On 24 September at the moscow club Relax, the album Artificial Emotions by HIERONYMUS BOSCH was presented. The band occupies a special position. People either regard them with no feeling at all — those being people who don't know them — or with very great respect. Pathological haters of growling who confine their horizons to the band ARIA or alternative rock we shall place in the first category. I recall recommending this band to a couple of acquaintances and receiving an extremely negative reaction — they declared that the compositions were difficult to remember and too complex for easy listening — almost a direct quote. If one looks at things realistically: yes, the Bosches (may the great and deranged genius of the 15th century forgive me for this perversion of his surname) play progressive death — one of the least commercial directions in music, characterised by the highest technical demands, complex compositional structures, and so on — in short, the combination (more precisely the overlay) of progressive elements onto death metal. Chuck Schuldiner with DEATH was the first to work in this vein; then came ATHEIST, CYNIC, and others. HIERONYMUS BOSCH recorded their first album (Human Abstract) in 1995; shortly after, the band ceased to exist. The reunion took place in 2004; from the original lineup, guitarist Vladimir Leyviman and vocalist Vsevolod Gorbenko — who also became the band's bassist — survived. Together with guitarist Vadim Orlov and drummer Andrei Ishchenko, the band began performing live again and started work on a new album; it appeared in 2005 under the title Artificial Emotions. On 24 September the presentation of that album took place.
Now let us proceed in order. A total of six bands performed that day. First came KATALEPSY — a band playing very technical brutal death metal. The lineup change had been greatly to the band's benefit; in the new configuration they sounded considerably more interesting. They did not play for very long; by the end of their set there were still very few people in the club — literally a few dozen in the hall itself. Having performed a CANNIBAL CORPSE cover, the band vacated the stage.
Fairly quickly, REST IN PAIN appeared on stage. A band whose genre is very difficult to label — they themselves call it psycho-death-metal; in any case, that is how the band is described on their official website. In reality the band does genuinely play quite complex, technical death metal with a large number of slow passages and progressive elements. Their set was the most problematic of the evening — after the second song equipment problems arose and took quite a long time to resolve. The band played six or seven of their own compositions and concluded with a METALLICA cover — "For Whom The Bell Tolls."
The next band, I will be honest, looked rather amusing that evening. These were CRYSTAL ABYSS — quite specific symphonic black metal. The band features one guitarist (who is also the vocalist), a bassist, a keyboardist, and a drummer; in this setup the main weight falls on the keyboards, which in the band essentially fulfil the role of both "atmospheric" chords and solos — and it was no accident that they were set at the same level as the guitar and bass, whereas most black metal bands consciously push the keys to the background at concerts. The performance opened with poetry "in glory of Jesus" — naturally; in spirit it was very reminiscent of Mayakovsky. After the vocalist had thus expressed that he regards Christianity approximately as the aforementioned poet regarded the bourgeoisie, a short set was played — and played more than decently. There weren't many people; the crowd that day was mostly not in a black metal frame of mind.
Next on the bill was the collective THE NEVERLAND. During precisely this band's performance the maximum number of audience members was concentrated in the hall. The band is quite well known in moscow; the musicians play melodic death metal in the mould of CHILDREN OF BODOM. After a series of not-very-short original compositions, vocalist Joker announced that he would sing a song about a nighttime hangover — referring to "Bodom After Midnight" by the same Finns fronted by Alexi Laiho. A few more of their own tracks followed, and to close, another entirely unexpected cover: "Sleeping In My Car" by ROXETTE.
And finally the heroes of the evening: HIERONYMUS BOSCH. Having spent a considerable time tuning up, the members left the stage. After which the lights went out, the intro began, and the musicians appeared and launched into the first composition from the latest album — "Interference." They played it brilliantly; then came "Doubt Soul" from the band's first record. Greetings were delivered; Vsevolod Gorbenko briefly described the evening's programme. For the next hour-plus (precisely the length of the Bosch set) the audience was constantly requesting compositions; in the end almost all requests were fulfilled. Six songs from the second release and five from the first were performed. After one of the songs the vocalist announced that guitarist Vadim Orlov had turned 25 that very day, and the birthday boy was duly congratulated.
The band demonstrated brilliant technique; those standing on this side of the stage never tired of marvelling — the band plays at the highest level. The apex of the performance was a drum solo by drummer Andrei Ishchenko — that was something else entirely. After it came "Mental Perfection" and "The Human Abstract" — the title track from the first album — which crowned this magnificent performance.
Setlist: Intro Interference Doubt Soul Petra Scandali Third Half Tired Eyes The Apogee Escape from Primitivity Blind Windows Stare Heartbeat Seismology Drum Solo Mental Perfection The Human Abstract
And finally — FRAGILE ART: after the Bosch performance, at most 30–35 people remained in the hall. The band presents themselves as doom metal, though I would describe it more as melodic death-doom. Particularly striking was the sight of a girl in a long white dress, barefoot, holding a guitar in her hands and actually playing it. Overall they played very, very well; an excellent vocalist with a specific, expressive screaming style.
Overall, a superb concert with a superbly chosen lineup; CRYSTAL ABYSS were perhaps the only slightly superfluous element. HIERONYMUS BOSCH presented their album magnificently, and all the other bands also performed excellently — one of the best club concerts by moscow bands this year. The sound that evening was more than good; for the Relax club, where problems in that department are almost universal, this was a very positive development.
Special thanks to Mendor for the accreditation provided.