Part two of Remi Cote's report of this year's BARGE TO HELL
Missed the first part? Check it out here.
TEXT: Remi Cote
CORRECTIONS: Jacinte Pearsons
PHOTOS & VIDEOS: Jean-Philippe Beaulieu
Back on the boat, with most of my orifices filled with white sand, I ran to catch my new buddy Andrew’s band on the pool deck: MONSTROSITY! I am ashamed to say I never had the chance to see them live and it was one of my priority on da boat to hell… disappointed I was not! Solid from start to finish, crushing in every possible ways. They are amazing musicians (you too Andrew! There you go, I said it!) and they should be a much bigger band in my opinion. If you have the chance to see them live, just go! I managed to catch a few songs from MORGOTH on the small stage at the Spectrum Lounge and they were killing it again… went for a quick shower and came back to see GRAVE, again, at the spectrum. Killer set and it was sounding great this time… this band is just fucking awesome, the new album is great and I needed to see them on the boat. GRAVE is god… they made me a happy sailor that night for sure. I also caught PARADISE LOST at the Chorus Line… I have been a fan of this band for ever, saw them live a few times and I was not going to miss the opportunity to see them live again… I also got myself a nice shirt the day before, so I am thrilled and anxious to see them. I am sorry to say that this is my disappointment of the cruise… I will not go into details as I am not into slagging bands off… but this was not up to par if you catch my drift. Totally disappointed. I will keep the shirt and keep listening to the albums. I felt fortunate to see SANCTUARY again, they played another new song and again, I just can’t wait to get that new album, it is going to be great for sure. I went on to catch a few songs from BOUNDED BY BLOOD and they were great. I couple of drinks later I went to my bunk, once again very happy to be there.
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| MORGOTH: The art of sinking |
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| SANCTUARY...Soldiers of steel |
Day 4 (December 6) was going to be brutal… and it started with a bang with SOLSTAFIR. They were the right band to start this great day. You do not want to see KRISIUN at 10 in the morning (Well, I do, but not everybody!) and did they woke us up in a great way! I love the new album and they are very cool to see live… The stage look like a natural thing for them (looks easier for them than riding a Jet Ski! LOL! Sorry I will not go into details on this!) and they were the perfect band to enjoy with a glass of milk and a glazed donut beside the pool on a beach chair. I am a SOLSTAFIR fan more than ever. Went on to see DARK SERMON at the spectrum and I must say they were great! Not really my style (modern Death Metal mixed with Deathcore) but they have a killer stage presence, very intense. Pretty cool, I suggest you guys to investigate them a bit further. I ran to the pool deck to make sure not to miss a second of one of my favourite bands… the godly NOVEMBER’S DOOM! Paul is god… the guy sings like a fucking master! Solid is not even getting close to describe this band’s amazing live performance. I have all their albums, and I know their songs by heart, this band was one of the highlights on my trip to the Barge to hell… so heavy, so dark! They also played a great cover of WOODS OF YPRES… fucking magical moments. I wish they could play another 2 hours. AMAZING! I will do everything I can to see them live again. After this show, I managed to catch HACKNEYED which I thought were pretty cool if not necessarily my thing. I caught a few songs from HOLY MOSES, they had a lot of fans on that cruise but I am not really into their music. Still, they are good musicians and we could see and feel they were enjoying the whole thing as much as their fans in front of them. Kudos for this alone! We went to JOHNNY ROCKET for a quick burger (man, this burger joint is just great!) and came back to see HEADCRUSHER at the Spectrum. This band did kick my ass fair and square… Great band, great presence, musically similar to AT THE GATES mixed with some good old SEPULTURA… very intense. Check them out! At 2H30 I went back to the pool side to catch ROTTING CHRIST. They did well and they were well received by the crowd. The Greek’s discography is a hit and missed as far as I’m concerned but I must admit they really put on a great show, I am happy they were there and they deserved their spot on the cruise. I was curious to see VITAL REMAINS live, and since I never really was a big fan of their music, I will admit I was not expecting much and I was surprised they were actually playing the chorus line. Well, I never felt so dumb in my life… how the hell did I miss this freaking tornado for so many years? Shame on me! This was an unbelievable concert from A to freaking Z… The singer is redefining the term frontman in my humble opinion… fucking intense dude, he is a show on his own. It was a great (dark and evil!) moment of the cruise for me… I just ordered the last 2 albums a few minutes ago to make amends. AWSOME fucking band!!! I couldn’t live with the idea of not seeing POSSESSED live again and so I went to the pool deck to see if they could top their first show… They did more than that, it was even better! Fucking impressive… Please tell me the fuck why they are not signed on a label and kicking ass around the world right now? Holy fuck, for the sake of the metal scene, we need another POSSESSED album pronto! Totally exhausted (in a good way) by what I just saw, I decided to go back and check on KRISIUN… I knew what to expect and I was not surprised to see them slaying on stage… super tight, great sound, great songs by great people. For some reasons they always come out better live than on disc for me... it was a great show. I went to see ENSLAVED, and they did great, again... fucking impressive band. Went to the spectrum to see LOCK UP, too many people, couldn’t see anything and the sound was horrible... that bar sucks. I hate myself for not being able to see them at the Chorus Line, but hey, it’s impossible to be everywhere at the same time. I managed to catch HAVOK for a few songs after a nice supper and a couple of beers. At this time, I was exhausted, spent the entire day watching bands and I needed a break. So I went to my room for a quick shower and came back for what was going to be my last show of the festival... the second concert from BEHEMOTH at the pool deck. They were nothing less than fantastic once again. What a cool way to finish an amazing week of extreme metal. More bands were playing later on but we saw them all or were just too tired to see more. Plus, we had to leave early the day after... We all pretty much went to bed with the conviction that we accomplished our mission.
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| SOLSTAFIR: Proper nautical style. |
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| NOVEMBERS DOOM under the jealous sun |
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| Passage to Arcturo: ROTTING CHRIST |
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| Divine in fire: VITAL REMAINS |
To sums up such an event in a few lines is pretty much impossible. I am happy with what I got for the money I have paid for. Few things are not working as far as I am concerned... First, to give the chance to unknown bands to be part of such a festival is a great idea... but to have them play at 4H30 in the morning is nonsense... It is ridiculous. I wanted to see KAMPFAR at the pool deck but at quarter to 4 in the morning? Who wanted to see ABIOTIC at 4:30? The spectrum Lounge is not the best option but since you have to work with it, I suggest you take off the damned fence in front of the stage... and maybe the bands should play on the floor in front of the stage, they would have more room and we could see them seated without any problems... I know the logistic for such a festival must be a pain in the ass to deal with and overall it went well, delays are inevitable in such an event but I know a few guys that were royally pissed off waiting for an extra 2-3 hours for the merch store to open... I mean, we were all on board when the ship departed, so why not putting the merch store together the day before opening the store? Just a thought... The restaurants and buffet are just great. You are tired and want to fuck off into your room? You will sleep well, no worries! The staff is great, polite, and helpful in any possible ways. Checking in was bliss and checking out was even easier... I just loved the experience and I already decided to go next year. So if you wish to get in touch with me for next year or if you were there this year and want to chat, please feel free to e-mail me at prc_music@yahoo.ca Let’s talk metal... and see you all next year! - REMI
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