Last Sunday I had a blast at what was my first metal concert, and to make it more fun, it was actually four bands in one evening, in an interesting lineup that was put together. Keep reading if you want to know what happened!
The first band on stage was the American band Entheos, led by Chaney Crabb. I didn’t know the band before but I was touched when learning that she suffered through a scooter accident involving extensive stitching and a three month break from all vocals. That made me admire even more the whole energy she was diffusing to the public throughout their performance, spitting out her fierce growls making some headbangers happy in the first rows.
Next up was the French brutal death metal band Benighted. I was warned before that it could get wild on this one, and there was a barefooted Julien Truchan making everyone’s head to bang, even mine. The first mosh pit was created and instantly got the moshing kicked off with the crowd finally getting wild in the middle of the Orangerie. Adrenaline was all over the place and the crowd was getting more and more excited. Although fearing to get hit from the back and had my camera damaged, it was impossible to stop shooting every time he set foot on the speaker in front of me.
The third group of the night was the Tasmanian technical death metal band Psycroptic. With the adrenaline still running in my system, I was told for this one that it would be a bit more relaxed. Well, that was not the case at all. The crowd got even wilder and bodies ended up on stage to meet the band and quickly dive back into the crowd to even come back up on stage. Even for being known for being a very technical band, musicians didn’t stop headbanging along with the crowd at any song, while the singer didn’t stop moving left to right, and once again being the responsible for provoking the crowd to come to stage, diving above our heads.
Last but not least, the Orangerie had the pleasure to host Archspire. For this one I was also warned in advance that it would be a mixture of music and physical. Starting their show already heating up the ambiance, recalling their visit to the Ardennes where a deer was involved, the band didn’t disappoint any of the fans waiting to see them. Although to a lesser extent than before, People ended up on stage and leaping back into the insatiable crowd. The band asked nonstop for mosh pits, when suddenly they asked the crowd to get divided in two, and the singer threw a twister mat to give the chance for two fortunate fans to win a t-shirt. That made my night.
Lesson learned, always keep an eye on what’s happening behind, or make friends with the crowd so that they can warn you or even protect you when stage diving and mosh pits begin. I wasn’t exempted of some kicks in my head or against the stage, but I had fun and my gear is safe and sound. An experience I definitely want to repeat.
Archspire
Psycroptic
Benighted
Entheos
zondag 05 maart 2023, Le Botanique (Brussel, BE) | Foto's & tekst: Cristina Vergara