FEMME METAL FESTIVAL 2011

DATE:

VENUE:

Sunday 29th May - Monday 30th May 2011

The Asylum in Birmingham, UK

SUNDAY

MONDAY

REVAMP; WHYZDOM; APPARITION; SOLSIKK; FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH; WINTER IN EDEN; SCARLET'S WAKE

THEATRES DES VAMPIRES; SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA; DIE SO FLUID; REGARDLESS OF ME; THE MARIANA HOLLOW; DYONISIS; WINTER STORM

Theatres des Vampires in The Asylum, Birmingham, 29th May 2011

Photograph copyright © 2011 Mark Holmes - www.metal-discovery.com

Reviews by Mark Holmes & Hannah Sylvester; Photography by Mark Holmes

DIE SO FLUID

With this first day of the Femme Metal Fest ahead of itself time-wise, Die So Fluid take to the stage over half an hour earlier than scheduled at just after 7:00pm. Now in their tenth year, and with the same lineup since their inception of bassist/vocalist Grog, guitarist Drew Richards and drummer Al Fletcher, they are stronger than ever, having released a career-best album in 2010 with 'The World Is Too Big For One Lifetime'. With minimal stage lighting and predominantly backlit, today's show is all about their hard-hitting tunes and dynamic performance for when a band has as mammoth a stage presence and sound as Die So Fluid, a lack ambient lights and smoke matter not. Appearing to the loudest applause and cheers of the day thus far, the trio of musicians also engender the most energetic crowd reactions during their set (and, it would transpire, of the entire festival). One of the strengths of Die So Fluid's music is its generically transcendent essence - that is to say, it can't be pigeon-holed into any one style as their compositions interweave elements of metal, alt-rock, punk, groove, prog, stoner, grunge etc with captivating results. And it's music that flourishes in the live environment as Al's wide repertoire of beats and rhythms, together with Drew's flawless fretboard skill as he utilises guitar effects in a diverse array of sounds, along with Grog's authoritative presence and command over the crowd as she plays powerful bass-lines and exercises her wide-ranging, powerful voice, all combine to produce music that is original and exciting in equal parts. A lengthy set that includes 'Raven'; 'Mercury'; 'Existential Baby'; 'Figurine'; 'Spawn of Dysfunction'; 'Gang of One'; 'Happy Hallowe'en'; 'Figurine'; 'How Vampires Kiss' and 'Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending' is made even lengthier when Grog asks the audience if they want to hear one more song after their designated time is up as no-one seems to stop them from playing and encouraging yells of "fuck clocks" from the crowd prompt them into extending their performance. Grog's between song banter with both her bandmates and audience adds a fun dimension to proceedings, particularly when she jokingly offers up Al's sweaty underpants as a raffle prize to which a few ladies in the audience seem to think is a great idea! With some making the trip to Birmingham's Asylum purely to see Die So Fluid, Grog and co would have undoubtedly also garnered many new fans after today's most awesome performance. (MH)

