Some evenings are more special than others. When we went to see Witch Club Satan at Petit Bain, we suspected it wouldn't be just like any concert: the three Norwegian women have only been unleashing their furious and politically engaged black metal since 2022, but they are already ‘the thing to see’, both for their feminist and politicised approach to the genre and their intense and theatrical live performances. What's more, the venue says that Bruxism is opening the show and that they're ‘a little bit gothic’. Bruxism rings a vague bell, but we couldn't find them on the internet, nothing, they must be a young band. In any case, the Facebook event for the evening mysteriously disappeared as the concert approached, with the venue specifying that it was ‘forbidden to minors’.
Anyway. We arrive and here's the first shocker: a message at the entrance states that, at the band's request, absolutely no photos are allowed during the show. Nada. We've never seen this at Petit Bain. The security guy, who's as big as he is friendly, seems just as surprised; the news has just come in. So we won't be able to tell you about it with photos; you'll have to read on, sorry.
The evening begins with the traditional trip to the merch stand: Witch Club Satan offers a whole range of T-shirts, including one with a very cool black metal uterus design. Hopefully people bought it without knowing what it is. Organs are metal! As for Bruxism, a sign says ‘Bruxism merch’, but there's nothing to be found at the moment. They must have arrived late on their scooters and didn't have time, like young disorganized bands do.
BRUXISM (OR NOT...)
And then Bruxism will start. Three women take to the stage. A friend remarks, ‘The bassist looks like Grandma's Ashes' bassist.’ We reply that Bruxism's drummer and guitarist also look a lot like the drummer and guitarist from Grandma's Ashes, the alternative rock/grunge trio who will be headlining at the Elysée Montmartre (a venue twice as big) next March and will soon be releasing an album called... Bruxism. What a surprise! ‘We're called Grandma's Ashes,’ announced bassist/singer Eva Hägen after the first song. Hey, we said it first!
Nice move by the trio, whose popularity is skyrocketing, to join in like that without any announcement as the opening act for a black metal band. The audience is excited, but we don't know if they think Bruxism is great or if they've figured out the trick. At the merch stand, T-shirts and other merchandise finally appear, now that the beans have been spilled.
This is the first date of the tour accompanying the release of Bruxism (the album, not the band, since the band doesn't actually exist – well, it does, but it's from the United Kingdom and didn't come tonight). Grandma's Ashes is performing some songs for the first time in front of an audience. For their second album, you can sense a desire to reinvent themselves, which takes them in many very pleasant directions: slightly gothic influences, which we had already guessed from the single Cold Sun Again, but also heavier parts with saturated vocals... and others with vocoders. Their creativity, energy and desire to explore all these avenues are refreshing. We particularly appreciate not knowing how a song will evolve, as the trio plays with conventions and doesn't slavishly obey any of them. Sometimes we have our doubts, but we end up rather won over: we'll have to listen to it all again in the studio, but it's done with guts!
On the other hand, someone will have to explain to us how it is that at Petit Bain, where the lighting is generally complicated and many concerts are played in darkness and smoke, it was precisely on the evening when photos were prohibited that the show was particularly impressive, between the red curtain behind the drums creating a flamboyant backdrop and the mix of colours! Not only could we see something, but it was also a feast for the eyes. So, no photos, but we'll do what we can with what we have to illustrate it. If you don't get the reference, watch The Big Lebowski. It'll be time better spent than reading this!
WITCH CLUB SATAN
They're here! They're coming! They're wearing the same half-croissant, half-pretzel witch hats as in the beautiful music video for You Wildflower! There are three of them, like the Norns, like the Fates, like the Moirai, like the Erinyes, like the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus, like the Halliwell sisters in Charmed, like Kælan Mikla, like Grandma's Ashes, even! A feminised trinity, the mother, the daughter, the folly spirit, or Hatred, Vengeance and the Implacable! A ritualistic atmosphere, darkness... and childbirth. Witch Club Satan attacks with Birth, a heavy and aggressive track that now takes on a whole new meaning: bassist and singer Victoria Røising is pregnant, and it shows. But that's not all: later, the WCS trio confesses that there are actually five of them on stage: Victoria is expecting twins! She has two foetuses in her belly, that's super metal! On the other hand, we'll gloss over the fact that minors are not allowed in, as there are two of them hiding on stage!
