lights were handled by the bands’ candlelit decorum and Jex Thoth initiated the live show with the burning of Palo-Santo incense burning, a sort of opening ritual so to speak. Be it through the haunting, mystical decorum or the bands’ transcendent stage presence, Jex Thoth certainly knows how to pull off an exceptional show. Whereas the live sound quality for Stonebirds had left to be desired, Jex Thoth got a studio-like, crystal clear live sound and mix to lay down her equally solid performance all the while preserving a strong, vibrant live energy to her breathtaking performance. The front woman swayed and danced across the stage in a captivating and contagious trance all the while delivering a pitch-perfect and deeply moving performance. While the band’s catalog does have a fair amount of rockin’, catchier numbers, tonights’ set mostly favoured some of the slower and moodier side of their back-catalog as well as a few brand new songs from their upcoming studio release. While we did miss out on a few of her more popular “hits”, the conviction and pacing with which the show was carried out could not have made for a more cohesive and immersive experience.

While I had already been wowed by Jex Thoth’s last performance I got to see, I was not expecting her to exceed my expectations to the point she managed to do with this show, nor could I believe my ears when I later found out that the show had nearly been cancelled due to Jex Thoth being ill, had she not insisted on maintaining the show nevertheless. Neither her incredible stage performance nor her pitch-perfect singing could have led me to suspect that she was ill, which only comes to show how strong as a performer and what an unstoppable force Jex Thoth and her band truly are.

PS: I'd like to yet again send my thanks to Stoned Gatherings for making this review possible. Be sure to visit their website to find out about their upcoming shows.

Stoned GatheringsOfficial Websitehttp://stoned-gatherings.com/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/stonedgatherings.shows?fref=ts

Stonebirds 

Official Website

http://www.stonebirds.fr/

Official facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Stonebirdsarestone
Bandcamp
https://stonebirdsarestone.bandcamp.com/

ÖfÖ Am 

Official facebook
https://www.facebook.com/%C3%96f%C3%96-AM-80706294909/timeline/
Bandcamp
https://weareofoam.bandcamp.com/

Jex Thoth 

Official Website

http://www.jexthoth.net/

Official facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JexThoth
Bandcamp
https://ihate.bandcamp.com/album/jex-thoth

Eyehategod w/ Herder, Joe Buck Yourself! & Viva le Fox (@Glazart, 30/6/2015)

 

It had been a while since I treated my ear canals some beefy, stoner rock vibrations. After 3 great concerts in the big venues of Luxemburg, it was time to me to return home; home in Paris, home within the 4 walls of a cozy club venue, home to my great friends at Stoned Gatherings, who've been working their asses off to bring us a hefty set of shows for this summer, starting things off with this show starring none other than New Orleans Sludge Metal heavyweights Eyehategod. Parisian sludge enthusiasts were swift to answer to such a generous invitation as evidenced by the humbled thank you messages from our favorite booking agency to their followers for purchasing so many presale tickets.

I arrived all sweaty and short of breath from rushing straight from work to the venue; if there's one thing I hate, it's missing out on the start of a show. Thankfully, the first show of the evening had only just started. The first two opening sets of the evening took place on the venue's terrace, under the beautiful sunny weather, a splendid initiative that proved to be very fruitful judging from the crowd that had gathered for the show. First up was the dirty ol' sweaty duo Viva Le Fox featuring Joe Buck, here to shake things up with their dusty, bluesy set of rockabily tunes. Operating as a guitar and double bass duo, these folks certainly did a remarkable job in waking up a crowd still enjoying their happy hour to rusty yet danceable, swinging jams. With minimal equipment and a fairly straightforward formula, these guys were sweating like hell while singing their heart out; it doesn't get any more punk rock than these guys. A great show rewarded by a great reception by a contented crowd.

As the opening festivities carried on, the duo made way for the 2^nd  guests of the evening. The Hooten Hallers from Colombia, MO set up their gear and took up where the show had left off with a set of pure bluesy, hillbilly rock n' roll. With a setup barely surpassing Viva Le Fox's sense of minimalism; the trio made for an exceptional show with a great set with simple riffs set to a swinging backbeat rhythm on the drums and on the Saxophone. Vocalist and guitarist John Randall groaned and screamed out his bluesy verses with an unprecedented amount of character, throat-singing like a lung-ridden hillbilly having burnt out his throat from smoking too many Camel cigs in the hot southern sun. With a set balancing out rock n' roll twists and bluesy tales with riffs crashing down like magnificent strikes of sonic thunder, The Hooten Hallers just make you want to howl, twist and shout to the backbeat and go wild; a set of bluesy rock n'roll in its purest and finest form.

