METZ – November 17, 2017 (Sala Apolo – Barcelona)

Toronto’s band METZ returned to Barcelona after their impressive concerts at Primavera Sound 2013 and BAM 2015 to present their latest album Strange Peace (2017), enjoying finally the power of the Canadians this time in a venue, the newly remodeled room 2 of Sala Apolo.

Alex Edkins, METZ, Sala Apolo Barcelona 14/11/2017 – Photo made by Víctor Ramos for Indieófilo©

In a short but extremely intense concert of just over an hour, the band led by Alex Edkins offered a setlist with which they made an extensive tour on their three studio albums. After a somewhat hesitant start with "The Swimmer", the concert took off definitively with the concatenation of "Mess Of Wires" and "Get Off", both asphyxiating thanks to the rhythm of bass and where we only miss a little more volume in the lead vocals. As if it were a kind of truce, the Canadians gave us a moment of rest with "Spit You Out" and "Mr. Plague", songs that in some passages are reminiscent of the first Nirvana. After interpreting the rarity "Eraser" (a single from 2016), they unleashed a new dose of forcefulness in about 10 minutes without pause where play chained "Drained Lake", "Headache", "Raw Materials" and "Cellophane", with the drums of Hayden Menzies becoming more prominent by leaps and bounds.

Hayden Menzies, METZ, Sala Apolo Barcelona 14/11/2017 – Photo made by Víctor Ramos for Indieófilo©

Ya no habría más referencias a su último disco en los minutos finales, con II (2015) como principal pilar y Chris Slorach demostrando al bajo sus habilidades en la espectacular intro de "Kicking a Can of Worms", perfecto preludio de unos 10 minutos finales llenos de ruido y contundencia que fueron in crescendo desde "Nervous System" y "The Mule" hasta la coreada "Acetate", quizás su canción más próxima a un single al uso con el estribillo cantado por toda la sala entre pogos y crowd surfing. Con toda la sala empapada en sudor y una sensación de extenuación total acabó el concierto de METZ, maestros a la hora de generar incomodidad desde el caos y la improvisación, siendo capaces de dotar de mayores matices en directo a unas canciones que ya parecen muros sonoros infranqueables en su versión en estudio..

Chris Slorach, METZ, Sala Apolo Barcelona 14/11/2017 – Photo made by Víctor Ramos for Indieófilo©