Messe Des Morts @ Theatre Paradoxe
November 24th, 2022
This past weekend I went to check out the first night of Messe Des Morts, the annual black metal festival that takes place in Montreal and brings some of the biggest black metal names in Canada to play in a repurposed church. I had booked my own band to play shows elsewhere on November 25th and November 26th, so Thursday, the 24th, was the only date that I was able to attend. Beyond that, thanks to the absurd lineup to get into the venue and the fact that they had one person working at the door, my partner and I missed the first two bands of the night, Orphique and November Grief. It’s a shame because I was honestly really looking forward to seeing November Grief, but such is life.
We got inside just in time to catch the entirety of Grenadier’s set. Grenadier is a melodic / blackened death metal band from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and I know some of the guys in the band personally. This was their first time in Montreal, and, to my knowledge, their first time off the island in general. Given the immense praise their debut record, Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory, has received, I’m not surprised they were approached to play this fest. The band did a quick line check as Newfoundland flags were draped over their cabs. When they finally launched into their set they absolutely ripped it. They played a combination of songs from their debut record, including “Commending the Imperial” and the title track, as well as a couple of new songs that have been as-of-yet unannounced and untitled. I was so happy to see a band repping The Rock on the mainland, and they did a fine job doing it.
Following Grenadier, the Canadian black metal band Panzerfaust, originally from Mississauga, Ontario, took the stage. When they initially began setting things up I got weird vibes from the ‘Fuck Trudeau’ hoodie draped over the drum set, which was then compounded by a ‘Fuck Trudeau’ sticker on the guitarist’s axe. Combined with an Instagram post from the band that shows them at what is presumably the so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ in Ottawa from earlier this year, I think it’s fair to assume these guys are some vein of chud. That being said, I did enjoy their music quite a bit. While their aesthetic choices were weirdly and simultaneously nationalistic and anti-Canadian, their music was heavy and quite powerful. The riffs were simplistic, but the drums were intense, and the simplistic riff style played over the chaotic percussion made for a deeply animalistic musical experience. It was the kind of show where you feel every thrum of the bass and every kick of the bass drum in your chest.
It was rather unfortunate that the band experienced some serious technical issues during their performance, with the first song falling completely flat thanks to the guitar just flat out not working. Later in the set their guitarist was visibly irritated because he was unable to hear his own vocals, and spent some time yelling at the stage techs before throwing his guitar on the stage like a fucking baby. Unsurprising that someone fragile enough to think that realistic restrictions being enforced by the government to deal with a deadly global pandemic is an infringement on ‘muh freedom’ would also be a complete diva on stage. I’m no fan of Justin Trudeau myself, but the virtue signalling of a black metal band putting ‘Fuck Trudeau’ decals all over their stage was lame as fuck.
Finally it was time for Regarde les Hommes Tomber, a black metal band from France who combine elements of post metal and sludge metal into their sound. That being said, aesthetically, these guys are pure black metal. They came out on stage weird corpse paint in the ‘nude’ style (aka, no white, just black around the eyes), and wearing leather jackets, and they just looked fucking sick. I don’t know what it was but I could tell I was going to enjoy their set just from looking at them set up their gear on stage. Of course, my expectations were not only met, they were shattered. I enjoyed this band’s performance immensely. It was heavy and ripping, slow and atmospheric when it needed to be, and fast as all burning hell when it needed to be. There was a lot of variety throughout their set and they inspired the biggest mosh pit of the night, by far. Their vocalist had so much charisma, as did their guitarist. I couldn’t peel my eyes from the stage for most of the night aside from the moment I joined the pit myself.
While Panzerfaust was a bit disappointing and the sound was full of issues all night, Grenadier and Regarde les Hommes Tomber made this event absolutely worth attending. Seeing my homies from back in Newfoundland tear shit up on stage here in Montreal, especially at such a big festival, was heartwarming and endearing as fuck, especially considering how they describe themselves as sentimental death metal. It feels like there’s some sort of connection there. Regarde les Hommes Tomber far exceeded my expectations with their brand of atmospheric yet violent post black metal, and made being tired as hell for work the next day worth it. I was saddened that I didn’t get to see Orphique or November Grief, but oh well, here’s hoping for next time.
~ Akhenaten
Where Strides The Behemoth? 