werk21

Excruciation CD Release
13.01.07 - Dynamo / werk21, Zürich (ZH)
Pÿlon / Cerperus / shEver / Forgotten Chaos / Mirto Massaker / Excruciation

What’s the story?

Almost half a year has passed since the concert at Aarau's w3nk with Hellvetica and Pentaslave. Just around that time, we installed a myspace page. ... Yes, yes, I know! I know. - I thought about it the same way, too!
However, a short while after, a very kind and highly supportive comment by one Eugi came in. But wait a second: isn't that the singer of Switzerland's very knot-in-your-tongue-monikered Excruciation, resurrected some two years ago after resting encoffined for about fourteen years?! ... And he's a nice guy, too, for a kind of zombie! Believe it or not: a few e-mail messages later, he offered us the opening slot of their album release show in Zürich!
Let me tell you that there are offers one should not turn down, especially when you sense honesty and friendship in the e-air. (We still can't quite agree whether jazz or swing rules more awesomely, though. But I'll get him there.)

  We knew we'd have twenty-five minutes on the stage of the werk21. A teenage dream of mine was to come true: the stage on which Candlemass played four years before during their reunion show! The stage so heavily tortured by Ex-ortation again and again, or enchanted by the Neospastics - and by Majesty of silence right on Wednesday prior to the Excruciation show! But what were we to give the erratic few who might possibly linger in that cellar already at 8 p.m.? - Some tracks of Th' Eternal Wedding Band, of course. But how about something new even to us? In The Shade, perhaps? Well, sure! And, so as to look like whimpy doomers when compared to shEver's three-song setlist, we'd even add a fifth song, an Unleashed cover, re-lyricised and clocking in at about 1:30 min at the speed we played it. Yep, that would be fun for us and not too dire for those who might feel obligated to tough out our set.

The evening

Oy vay, the team of sound engineers apparently had arrived two hours late - mayhem could have ensued, but not amongst doomsters! And what a relief for Tinu: Excruciation's Andy plays a very similar drum set up with the toms on an individual stand, not on top of the bass drum; this would save minutes during the change over after us! Matt had no less than five guitar tops to choose from, all dramatically arranged in a threatening pyramid. Jan didn't have to worry at all: the invention of the D.I. box is the end of the bass top's reign on stage. Excruciation performed an intense sound check which promised a loud, powerful evening for all the bands. Forgotten Chaos were next and li'l ol' Pÿlon even got to confuse the engineers just before the audience entered the dungeon.
As Eugi predicted: 70% of one's friends who would promise to come weren't there, but, hey - like that one gets to play for the self-selected few and the other ones will get their share in due time.
Well-fed, thirst quenched (excellent food in abundant quantities for six bands - wow!), the show could start!
The timid few - including kind friends who turned up dressed nicely as for a classical concert - gathered round the two cameras rolling throughout (!) and we had a blast. Rarely was 2046 played that quickly ... and rarely could it have sounded thus mightily. We're not used to amps turned up and roaring monitors, you see. So let's try to argue that the audience couldn't get any closer because they were wafted to the back of the hall, right?
Jan's timing definitely wasn't perfect in some bits of Falling Into The Sun, but the result thereof was that the band's sound as a whole was mighty dirty and felt immense on stage. That his backing vocals didn't seem to cut through was no trompe d'oreille: the microphone remained turned down throughout the set. Oh well - all the more to enjoy Tinu's singing!
Warmachine by Unleashed is half-way between a joke and good mood for us: when Tinu had proposed a while ago that the warrior lyrics were quite cheesy, Jan agreed and made them worse by writing the most kitschy love poem to sing instead: "O tender being in bloom / I adore thy scent, sight and touch: / I love thee, I love thee so much / You're my flower girl". Still: the song itself - riffs and all - is immensely powerful.
A short speech (unheard due to, well, still: the microphone being turned down) invited the audience to let us know if there is a drummer who might enjoy Pÿlon as Tinu is to leave the band.
Between scrapping new tracks since finishing Th' Eternal Wedding Band, one has proudly survived: In The Shade, a nice segue of slow and fast parts, describes that the most noble way to be disposed of might be underneath a tombstone "in the shade" of an oak tree. It's fun to play that one as, for once, we get to stretch our fingers a bit on the fretboard.
Hey, time's almost up, so here comes an old chestnut which still works great for us. (Yes, we know we ought to care immensely what every black, thrash, death and happy metal fan wishes to hear, but ... well ... sorry!) To My Brethren has riffs (just two, actually) which the non-composers thereof love even more than the composer himself, but finally, Matt took over lead vocals before closing the set with one of his wild guitar solos.

