Mutiny On The Bounty – Trials

I bet this was a stuttering creation for the guys from Mutiny On The Bounty. Things did not look too good after their guitar virtuoso Luciano Lippis left the band shortly after the release of their first LP Danger Mouth; an album I personally anticipated quite much. A new guitarist was found but he turned out to be a better Scotsman in drinking and dishing out beatings than being a professional musician, from what I heard so far.

But as the proverb says: “An end is a new beginning” and so is Trials, M.O.T.B. second longplayer. With Cédric “Tchiggy” Czaika (a known musician in the Luxembourgish scene) as the new bassist and Clément Delporte pulling the strings, everything seemed to take a new course. So, after an extensive tour with the likes of Coheed and Cambria, Portugal the Man and Franz Ferdinand including an appearance at SXSW in Austin; the timing was right for the next big step and eventually Matt Bayles (who produced Isis, The Fall Of Troy and HORSE The Band) was hired as the producer for Trials.

So; what beauty do we have in Trials? It’s still a mathrockish experience but with more indie rock influences than mathrock/mathcore. I have often drawn comparisons to Minus The Bear when listening to the album, which is not a bad thing or meant in a pejorative way. But considering the big change M.O.T.B underwent from their first LP to Trials I must confess that I initially had my difficulties with the album. I was expecting Danger Mouth #2 with it’s chaotic guitars and light-hearted / carefree songwriting but Trials is a more serious and sombre masterwork, less dancer but more progressive and it requires your whole attention in order to be perceived.

There are killer tunes that totally kick in from the first second you listen to them like Artifacts, Myanmar, Shifting Paradigms or Mapping The Universe (the latter being a mind-blowing experience played live) but there are also tracks that need several attempts to unfold themselves like Candies or Statues. Guess I just miss the light-heartedness of the first album but if one considers the difficulties the collective had after 2 members parted their ways and with all the frustration they must have had to hold together and create something new I guess there was a lot of anger that pushed them in writing these more serious / darkish songs and that is totally understandable and of course acceptable.

Don’t get me wrong. Trials is a very good album. It’s challenging. You will listen to it over and over again in order to accept the change the band underwent. It’s hard to be a musician / music fan nowadays. As a musician you will piss a lot of people off if you release a clone of your previous album and earn a lot of criticism if you do something completely different. And to me, Trials is a logical evolution for Mutiny On The Bounty. There’s no better album as both LPs are completely different and outstanding in their own way. These boys have a promising future ahead and hopefully they will content us with a lot of surprises in the future. I better stop whining that this is no Danger Mouth #2 and love the Trials for what it is. Challenging but not disappointing.

Dead Boy Dreaming – ALCP


Which one of you guys still remembers the Luxembourgish extreme metal combo Dead Boy Dreaming? Well, I do and it’s a shame that this band and its music, after they split up, faded away from people’s minds. I remember seeing them live during one of the Emergenza festivals nearly ten years ago and I also remember that at this time I didn’t like them at all.

Nowadays, when I put the ALCP (Another Low Creation Phase) EP in my stereo, I don’t understand what I was thinking way back because there are two aspects I really do appreciate about Dead Boy Dreaming‘s music. First of all the record lasts only 11 minutes, which is something I always like when it comes to extreme music (except for black metal), because a lot of bands seem to have a very bad sense of time and often don’t know when to stop. 11 minutes are just perfect to go on an aggressive and groovy rampage!

Second I am quite surprised how diversified and technical Dead Boy Dreaming‘s music was. They were by far not a typical death band and their music is a nice syncrisis of death, hard- and grindcore elements with a few black splits and a punkish attitude all resulting in an incredible powerful 4 pieces EP.

Dead Boy Dreaming don’t limit themselves to one genre and everything sounds very coherent, a challenge a lot of bands try to face but lose, because of the lack of creativity.

If you have the chance to get a copy of ALCP, tell me what you think of it, because personally I believe that it is a shame that this band split-up. In 2012 this short EP still sounds more refreshing than most of the bullshit which is released these days. Dead Boy Dreaming created something which is very hard to achieve: their music (on the ALCP) seems to be timeless in a manner of speaking, at least over the last decade. That’s why nowadays Dead Boy Dreaming still could easily be a factor front and center.

