I admit that I have always had a soft spot for the Italians of EVOL although their discography is uneven and above all not really amazing. But hey, we can't make up for it, we all have our hobbies for reasons that often escape us. It's likely that the Italians were some of the first Black Metal bands I discovered at a pivotal time in my teenage years, nostalgia and cenesthesia doing the rest. So, when the Dusktone label offered to release this Live as well as a compilation called "Relics" this year (we'll talk about it later), it was pretty sure that I would be there. Especially since this concert comes at the height of the success of Giordano Bruno's band and that it retains all the occult and singular juice of the EVOL project.
And then, and this is also a nice surprise for those who remember, this Live had been announced at the time as a future release of EVOL by the label Adipocere Records, label to which the band remained faithful from start to finish. Resulting from two concerts in Lyon and Marseille, as symbolically indicated by the cover, "De Bello Gallico (Live In France)" runs through all of EVOL's albums. The studio work done to release this Live almost thirty years later is frankly honest, so much so that the two sound takes are almost indistinguishable, the production allowing to honor these two performances. I even want to tell you that, for the band's historical detractors, this Live could thwart their hasty or reasoned judgment. Despite the very atmospheric and medieval side of their compositions, the Italians provide a very energetic performance on stage.
Far from being sleeves, EVOL performs its concerts with great professionalism under the eyes of an audience which, most certainly (it's a supposition), was discovering for a good part what Black Metal could be "with atmospheres". The strong presence of Giordano Bruno on keyboards and vocals envelops his compositions, very well executed by the other members of the group, with an aura that overshadows his compositions. And then, there is this powerful magnetism that Princess Of Disease exudes, with its intoxicating vocals and the lyrics it proclaims. Adding this additional ceremonial dimension to the very "dark fantasy" universe of EVOL, his proposals bring contrast to the brutal passages of some titles. His presence transforms several passages of the Live into real occult ceremonies, such as on the flagship tracks "Sad Doom Of A Dark Soul", "The Ancient King Of Ice (Mighty Yugsuduk)" and "Prologue (Waiting For His Coming)". His vocals, spectral and disembodied, never seek demonstrative virtuosity: they act rather as a shadow floating above the keyboards and riffs, accentuating the medieval and esoteric dimension specific to EVOL.
A real living and embodied retrospective of the titles that sealed the identity of the band and allowed its success, "De Bello Gallico (Live In France)" honors this project and is really a very nice surprise offered to the hearts of the fans. EVOL has always distinguished itself, whether we like it or not, from the dominant schools of the time. Between 1993 and 1999 (the years of "exercise" of the Italians), while the Black Metal scene was mainly polarized between the Norwegian nihilistic violence, the brutal occultism of Greek bands and the emergence of the symphonic, EVOL builds a much more narrative, mystical and decadent universe. The Italians have often retained a very artisanal, almost archaic aesthetic. Their productions remain opaque, the arrangements are sometimes strange, but this fragility has contributed to their identity.
In the light of time, we can say that they anticipate some of the Atmospheric Black Metal and Dungeon Synth that will become much more valued in the years 2000-2010. At the time, their theatrical, melancholic and medieval side could seem marginal; Today, this is precisely what makes their albums so special. They are part of the great history of Black Metal, they lived the most beautiful years of this style, those when the cauldron was boiling intensely with an unquenchable fire. I can only advise you to listen to this "De Bello Gallico (Live In France)", an excellent time capsule of a Black Metal still inhabited by mystery, darkness and the ambition to open worlds rather than simply produce sound violence. More than just a live documentary, "De Bello Gallico (Live In France)" appears today as the spectral resurgence of an ancient age, when EVOL was building in the shadows a kingdom that time has never completely buried. |
