No, this time it's not about Death Metal... Though I will soon go to Arnhem for the Metal meeting next Saturday:
No, this blog is for once about another style of music: I just stumbled on Unsraw, a rather new Visual kei Japanese band. This band is more metallic than others (maybe because of the "beyond the grave" voice of Yuuki, the singer).
If they ever come to Paris, I surely will go to see them on stage...
Don't you think that they have something more than Visual style (though I will never say than visual is not important for metal bands)?
However, I'm writing this while listening to Destroyer (Or About How To Philosophize With the Hammer), by Gorgoroth...
Despite French strikes in public transport, I still could arrive in time for the Gorgoroth / Enthroned / Tyrant gig. It was easier for me than for a LOT others, because I'm not far away from Pigalle (and for those who don't live in Paris, be aware that Pigalle is not only the famous Paris Red-light district, but also home of many of the best venues in Paris: La Loco, the Elysée Montmartre, The Cigale, the Divan du Monde, the smaller Boule Noire...).
I met some people that had to walk two hours under heavy rain to go the the venue !!! What would you have done ?
Let's say that despite the fact that Gorgoroth has split (Infernus and Gaahl / King ov Hell both going their own ways, and both claiming Gorgoroth band name), the gig was EXCELLENT EXTREME BLACK METAL. They were helped by Teloch (whom I saw when playing with 1349 in June for Hellfest) and Sykelig at guitars, and Nick Barker on drums.
I was just in front of the stage during Gorgoroth performance (in front means here a few centimeters, and yes it was really a performance !!), and I must say that being so close from King ov Hell or Gaahl makes you sometimes ill at ease, especially when Gaahl seems to look at you - not in a very friendly way, this is Black Metal, after all, not a f*** patronage show - with his dark-colored eye... And as Gorgoroth is not only about looks, their music was incredibly powerful.
OK, maybe Gaahl and King ov Hell are not exactly people you would like to socialize with, maybe they are a little crazy, maybe even a little (or more) dangerous, but you can't have everything at the same time folks... What would you think of a Gorgoroth lead singer being sympathetic on stage, talking with the fans, even yelling I love you to the crowd ? Hear me ? Trust me, they are much better that way...
For your information, I shot some pretty interesting pictures of the gig, so stay tuned for a next post about all this ;-)
Tomorrow is the gig with Gorgoroth (hmm, one of the parts that split recently, Infernus have another Gorgoroth myspace page here) and Enthroned, with support of the Australian band Tyrant.
What will be Gorgoroth without Infernus ? More news in a few days it seems ;-) However, it seems that Gaahl and King (ov Hell) want to keep the name for themselves, and it's the same for Infernus. However, the two parts still are in Black Metal, maybe this will end with two Gorgoroth bands... No, that's not possible...
Some great quotes from members of 1349 and Neurosis. Here you are:
Frost (1349): "We are not a commercial band, which means that we are not creating music in order to entertain people, we are not creating music to please the record label, and we are not having sales figures in our head when we are making music".
Archaon (1349): "That would restrict the art. I mean we are under present focused on creating what we had a vision of creating, and there's no limits as such from a starting point".
If you think it's just show off, think about that: 1349 choose to play on the smallest stage at Hellfest instead of the main stage, as planned. And all of that because their set was in the middle of the afternoon...
Frost again: "This band is best suited for playing in the dark, so the solution we have found for these festivals, are to play in tent stages if it is during daytime"
Scott Kelly (Neurosis): "If they understood the sacrifice, the commitment, the dedication, our perception of what we’re doing in that like we are very much dedicated to sound"
As you may already know, Gorgoroth has split: Gaahl and King ov Hellhad seemingly firedInfernus, but Gaahl states that they will perform the 2007 European tour (which is cool, because I already have my ticket...). OK, this is not really a split.
I never saw Gorgoroth on stage, hope this set will be good despite of the fact that one the the last founder will not be there...
For the good of all of us. Except the ones who are dead. ... I'm not even angry. I'm being so sincere right now. Even though you broke my heart. And killed me. And tore me to pieces. And threw every piece into a fire. As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you!
Yes I said I would go back on this subject. Here we are !!
It was at La Locomotive, one of the main venues in Paris for extreme Metal shows. It's small compared to others (capacity: 300 people). These bands never make the big big venues in Paris: Le Zenith (6000), Bercy (17.000), or the Stade de France (80.000), hé hé... Which is maybe fortunate because then you can be close to the stage, shake hands with the bands, etc..., and the music is better...
I am not a huge fan of Impiety, although I acknowledge their everlasting energy (they are from Singapore !!). As for Watain, dead rats were hung on inverted crosses (typical) in front of the stage. Let me say that it smelled bad, very bad !!! And I was just in front of the stage... And at the end of the set, they threw the rats to the public !!! hmm, the little things were more dead than my grand-grand-grand grandfather (what, I'm exaggerating ?), I was fortunate not to be on their course ;-)
Keep of Kalessin were great too !! The main act was Enslaved , they played Path of Vanir, Ruun, all their classics from their last album and more... A great night !!
