Alter Schlachthof, Dresden, Germany18th November 2014
Combichrist & William Control
Tuesday evening, 7.30 pm. The doors were already open and I was expecting a lot of people being there for COMBICHRIST. It was nothing like that. While waiting for the band to perform there were about 20 people there. Yeah, I was used to more people wanting to see Andy LaPlegua and his mates live. I remembered waiting in line even when it was cold outside. This time it was nothing like that. But fortunately more people arrived soon so that the jokes about getting a private show were blown away.
William Control
WILLIAM CONTROL is the musical side project auf AIDEN singer Will Francis, who’s making a different type of music there. Brought to life in 2008, the band is making a bit of industrial pop with some 80’s feeling. Their debut ‘Hate Culture’ was released in November 2008 on Victory Records. In an interview with Kerrang!, Francis described the album as “the story of a man named William Control who’s spending his last night on earth”. Followed by the records ‘Noir’, ‘Silentium Amoris’ and of course in 2014 the album ‘The Neuromancer’, this band definitely worth listening. www.williamcontrol.com / www.facebook.com/williamcontrolofficial
Music & Performance
A huge “wow” may describe best what I’ve seen there. From there very first moment WILLIAM CONTROL were totally getting the audience’s attention. At first only a few people got along with the music which was a mix of 80s tunes, industrial influences and a catchy voice. The whole music style made me think of GREEN DAY and DAVID BOWIE. Even though it was really electronic. While singing, Will Francis smoked some cigarettes and played around with his microphone, throwing it in the air, catching it and hitting the drums with it. It was a pleasure to watch and to listen to. Not sure how, but this band really casts a spell over everyone. You can’t take your eyes off what’s going on on stage; you just start to feel the songs. Magic somehow.
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.5 / 10
Combichrist
I remember the band playing with two drummers and a keyboard years ago really rocking the stage and making everyone go crazy. Now after touring with RAMMSTEIN and having not only a guitar player and a bass player, COMBICHRIST now look like a rock band. Still having the amazing Joe Letz on drums, who’s still one of the most amazing drummers I’ve ever seen over the years, the band now seems to attract a different type of audience. In 2008 and 2009 I saw a lot of electro fans in their audience while today also metal fans seem to appear. https://www.facebook.com/combichrist / http://www.combichrist.com
Music & Performance
You never know what’s going on when COMBICHRIST are playing. I remember them having a unicorn on stage, throwing their instruments on each other, driving each other crazy. Yes, I’ve seen them often and you can be sure, the money you spend is worth it. I must admit that I don’t like them having a guitar and a bass player on stage, which has nothing to do with the players but with the sound. In my eyes they did better when being totally electronic but it’s a question of taste. When seeing them live at M’era Luna this year, I thought they’d sound too much like a metal band while this time in Dresden I thought for the first time that all those rock instruments would fit well.
Andy LaPlegua is always fun to watch when performing and so is Joey when throwing his drumsticks around. He didn’t look like he’d have fun this day. Not sure why. Years ago he was this joking guy on stage, doing a lot of silly things. This time in Dresden he didn’t even look to the audience, he was just doing his work with no smile on his face. Maybe he had a bad day or was annoyed by an already slightly drunk Eric13 who was celebrating his birthday in Dresden. Yeah, you never know what happens when COMBICHRIST are on stage and this time Eric got his birthday cake thrown into his face by Andy and he was laughing about it. When Eric tried to hug Joey with all this cream on his face Joey looked a little pissed and yelled at him, so Eric left Joey and went on playing.
Best moment of the show, apart from Eric13 getting his birthday cake, was definitely when the band performed ‘What the f*ck is wrong with you’. Andy showed his middle finger to all of his band mates when introducing them and the audience went along with him. I guess a lot of people lost their accrued anger when just singing along with Andy and showing their middle fingers like 200 times. If you want to get rid of your aggressions and don’t mind a grumpy looking drummer, go out and see COMBICHRIST performing live. And maybe bring some pink unicorn with you, so that Joey can start smiling again.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10
All Pictures by Pyro Graphic (http://www.unart.tv)
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