Following their triumphant appearance at the CCO Jean-Pierre Lachaize in May 2023, which concluded the adventure of this legendary venue, Eisbrecher are back at La Rayonne this April, this time accompanied by their compatriots Hedmaschine. In the midst of their European tour, which includes four French dates, the Germans are determined to blow an icy breeze over the capital of the Gaules.
Heldmaschine have a wealth of experience, starting out as Volkerball, covering Rammstein songs, before breaking away to perform their own compositions over the last ten years. The room was not quite full when the band from Koblenz took to the stage, due to a gigantic computer breakdown which brought all four lines of the metro to a standstill and caused quite a mess on this Thursday afternoon. The music may be sombre, almost martial, but that's not the case for the band members, who are all smiling as they show off their pleasure at playing to an audience of connoisseurs. The chemistry is quickly established, and singer René Anlauff spares no energy in the face of the audience's enthusiasm. Heavy riffs, a Rammstein-like sound tempered with electro, there's plenty to get excited about! The drummer went wild behind his drums, putting on a show of his own and winning over the crowd. In terms of titles, the Germans have opted for sure-fire values, with a few tracks from the new album Eiszeit, and must-haves such as Webterrorist and R: which get the Rayonne vibrating. The Germans finish by winning over the Lyonnais audience with the singer's hesitant French for warm thanks.
The room is now packed and well warmed up to face the polar winter promised by Eisbrecher. The band's sober entrance kicks off with Everything is Wunderbar, taken from their latest album, on which Alexander Wesselsky and his captain's cap set the mood for the evening. The Germans are here to clean out the ears and muscles of fans of Neue Deutsche Härte, of which they have been one of the leading bands for some twenty years now. Having seen them on stage a number of times, you can expect a well-honed, professional show, with the little touch of improvisation dear to the frontman that makes them so likeable.
Things get off to a flying start with the second track, Himmel Arsch und Zwirn, whose chorus is taken up in full voice by the audience, already on its feet. As Alexander Wesselky's tall stature takes center stage, his powerful voice hammers out the band's military and electro-pop rhythms. A must-see Antikörper takes us back to the combo's origins, with the heavy, intense sound of the early days, when the Pix-Wesselsky pair played one track after another. The band's evolution can be gauged by two new tracks with very different themes, Mein Herz and Waffen Waffen Waffen. The band's lyrics are always in tune with current events, never demanding, but with just the right amount of irony and clear-sightedness to ask the right questions. The tone changes with the melodious Augen unter Null, where the singer's warm, deep voice works wonders. But what the audience really appreciates are the little moments of complicity with the frontman, who jokes and shares his thoughts in near-perfect French.
The cold sets in with the track Eiszeit, on which, dressed in parkas and hooded, ice axe in hand, the Germans face the polar storm as the snow falls on the audience. A rough, martial track that gets the Lyon crowd moving and singing along. A few notes later, the audience finds itself singing along to the Marseillaise at the singer's invitation, before he returns accompanied by guitarist Jürgen Plangger for a “Schlager” moment, as our German neighbors are so fond of. Schlager... yes, you've heard of them... those rosewater songs with heady refrains that imprint themselves on your memory without you even knowing it? French Old-timers might recognize the Tränen Lügen Nicht, sung by the duo wearing magnificent kepis, as a 70s Mireille Mathieu cover of this German hit. And the whole Rayonne resounds with la la la la, la la la la la la.... Rather incongruous but unifying in an industrial metal concert. The atmosphere becomes serious again, and even unprecedented, with the arrival on stage of Frank Herzig, the singer from Schattemann who has been working as a stage manager for the tour. He joins the band to perform Auf die Zunge, as on the last album. A powerful track, in both text and music, where the two voices respond and blend formidably. Take the opportunity to discover this young Bavarian band, bursting with talent and energy on stage.
The concert ends with FAKK, taken from the previous album and a veritable pamphlet against the hypocrisy that plagues our society, a blend of rap and metal under phosphorescent lights. The Germans return to the stage for four final emblematic tracks, including Verrückt, with its danceable pop sound, and the magnificent cover of the late Falco Out of the Dark, on which the emotional intensity of Alexander Wesselky's voice adds a tragic note. The band then warmly thanked the Lyonnais audience, before proceeding to the traditional teddy bear toss, much to the delight of a few lucky fans.
The Sounds Like Hell team had once again put together a fine evening for fans of industrial metal, with two particularly sympathetic and audience-friendly bands.
