Montreal, Corona Theater, September 11
th 2015: The venue was packed, the beer was cold, the pits were relentless... Sweat, roars, heat... Every element of a bad ass gig were concocted in a perfect mixture, waiting for the bands to ram their instruments and dictate the crowd.
Embarking on what they've called their «Biggest, longest and most successful» tour yet, ELUVEITIE joined forces with support act THE AGONIST and the powerful EPICA on the second leg of their tour, promoting the ''Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock Tour'' supported by REVOLVER MAGAZINE from September 8 to October 3rd.
With THE AGONIST's 30 minute fierce performance, although unforeseen circumstances allowed me to only see the final 10 minutes of their set, clearly, the crowd was sufficiently pumped for the next appearance, as the musicians mastered the heavy and violent vibe the audience seemed to yearn for.
Propelled by a crystal clear sound, ''King'', ELUVEITIE's latest single, faded in as the 8 band members placed themselves in a choreographed position, solidly grounded, head facing down. The energy was palpable as much onstage than in the cheering crowd ready to explode in a circle pit at any moment now. In a burst of 12 moving lights spread across the stage, the musicians head banged their way through blinding flashes of light following a pumped up drummer. The first roar was emitted and thus, the adventure began.
"Bonsoir Montréal!" shouted
Glanzmann in total excitement.
Armed with confidence, ELUVEITIE passionately played through a solid set of 18 songs, offering a wide range from their first effort ''Spirit'' of 2008, to their very last ''Origins'' newly released in August of 2014.
Throughout the whole gig, the formation managed to head bang, throw themselves around and cheer in perfect musical synchronicity. The amount of technique and talent was once again extremely impressive, as every note was precisely played and held great feeling. The interpretation was generally present, especially in Glanzmann and Murphy's performance; every note seemed provided with a grin, a grimace or a fist in the air. The duet perfectly blended various solos and vocal parts together, even adding the violinist to their vocal harmony circle. Although she was hired in a very short notice following the departure of Ansperger between two legs of the tour, her musical performance was fantastic and her attitude mysterious! She might have pulled a few strange dance moves from time to time, but the woman seemed in overall good control.
The other five musicians were quite out shadowed by the duets performance, as they were placed on the background podiums. Nevertheless, their metal and stage attitude was present, although it lacked a certain chemistry... It seemed like everyone was passionate, but with a serious note to it.
The band, in its entirety, was in super shape and permitted the crowd to experience glorious solos and solid tunes. If every instrumental partition seemed unbeatable, the vocal performances were as hard to compete with. Although the violinist's low harmonies were sometimes inaudible due to Sutter's frantic drumming, the overall feeling was present and Murphy's angelic vocals blended in a strange, beautiful way with Glanzmann's flayed growls... The spirit was very folk oriented, as in a great gathering of long-lost brothers and sisters ready to kick it with a load of booze. From tune to tune, the crowd gained mad energy as ELUVEITIE aligned memorable pieces such as ''Nil'', ''Thousandfold'', ''Slania's song'', ''Omnos'', ''Quoth The Raven'', and classics ''Brictom'', ''Tegernako'', ''Havoc'', and ''Alesia''... Let us not forget about the sublime French version of ''The Call of the Mountains'', a surprise which engendered many smiles and many mosh pits.
The music was vibrant, the soul to it was mighty. From the tone, to the rhythm, to the choreography and the stage presence, everything exuded much effort and practice. ELUVEITIE offered a polished and refined performance, convincing us they've always cared about the music and their legacy. Often complimenting the crowd with some "We fucking love you, Montreal!" and other speeches in the vein of "We told you before, you guys are a fucking amazing crowd", Glanzmann entertained his people with drive and passion, recreating the perfect metal spirit.
The crowd violently stomped, cheering and cheering till the octet got back on stage. In a delirious explosion of screams and beer bashing, ELUVEITIE reappeared for the 'encore'. Offering ''Inis Mona'' as last salute was maybe not the smartest idea as the tune is rather smooth... Worse, the audience failed to sing along to the drum beat; leaving Murphy awkwardly holding the mic towards an unsure crowd... But hey, in a very intense and professional way, ELUVEITIE shared a part of their soul for an hour straight, making it all vert memorable. The Swiss octet owned the gig and proudly left with high standards to compete with.
10 o' clock hit and the lights went dim, as a warm blue rose.
Weesenbeek suddenly appeared behind his drum kit, creating an uncontrollable madness in the crowd. If
ELUVEITIE set the idea they were serious about their music,
EPICA would go on to give the impression they were out to have a good time. In an instant, the dramatic introduction
''Originem'' burst into the rapid
''The Second Stone'', with all the musicians cheering and high-fiving the crowd, before getting into their metal characters. A joyful
Simons came running in with a pure golden voice and gracious movements. Head bangs onstage, head bangs in the crowd, head bangs everywhere, the gig was on fire! Chemistry could instantly be felt, as the musicians danced together in funky, childish ways, winked at
Simons and shared countless handshakes.
EPICA sure did put on a captivating show not only interpretation wise, but on the musical side of things, too. The technique was as impressive as the one their precedents had, going from sweet and delicate nuances of keyboard and surreal vocals, to furious blast beats and raging guitars... Epic confidence, epic control; they made it all look so easy. Simons was elegant and theatrical, whilst Jansen, Delahaye and Van Der Loo went from the back podiums to the front of the stage, savagely playing their instruments, obviously on fire from all the crowd's energy.
Simons' humble attitude as a signer was a great element to the show – this being said on behalf of every non-vocalist musician in the world. Often in the back, on the podiums, never did she steal the thunder of her band mates, letting them head bang and sweat the gig away. Deceivingly, her voice was sometimes buried under the frantic partitions, but the overall volume control and sound clarity were generally satisfying.
«First sold out show of the tour! It's always an amazing feeling. » shouted Simons, encouraging the crowd in its hysteria. From teasing the crowd to thanking the crowd, EPICA interacted with the very receptive audience throughout the entire night, sometimes even daring to do so in a hilariously broken French. Proudly, the band played a set of 15 songs from the worldwide acclaimed ''Sensorium'', ''Unleashed'', ''Cry for the Moon'', and ''The Phantom Agony''. Armed with plenty other gems like ''The Obsessive Devotion'' or ''Sancta Terra'', it was the dramatically beautiful ''Consigned to Oblivion'' which most surprised the crowd. It's rather fair to admit EPICA offered a great and rich variety of their tunes and, in complete quality and meticulous technique, the Dutch played with intensity and made all emotions rise within an eye bat.
"We're not done yet. We've got ten more minutes of epicness for you – But, we want to see your epicness first!". Is there really a better way to call a wall of death? In a second only, the crowd was divided in two sections, ready to bash their brains in, putting an end to the gig. The six musicians happily saluted the crowd, throwing their towels and accessories in the pit. The golden lights shined bright one last time in remembrance of their great musicianship and love of music...
