live-report : my HELLFEST 2012

Most are cool, but lots of mixed feelings after this new edition of the World's biggest Festival of extreme musics, which for the negative ones I could sum-up in just a few words : TOO MUCH of everything !!!

Too much crowd, too much noise : the site was bigger but there wasn't enough space between each tents which means you never had quieter moments between two bands; after a Doom or Stoner gig, it's hard to stand a constant harsh background noise of a Black Metal band playing too near and if that wasn't black then it was brutal DM or Grind... Too many waiting also, which was not the case previous years, 2 or sometimes 3 hours of waiting between bands you really want to see, that's too much when repeated several times in the week-end .

 Ok,  it can be cool to see unknown bands or old ones but on that point the problem is that this year the old dinosaurs proposed were not as interesting as usual : for example MOLLY HATCHET (photo below), URIAH HEEP were to my opinion just cool to see for a few songs, ok the technic is still here but it's too wheezy physically to create something that can wake up the audience in the beginning or middle of the afternoon... 

 I just really enjoyed LYNYRD SKYNYRD that were consistently more sharpened and ended with both anthemic songs that everyone was waiting for... I regret not to have seen BÖC but was too fucking tired in fact yesterday and left the site by the end of the afternoon; YES I know I'm an ageing fucker and missed PENTAGRAM and THE OBSESSED.... it was hard to take the decision though but I had seen all those bands before and needed to stop this edition a few hours before planed; another thing is that after 3 days, maybe for the 1st time in such circumstances, I really missed my wife and kids too.

Of course, it would not be decent at all to complain, considering the luck to have this happening each year just about 2 hours from where I live but that doesn't prevent to feel a bit blasé, even if it's mostly tiredness that prevails today.

 In order to host 40 000/45000 metallers, the site has been enlarged and is now too big and makes you walking a lot more; the organization did a lot of nice efforts for evrybody's cumfort and more than 150 bands is absolutely exceptionnal in the principle, especially for the youngers, but beware of a prematured indigestion !!! this can be more debatable for old metallers who have yet seen a great part of the bands in their earlier days and/or in more appropriated conditions...

This said, I have of course enjoyed more than a fair amount of bands with :

ORANGE GOBLIN : an oustanding energic set of Metallic STONER and what a hell of a frontman !

NECROS CHRISTOS : on the Temple stage, this scene dedicated to the blackest sounds was pretty much fitting for those German mortified souls and their awesome mix of hauting Death/Doom was pure excellence, the vocal performance was perfect again, can't even say that Roadburn was better as being the first time I saw them ! 

THE DEVIL'S BLOOD : first thing that comes in my mind is the very impressive musicianship; like the 1st time I saw them, it's about an hour of guitars climax, extremely rich of twirling melodies, almost reducing each vocal apparition as a simple accompaniement but still brillantly valued as some kind of enchanting incantations.

 SAINT VITUS : great set, including 3 songs from the new album... I was surprised to hear 'I bleed black" so quickly in the set (2nd song) but everyone was in good form and - save a few doubtful improvisations of Dave Chandler-, the performance  was topless.

ACID KING : even if maybe not in at her best (last song was surprisingly messed-up in the soloing) Lorrie's is one of the rare woman whose voice suffers from no difference on stage and shit I think I could see her dozen times and would be always impressed by such a little build playing so crushing stuff !

THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX : I just have one album but should quickly give more attention to this fuzzy trio... They have completely returned the audience with their powerful and fuzzy Heavy Rock, proving once again that a POWER TRIO can be often devastating !!! 

 HANK 3 : what a nice moment during this Friday's evening with this memorable show of  a bit more than 2 hours... First  45 minutes were composed of his predilection style :  Country n' roll. Honestly I don't know anything concrete about this style but in this ambiance with prefectly well-adapted lights, it's like I felt transposed in "Deadwoods", almost hearing Al Swearengen insulting with passion and affection at next door !!!  and fuck that was something pretty unique :) Then during about 20 minutes the guys turned progressively into something more thick with skillfully infused Metal, Psychedelic and Stoner touches... then during the last 45 minutes Hank played alone with another drummer, a lot more hammering in his style than the first one believe me ! and a completely different set began... something TOTALLY crushing, a mix of Sludge/ Industrial/Metal, harsher and harsher, to end in a hardly standable maelstrom, CRAZY !!! I even left a few seconds or minutes before the end (at least I think... after 2 hours and a few minutes of uninterrupted set, more than 30 songs), that was so NOISY !

