HELLo, young Padawan
You read the title. There you go. You know everything. See you next Thursday. Nah, I’m kidding. You know I love doing it to you.
I took advantage of an approaching Slash and Myles Kennedy* concert to make a quick trip to the Philharmonie de Paris. A friend told me about an exhibition on metal music, which is so rare that I took the opportunity. It turns out that, spoiler alert, this remarkable exhibition is at the level of the Philharmonic.
Superbly presented, the exhibit featured an impressive number of treasures, rarities, costumes, guitars, favorite objects, and faithful and respectful explanations of metal music. In short, I didn’t see the time passing; it was so awesome!
For those who won’t be able to get to Paris before September 29, 2024, or for those who want to take a look at some of the treasures from this exhibition—knowing that, as usual, I’ll make sure not to spoil all the suspense for you—it’s this way: Let’s go.
You can even warn your friends from across the Channel, across the Atlantic, or even across the Rhine who master the language of either Molière or Shakespeare because the entire presentation is in French AND English.
Metal, Diabolus in Musica.
When an exhibition starts with Black Sabbath, it’s a good sign! 🐷
Several audio and videos are broadcast throughout the exhibition, notably in this space, where we see Led Zep’ in concert and Ozzy and his gang of friends (if you don’t follow, you haven’t viewed this article here).
Bottom left, the Rammstein space. Top right, the Republican space. Pardon my French. Come on, it’s funny.
Works by Chloé, Robert Trujillo’s wife, Metallica’s bassist for over 20 years. Yes, Chloé Barthélémy is French.
Beautiful painting on her husband’s bass.
Tribute to Lemmy. If, again, you still don’t follow, it’s because you haven’t look at this article here, ou there.
We now enter the “Seven Chapels of Metal,” of which I will give you a glimpse: each chapel has its own metal music style…
Fans of Slash (Guns N’ Roses) will have recognized his legendary Gibson.
I suppose the microphone is that of Steven Tyler, of Aerosmith. Hey, this will give you something to check out when you go!
Nikki Sixx’s Harley, from Mötley Crüe, is seen on stage and on the cover of the album “Girls, Girls, Girls.”
The Metallica corner features a beautiful Homage to Cliff and a reference to the legendary album “Master of Puppets.”
Cliff’s bass.
The Guitar Heroes space, with, for example below, Eddie’s guitar, the real “Frankenstrat”, lol, tinkered by himself (Van Halen, of course).
This is a small interactive space paying tribute to French metal artists. You can listen to music as you wish by selecting the artist of your choice on a touch screen. It’s lovely to discover new favorites.
Bottom right, the typical apartment of the perfect metalhead, ranging from the guitar to the beer fridge, is well seen! 🤘
And that’s it for the “Metal, Diabolus in Musica” exhibition. I suppose it will not have escaped anyone of the slightest culture that art, in general, and music, in particular, are a catharsis. Human beings find balance by letting off steam, by freeing one’s words, and by sublimating one’s impulses**. It is never good to keep everything to yourself, just as super-conformism is not a sign of good mental health.
Also, come join us, whether you are too tidy or too shy to dare to scream about the injustices of this world. With us, not only will you have drawn out of yourself all the fury within you, but you will discover that a good shout relieves and does a lot of good for your mood. You will have made new friends, and perhaps even dare you, finally, to shout out loud about what revolts you.
Metal is much more than music. It’s an art, a therapy, a family.
Okay, I’ll leave you, I have to go riff.
XO 🎸
*If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you’re missing out! Highlights in my anchored story “Riff 3”.
**Sublimation is a complex process by which the drive deviates from its immediate sexual goal to make itself available to socially valued cultural activities (source: Wikipedia).
