Dymna Lotva has been a part of my musical landscape / surroundings for many years as I once was a lot into the Belarusian metal scene. One of the bands I followed was Znich. Funnily enough, I met them in Lyon after the unfortunate completely improvised acoustic set. This bar was no one else than the Rock’n’Eat and this is where Dymna Lotva, along with two French bands, were playing on the occasion of the Cries of Restless Souls Vol.2.
I stayed in touch with the booker Pedro since then but I hadn’t attended any show at their new and very cool location in years as I moved back to the south-west of , where not much happens. This funny coincidence and all these other elements in my hands made the perfect occasion for me to return to Lyon to see my friends, old and new.
The mini-festival kicked off with Terres Froides, a fairly young band. Their inexperience, although being regulars of this venue, showed with a couple of things which are typical but fun. This slight awkwardness on stage and talk with the audience with a growling voice but normal intonation, it’s part of the folklore. Yet they still differ from many because they do have good elements, the bases are here. The singer has a diverse vocals range but lacks clarity at times, as they overall don’t sound very smooth yet. It did not prevent them to give a nice performance and have local throughout. They finished the set with a cover, couldn’t tell which song it was but it sounded good! They did very well as an opening band.
It was then Bovary‘s turn to go on stage, and it instantly felt oppressive. They contrasted a lot with their stage presence, and this monologue from “L’Appel du Vide” was simply dreadful. The text and diction were extremely accurate, it was captivating and for my sorrow, as native French speaker, it was impossible to ignore. That is the flaw of making French lyrics cool again and despite this, I would place them among those who do an excellent job in this direction. Their compositions are more complete and their execution competent. It was also very melodic, with soli and superb ascents. They played with diverse levels of intensity with mastery. The singer and guitarist Ace lead the show, she was both the melodic lightness and the harshness of the vocals. She excelled in these roles. There was also clean male singing from time to time, which was nice. On the song “Bonheur Léthargique” the guitarist Étrange Garçon made a dedication which was an interesting extension of the chorus: “Happiness is a dormancy. All of them! They’re lying down! But nobody’s sleeping! And the lie stays up!”. I found it was a touching and nice metaphor, though it should be taken with a pinch of salt. They are a DSBM band and they mean it.
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And well, I was not disappointed. They started with “Ідзі І Глядзі (Come And See)”, it’s a blend of what I just wrote and the perfect start for me. An accordion lament then the siren gave me goose bumps. I first thought their latest album, The Land Under the Black Wing: Blood, was created after their second exile from Ukraine as the war broke out but the fate is actually grimer. It was written many years ago. As they stated on the preface of the copy: “This album was recorded before. Before the grenades started to explode under the windows of our houses. Before we just took to the streets peacefully to claim our rights”. This is why Nokt Aeon’s microphone stand was customised this way: a white wing with a blood stripe, to recall the flag of the Republic of Belarus until 1995, as well as ribbons to Ukraine’s colours.
The performance was impeccable, they are a seasoned band and they gave of themselves a lot. The singer, by her looks and theatrical expressions, was a visual gem all by mastering aggressive growl, screech and lyrical singing. She also was an acting one as her emotional renderings gave me shivers. She could go hard just like she personified pain and grievance amazingly. The musicians constancy was unrelenting and the audience, who they were holding in their hands, was very reactive. Following the anthem like “Да Волі (To Freedom)”, the much awaited “Пахаваны Жыўцом (Buried Alive)” was played, ending their set beautifully. Nokt Aeon asked “One more?” and got a cheerful answer. It was a particularly emotional and harrowing song, “There’s No More Me”.