THOU : it was a bit hard to start the fest with them, early in the afternoon those yelled vocals were a bit difficult to get into, but I would be curious to see them in more enclosed conditions.

UFOMAMMUT : I'm not an unconditionnal fan of the italian Sludge/Stoner band but their gig was agreaable, catchier and more accessible than 3 years ago.

 ENSLAVED : too bad I was really too far the stage to take pics but the half of the set that I've seen was excellent, they're still pretty wild on stage and terribly epic... I've heard great Doomy riffs from in their newer songs and think their new album deserve a quick purchase.

 YOB : 3rd time I saw them in less than one year but still a special moment, even I've been bit disappointed by Mike's setlist and I think the context was too big for him and the band to feel and share the usual communion...

 I saw other bands during one, two or three songs, a part of them were cool  like ENTOMBED, DISCHARGE, ANAAL NATRAKH, COLOUR HAZE (I think this was a mistake to place them just a few hours after Atomic Bitchwax), NASUM...

Looking back at this, I think this was again a rather complete edition, it's just that I'm getting older and certainly a bit blasé (sorry if that hurts !); I think next year(s) I won't do the 3 days anymore, just one or two days if a few bands I never saw before will be coming or friends will be playing (hum, got a few cool infos for next year !). Of course it's hardly comparable but for my little fucking body I feel if there's just one to save : Roadburn is THE essential festival that is not to be missed each year, then it's now time to try discover smaller festivals like Muskelrock or Heavy Days in Doom Town... gonna think about that seriously !!!

my ROADBURN 2012...

That's my report : no long descriptions, no setlists... just my shit !

***** THE TOP 3 :

ORCHID : the equivalent of CANDLEMASS special "epicus..." show last year = MEMORABLE... a bit more than an hour of HITS (from the ep and album) with a fantastic sound, and two new songs that ripped... The guys are very impressive of fluency and should blow everything away with their new album.  I've very rarely felt such a communion between a band and its fans, pure moments of shared happiness !

YOB :  Mike and his buddies did something I hardly could have expected with playing the cultish "the unreal never lived" in its entirety (and the song "adrift in the ocean" as unexpected bonus)... The sound was HUGE, just perfect for a 1hour and 15 minutes LESSON of epic and crushing heaviness; particularly at ease in his killer growls, this gig confirms my opinion that Mike S. became definitely the most complete vocalist of the Doom scene.

 

NECROS CHRISTOS : ten times heavier than on album, imagine the carnage ! one of my fave DM gigs ever, certainly the best DM vocal performance I've seen Live; they definitely have created their own style... impatient to see them again in June at the Hellfest !

+ bonus gigaplus : the DIAMOND QUEEN from The Grass Company

**** Other significant HIGHLIGHTS

SIGIRIYA : excellent performance from the welsh band; Stuart is incredible on stage : very incisive and groovy, funny to see how he's always smiling during his awesome solos ! great vocal performance here too

LORD VICAR : due to some little problems with the sound, particularly on Chritus vocals, they needed a bit of time to be at their usual high level, but the set was globally memorable with obviously a good part of songs from their brilliant sophomore album

OM : no photos, definitely too dark to take good photos (at least in my position with my camera) but a perfect ambiance though... massive heavy sounds with refinement, tightness and dark emotions

 + bonus superplus : our own cocktails with RHUM and grapefruit, plus the excellent general ambience reigning during the festival

*** GREAT

VOIVOD : playing "dimension hatröss" in its entirety, that says it all !

CHURCH OF MISERY : too bad about the Bass problems but the new singer is very competitive and this australian guitarist is always a fucking master !

THE WOUNDED KINGS : I liked very much the few moments I've seen, but too short ... I'm ashamed towards such a great band and so nice people : in March I already missed a great part of their gig in Rennes cause I had been too longly talking with the singer of TBDLB and now I just see the 1st song of their set, feeling very bad at that moment I need to go outside during a little hour... victim of a serious technical problem of proportions in what I was smoking :(

THE OBSESSED : good set but I was expecting better, with let's say ... more taste ! Wino did the job, nothing more special.

DOPETHRONE : I expected something a bit wilder from Montreal's trio, they seemed a bit stressed and tired, certainly the consequences of  Vincent's guitar that had been stolen during the travel ! but their filthy Sludge ripped and to see Carl hammering is drums so heavily was amazing.

