ALBUM REVIEW: Live At Hellfest – Duel
The capital city and the vibrant cultural hub of the Lone Star State, Austin, Texas is a city bursting with creative energy and is the self-proclaimed Weird City. With the local motto being “Keep Austin Weird”, there certainly is a strangeness and dark magic to DUEL’s music. Significantly influenced by the darker side early 70s Proto-metal, the Austin quartet have become known for the brutally old school and menacing vibe that permeates through their music. DUEL’s new album captures their high octane performance from Hellfest 2022 in Clisson, France. 2022 was a stacked year for Hellfest, as the festival was specially extended for its 15th anniversary and ran from the 17th-26th June. With that in mind, after two years of barely any live music, DUEL chose the perfect stage to turn up and raise hell.
Featuring two members of the now disbanded psychedelic/stoner rock band SCORPION CHILD (also Austin natives), DUEL have been unleashing monstrous, old school metal since 2016. Over this time, they have released four tumultuous, abrasive and ruthlessly fuzz-laden albums that channel the darkness of the 1970s rock scene alongside a ‘go hard or go home’ attitude. Their previous studio album, 2021’s In Carne Persona, was well-received across the board for its alluring old school magic, catchy melodies, infectious grooves and intoxicatingly passionate energy throughout. The album has a wonderfully live feel, so it will be no surprise to anyone that DUEL effortlessly transfer this energy and raw chaos into the live environment.
With a setlist that spans all of their riff-packed discography, Live At Hellfest sees DUEL triumphantly return to the festival arena with a mighty bang. Everything is cranked to eleven and beyond, and it’s safe to say that SPIN̈AL TAP’s Nigel Tufnel would be blown away by the sheer sonic power that DUEL possess. The band’s intense passion is tangible, as you can tell that they were trying to make this one of the best sets of the weekend. Tom Frank’s (vocals/guitar) gritty and powerful yet surprisingly soulful bellowed vocals lead the charge and DUEL waste no time unleashing proto-metal hell on a rapturous audience with the opening track Wave of Your Hand.
One of the wonderful things about Live At Hellfest is how well the vintage amplifiers, warm overdriven fuzz and retro feel carries over into the live environment. Granted the modern production gives the songs an added beefiness, yet it’s such a successful retro sound that it makes you feel like you were born in the wrong era. DUEL wouldn’t sound out of place on a festival bill alongside BLACK SABBATH in their heyday. Making its presence known throughout the album is the band’s deep, earthy Texas style blues influence mingling with the sinister SABBATH-esque grooves. It is easy to imagine yourself screaming through the Chihuahuan Desert at 100mph with the sun beating down on a vast, open road.
One downside of this album is that, because it was captured at an open air venue and a festival, you lose some of that small show intimacy as a lot of the tracks are drenched in the natural reverb that comes with this kind of territory. Another is that the set is too short, usually for a live album you’d expect something just over the hour mark, but just as DUEL get going the album seems to finish quite abruptly. This doesn’t diminish the quality of the setlist though, with the band picking out the strongest songs from each album to deliver a high octane and ball-busting performance. And anyway, these minor issues can easily put aside when you realise the significance of that year’s Hellfest going ahead after two years of a raging and awful pandemic. With DUEL audibly giving it their absolute all, you can hear the crowd really getting into the performance, especially on Devil, and the energy is electrifying.
Overall, Live At Hellfest is a fun record – a short, sharp half-hour blast of old school rock ’n’ roll riffing. DUEL’s performance is tight, cohesive and chaotic, captured perfectly and retaining all of that vintage goodness that makes the band stand out. Given the sense of occasion around Hellfest 2022, DUEL took their opportunity and then some, cranking everything up to the max and pouring all their energy into their performance to make the earth quake all around Clisson.
Rating: 7/10
Live At Hellfest is set for release on March 10th via Heavy Psych Sounds.
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