MENNECY METAL FEST DAY 1 REVIEW
K-RPM headed south (albeit just 30 minutes south of Paris) last weekend to check out day one of the Mennecy Metal Fest we’d been hearing lots about. Here’s what we found …
Like a lot of festivals, the Mennecy festival feels like it is located in the most unlikely of settings, until of course you get inside, then everything feels exactly right. We were of course in the middle of a late summer heat blast that almost made up for the July Parisian rain, but with this being Friday it was almost five before the first band hit the stage anyway and the temperature peak for the day seemed to be receding. And of course, we were mostly in the welcome shade of the trees.
First up on the main stage were Moonskin, who we hadn’t seen before and were instantly hooked by. Watching a band with such a visual presence at this time of day in the sun was a little disconcerting – big stages are always great, but we want to get a chance to check them out in a dark, intimate setting as soon as possible. One to keep an eye on.
To kick things off on second stage – the “Eye Stage” were L’Araignée Au Plafond, who were completely
unknown to us and to be honest were a complete surprise. L’Ariagnée Au Plafond were so completely not what we were expecting that it took a few minutes to really settle into their insane groove. Billed as a blend of rock, punk, electro and cajun space, a description that left us clueless, their set ended up being a nonstop blur of energy and inventiveness. Definitely a highlight.
There was little in the way of let up between each set, which is exactly how we like it. Sleazy Town were next up on the main stage – a straight out hard rock experience, looking for all the world at home on the space up there.
By this point it was hard to be sure what the determining factor was here for small stage versus large stage appearances. The condensed space on the Eye Stage was proving to be the cooler part of the festival … like, hanging out in the kitchen where all the cool people with the more interesting chat were at any given party. This particular thought was about to be played out with the arrival of Chaos E.T. Sexual.
Arriving after a few minutes delay due to some technical issue of some sort, these guys were, for us, the grower of the day. Initially we weren’t too impressed, but I blame that entirely on the heat and the beer and our desire for something to give us an instant, lazy gratification. But as ever in life the more interesting things are the least instant, and as Chaos E.T. Sexual’s set reached its crescendo we were left wanting for more … almost demanding more in fact. Go check them out.
The first genuine big reception of the evening, on the main stage arrived for Malemort … by the time they got to Cabaret Voltaire the crowd who were there for them were in a frenzy. They owned the stage for their what felt like a very brief 45 minutes.
By eighty thirty it was time for K-RPM! Favourites, HOWARD to hit the small stage. This was going to be interesting because Howard are definitely not “metal” … but they did on this particular night rock out extremely hard. This was one of the best performances we’ve seen from Howard, which is saying something. Their gigs, from an observers point of view at least, are generally faultless. Tonight, they looked like they were having a blast, and you could feel that rub off on the crowd. It was interesting to notice over certain social media outlets over the next days Howard being described as everyone’s big discovery of the weekend. They absolutely killed it.
Sortilege on the main stage, the reformed version of this band really gelled and gave the crowd,
seemingly, exactly what they wanted, while Satan Jokers on the small stage were next up, lacking nothing in ability, you can tell when you are watching a group of seasoned professionals at work. But again, we’d probably rather see them in their own environment.
Headliners Paradise Lost did of course take things to another level, which is exactly what you’d expect from these guys … production and confidence, it was all maxed out. The set was a slow burner, but there was the depth and weight you would expect, and it was a great end to the day.
We’ll be back next year, definitely to take in all three days.
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY BRIAN DOWNIE