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SUNDAY 29th MAY - PART 2

SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA

Not one to follow the visual ‘female-fronted metal’ clichés (such as prancing around the stage, or smiling sweetly to the masses of male fans) Sarah Jezebel Deva just does what she does incredibly well - belt out immensely powerful and skilfully delivered vocals. Whilst some may slate her relatively motionless performance, who cares, she’s note perfect from start to finish. And let’s face it, as UK metal’s probably longest standing female icon, having spent years at the back of the stage as backing singer for Cradle of Filth and Therion as well as countless other artists she’s worked with over the years, she doesn’t really need to prove mettle. But something just doesn’t look quite right on stage, and it niggles me right through the set. On the verge of releasing her third album as frontwoman, ‘The Corruption of Mercy’, she has now collated a new bunch of musicians to record and play live with, and this is seemingly where the problem lies as an audience member. Barely-drinking-age-looking drummer Jamie Abela, is clearly technically proficient, but when the mix is so drum-heavy at the start and in few places during the set, it becomes sadly apparent that his blast-beat sections just aren’t keeping up with the backing track/main guitar lines, which is off putting to say the least. And whilst guitarists Dan Abela and Jonny Gray come across as adept musicians too, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a lacklustre or disinterested performance. Maybe they’re tired, maybe they’re nervous, I don’t know, but with Sarah being so relatively motionless on stage (and I’m not knocking that), these guys really need to give some visual life to the band’s performance, as to watch, to be brutally honest, they’re just dull. Yet, all’s not lost … thank god for visually dynamic bassist Ablaz; constantly working the crowd, singing along to the vocals, pulling daft faces, providing photographer fodder and he really makes the set worth sticking around for, visually … just a shame you can barely hear a thing he’s playing! All that coupled with a sound mix that’s all over the place, with the backing track being variably too high or too low in the mix, and the fact that in the longer backing track segments, Sarah and Ablaz seemingly do the right thing performance-wise by keeping still and shoe-gazing before springing into action again, but the guitarists just spend time faffing, re-tuning and again, it all just looks wrong. That said, it’s great to hear some of the Angtoria tracks live (especially ‘God Has a Plan For Us All’ and ‘I’m Calling’), and new tracks ‘The World Won’t Hold Your Hand’ and ‘No Paragon of Virtue’ sound awesome. If time had allowed, it would have been great to have had a longer set. As one audience member shouts mid-set: “Sarah, we love you”; well, yes we do, but sort your bloody guitarists out, please! (HS)

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THEATRES DES VAMPIRES

With a largish crowd gathered by the stage it seems many in The Asylum were eagerly anticipating Sunday night's headliners, Theatres des Vampires. Evolving from their black metal roots over the years into a highly polished symphonic goth metal act, tonight marks my first occasion of catching the vampiric obsessed Italians in live action. And they certainly know how to make a dramatic entrance - smoke fills the stage that has been decorated with various macabre props as decapitated heads on spikes, skulls, and tombstones have been placed in-between their backline. Then, the sinister melody that commences the new album's opening track, 'Keeper of Secrets', plays through the PA which prompts band members to assume position on stage, wearing menacingly effective, expressionless white masks. A cloaked and masked Sonya Scarlet joins them a few seconds later, seemingly gliding across the stage in an ethereal manner as if a nightmarish spectre lies beneath the eerie costume. The intensity of anticipation and air of excitement they create through such drama oozes a mesmeric atmosphere that has me, and I'm sure many others, gripped from the off. As Theatres des Vampires launch into 'Keeper of Secrets' good and proper with drums, guitar, bass and keyboards, band members tear off their masks but Sonya remains in full costume throughout the song, although undresses at its climax to reveal her scantily clad torso which seems well received by the crowd's male contingent who occupy the space directly in front of the stage. What then follows is seventy five or so minutes of slickly performed, absorbing music that is addictively engaging on every level. Central to the Italians' show is Sonya's histrionic-infused performance which is purely enthralling. She moves seductively around the stage with a mischievously infernal glance as if acting out an eroto-horror melodrama and her passionately delivered vocals are utterly spellbinding. Although the primary focus of Theatres des Vampires' live aesthetic is indubitably Sonya's quasi-theatrical performance, other band members, and notably a fanged Fabian Varesi on keyboards, also remain dynamic throughout with a sustained energy and flawless execution of each song played. Tracks from latest album 'Moonlight Waltz' such as 'Carmilla', 'Le Grand Guignol', 'The Gates of Hades' and 'Sangue' feature in the set alongside airings of older material including 'Wherever You Are', 'Blood Addiction', 'Unspoken Words', 'Lilith Mater Inferorum' and a cover of The Cult's 'Rain' to name but a few. A metalled-up version of Wojciech Kilar's famous 'Vampire Hunters' theme from the 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' soundtrack sees Sonya exit the stage only for her to return in apposite headgear for a rendition of new album track 'Medousa' and that's actually the first of two costume changes as she is attired in a flowing white gown towards the end of the evening. Overall, Theatres des Vampires are a phenomenal live band and prove themselves worthy headliners of the Femme Metal Festival's first day. (MH)

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Reviews by Mark Holmes & Hannah Sylvester; Photography by Mark Holmes