Night(s) of debuts
Last weekend The Garage witnessed three debuts (not counting the Hawaiian attire The Drowning Sorrow came out on stage in). They were part of the lineup making up Realm Of The Forgotten with Sahhar and Weeping Silence. Attire apart, The Drowning Sorrow delivered one hell of a set, followed by an excellent performance by Sahhar. But as the title of this piece suggests, let's take a look at the debuts we had during this weekend. The first was delivered by Weeping Silence....
The band's set was made up of new songs (set list in photo) that should see the light of day physically by the end of 2023, unleashing a 16 minute prog metal epic titled "The Legend Of Matteo Falzon" (debuted live for the first time). It tells the story/legend of a Maltese sorcerer named Matteo Falzon, who was judged by the Inquisition. He managed to escape, some even saying he vanished into thin air in front of the Inquisitor. He fled to Sicily, where he instructed a slave to kill him and cut his body into pieces, burying them so that he would be able to reincarnate later on. The servant obeyed but was caught by the Inquisition and revealed the place he had buried the sorcerer after he was tortured. When they opened the tomb, legend goes that the body and bones had started reuniting, so they burned them immediately, destroying the magical powers off completely.
As the remaining songs in the band's set list shows, the new songs have the Maltese folklore and legends as their topic.
But we were not done of debuts for the weekend.....
Saturday evening saw the debut gig of newcomers 'Soul' a band formed by teens, playing music their parents used to listen to in rock bars in Paceville in the 90's. Soul has been together for not more than four months, although the energy they showed on Saturday one would think they have been playing together for years. They also debuted an original song called Dirt, a song written in the same vein as the covers they performed on the night.
Soul supported veteran band Lord Adder who organised the event titled The Gut (a Lord adder song about past life in Strait Street, and which was given a new aspect some days ago when the band released it with Maltese lyrics.
As we mentioned last week, Lord Adder's frontman Mark Spiteri was unable to sing due to a mean throat allergy. As was also mentioned Juan Xerri filled in for Mark on vocals duties, with Mark playing bass and (sometimes) backing vocals. We all know the capabilities of Juan, but Saturday he exceeded all expectations with a brilliant performance which truly showed the professionalism of Animamortua's singer.
Aaron comes out of hibernation
A short post by guitarist/bassist Aaron Dimech on his Facebook page and a music video on Youtube announced his 'retirement' is over. As Aaron put it himself: "I've been absent from the music scene for quite some time, as the most of you are aware. I quit performing music altogether since I was feeling a little burnt out. Since then, I have avoided playing an instrument and averting any musical activities in favour of concentrating on other things.
However, I've been attempting to get back to it lately by beginning to just play in private, but for some reason it is challenging for me to stand up again. So, I bought a new 8 string (an Ibanez RG8-WH). Nothing pricey or extravagant. Just something to get me motivated to start writing again.
So I wrote this piece of music and I wanted to share with all of you."
'Cordyceps' was inspired by 'The Last of Us', a videogame & now also a television series and the video can be seen here.
Dark Malta latest news
Dark Malta is set to lift up its curtains on Friday afternoon. This honour falls on locals Damaged & Co. who are part of a lineup made up of another twenty three acts. Our latest news comes from the other two locals on the bill.
Ancient Remains announced earlier this week that their show is set to be enhanced: "For this special live show we will be joined by 10PAH who will be travelling to Malta to accompany the set with a live stage performance art and prose. Additionally we are pleased to announce that the visual artist Damian Daly, who will also be present, has prepared a 40 minute projection to compliment the live set.
Below you can read comments on Mr Dalys work.
Ethereal, fractured, collage like Drawings, made up of a network of delicate and intricate lines and marks, a mix of fluid and subconscious versus detailed deliberate and disjointed. Sometimes uncomfortable and sometimes forming a sublime, pleasurable order.
People as constructs, pieced together by inner or outside forces or agencies. Complex emotional and psychic states battle and coexist within a kind of meta/physical body or meta body.
Imagery and inspiration taken from anywhere and everywhere, built around personal or projected unconscious desires, deliberate intentions and exploratory psychic excavations.
Marvel meets Renaissance.
Fractured sensuality.
Damian Daly's work draws from the fashion and symbolism of various cultures, yet he slashes them up and presents them in fractured, broken poses like great fleshy cyborgs, beautiful and incomplete".
Ancient Remains hit the stage on Sunday 15.30, followed by Xitan at 16.30, who announced that he'll be accompanied on stage by Veronique Meeuwsen (stage name La Vero) as guest.
Ġenn new single out
As befitting a band who take their name from the Maltese word for frenzy, ĠENN thrive amongst chaos. It's this unique outlook and tight-knit gang mentality that make ĠENN such a thrilling proposition musically, as evidenced on Liminal EP released March 2021.
A Reprise (That Girl) - 18 April Release
Now the band have just released a new single tilted 'A Reprise (That Girl)' on social media platforms. Video can be seen here.
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