DANAVA : no photos as I was too much in the back of the small Stage 01, but the set was good with if I'm not wrong all the songs from "hemisphere of shadows" except one, adding two great songs of the sophomore album for maybe the bluesiest gig of my week-end.

HUATA : the french band was very awaited by their recent and old fans and attracted quite many curious too I guess... thinking something like "who are these druids playing fuzzy occult Stoner/Doom with a bottle of chouchen in hands ?" A bit stressed, having to face again some sound problem capacities, but soon in their set, the french band presents finally to the world "the Atavist  of Mann" and it makes no doubt that new fans have been conquered by their extreme heaviness, accentuated by very tight and serious performances from the guitarist and Ronan on vocals.

MARS RED SKY : would deserve a better mention certainly, but I saw only about 10 minutes of this french band that really  needs more attention (including from me first !).

SAVIOURS : sweat, hair and Metal... that's the 3 words that come in mind when thinking about their performance, very catchy brand of metallic Stoner n' roll !

CELESTIAL SEASON : very good moment with those dutch death/doomsters playing their "solar lovers" album 17 years later; didn't remember that the Stoner overtones were so nicely present there, great !

BONGRIPPER : too bad I was really tired for one of Saturday's last gigs, but they were immensely brutal which along with my last joint (before leaving back to France) definitely finished me !!!

+  the listening session of the new ST VITUS : great idea and thanx for this special rolling paper !

+ the enormous breakfasts I took at the hotel

*AVERAGE

40 WATT SUN : should be seen in another context, to play on the biggest scene wasn't appropriated at all

WITCH : a few good moments/riffs but their repertory is definitely too unequal.

- DISAPPOINTING  :

SLEEP - how can this get so much praise ? too fucking noisy, most of the songs were so hardly recognizable ! he, look at the photo ... seriously, does a band who originally play some Sabbathian stuff need so many amps ???

- the TRAVEL to arrive at Tilburg, late after various successive problems that led me to miss D.USK !

- Too many people at some point this year, that's a serious problem for the smaller rooms... it was impossible to see CONAN for example unless you arrived at least 15 minutes before; that has been the only band I personally missed for that reason but that was the same problem for most gigs in Stage 01 and the Green Room. I saw LORD VICAR, DOPETHRONE, NECROS CHRISTOS, HUATA and a few others, in rather great conditions, just because I was there about 20 minutes before the gig started ! Otherwise, if luckily there's still one or two places in the hall you have to pray not being behind 2 or 3 giant dutch or vikings !!!

Nothing dramatical and hard to live at all, this is just to say that this is a waste of time for discovering bands like I used to do last year or at the Hellfest for example...

All in all this was pretty memorable, a little bit under2011 for myself but not so surprising as last year  included more DOOM bands I think... But I'm a bit afraid about next year, considering that E.W. will be curators, I fear this will bring many more people pretending for a ticket to the festival, including certainly mainstream people... the price of success !

THANX to the organisation and bands for all those great moments :)

interview with YOB (2nd and main part) - live in Paris 10/09/2011

After the first part I posted with my gig report, as a kind of  introduction (with nice special news about next Roadburn), here's the second and main part of the interview I did last Sunday with Mike Scheidt, just before their oustanding gig in Paris; a superb example of integrity, passion and respect ...

There will never be enough said about how YOB is brilliant and creative,  and how this band live is one of the most crushing and heaviest of the planet, so don't count your efforts to support them, they'll give back to you a hundredfold !

Topics evoked :
- first we return to the end of the question concerning how the other members caracters do give strenght to YOB as a collective
- main constraints to endure as an underground musician
- the development of his vocals register
- the contractual situation towards Profound Lore rds
- objectives fixed when the band came back in 2009
- objectives for the future considering the band's evolution and his age
- the assimilation as the "Enslaved of stoner/doom" and the notion of progressivity in doom metal
- differences between Europe and USA that he enjoys/dislikes most
- the setlist of the tour
- and finally the "ATMA philosophy"...

