words: Neno Costa (freely translated by Raquel Pinheiro); photos: Telma Mota
Six years on, The Young Gods returned to Porto for a performance that in no way disappointed the legion of devoted followers who filled the Hard Club to capacity.
With Swiss punctuality, the trio -long familiar to Portuguese stages since 1990 – appeared to promote their latest album, Appear Disappear, released in June this year.
“I spend my time in the brain of the monster,” sang Franz Treichler, quoting Che Guevara, on Appear Disappear. Riding the mounting tension woven by the energetic guitar riffs, the vigorous electronics of Cesare Pizzi and the tribal percussion of Bernard Trontin, the concert flowed through the creative storm of their latest work before revisiting TV Sky (1992), creating an intriguing juxtaposition that reaffirmed the unmistakable sonic fingerprint of the Swiss trio.
Undisputed masters of finely orchestrated industrial landscapes, The Young Gods delivered a flawless performance that extended across two encores.
The finale came with Did You Miss Me, from their 1987 debut album, a multifaceted evocation at a time when the band celebrates forty years of existence. The night reaffirmed them as a performative force still capable of surprising and stirring… the teenagers of the ’90s.
Mondo Bizarre Magazine 