It would not be the worst reunion I could imagine.

FFYS Diary – Day 3

Sunday

Day 3, the last day, or how I call it: “day of the zombies”.

The site was only sparsely filled with people over the whole day, which wasn’t really surprising, considering the fact that the campsite had been open for the fourth day by then. The line-up was a bit “thin” for my taste, but we managed to pick some highlights for you.

In order to get a little bit more awake, there were at least three handfuls of people gathering in the tent to watch the habitual fresh performance by the Jacob Conspiracy. It was kind of a pity in my eyes that they couldn’t celebrate their cheerful rock’n’roll outside at one of the open-air stages. As I already wrote a few months ago: “Desire” is just that kind of a summer song that should be performed outside in the bloody sun! Anyway! The general fatigue at least was confidently blown away by the Jacob Conspiracy after “Wake Up” at the latest. Rating? Rock’n’roll!

So what’s the best way to keep oneself in line? Right, go watch the Belgian version of AC/DC! Romano Nervoso’s (who I mixed up with Inspector Cluzo for two weeks) riff rock and funk just sounds like coming right from the 70s, but it is way harder than compared to the hard rock legends just mentioned. Not to forget the vocalist, who sounds at least just as aggressive as Turbowolf’s frontman. Needless to say that there was no lack of a kick ass drummer. Unfortunately the Frenchmen also suffered from the 3rd-day-fate, so that only a few people found the way to this awesome show. “So what” thought the vocalist, and jumped in front of the stage to perform. “Nice view from here, isn’t it?” Uncompromising power, (finally something louder after a long acoustic set on the stages between Jacob Conspiracy and Inspector Cluzo) and a sound that was even a bit harder than during Porn Queen the day before, made the hard rockers’ hearts leap for joy!

Back to the tent. Fights and Fires. Holy damn, what a performance! Despite the bassist’s bad sitcom taste (yeah, wearing a “Friends” shirt during a hardcore concert, you gotta love these guys!) his playing was just cruelly brilliant! Forcing the speakers to their knees already during the first song, those crazy Englishmen just showed how to stimulate the crowd from the beginning to the end. You really could see the joy in their eyes, so why not letting the spectators playing the guitar or singing the refrain during one of the many crowd-jumps? Melodic and classic hardcore mixed with post-core elements; once again a good wake-up-blend urgently needed that day! And in case there are far too little people, let’s just play the end of the concert in the middle of the present crowd. Just brilliant!

At the end of the day (or at least of our day) there was a very interesting and entertaining concert by the Flying Orkestar. Modern orchestral music combined with hiphop and funk gave a good time to all the dancers. And for those who weren’t too tired yet, there still was DJ Dee, who rocked the main stage in accustomed manner.

We want to thank the organisers and the bands for giving us a great time. Hope to see you next year!

Your El Gore team.

Denis

FFYS Diary – Day 2

Saturday, including a tent metal report and Funky P.

Eric, Luc and I arrived in Tuntange around 3:15PM and after a couple of greetings here and there I made my way to the tent to check out the first band of the day for me: A Mute Appeal.

It was the first time I saw them live and since I had no prior knowledge of who they are and what they play I was surprised by the energy these youngsters brought to the stage. The crowd seemed to enjoy that energy and thus formed the first ninja pit of the day. The Luxembourgish deathcore quintet played their songs flawlessly but the thing that definitely stands out the most is the singer’s powerful voice who manages to deliver amazing growls and screeches. The only downside to me was the fact that the instrumental part was pretty repetitive, but considering that the band is only a year old I can forgive that. Plus, there was a novelty for me: a rowboat mosh-pit, for lack of a better name. I didn’t take a picture of it but I’ll try to explain it: imagine a dozen people sitting on the floor, one behind the other and they row in synch with the music. Needless to say I had a good laugh.

The next band was Abstract Rapture, who were announced last minute as one of the surprise acts. After seeing them the last time at their CD release a week ago I was glad that they chose quite a different setlist which was mostly comprised of songs from their debut EP Dead End Entry with 3 songs off their most recent endeavor Earthcrush. The sound was very crisp and that was just what made their flawless performance even better. The crowd was very enthusiastic and a lot of happy headbangers were feeling quite at ease by the looks of it. There is one thing I can say without a doubt: welcome back Dritt!