They grimace, they scream their hearts out, it's intense, but that's not all. The set is divided into different parts, involving costume changes and atmospheric transitions during which the three witches offer us moments of respite (Mother Sea) or recite texts with their Evil Dead voices. It's both furious and very cool. The dresses fall off, they come back naked, somewhat hidden by wigs that give them impressive mops of hair. It's like being in a folk horror film, it's impressive. Their black metal is no-frills, with an explosive punk energy (the crazy Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy) and a wild viscerality that is both intimidating and exhilarating. They scream and bleed for the witches who were burned, for those in the audience, for all those who are persecuted for no reason.
Later, Witch Club Satan demands silence with a few whispers. Petit Bain falls silent, captivated. SILENCE IS A CRIME they suddenly scream accusingly, before denouncing what the UN and Amnesty International are increasingly formally comparing to genocide in Gaza. To warm applause from the audience, Black Metal is Krig twists the phrase made famous by Nargaroth to declare ‘war on war’. A naked, pregnant witch with corpse paint on her face, playing black metal in front of a Palestinian flag: what a powerful and unique image!
Witch Club Satan screams their feminist, anti-racist, and environmentalist beliefs. In a genre that often cultivates political ambiguity with sometimes nauseating overtones, they don't have the cowardice to hide behind references to Tolkien and neo-fascist pagan symbols, claiming to be ‘apolitical’ so that people will leave them alone. They are not too lazy or timid to dare to express themselves for fear of alienating part of their audience: for them, it is a matter of life and death. Witch Club Satan doesn't talk about dragons, romanticised devils recycled for the umpteenth time for imagery, or armies of orcs. The girls in Witch Club Satan lay their guts bare (as we said above, organs are metal!), their fears, their rage, and their black metal overflows with an urgency that is as rare as it is refreshing. What drives WCS is the need to live, to exist, and their art is wrapped up in spectacular theatre that not only adds power to the message but also a touch of fun.
While it is sometimes regrettable that, in a concert lasting only an hour, the breaks imposed by costume changes break the rhythm a little, giving the impression that this madness is sometimes very carefully calculated, we also understand that wreaking havoc with two babies in your belly requires a few concessions! At the end of the concert, the recent anthem You, Wildflower, slower in tempo, resonates powerfully. They climb onto the monitors, their silhouettes towering over the pit, immense. In a ritual of resilience, they highlight how ‘dictator’ begins with ‘dick’. Then we are treated to a techno/industrial interlude, Witchcraft Techno, during which they take their dip into the crowd: two of the witches are carried by the audience, they scream, it's a brawl and a reminder of their incredible collaboration with John Cxnnor, which is a must-see.
We sometimes felt that the show would have benefited from lasting a little longer in order to keep us in this storm of madness between two scene changes, but we are well aware that we witnessed a rather special event. When Witch Club Satan unleashes its violence and screams its torments, it's not to show off or scare us, but to invite us to scream with them in a collective, inclusive and cathartic act of salvation... and their music hits you with an authenticity and power that packs a punch!
No photos, then (well, if we ignore the usual paradox: there are actually dozens of smartphone lights flashing in the room to record a little bit of the concert). We still hope that Witch Club Satan will generously document these special moments in their life as a band, as they will make funny memories for future babies! So, well, we'll leave you with a scribbled drawing that faithfully depicts this strange evening where two trios of witches gave sincere and surprising performances in front of a large audience. As someone said, next time, ‘we're gonna need a bigger boat’!
