Live from the Pit: Alcest, Svalbard, Doddseskader

Walking up the stairs to Manchester Academy 2 bang at 6pm, the vibe was laid back as the

more mature crowd filtered in. The crowd was predominantly a casual Thursday and date night cohort that filled about half of the room before first support Doddseskader took the stage.

Doddseskader are a Belgian duo that could only be described as noise metal. Their set was

accompanied by a whole light and visual show, the perhaps accidental inclusivity of having the lyrics on the screen as part of the visuals - though hindered somewhat by Alcest’s kit being covered with a white sheet meaning that said show had mapped itself over said sheet in the corner. Nevertheless, Doddseskader’s set was engaging both in their songs and with the visuals, which were trippy shapes and landscapes morphing in the background to fit with the themes of the songs. Though loud and brash many of the songs were slower paced (bar the highlight that had a techno metal breakdown) the crowd seemed to enjoy the set overall, and by the end of their 20 minute opener they had won over the crowd shown by a showering of applause.

Up next were Svalbard - a melodic metal band that seemed to be the act piquing the interest of the crowd if the t shirts of choice were anything to go by. Guitarist and co-vocalist Serena Cherry was a comfortable frontwoman in this space, reminiscing to the crowd about her first metal gig being Slipknot in Manchester to some cheers while keeping it lowkey in her song introductions.

Svalbard’s stage presence was cosy, mainly focused on jamming with each other rather than

playing to the crowd as Cherry adopted the indie girl stance of raised shoulders and a

downward glance to her guitar as she screamed her parts with remarkable ease. The crowd in turn were happy to watch: respectful headbangs and comments in peer’s ears replaced the jumping around and pits that are stereotypical of metal shows. The end of the show was

punctuated by Cherry pointing out that it was a band member’s birthday, but due to his aversion to the birthday song she requested a moment of silence for aging; the crowd obliged, making for a very funny moment.

The set went over well, and half an hour later it was Alcest taking the stage for their set. Every faucet of this set was high quality: the set design was gorgeous, being made up of a light lit like the moon covered in cobwebs and kept company by two beautiful wolf sculptures, some stairs up to the bass and percussion zones of the bands setup and collections of reeds and wheat everywhere to build a rural and dreamlike ambience. Each musician was skilled at their art and all got their fair time in the sun throughout the 1h20min set.

Winterhalter stole the show with his double floor tom setup and beautiful pieces, moving around his kit with ease and able to exude technical skill whether he was soloing or slipping into the background of the track. The sound mix foregrounded the instruments over the sparse vocals and created a transcendent soundscape that captivated the crowd, even if the lack of movement made this less apparent. The crowd interaction was minimal, a lot of thank yous and a brief moment to mention that as a band they had played the city a lot and always looked forward to it, but the non verbal communication with the crowd through claps started and looks cast upon the room. They saved the crowd favourite for their first encore song Hospital, which was met with happy noises from the room, more swaying than the average and roaring applause by the end.

All this said - an Alcest show may be better in a seated venue. Each track lasted 4-6 minutes

with their final track coming closer to 10, and by the 45 minute mark each track began to meld into the last and the ache in the legs became ever stronger. The structure of an Alcest song seems to be an intro, a 4-6 bar vocal refrain, then the post-metal instrumentals begin, all at a similar tempo to each other. For those who like to stand and get lost in the refrain this setup could make for a wonderful meditative experience and this was the case for many - for those who like more movement and back and forth with their musician an Alcest show may not be the best recommendation.

Overall, this show worked like a well oiled machine, with all bands on their marks and set up on time to the minute and providing quality and beautiful soundscapes for the audience often holding one another or allowing themselves to get lost in the melodies. Alcest and Svalbard knew their audience and played to it well; Doddseskader would be an interesting one to see in a room where people were in the mood to dance.

Words: Julia Brunton Photos: Ace Cheng