Welcome

Live Report Paradise Lost (+ My Dying Bride et Anathema)

Artists : Paradise Lost - My Dying Bride - Anathema City : Paris (France) Venue : Bataclan Date : 18-09-2008 Audience : around 1,000 people Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema – what a fantastic show for all the fans of dark music. It’s a very nice present the members of Paradise Lost made to their French fans on the occasion of their 20 anniversary. Metalo was there to share this exceptional evening with you. Doom Over The World ! That evening, it was disco day at the Bataclan! Three of the greatest English club bands are supposed to play tonight - naaah, only joking. The venue will welcome the historical leaders of doom death. And as the vocalist of MY DYING BRIDE so rightfully said: “It’s been too long since the Unholy Alliance hasn’t played on the same stage. Far too long.” First observation: the venue is packed. In the crowd, I spot the spitting image of Nick Holmes as well as a guy who obviously goes to same barber as Niklas Kvarforth (SHINING). Who else? Oh, yeah: our friends from THE OLD DEAD TREE, who seem to be everywhere! Second observation: all three bands played under a judiciously dark light, which contributes to the night’s melancholy atmosphere. Third observation: the audience seems particularly willing to clap, tonight. The crowd was as receptive and reactive for ANATHEMA and MY DYING BRIDE as for the main act, PARADISE LOST. Fans have come for all three bands. For once, the support bands are not ignored; that's a nice change. Anathema: emotion. Forget all about the notion of “stage business” or “slap in your face” songs (“Fragile Dreams” being on of them). You don’t just watch ANATHEMA – you live ANATHEMA. You can forget the drummer, the keyboard player (who literally disappears during “Sleepless”) or the bassist; all of them are literally non-existent. On the other hand, you focus on the Cavanagh brothers and their poignant performance. An ANATHEMA show is a time for sharing, like for example on “One Last Goodbye”, where the crowd shares Vincent’s suffering. This type of show is less about singing a song that about performing it. In this perspective, our special award goes to “Flying”, which Danny and Vincent perform as a duo before they switch back to simple but moving solo, and a conclusion that you'd like to keep on living forever. Talk about the magic of fading out: the listener tries not to miss a single note while the song slowly fades out like a dying candle. And then it’s silence. Without ever being as groovy as PRISONER OF TODAY or as in-your-face as THE GREAT BEYOND, the band offers several hit songs: “Deep”, “Empty”, and especially “Sleepless”, an excerpt from “Serenades”, as well as “A Dying Wish”, which only recently found its way back to the band’s setlist. An enthusiastic audience sings along with the vocalist on this beautiful song, which ends with a jam followed by a nervous, Sigur-Ross-like surge of energy. During the interlude, ANATHEMA prove their ability to create special atmospheres with only a couple of lonely notes. The show ends with the hit song « Fragile Dreams », which couldn’t possibly have a better introduction: the piano of « Shroud Of False », where the audience starts waving hands in rhythm with the drums. That’s when the unthinkable happens. If there’s one artist I wouldn’t have expect it from, it’s Danny – and yet the man dives into the crowd and starts slamming! Nope, not a joke. You should know it by now, the members of ANATHEMA are not a bunch of jokers. Let’s conclude this report with a half-amusing anecdote: at the end of the show, Danny walked to his car and back to the venue several times, without the people leaving the Bataclan ever noticing him. Come on, guys, you groped him less than two hours ago! Setlist ANATHEMA: Deep Empty Closer (sung with a vocoder) A Natural Disaster (with Lee Douglas on vocals) Angelica One Last Goodbye Flying A Dying Wish Sleepless Shroud of False / Fragile Dreams My Dying Bride, or the art of dark music Like Victoria (aka Spaceman) often says, doom is more than just another subgenre of metal – it’s a state of mind. (With some bands, it’s ONLY a state of mind, but we won’t dwell on that.) Doom metal is the musical incarnation of melancholy. Contrary to sadness, melancholy is an underlying and ambiguous feeling. It’s a state of mind where sadness, boredom, anger and internal unrest collide. The music of MY DYING BRIDE