After a short break the next band took to the stage: Cosmogon. This Luxembourgish superband which consists of members of now defunct Ex Inferis and Abstract Rapture plays an interesting mix of metalcore and sludge which might sound weird at first but it works in the end. Just like their predecessors Cosmogon had a great sound and even though it was the second show in a row for drummer Spitt and bassist Steven this did not affect their performance which was as per usual killer, with Fab’s amazing voice being the cherry on the pie.

Then I had a quick change of scenery to the main stage where Funky P were playing and even though I only witnessed three songs I was amazed by their super charismatic singer. The Luxembourgish funk formation delivered a great performance and definitely managed to put me in a good mood.

Back to the “metal tent” where Hills Have Eyes had already started playing. I only checked out one of their songs a while ago and I didn’t really remember much of it so I was surprised by what my ears were given: finest metalcore. This Portuguese band brought an amount of energy to the stage that almost scared me and I was kind of sad to see that the crowd was nowhere nearly as enthusiastic, at first. However, about halfway through their set the crowd warmed up and the wooden floor of the tent didn’t stop wobbling. I’m surprised no one got seasick. The, in my opinion, best band of the day so far was rewarded with what I believe was the first circle pit of that day.

Up next was the perhaps most anticipated metal act of Saturday: Scarred. After devastating the tent exactly a year ago at Food For Your Senses everyone had high hopes for them and I think it’s pretty safe to say that these hopes were not crushed. Even though their guitarist Yogy played with Abstract Rapture earlier that day every riff came out as clean as always and the rest of the ensemble were just as fit. The sound was nearly perfect and Sach’s vocals laid nicely on top of the instrumental thunderstorm. The crowd was headbanging and moshing like no tomorrow and toward the end of the show they formed a rather epic wall of death which sadly ended up being somewhat of a failure.

By this point I was close to passing out from hay fever and the one or the other beer I had  up til now. However I had sworn to myself that I’d check out Arkaeon in order to determine if they just had a bad day the first time I saw them live. Turns out that must have been the case because what I saw and heard here was almost better than the songs on the album. Especially singer Rosh stepped up big time and laid down a killer performance. Sadly the concert had to be interrupted for medical reasons before they could play their new song. All in all, I’m looking forward to the next time I see them live and until then: get well buddy!

Yannick

So let’s go get some fresh air and see what happened on the open air stages that day. As you can see the line-up on Saturday was by far stronger than on the other day. More to do for us, more for you to read.

I hadn’t seen Quentin Lagonza for years and it really felt a bit like the old times, although they have changed their style a bit since then. Some very nice riffs packed into a powerful 90s grunge suit gave a good start into the day. The “Rise-Against-like” vocals also fitted pretty well.

Dirty Crows celebrated their release at the 2nd stage and showed the audience how they have changed during the past months. And this does not only count for Marc Bonert, who seemed to have had some kind of symbiosis with Josh Homme. Their progress as a live band was obvious, although at a few points things became a bit longwinded (don’t pause too long, keep the flow!) and the sound was by far not brute enough for some real desert rock’n’roll. Nevertheless, there was no comparison to last year’s performance, the new songs just rock. Skill comes with practice, and this already sounded way more mature, also with help of the guest appearances like Château and Jan Kerscher from

Inborn!

What can I say about Porn Queen? Well, they just look like and sound like they are called: classic rock and even stadium rock was served at the main stage, mixed with appropriate cigarette lead vocals. For those who like to wear cut-off jeans and drive with your Harley to the festivals: this must be your band! One may has to wonder if this kind of music is still going to attract many lovers those days. Porn Queen don’t seem to care.

Inborn! delivered the Space Odyssey soundtrack of the day at stage 2. This typical sound they created themselves is also perfectly presented by now. It sometimes even grows bigger than the stage would allow. Although personally, I prefer them playing in a hall, this will perfectly work at bigger festivals. Despite experimental and electro parts they are never afraid to release their guitars. The melancholic basement of this future rock supplied an interesting contrast to the rest of day 2.

