Mars Red Sky
Opening Set: Howling Giant
The El Cid – Hollywood, CA
Tuesday, September 17th, 2024
Review/Pics: Manuel Gay
At the beginning of September, Mars Red Sky embarked on a US tour to promote their newer album Dawn Of The Dusk released last year. On September 17th, they stopped by Los Angeles to play El Cid on Sunset with support from Nashville-based Howling Giant which I only knew by name. Well, these guys can rock!
Howling Giant are:
Tom Polzine – Guitar and Vocals
Zach Wheeler – Drums and Vocals
Sebastian Baltes – Bass and Vocals
They played mainly songs from their latest album Glass Future and got a great reception from the crowd. I particularly enjoyed “Siren Song” and “Ice Castle” which I recommend anyone reading this to give a listen. Per their own words, their music sounds like “a dream tour of Mastodon and Rush supporting The Beach Boys” and I must admit it’s not far off. Another great discovery, another band name in my notebook. The band played for a little under one hour before leaving the stage to the main attraction of the night: Mars Red Sky.
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I remember vividly discovering Kyuss when I borrowed the Welcome To The Sky Valley album at my local library years ago, and how it melted my mind. From this point on I was hooked to the whole genre and went down the rabbit hole for a while. As years passed, I discovered great bands, including Mars Red Sky from Bordeaux, France when they released their self-titled album back in 2011. However, the French power trio navigates a wider spectrum than pure stoner rock. Jimmy’s bass is insanely low-tuned and heavy, Julien’s vocals are high pitched as his musical roots are in folk, and Mathieu creates a fine balance between tribal rhythms on his toms and a dreamy atmosphere with great cymbals work. I got to see them once in France long ago and never thought I’d catch them live again after moving to the US.
It was my fourth time seeing them live and it still amazes me what three musicians on a stage can create. Within a one hour set, the band took us on a journey through their whole discography and covered just about each of their five albums, while showcasing a few newer tunes. It’s always a great pleasure to experience “Collector” or “The Light Beyond” that seem to have found a forever spot in the setlist. Jimmy took a moment to dedicate “Alien Grounds/Apex III” to Jacob Dennis the engineer who collaborated on a couple of their albums and who surprised them by showing up that night.
I was looking forward to hearing their new material, more especially “Maps Of Inferno” which is a 7 minute track featuring vocals from Queen Of The Meadow on the record. It obviously sounded different with only Julien’s vocals, but it sounded great. This song has already become a personal favorite. There was no better way to end the night but to close the set with their classic “Strong Reflection”, the opening song of their debut album which was my entry to the band’s universe.
Like a good Bordeaux wine, these guys and their music age well. If you missed out on this tour – do not panic – the band will do another run of shows in North America in December. If you are curious of what a French stoner-doom-psychedelic rock band that describes itself as “Black Sabbath meets Simon & Garfunkel” sounds like, do yourself a favor and check these guys out live.
Related Links:
Mars Red Sky
Howling Giant