After this delightful couple of opening sets ended, the Hooten Hallers gracefully bowed to the audience (who were insistingly cheering for an encore) to direct them hastily inside the venue for the next show, an acoustic set hosted by Joe Buck, who played the bass earlier that night for Viva Le Fox. Though I doubt this is the first time someone has made this remark, I couldn't help but be baffled by the mans' striking resemblance to Eddie, the mascot for Iron Maiden. With an acoustic guitar under his arm and a suitcase kick drum at his foot, Joe Buck treated us to a set of dusty ol' country songs, devilish tales straight from the darkest pits of Kentucky. With the help of his raspy, deep voice, the man did not take long before engulfing the whole venue in a haunting, eerie atmosphere, captivating the entire audience by singing and shouting like a tell-tale of deathly lore. Sadly, the shows' bone-chilling, campfire ghost story atmosphere would have made for a truly enthralling experience had it not been constantly disrupted by Joe Bucks' exasperation with some technical difficulties involving his monitors. What seemed to be a reasonably overlookable issue to us audience caused Joe to lose his temper and grind his teeth in irritation. Likewise, Joe's exasperation ended up gaining the audience, who were visibly growing nervous and fed up by his frequent song interruptions and tantrums in between just about every song. Overall, this was a great set, though I couldn't help but feel as though it could've been significantly more enjoyable had the man refrained from making such a big deal out of his kick drum.

Next up on stage was a sludge/stoner metal band I had been eagerly expecting to see again ever since having first attended their show at Hellfest: Herder, the hardest band from the Netherlands.
Judging from the immediate explosive reception that the band got treated to as soon as they burst out their first few triple guitar riffs, I wasn't the only one that had been expecting this bands' set so impatiently. Havoc and mayhem struck the crowd as the sextet unleashed their massive, chunky riffs with full force. To phrase things concisely, this show was simply insane. Headbanging was not only inevitable for this set, it was mandatory and enforced by vocalist Ché, who made sure everyone in the front row was bopping their heads to his band and occasionally grabbing peoples' still heads to wave them up and down until they headbanged in compliance. From the slow, heavy headbanging stoner rock n'roll songs to the faster, hardcore moshing frenzies, the band kept the shows' level of energy at its utmost intensity with their roided, jaw-droopingly heavy songs and their remarkable stage presence and energy. Ché couldn't help but smile from the audiences' warm reception and was visibly determined to share and spread his good vibes with his fans, exclaiming "I hope you guys brought your dancing shoes with you!" while dancing around like a jolly leprechaun. As ill circumstances would have it, the bands' set was unfortunately cut short due to volume issues, to the disappointment of a pumped up crowd that had obviously not had enough time to put their dancing shoes to good use. Nevertheless, this unfortunate abrupt ending to the set did little to belittle the magnificence of these' fine gents' performance. An excellent show that would've left us with the exact same craving for more had lasted a full hour and a half.

After Herders' set came a long intermission. News had broken out that Eyehategod had been blocked at the French border earlier today, leading to certain uncertainties regarding the closing set of the evening. After a few news briefings by the staff at Stoned Gatherings, the men of the hour finally arrived at 11pm, unloaded and set up their gear in record timing and jumped right into business without a second to lose. The sludge-thirsty crowd that had been respectfully yet noneless impatiently waited an hour for the show snapped and thus the peaceful Glazart instantly turned into a chaotic warzone, raging to the thunderous sounds of New Orleans' most devastating Sludge Metal act, fronted by Mike Williams' tortured screams. With a heavily armed set of songs, the band opened fire and unleashed every bit of the undying rage that have earned them their household name in metal. From slow sludgy neck breakers to their fast-paced, punk-driven tracks, Eyehategod did not take long to tear the venue down with their napalm-fused sound.  


Being that I imperatively needed to get home before the metro stopped running, I unfortunately had no choice but to leave about halfway through the bands' set. Despite this regrettable situation that was being anyone’s' control, I really enjoyed the set and I rode back home with a great smile of satisfaction on my face. Stoned Gatherings shows have yet to let me down, and despite a few unfortunate technical issues, every artist gave it their best and each of them absolutely killed it, making for yet another great night to remember.

Robin
 
PS: I'd like to yet again send my thanks to Stoned Gatherings for making this review possible. Be sure to visit their website to find out about their upcoming shows.

Stoned Gatherings

Official Website
http://stoned-gatherings.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/stonedgatherings.shows?fref=ts

The Hooten Hallers
Official Website
http://www.thehootenhallers.com/
Official Bandcamp
https://thehootenhallers.bandcamp.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/thehootenhallers  

Joe Buck Yourself !
Official Bandcartel
http://joebuckyourself.bigcartel.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-Buck-Yourself-/323946857004

Herder

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/herderisharder
Official Bandcamp
https://herder.bandcamp.com/

Eyehategod
Official Website
http://eyehategod.ee/

Official Bandcamp
https://eyehategod.bandcamp.com/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEyeHateGod