Der Weg Einer Freiheit, who recently added a few new French dates to their schedule, played at Le Grillen in Colmar on Thursday, 26 February 2026. The audience, mostly made up of regulars (everyone knows each other, says hello, and gets excited with a joy proportional to the darkness of the music that brings us together, as is often the case, except that this time, it is expressed with a tinge of German words and Alsatian expressions) was very dense. From dense to dance, there's only one step, but rest assured: here, we're more into flammenkueche than flamenco, and with black metal, it's mainly our necks that giggle. In any case, there's no room to move the rest of the body.
TOWARD THE THRONE
Hop-là! As an appetizer, it's a beautiful regional product that whets the Grillen's appetite. Toward the Throne took care of the decor with several candles on stage and visuals reflecting their new album, Midnight, which was released the day after the concert but was already available at the merch stand and was played in its entirety and in order. We told you that the Grillen audience is made up of loyal fans and curious newcomers: listening to the conversations, we discovered that quite a few people had come for the opening act.
Despite having more than ten years of misdeeds under their belt, Toward the Throne has just released their second album. Of course, coming from a band labelled ‘death metal’, we expect to be wrung out, and the quartet does not disappoint in that regard. There's heaviness and violence, of course. That's a prerequisite, but it's not what best characterises their music.
Hidden behind his hair, singer Gauthier Ressel begins his incantations alone on stage. Very quickly, we discover the richness of songs built around samples and breaths that give them a fantastical, even dreamlike touch. It's theatrical, sometimes gothic, often grandiloquent (the martial rhythm of 7Hate, for example, is reminiscent of SepticFlesh). These progressive touches allow for moments of introspection, surreal daydreams, but also highlight the more violent parts, making the emotions more intense. Until a ritual encore led by the drumbeat (time is ticking and you don't mess with punctuality in the East of France!) which allowed for the addition of two old tracks (Still, Denial and The Ashes of Pain), it was sometimes epic, sometimes melancholic, always stimulating. Right, we've just enough time for the inevitable photo with all our friends who are here, and then we have to make way for the headliner.
DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT
When Der Weg Einer Freiheit takes to the stage, something immediately catches our eye: after a complex game of musical chairs, Nicolas Rausch is finally back as guitarist! Alan Noruspur no longer needs to replace him and can resume his place on the left side of the stage on bass, after spending part of last autumn on the right side of the stage, playing guitar in place of the guitarist, of course. Fortunately, Tob Schuler remains on drums and Nikita Kamprad on vocals!
Unlike the Petit Bain stage where the band played last autumn in Paris (live report), the stage in the Grillen's main hall, despite having the same audience capacity, is more spacious and offers the band much more room to flourish both visually and musically.
While the setlist, half of which consists of songs from the new album, remains virtually unchanged (Eiswanderer replaces Einkehr and Vergängnis for the older songs), the lighting design reveals its full splendour. The silhouettes are majestically outlined between shadows and soft lighting. This time, the faces are visible through the spectral veil, the emotions are more palpable, less opaque, and the empathetic and intangible exchange between the audience and the band is more evident.
The sound, which is of remarkable quality, is more violent than anything we have heard from them before, despite the new tracks being more introspective. Enveloping, catchy and moving, we are carried away by notes that constantly oscillate between brutality and melancholy, yet always remain on the edge of disconcerting accuracy. It is so beautiful that it leaves us paralysed on the spot..
Nikita takes the floor in the middle of the concert to tell us, not without a hint of pride, that the last time they played in this city, they played at Grillen, yes, but in the small venue! That was in 2018. We wish them continued success in growing their popularity while maintaining the humanity that makes us love them so much. As proof of this, he later takes the floor again to have a disruptive member of the audience removed, who is being disrespectful to the spectators and more specifically to a female spectator "if you touch this woman, you leave the venue!". A few minutes later, this individual is removed by security. The band then offers to play Eos a second time, to loud applause! In Alsace, we enjoy pigs in the form of schiffala, fleischwurst or knacks, but not as annoying drunk guys!
The conclusion on Forlorn (a vulnerable song co-written with Nicolas) was magnificent, the merch was magnificent, Nikita's consideration for the well-being of her audience and that of Tob Schuler, who came to the edge of the stage to chat with the audience at the end of the show with great kindness, was magnificent. in short, it was the kind of evening we love, where the darkness of our anguished souls dances in the light of beauty. We can't wait for the next one!
