[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] En ce dimanche 10 novembre, la salle de concert le Bataclan a accueilli Dark Tranquillity qui est en tournée européenne avec Hiraes, Wolfheart et Moonspell. Une très belle découverte, car ne connaissant pas tous les groupes, j’en suis ressorti avec de nouvelles inspirations musicales. Bien que Hiraes n’a pas eu, à mon goût, le soutien nécessaire, car le concert commençait à 17h45 (ce qui est tôt, je trouve), en plus d’un long week-end, le pire combo qu’ils puissent avoir…Au-delà de ce désagrément, le premier groupe d’ouverture était une claque auditive, je pensais que c’était un line-up complet sur scène quand soudain la chanteuse débarque sur scène avec un scream ahurissant.
Under Fire : Comme je l’ai déjà expliqué, j’ai été profondément impressionné sur le plan auditif, car je n’avais jamais entendu parler d’Hiraes auparavant. J’avais voulu maintenir la surprise de les voir en concert, et je suis heureux d’avoir fait cela. J’espère vraiment qu’ils vont repasser bientôt en France (ce qui est fort possible vu qu’ils sont nos voisins de pays) car oui, le groupe est Allemand.
Quand Hiraes ont terminé leur concert, l’installation du groupe Wolfheart s’enchaîna, c’est vrai qu’avec quatre groupes, il faut bien être coordonné. Le premier groupe m’a mis une claque auditive, mais le deuxième m’a mis une claque visuelle. À peine les membres étaient-ils présents, que j’ai été frappé par l’assurance de Wolfheart, c’était vraiment marquant. La force qu’ils dégagent en live est phénoménale, j’ai eu l’impression que leur show était trop court, tellement j’étais plongé dedans.
The King : Avec une ouverture au piano, une douce mélodie quand s’ensuit avec un gros riff bien tranchant à la guitare. Une belle montée avant le premier refrain qui met tout le monde d’accord et moi le premier. En ce qui concerne la composition musicale, elle est très réussie, car il y a constamment une petite mélodie qui capte notre attention. Pour ensuite repartir sur le refrain bien sec qui fait du bien aux oreilles. Je suis très content d’avoir écouté en vrai cette musique, car c’était la première que j’ai écoutée quand je me suis renseigné sur Wolfheart. La version en direct me semble plus animée, et c’est celle que j’ai préférée, d’où mon envie d’en parler.
Under Fire : As I’ve already explained, I was deeply impressed on an aural level, as I’d never heard of Hiraes before. I had wanted to maintain the surprise of seeing them live, and I’m glad I did. I really hope they’ll be back in France soon (which is quite possible, given that they’re our neighbors), because yes, the band is German.
Once Hiraes had finished their set, the Wolfheart band took over, and it’s true that with four bands, you need to be well coordinated. The first band gave me an auditory slap in the face, but the second gave me a visual one. As soon as the members were present, I was struck by Wolfheart’s self-assurance, which really stood out. The strength they exude live is phenomenal, and I felt their show was too short, so immersed was I in it.
The King : With a piano opening, a gentle melody is followed by a big, sharp guitar riff. It’s a fine build-up to the first chorus, which has everyone in agreement, myself included. As far as the musical composition is concerned, it’s a great success, as there’s always a little melody that grabs our attention. Then it’s back to the dry chorus that’s good for the ears. I’m very happy to have heard this music live, as it was the first I listened to when I was learning about Wolfheart. The live version seems more lively to me, and it’s the one I preferred, hence my desire to talk about it.
Moonspell, the third band, didn’t strike me as very interesting, despite the supercharged atmosphere in the room. I felt that the band broke the atmosphere that had been set up, all the more so with a very prominent light show. I hope there weren’t any epileptics there that day, because I can’t understand how the lighting engineer managed it, as the red, green, white and yellow mixes are horrible, especially when they’re based on the hits from the bass drums…
Alma Mater : There was one song that I really liked, because it got the audience involved and it was in the image of the two previous bands. The thing that impressed me most about this music is the melody, which gets into your head quite quickly, which I don’t mind. It’s also worth noting that the singer has a superb voice, as he goes from a saturated vocal to a borderline operatic one in a fraction of a second. This brings an exciting dynamism.
At the end of Moonspell’s performance, the Dark Tranquillity team began to settle in. Being familiar with the band’s songs, listening to them live gives me a different experience: I recognize the melodies, but it feels like I’m discovering a new interpretation in front of me. On some tracks, such as Unforgivable, Final Resistance and Atoma to name but a few, it’s not disturbing, but on others, it’s quite unsettling. It’s also the first time I’ve seen them live, so there’s probably something in that too.
Atoma : This is the track that made me discover and love Dark Tranquillity. I can listen to it five or six times a day, and I don’t mind. The experience of listening to it live is very different from that of listening to an album; it’s the singer’s voice and the drums that make all the difference, and in a positive way. This music is rich in variations of tempos, vocals, melodies and so on. From the very first notes of the synthesizer, the crowd was electrified with anticipation for Mikael Stanne’s voice.
A wonderful evening spent in the company of four incredible bands. I might have changed the order of the artists to avoid breaking the rhythm, but maybe that’s just as well. The concert introduced me to three bands I’d never heard of before, which has now changed. As I write these lines, I’ve made myself a little playlist of the concert, with the songs I really liked, so I can rediscover them from another angle. I can only recommend that you go and listen to them, if you too were unfamiliar with the names Hiares, Wolfheart, Moonspell and Dark Tranquillity.
