Female Metal Fest 2018 Review
Location: Villa Tacchini
Date: December 1st, 2018
The fourth Female Metal Fest was in advance under an unlucky star. The crowdfunding campaign to fund the festival fell far short of expectations. Thus, the organizers were forced to cancel the first day of the festival (Woman Vocal 187) without substitution. In addition, even the headliner for the Saturday evening have canceled. Also, the ticket presale was slow. But Katia and her friends were not discouraged. Thus, one French and three local bands appeared that evening. The pictures of the evening can be seen on Flickr.
Katia had suggested a visit to the Artists Pub Versoix as a substitute for the unusual Friday night event. So, I used the public transport of the city of Geneva and went by tram and train to Versoix. A cozy pub with a small stage. And good beer. That evening, the Las Vegas Parano Rock Band from Geneva played. And the musicians coverten great rock songs, among others by the Roling Stones, CCR, Jimi Hendrix or Ike and Tina Turner. The songs were technically performed perfectly. Especially the two guitarists convinced again and again with their solos. And singer Alyssa had unlikely much soul in her voice. I had a nice chat with guitarist Nadia before the show.
On Saturday morning, a short walk along Lake Geneva was on the program. Impressive was the large fountain in the middle of the lake. Right on the shore is also the mausoleum Brunswick, the tomb of Duke Charles II, Brunswick, with monument and equestrian statue.
From 4pm, VIP guests were invited to a meet and greet with the bands of the evening. For me there was a happy reunion with the musicians of Alkemy as well as members of Elferya who were supposed to be on stage that evening with their new band Chaoseum.
With a little delay, fifteen minutes after 19:00 Dead Dog Café started in their one-hour set. The sound of the band from the canton Valais is hard to describe. They call their music Alternative Rock / Metal. Much of the song moves in the mid-tempo range, there were also faster passages. Many catchy melodies made the songs extremely worth listening to.
Setlist Dead Dog Café:
- Intro
- London Is Burning
- The Game
- She Took Him Back
- Jugular
- Dissociation
- Black Beast
- Little Soldier
- Hold On
- Spiders
From Lyon in France GoneZilla had arrived. That was really nice and moody Doom Metal. While vocalist Céline sang with a clear powerful voice, the angry growls of her bandmates Florent (g) and Clément (b) caused an really dash of Death. Like many French bands, GoneZilla sang in their native language. And even various problems with the microphones could not stop the Doom wall.
Setlist GoneZilla:
- Inferno
- Amor Tenebris
- Ruines
- Dorps Et Âme
- Dexter-Ity
- Le Monde À L’Enverrs
- Antitaktai
The band to whom we owe the festival, Alkemy from Geneva, also had technical problems. Thus, the start of the show was delayed by about 20 minutes. But then the Swiss got going properly. Three cover versions of Within Temptation immediately created a good mood. And the appearance of singer Katia reminded immensely of Sharon den Adel. However, she sings the higher vocal passages much cleaner than the Dutch herself in her best days. The songs that Alkemy presented tonight are far less bombastic. Two other cover of Within Temptation marked the end of the show. At “Faster” Katia sang in a duet with the Portuguese singer Carina, who lives in Switzerland. That was the best performance of Alkemy I’ve seen so far.
Setlist Alkemy:
- The Promise
- Mother Earth
- Stand My Ground
- My Friend
- Coupable D’Être Victime
- Escape To Be Free
- Resilience
- The Eyes Of The Others
- The Howling
- Faster
Last year I experienced the Swiss band Elferya live at the Autumn Moon Festival. In the meantime, the Melodic Metal band has been put on hold. Four band members wanted to break new musical paths and founded Chaoseum. Three of the four musicians live in Lausanne, only singer Lola had a longer journey. And she sang, screamed and growled the soul out of her body. These were the appropriate vocals to the band’s crossover sound, much less pleasing than Elferya’s. In October, the debut album “First Step To Hell” was released, of which almost all songs were played that night. Unfortunately, it was a bit empty in front of the stage, as with the bands before. This was enough room for a wild mosh pit of some fans. However, this was too dangerous for me, so I left the room as a precaution.
Setlist Chaoseum:
- New Dawn
- Rock Rock
- Don’t Waste Your Time
- Lilith
- Crawling In The Dirt
- F.T.S.
- Kill Or Be Killed
- Devil’s Wedding
- Blue Scorpion
- First Step To Hell
Although it was only a one-day festival, the flight to Switzerland was worth it. These were two days of varied music program. I have met many friends and made new friends. A big thank you to everyone involved, the bands, the crew, the staff of the Villa Tacchini and especially to the organizer Wings Music & Events. Let’s hope that the organizers have sufficient staying power, so that next year a small anniversary can be celebrated. I want to come back.
Photos: Rainer Kerber Photographie, Stéphane Harnisch Music Photography – Concerts-live Switzerland (1)
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
