By Monk and David Stewart
The inexorable march of French metal titans Gojira can perhaps be exemplified by the trajectory of growth their various visits to Belfast has demonstrated over the almost exactly 14 years since they first visited this particular little corner of the Überverse.
That first visit was on a cold Sunday night in mid-March 2009: very few fans were aware of the force majeure les frères Duplantier would become, and they played to just a handful of people. I was lucky enough to be there, as my brother was one of the few on the ball in relation to these future superstars and had treated me to an early birthday present… oh, how lucky was I! However, from that low key initial arrival, their advance has been inexorable, so much so that this, their fourth visit, which saw them elevated to the hallowed boards of the city’s most venerated venue, could have sold out several times over, with pleas for tickets going out on various social media platforms virtually right up until the moment the grand dame of Bedford Street threw open her doors…
Like so many events, this particular tour had been postponed twice because of the Covidications of the past few years, so it made the prospect of the French trio’s long-awaited return, and that of them blowing the roof off this venerable building in the same way they blew Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine off a windswept outdoor stage just down the road almost a decade ago all the more inviting and de rigeur for any self-respecting metallian.
Another band no strangers to Belfast were openers Employed To Serve: it’s hard to believe it’s been a little over six years since the Woking wunderkinds decimated the very same venue, just around the corner, where our headliners had made that somewhat undistinguished entrance into the city’s metal psyche… And they’re obviously revelling their elevation to the much bigger stage, giving them more room to both move about and extrapolate their brand of big bolshie beatdowns of the best kind.
The slowly growing crowd (there’s already a couple of hundred early comers rammed against the stage barrier) need no second invitation from Justine Jones to “blow this shit up”, as the frontwoman, prowling the stage like a hungry panther, once again proves why she is one of the most powerful and inspiring women in modern metal, Cajplling those present to jump higher and higher, it takes just three songs for the first pit of the night to well and truly open up.
ETS are taking the opportunity on this run to blood a couple of new songs, and these include the staccato-fuelled ‘banger ‘We Don’t Need You’, which will quickly become a fan favourite, especially with its self-explanatory call-and-response chorus. Behind Jones, the band are a well-oiled machine, tight and confident in the space they both occupy and command, and tonight leaves the many new fans they’ve undoubtedly won baying for more: hopefully it won’t be too long before they honour their pledge to return.
- Employed To Serve release a deluxe edition of their last album, ‘Conquering‘, on 10 March.
Next up a young band who have been making waves of tsunami-like proportions on the global metal scene over the past couple of years. Alien Weaponry have one of the most distinctive sounds in thrash metal, delivering their take on the classic aspects of the genre with a distinctive Māori twist, defiant and proud in defence of their heritage, as evinced by the fact that they perform most of their songs in their native Te Reo tongue. And if you need any further evidence of their pride in their ancestry then look now further than drummer Henry Te Reiwhati de Jong performing a one-man haka behind his kit before the house lights have even dimmed…
As the floor in front of the stage starts to fill up, there is in increasingly little room to answer Lewis’ call to open up the pit: but, room is indeed found and pits are indeed pitted, and will continue to be so throughout the rest of the evening.. The venue’s nigh on perfect acoustics accentuate the beautifully rich, bass-led mix, but at the same time draw every nuance of the sound, which is characterized by tribal drumbeats underpinning the heavy, incessant riffage, which in itself blends traditional elements into a modern mien.
This is one long haka, a declaration of defiance and intent, guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of many other bands both lesser and greater. I have a feeling that it will not be too long before the rest of the world answer’s the trio’s challenge to wake the fuck up \m/
Finally it is time for “the reason we are all here”, as both opening acts have asserted. Eschewing their usual logo backdrop in favour of that of the venue’s magnificent Mulholland Organ, which is beautifully illuminated throughout the set, Gojira slowly build the atmosphere, walking on to a stage swathed in orange-tinged smoke (small compensation for their usual pyrotechnics, but that’s what happens when health and safety geeks get involved), before they immediately prove that they are on ferocious form. Right from the off, they are legitimately throwing everything into this show and laying all they’ve got on the floor.
It has to be said that the light show is absolutely stunning, perfectly choreographed to the ebbs and flows of the riffs, the bass beats and the melodies, cascades of spots dancing around the room, off the walls, the ceiling and the crowd in artful synchronicity. Couple this with a totally nailed on sound mix and this all helps to deliver a masterclass in how to mix heft with deft, proggy progression with balls-to-the-wall punked out thrash, brutality with beauty.
The pit is going absolutely bonkers, adding a new level to the term “drum circle” as it rips up the floor during Mario’s intros. In fact, it’s so mad that this is the first time in longer than I can remember that I’ve seen security actually in the middle of the crowd. Obviously there to separate the moshers from the first few rows more intent on just watching the band, I have to admit that not everyone appreciated their presence and their role, with a couple of the kids trying to initiate a brief NFL/handbags style stand-off during the encore.
But, that’s a sidebar. Hell, we all get over-excited at gigs, and there is no better gig to get into that state than one such as this. It is intense. It is dynamic. It is superbly paced and crafted. It is a powerful, imperious performance from four of the best exponents of this particular art form. It is passionate. Impassioned. And, yes, emotionally draining. Oh, and off the fucking chart \m/
- The tour continues:
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © DJS-Photography/Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs HERE.
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