embodies the sadness that you can’t express but that keeps destroying you anyway. Transcribing this state of mind with notes requires a perfect mastery of contrast. It’s the case for this band, which alternates between sheer violence and a slower, heavier, sicker atmosphere – without ever sounding lost. Musically and emotionally speaking, the breaks sound totally natural. We have already seen MY DYING BRIDE on stage at the Hellfest, but the conditions weren’t exactly ideal. In order to appreciate and understand the music of the band, you need to see them in an appropriate setting. The performance of the English band is intense. Aaron Stainthorpe is cold, dark, possessed. He's under a spell that spreads to the audience and encourages everyone to sing, headbang and clap religiously. The other musicians appear to be seriously bored, but this attitude adds to the heavy atmosphere. Wannabe Bruce Dickinsons running back and forth, jumping and slamming would have seemed seriously out of place. Come on, it's just not EDGUY! Just a few words about the sound: clear, powerful, but totally not recommended for those who have forgotten their earplugs. The guitar is aggressive, the bass and bass drum make your stomach churn. I’m a die-hard campaigner for the prevention of tinnitus; but in this case, living the concert with open ears and letting the music attack them freely can bring sensations that earplugs would have deaden. Doom is also about risk and extreme. Aaron Stainthorpe: talk about charisma! We’ve talked a lot about atmosphere, but little about music. The members of MY DYING BRIDE are meticulous musicians who handle the changes of tempo with metronomic precision. The setlist explores the band’s first albums, with, most notably, « Vast Choirs », the « first song we’ve ever composed », which received a warm welcome from the audience. So did the cult song « The Cry Of Mankind », greeted with wild applause after the very first arpeggio. At the end of the show, Aaron's deep voice thanks the fans politely and announces « The Great Paradise Lost ». This kind of high-level performance should be experienced in a concert venue rather than watched on a DVD or listened to on a CD. Setlist MY DYING BRIDE : Here In The Throat Songless Bird Darkest Skies I Walk With Them Cry of Mankind Snow In My Hand Vast Choirs Dreadful Hours Paradise Lost live: slightly disappointing. There are few bands who have managed to live through the years with their original line-up. PARADISE LOST is one of them. It’s now time for the main act. The already captivated audience starts singing along from the first lines of "Hallowed Land", a hit song which has the merit of being a great start to a concert. From the very first seconds, the presence of the rhythm section is striking. These musicians are by far the most interesting to watch. The evening’s special award goes to Aaron Aedy (rhythm guitar), who seems extremely happy to be here and goes as far as yelling on some songs. All of this compensates for a rather static frontman: Nick Holmes is disappointing, and his performance barely above average. The singer even seems to struggle with some of his vocals. What’s more, his voice is under-mixed, which doesn’t make things better. A pity, really: the man is a great orator, and his little speeches lack neither style nor humour. We'll also remember Nick’s funny habit of eating his facial hair when he talks – making him very difficult to understand. PARADISE LOST starts their show with a few in-your-face songs; the bass grooves, the drums beat, the rhythms and the melodies ensnare the audience. The major part of the band’s hits – "Erased", "Say Just Words", "One Second" – has found their way to the set-list, and the band's career has been explored. Note the different version of “Gothic”, with alternate vocals. Nick Holmes, frontman of Paradise Lost. All in all, a nice performance, but not as gripping as MY DYING BRIDE or as varied as ANATHEMA. If you're not a die-hard PARADISE LOST fan, the show can even become tedious and boring. At first you can't help tapping your foot, but after two hours, spontaneity has vanished. Pity. Setlist PARADISE LOST: Hallowed Land Rememberance Never For The Damned Erased Elusive Cure Shadow Kings No Celebration Ash And Debris As I Die The Enemy Gothic Enchantment Requiem Say Just Words One Second Last Time A nice evening out at the Bataclan! Live Report and pictures: Metalo

Partner for Live shows

Partners