With the weather getting a little milder on this summer's evening, we gladly braved the last rays of sunshine of the day to take refuge in the Petit Bain den for an event that promised a foretaste of that dark winter touch we love so much. New Yorkers Imperial Triumphant came to celebrate their singular universe and, thanks to the inspiration of organisers Cerbère Coryphée and Dead Pig Booking, Limbes opened the show.
LIMBES
The ball opens with Limbes, Guillaume Galaup's black metal project, presenting its latest atmospheric creations to a curious and attentive audience, as the artist's first outspoken cries (without a microphone) rip through the surrounding air from the very first notes. his latest album, Liernes (review), is more pastel-coloured and less angst-ridden than his previous work and this is clearly felt live, with the layers of music taking on an almost mystical quality on stage, contrasting with the more down-to-earth, visceral vocals, carried by the guitar strumming that adds depth to the soundstage.
The sobriety of the set design and lighting, characterised by evanescent white halos and strokes against a slightly bluish black background with almost blurred contours, allows the listener to create his or her own nuances and blend a very personal touch with that of the artist in the interpretation of the work being played, creating an intensely unique moment. The only coquetry is provided by the musician, who in his solitude on stage and his lack of artifice can neither hide nor avert his gaze, maintaining his mysterious and intimate atmosphere with the help of the wisps of smoke he exhales from his vaporizer between songs. Despite the restraint of the performance and the necessary coldness of the moment, a gracefulness emerges and we are left with a great deal of generosity when the set comes to an end, all too quickly in fact, such was the beauty of the concert.
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT
We're not going to hide it: having missed Imperial Triumphant's live appearances up until now, we had our doubts. Between their avant-garde mix of free jazz and black metal (to put it simply) and their famous masks, we feared it would be a boring, impersonal set in which there'd be no exchange and which would have seemed very lukewarm after having seen Limbes flay their vocal chords to better peel back our souls. You bet!
Imperial Triumphant were celebrating the re-release of their album Vile Luxury (2018) and devoted most of their set to it. The trio, led by Zachary Ezrin, the only original member still present, avoided all the pitfalls of the ‘slightly nerdy band playing behind a suit’ and showed an infectious energy. Despite the masks, they are particularly expressive and involved, often adding a deliciously offbeat touch to the performance: there are Ezrin's boots, the luminous bass of that devil Steve Blanco who goes down into the pit to take a dip in the crowd, jets of champagne and mimics that you can guess behind the masks, revealing wide-open eyes. Imperial Triumphant are a playful bunch: for them, experimentation is a game and doesn't have that austere, pompous image, despite the sinister flavour of the music.
There are the outfits, straight out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, but the cinematic touches are not limited to the 1920s, as illustrated by their arrival on stage to the theatrical, funereal notes of the theme from Clockwork Orange composed by the brilliant Wendy Carlos. Imperial Triumphant resurrects the fantasy of New York in the last century, crazy and glittering, full of the hopes of waves of immigrants and the lights of Broadway, but also of its darker, more corrupt corners (think of Batman's Gotham City in the animated series from 1992). But what about the music? Well, it's enough to scare off the uninitiated, no doubt! Although the unbridled brass was less audible live, Imperial Triumphant is neither welcoming nor reassuring. It's opaque, dissonant, cacophonous, monolithic, the rhythms aren't easily assimilated and the melodies take a malicious pleasure in evading us and mutating. Here again, it's a lot of fun: it's all crazy and the discrepancy created by the band's sound makes the experience strangely accessible, like the deranged waltz of Gotham Luxe or the feverish heaviness of Atomic Age, which dies in a hushed finale that's ideal for leaving the stage with discreet steps.
As you might expect, Imperial Triumphant is an unusual and unique experience. But is it enough to leave you spellbound? That's a fair question. We suspect that their growing success in recent years owes at least as much to their universe and their theatrical show as to the music, which is certainly fascinating, but which we didn't really understand (we're not going to show off any more than that tonight). In any case, you have to see it to believe it, and see it to find out... so let's hope that the less than stellar attendance (the double whammy of August, a cursed month for concerts, and the imminent start of Motocultor Festival didn't help) won't be a hindrance to a future off-festival appearance in France.
