Envy @ Gebäude 9 (Cologne)

It’s probably the third time I’ve seen the Japanese band envy live by now. Their current album Eunoia was, like every other release of theirs, a highlight of its release year. Joining them tonight are Coilguns, who I previously saw as the opener for Cult Leader and remember fondly for their chaotic energy.

Coilguns, hailing from the French-speaking part of Switzerland (La Chaux-de-Fonds, to be precise), got the audience warmed up for the evening. Armed with their latest album Odd Love, they delivered a mix of rock, noise, punk, and plenty of energy for the receptive crowd. From the whistling of “Placeholders” to the big-Pharma criticizing “Generic Skincare“, there was a lot to musically digest here.

From the second half of their set onward, vocalist Louis Jucker picked up a guitar as well, which led to a noticeable increase in the noise factor, “Venetian Blinds” was a great song to show that (if I remember correctly). “We missed the parade” closed the set and Coilguns gave back some of the love they received from the crowd.

Envy are a safe bet when it comes to live performances. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about Envy’s live qualities, and tonight won’t change that either.

The double of “Piecemeal” and “Imagination and Creation” opened the show in fitting fashion. Unsurprisingly, the main focus of the evening was on Eunoia but notheless there were some surprises in the set. For example the following Atheist’s Cornea song “Footsteps in the Distance“, which somehow reminds me of closing songs for Anime-Shows.

“Scene” and “A Warm Room” are indestructible fan favorites and stood out as highlights once again tonight—especially the latter, official set-closer “A warm Room“. When the three guitars “ring” in perfect earth-shattering harmony at the end, one can’t deny that envy are truly masters of their craft.

A track has has really grown on me is “Dawn and Gaze” (from The Fallen Crimson). Don’t get me wrong, on the album it always was a good track, but in a live-environment and the volume of three live-playing-guitarists, this song shines in a whole other light.

What’s always impressing is just how good and clear they sound live. A lot of bands trip into a “loudness-trap” where everything turns into pile of noisy mush when it goes into a crescendo. envy may be very loud too, but when they pull off a crescendo it feels looking into the sun with a bright kaleidoscope: a million colors blinding your eyes and warming your body and soul.

The encore of “Go mad and mark” and “Farewell to Words” released the audience out of the warm room into the warm night (every pun intended). This night was an excellent showcase of what envy are capable of. Even more than 30 years into their career this band still sits well and safe on top of the hill of Post-Rock live artists.

Setlist Envy
Piecemeal
Imagination and Creation
Footsteps in the Distance
Whiteout
Scene
Lingering Light
Lingering Echoes
The Night and the Void
Hikari
Dawn and Gaze
A Warm Room

Encore:
Go mad and mark
A farewell to words