Artists : Killswitch Engage – Dir En Grey
Location : Paris
Venue : Le Bataclan
Date : 11-06-2009
Audience : 1 000 people

The first thing that we notice as we enter the Bataclan is that, to our astonishment, the room is almost jam packed and this time we can access the balconies ! This is not always the case… notable when the crowd is formed by teenagers dressed in goth and manga theme, as they are tonight ! This is something that we notice immediately. It’s our assumption that these charming young ladies are most likely here for Dir En Grey. Don’t know them ? Neither do we ! They are a Japanese band, whom we assume from the crowd’s general excitment, are touring Europe for the first time. Apparently, the band have been going for almost ten years and remain widely recognized throughout the world.

Dir En Grey : an interesting dicovery !

The room gets fully packed and Dir En Grey’s first few notes are enough to drive the fans in the crowd wild. The same goes for those standing as well as the people on the balconies. According to this, it seems that the majority of the crowd have mainly come to see the Japanese band. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that their set-list is a complete as if they were headlining; including 12 (!) songs, lasting a whole hour in total. Although their sound is a little messy, the light show accompanying the songs captures the gloomy atmosphere of the songs. It’s difficult to pin point their exact musical style. A remodeled goth version of nu-metal creating some varied atmospheres. This is partly due to the charismatic singer’s juvenile characteristics. The voice is also particularly captivating. Overall, Dir En Grey’s songs are really very good and we recommend that you check they out on MySpace.

Howard Jones is back !

Incredible fact : half of the crowd leave the room after DEG’s performance ! I fact, it seems that a large part of the Dir En Grey audience have left as Killswitch Engage arrive ! There is still, however, a larger crowd than the last time they played here at the Trabendo two years ago. By 9.30 pm the American band’s fisrt few riffs start playing and the audience is immediately responsive. There is a great atmosphere overall… and what a set-list ! Killswitch are a war machine that delivers hits both in their albums and on stage. Every track is worth it. The band have amazing stage presence which gives us an idea as to why they have grown so popular in the States. Killswitch even play a brand new track from their new album to the Parisian audience. This track will be on their upcoming album released on the 30th of June. We can assert that it will sound good.

Bassist going wild !

The crowd continue to sing in chorus. It’s rare to see such a connection between a crowd and their favourite band. This provokes an amazing atmosphere which the band also seem the be greatly satisfied with. This could be because of the overwhelming American vibe at the gig ! The choruses of the songs “My Last Serenade”, “Bid Farewell”, “Rose of Sharyn” and “My Curse” hit the bull’s eye everytime. The energy increases throughout and the band even demand a second circle pit, which ends up being as impressive as ever, especially in such a small sized venue. The energetic relationship between the crowd and the stage give the gig an intensity which the Trabendo concert lacked.

Great atmosphere !

Unlike Dir En Grey, their sound is very good, however, the crowd don’t actually get to enjoy it for that long… Because it’s already reached an end ! Killswitch’s set-list is short, much too short and it’s a real shame. Only one hour and fifteen minutes of songs, which is only slightly longer than Dir En Grey. Not great for a headlining actand definitely a big downer on the show.

The encore is a cover of the song “Holy Driver” by Dio, during which the band ask the crowd to jump in unison at the start of the first few riffs. The track is performed well and there is an added touch of evil of course. Brilliant ending despite the shortness of the set, as we mentioned before.

Set-list :

Intro
Bid Farewell
Darkness Falls
Fixation
Still Beats
Take This Oath
Life To Lifeless
Starting Over
Rose Of Sharyn
This Is Absolution
Arms of Sorrow
My Last Serenade
My Curse
Heartache

Encore :

Holy Diver

This post is also available in: French