LIVE REVIEW: Meshuggah @ Royal Albert Hall, London
In a weekend which celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, no one would have been blamed for believing it to be all about tea and cake. Something which the Royal College of Music relished in as they hosted a street party on the Prince Consort Road. Amongst the finery, flannel clad mental fans descended upon the prestigious South Kensington for an evening of an altogether different majesty. We went along to experience the splendour of extreme metal at the legendary Royal Albert Hall with MESHUGGAH.
Since the release of the critically acclaimed self-titled record earlier this year, fans have been champing at the bit for a live ZEAL & ARDOR performance. A reputation for stellar shows preceded them and it is one they have earned thousands of times over. To look at the band taking to the stage with hoods up and little fanfare, many may have wrongly assumed what they were about to witness was nothing special. The opening bars of Church Burns were enough to rein in those wayward sheep. The three-way harmony between Manuel Gagneux, Denis Wagner and the sheer mountain of a man that is Marc Orbist was joyous to hear.
The stage production may have been simple compared to what MESHUGGAH had been rumoured to bring to the table. However, substance reigned over style as ZEAL & ARDOR obliterated the audience with the incredible combination of Götterdämmerung and Ship On Fire. To witness this amalgamation of genres is to experience music in its truest form. The crowd sat firmly in the palm of Gagneux’s hand as he guided them through Blood In The River and the cacophony of black metal screams and blast beats that formed Gravedigger’s Chant. While the crowd and even Wagner relinquished control of themselves as the moment swept them away, Gagneux exercised great restraint with the massive Death To The Holy. Taking on the role of orchestrator, his tempered delivery simply seethed until the call of “Gather the wolves of the north” exploded into aural view.
ZEAL & ARDOR may be known for their ruthless aggression but whenever Gagneux addressed the crowd, he couldn’t hide his elation. “I can’t believe you’re all here” came with a laugh, “we don’t talk a lot so we’re just gonna play some angry music… if that’s alright?” What followed in We Can’t Be Found and Trust No One was pure anger. The carnage which ensued was utterly spectacular, to the point the crowd didn’t notice Gagneux had been playing with a broken string for the better part of ten minutes.
Angular riffs set to the jagged rhythms of rattling shackles unsettled a few but pleased the many. A sentiment which carried through to the closing Baphomet. That is the joy of ZEAL & ARDOR. The project wasn’t birthed for mass enjoyment but rather to elicit far more real reaction and emotion. As they cleared their own equipment from the stage, the band would stop for a moment, attempting to catch a word or two of the audience’s opinion. They shouldn’t have worried however, as they had delivered a masterclass more than worthy of the venue.
Rating: 10/10
As time crept on so too did the anticipation. The crowd in the standing area undulated as members found themselves limbering up for the obscene amount of time they were going to be spending in the pit. If pitting were an Olympic sport, this crowd were more than ready to be competing for the podium. Chatter pertaining to what was about to come buzzed around the room until those taking a second to listen heard what was being played over the PA system. A compilation of some of metal’s finest works styled in 8-bit and 16-bit video game soundtracks bubbled through the air. Compressed versions of SYSTEM OF A DOWN’s Chop Suey! and PANTERA’s Walk only fuelled the fire until the lights dimmed.
Wheeling this year’s Immutable out on the road, it’s only right MESHUGGAH opened with Broken Cog. Considering the context of this weekend, the title could well represent our current climate. But that’s not for us to comment on. Set against light boxes the band came out to an unglued auditorium. Powering through the opening track, the men remained in front of the boxes as the spectacle began. A slight criticism comes in some of that pageantry becomes lost in translation for those of the audience who aren’t facing the stage head on. This unintentional alienation broke the visual illusion for select members of the audience. Though a live show isn’t just a visual experience.
MESHUGGAH are a juggernaut when it comes to the live arena. The one-two punch of Light The Shortening Fuse and Rational Gaze carried some heavyweight riffs from Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström which sated our desire for the disgusting. Jens Kidman’s growls of “perceptions distorted” were a full-frontal assault. Much like being pinned to the wall by the throat and screamed at. Though no spittle contacted our faces, the phantom sensation of each syllable breezing against us can’t be replicated.
The limbering up we mentioned earlier may have sounded excessive, but it was more than needed. With very little reprieve between songs, the mosh pits came thick and fast. The Hurt That Finds You First marked the beginning of whirlpool like circle pits, a sight which Kidman took great delight in watching for a moment. While he could see them, it was difficult for anyone floor level to have seen them as the stage had been shrouded in hazy lighting and an abundance of dry ice. When caught in the moment though, that very seldom matters. Yet this permanent haze allowed the pomp of the light shows to take full effect. Cutting across the room, the lasers and strobe lights built a world of MESHUGGAH’s creation in wonderful fashion.
Mind’s Mirrors marked a make-shift interval as light boxes were wheeled away and strobe light boards were erected. The atmospheric gap between songs meant the crowd could at last take a breath in this pressure cooker. Sucking in warm air and now tepid beverages, the second half of the show could commence. In Death – Is Life and corresponding In Death – Is Death marked more of the same from the Swedes. A tight rhythm section from Dick Lövgren [bass] and Tomas Haake [drums] kept time to the nano-second as the extremities of tech metal unfurled once more.
As the set rolled on, the circle pits became larger and larger. By the time the monolithic Straws Pulled At Random made its presence known, there were very few rows of people who were spared from the typhoon of bodies. Kidman took the mantle of conductor of carnage as his scream of “just another straw pulled at random” brought together a pit unlike any other we had ever seen. If the set had ended at that moment, there wouldn’t have been a single complaint. Though the brutal tandem of Demiurge and Future Breed Machine created a denouement to be talked about for the ages. Originally constructed to fulfil Prince Albert’s wishes to promote an appreciation of the arts, the Royal Albert Hall was full of nothing but appreciation for MESHUGGAH.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Anne Pfalzgraf here:
Like MESHUGGAH on Facebook.