BEYOND THE BLACK / SETYØURSAILS / SERAINA TELLI (Live)

With a new album (Break The Silence), German band Beyond The Black started the year on an extensive European tour. After performances at Hellfest and Plane’R Fest last summer, their early return to Le Bataclan, Paris, was a pleasant surprise for French fans.

Seraina Telli

With a new album released last year, Seraina Telli, colourful rock singer hailing from Switzerland, is presenting a show completely different from what she had to offer on the French stages previously. The audience of this evening might well have already seen her opening for another big name of the modern melodic/symphonic metal scene, Visions of Atlantis.

Seraina expanded her visual concept, transforming the front of the stage with fluorescent flowers and plants, creating an eerie jungle atmosphere. As she has grown as an artist in a different direction, her recent songs are more mature but veer away from the punchy Punkish, Rock N’ Roll of her previous efforts.

Thus, unfortunately, the beginning of the set lacked energy and engagement from the crowd. It also did not help that the band only consists of Seraina on vocals/guitar and occasional keyboard, and a drummer. The second part of the set got a better reception from the crowd, with the catchier “Brown Eyed Boys” and “Songs for the Girls”.

SETYØURSAILS

Perhaps inspired by the German techno scene, Setyøursails evolves in an extremely catchy Emo Punk Pop Metal. Fronted by the mighty Jules Mitch, it only took a couple of notes for the Bataclan to be utterly seduced by the new combo. While Setyøursails was not playing for the first time in France, it certainly was a breakthrough for them as they gained a whole lot of new fans that evening. More aggressive than Beyond The Black, it was quite a risk to offer this band as an opening act, but the audience clearly enjoyed it.

In between the brutal breakdowns, with impressive growls from Jules, and the catchy choruses, the rest of the band was also giving their all to the audience. By song four, there was a more than decent circle pit going on, with the bass player jumping from the side of the stage and joining in.
The sound was clear all around the venue, and there was no complaint to be made here. The band kept a simple and brutal light show, often highlighting silhouettes and following the intense rhythm of the songs.

Jules introduced the title “Mirror” by asking, “Can you fucking sing?”… yes, we bloody can! (Challenge French people to sing louder than everyone else; they will pride themselves on doing so). Jules also waved a massive flag saying “No Place for homophobia, fascism, sexism, and racism” (the same message is written on the columns on the side of the Bataclan’s bar.)

Setyøursails was allowed a decent amount of time on stage and thus gave the audience some other highlights with the songs “Fck Off” and “Best Of Me.”

Beyond The Black

While Beyond The Black has not really changed the recipe for their songs since their creation in 2014, they definitely refined it. In this reviewer’s opinion, their first three albums are rather imbalanced with strong hits like “In The Shadows”, “Heart Of The Hurricane”, “Lost In Forever” and “When Angels Fall” and also riddled with forgettable songs filling up the space.

However, the last two (the eponym Beyond The Black and the new release Break The Silence) are much more successful in terms of consistency, quality and ability to conjure intriguing atmospheres. Thus it was with certain anticipation and curiosity that this reviewer awaited the band’s show in Paris.
While the band plays with the utmost professionalism, singer Jennifer Haben is far from being an aloof diva figure. Her charisma derives from her smile, and one cannot avoid thinking that she would be the big sister everyone dreams of.

The band opened with the new hit and eponym title of their most recent album, “Break The Silence”, before moving to a less expected “Hysteria”. A massive screen displayed fantasy visuals matching the vibe of the songs throughout the whole show and highlighting Jennifer’s flowing skit and gold raven medallion. On the guitars, both Tobi Lodes and Chris Hermsdörfer offered killer soli and solid backing vocals.

Evidently, Beyond The Black put their recent release in the spotlight and played no less than six out of the ten songs of the album. “Rising High” was a must and proved how skilled Haben is. Her vocals were strong and impressive throughout the whole show. After this bombastic opening, they kept on playing hits from their discography, with “Reincarnation” where both guitarists got to shine again. They complete each other quite well, and it is nice to see them share the best guitar parts.

The only slightly negative point of the show was the synth medley morphing into a sort of acoustic version of “Wounded Healer”. The band had already on numerous occasion rearrange songs and offer interesting acoustic alternatives; this one was perhaps not the best.

But the show resumed its excellent level shortly after with the epic ballad “Ravens”. During the song, Jennifer Haben wore a majestic set of golden wings with the best effect. For once, she then stayed on the back of the stage for the rendition of “The Flood”, despite the heavy use of samples, which remains one of the most powerful moments of the album: a true highlight of the show.

“Lost In Forever” offered the audience another memorable moment with impeccable vocals. On the other hand, “Written in Blood” was not the most effective. Maybe the single “Call My Name” released in 2023 would have been a better choice. With the introduction sung by The Mystery Of Bulgarian Voices, “Let There Be Rain” might just be the absolute best the band has produced, with its haunting and yet catchy atmosphere, which worked very well as a transition to “When Angels Fall”.

The audience shook the walls during the unavoidable “In The Shadow”. The encore seemed again way too short with “Running To The Edge” and “Hallelujah”. Both these old titles now pale a little in comparison with the newest hit, and while Beyond the Black offered a tremendous performance, a few of the choices could be rethought for an even better result. The band still excels in the genre they crafted, and if the occasion arises, do not hesitate to attend a show of this Rising High tour.