Thank you, that was fun! - Dark and dreary fun, if you will, but fun nonetheless and it felt as though but ten minutes had passed.

Some very kind people even found very kind words about our performance.
Yes, others came too late, or didn't come at all, but they were thinking of us, which we felt and appreciated.
 

  For us, the active part of the evening was over and we had the leisure to set up the Swiss Metal Mailorder booth, enjoy the other bands, chat with lots of very fine people and talented musicians ... and sneak off every once in a while to have our man's man fruit juice, sparkling water and a bit of a sandwich. - If ever you were to organise a concert and have us over, be on the safe side and offer free beer. Not a drop will be consumed by the goody-two-shoes we are.
 

  We would like to express or warmest regards to the members of Cerperus , shEver , Forgotten Chaos , Mirto Massaker and Excruciation as well their fans for the wonderful evening, the kindness and the unparalleled hospitality and care we were allowed to enjoy.
Wives and personal friends from home and from university were thanked personally - it was an honour you'd come around for us!
Oh, and there were so many musicians from great bands like Minsk Security, Timor, Cruszt, Tribes of Caïn, Requiem, Cataract, SheZoo, Morrigu, Gezeiten, Apokatastasia, aka profound, Requiem and yet unnamed ones ... it was a pleasure meeting you and talking with you (again)!
Another very big 'Merci' goes to Nando of sounds2move.de and to Markus and the Elements of Rock team: good luck with your project!

It would be wonderful to see some of you again at our last concert with the current line-up:
Tue 27.03.07 - Rock-City, Uster (ZH) w/ Syrach (Norwegian Doom) - specials musical guests onstage with Pÿlon!

Mer händ en tolle Abig gha:

Viele herzliche Dank Eu allne!

And here's what Nando of sounds2move.de thought:

Als erste Band des Abends betraten Pylon die Bühne, um die Zuschauer mit ihrem sehr coolen und auch rockigen Doom zu unterhalten. Dabei hatte die Band aber leider mit technischen Problemen zu kämpfen, da sowohl das Mikrofon von Matt (Gitarre und Gesang) wie auch das von Jan (Bass und Gesang) nicht immer den gewünschten Dienst erbrachte, was zur Folge hatte, dass man den Gesang der beiden teilweise nur vereinzelt oder auch gar nicht hören konnte. Jedoch ließ sich die Band davon nicht unterkriegen, sondern lieferte fern jeder Nervosität einen durchwegs soliden und auch schwer unterhaltsamen Auftritt ab bei dem die Songs "2046", "Falling into the Sun", "Warmachine", "In the Shade" und "To My Brethren" mit einer Livedarbietung berücksichtigt wurden. Zwar hätte angesichts der dargebotenen Qualität die Publikumsreaktion ein wenig euphorischer ausfallen können, was aber nichts daran änderte, dass Pylon ihrer Aufgabe als erste Band des Abends vollends gerecht wurden.

Read the full concert review at www.sounds2move.de

Another review at medazzarock ,
and one at 20min .

Links:
Cerperus
shEver
Forgotten Chaos
Mirto Massaker
Excruciation

www.werk21.ch
www.sounds2move.de
www.quamlibetrecords.ch