 Thanx again to Mike for having been so pleasant, eloquent and interesting !

live interview w/ Mike Scheidt (part1) + report DARK CASTLE & YOB - Les Combustibles PARIS 09/10/2011

There are (musical) events, meetings who leave their own special mark in life ... Sometimes nothing special happens during one or several years, but personnaly this year has been quite fruitful, 1st with  the memorable special show of Candlemass at Roadburn and then -this past sunday- with YOB coming in Paris...
A couple of hours before the gig, I've had the honour to speak during a long delightful moment with Mike Scheidt, leader of Oregon's masters YOB, and even if it was no surprise, I've felt something very special emanating from this guy; a very developed expression, quite and thoughtful, with simple, true, fair and essential values . Some people are maybe more accessible than me to YOB's philosophy but this shared moment and the gig right after helped me to DEFINITELY get into it, understand all his message and live at 101% his unique sonic odissey transcribing all his and our twisted emotions.

So, here's the first part of the interview I did with Mike (5 minutes),.. Don't blame my  zombiefied voice with this awful english accent but concentrate on interesting things this nice guy has to say !!!! 

at the end of this part, we've been a bit disturbed by the parisian garbage collectors (!) put then the sound higher... we moved a bit and then continued during 25 minutes, that'll be the 2nd part which I'll post quickly, but as for now there's still some great news to hear about :

1st question is about the reasons that led the band to cancel the spring european tour and the headlining of Raodburn 2011... and then I asked if there's any hope for next edition in April 2012... he he !

2nd question is underlining that discussions often focus on Mike as the leader of YOB and his life philosophy, so that we don't know much about other member caracters,  so I wanted to know how the other members give their part of strength to YOB as a collective ...

(special thanx to Fernando for making this possible and Stéphane Bourcier from Barabbas for being enough patient and competent to film this correctly)




The gig's report with photos :

I was expecting a lot from this gig for a few months, listening so many many times yet to "ATMA" and re-plunging heavily into previous albums, certainly not that I had abandoned them, but I felt the need to prepare myself specially to this gig, like I did when I was a lot younger, conscientiously to carefully enjoy each moment and the strongest feelings possible...   

Not just for me; indeed expectations were high for everyone but I can without any risk affirm that no person present has felt even the slightest disappointment, cause Mike and his buddies have completely blown away "les Combustibles", with an audience that ended the gig rinsed, washed and drained (the small hall was sold-out with around 160-170 people, during YOB's gig the ambient temperature has increased from at least 10°c degrees inside !) but so happy and aware to have experienced some unique moments, in an hypnotic transe that was just simply amazing !

Prior to this magic hour, DARK CASTLE had already impressed with their shredding  sludge including a great dose of crushing doom and blackened post-HC insanity... Even if you already know it, that's pretty strange to have just drummer Rob Schafer and Stevie Floyd on vocals/guit occupying the scene; but the space is pretty small and their set is so fuzzy and extreme at the same time, that you forget quickly everything and get 100% completely in their dark, cold, funeral, extreme world of earth-shaking riffs...

Most songs are naturally taken from the excellent "surrender to all life beyond form", including this awesome title track. Ambient, groovy, crushing, scary, possessed; lots of various components  that complete perfectly one with each others and form a very original style, a band that can now be considedred seriously as a precursor of some new extreme kind of music for the rest of this starting decade.

What's the ideal setlist of a YOB's show ? I think there's none actually, the repertory is now so wide and rich; Mike has picked up songs from the last four albums and everything is equally as good in heaviness, power and atmospheres ; could it be with "burning the altar", "quantum mystic", "grasping air", or more recent stuff with "Atma" and "prepare the ground"... It's not a problem of broken string on the 2nd song that can disturb the serenity of Mike and a 2nd set in row for Rob Schafer which can mitigate his enormous power. The audience is stunned by this constant massive and epic heaviness but -instead of undergoing and suffering from the more and more oppressive heat invading the hall- is constantly headbanging, hypnotically in a slow motion with a part of it collapsing in front of the scene like if carried away by a viciously surging wave. 

Too bad there's no encore but no one would have the idea to blame them, Rob seems exhausted and Mike in total trance... he  thanks warmly the fans, then sits down a few minutes on the left side of the scene, enjoying alone and peacefully the last moments of this memorable, authentic  communion... The set was totally grasping but this moment too believe me.  

Thanx YOB for these great times, I'm already impatiently waiting to see you  again next spring around there guys...  And also a major thanx to Bloodrites association (Fernando and Maryline) and Stoned Gatherings (Mathieu) to have organized this event, all the best to you concerning the next future plans that should allow french doomsters to see top notch bands within the next months and (hopefully) years.