I am a total nitwit considering hip-hop, but what I could observe at the main stage was that De Läb once more celebrated one huge party. They are a FFYS constant, like it or not.

The Intersphere arranged the warm-up show for Mutiny on the Bounty, and by writing this, I’ve already done them an injustice. The guys from Germany are my personal surprise of this year’s FFYS because I had never heard of them before (shame on me!). First, they just managed to take every little drop of good sound out of this 2nd stage. I wonder how Dirty Crows would have sounded with those settings. Second, their mixture between hard post-core, clean vocals, an insane drummer and even a few head banger moments just rocked the audience out of their shoes. A very merciless and professional show – the fact that The Intersphere sometimes sound like Fall Out Boy is not a bad point. Unfortunately not enough people were there to witness their performance because the competition on the other stages was very strong. However, thumbs up boys!

A few weeks ago we had the luck of witnessing the Mutiny on the Bounty release show at the Atelier in Luxembourg City, and their FFYS performance was in no way inferior. Post-rock, post-core, apocalyptic mood, in one phrase: this should have been a huge main stage performance! The people at stage 2 however didn’t care and enjoyed Luxembourg’s finest post-core band at the moment. MOTB exactly control the point of their outbreaks, needless to say that on a technical level this is just grand. No idea how this drummer can handle all this, being the lead vocalist at the same time.

Long text, long day. Day 3 will be online tomorrow!

Denis

FFYS Diary – Day 1

Friday

The Food For Your Senses festival must be in the rock’n’roll god’s good books because the weather forecast once again was fantastic! On an organisational level there were a few good changes compared to last year, especially considering the parking and entry area. The general mood on day 1 was that good that people even threw their wallet on the stage without taking the money out of it.

My first stage on this year’s plan was Mount Stealth, who entered the tent stage with their rhythmic and melodic math and post rock. A confident performance was given, including softer pop rhythms, harder post rock bursts an even a few electro parts. Although, for my personal taste, they sometimes seemed a bit too mellow, they never hesitated to give a loud eruption and mix it with a very danceable fundament. A bit more of a clear line still would be benefiting.

Sorry to the guys of Go Back To The Zoo, because I really didn’t have them on my list. Fortunately I was around when they celebrated their good mood rock’n’roll and created the first bigger party moments on the main stage right after sunset. Although their pop rock often reminded of a typical American Pie soundtrack, they always found a way not to sound too childish and delivered a very enjoyable and likeable performance.

Back to the tent things were getting serious. Dub Trio’s setlist turned out to be pretty freakishly, in a good way of course! At the beginning, they just rocked the stage with very solid instrumental metal, combining classic parts with modern ones. Even if the drummer could have been a member of The Fitness, the set was just evil like a hellhound. Those riffs were the first metal highlight at the tent stage, which like always left nothing to be desired during this weekend. As time went on, those guys became more and more crazy, moving a bit away from hard guitars and including reggae parts (what?!) and even electronic elements in the end (what?!!!), creating a pretty insane mixture: Reggae-electro-metal. You just got to love the moments you didn’t see coming in the beginning.

Kraftklub were eagerly awaited at the main stage later that evening. After the longest and most annoying sound check of the day, they hit the floor and supplied the first huge party moment for this year’s edition. Unfortunately they had to strive against the bad sound during the whole set. As a consequence, their live performance was way behind their LP appearance, which didn’t prevent them from being on top of things and of the crowd from the beginning to the end. Personally, I’m having an issue with German music for some years now, but Kraftklub, even if I’m pretty sure the hype will become embarrassing during the coming months,cast a spell over me with their cheeky and arrogant debut. All the more astonishing that the youngsters appeared very sympathetic during their performance. A band that seemed to reckon that more people illegally downloaded their LP instead of buying it. Really. As already said, the only thing to criticise was the sound or rather the lack of guitars. Nevertheless, the main stage turned into a huge dancefloor, not for the last time for this year’s FFYS.

Sorry in advance for all the bands we couldn’t see during this great weekend. We’re sure there were some great performances that we’ve missed.

Read about day 2 tomorrow, and be prepared for way more metal!

Denis