EVIL Festival w/ LOCOMUERTE - THE METAL CIRCUS SHOW - RAVENS CREW - BLACK HAZARD - 3RD FROM THE SUN - UNFATE - 17.05.2025 - Ecourt-Saint-Quentin (FR)

On May 17, 2025, we headed to a small commune in the Pas-De-Calais region (northern France) to take part in the first edition of Evil Fest, with a line-up featuring a majority of “local” bands, with the exception of the headliner LOCOMUERTE from the Paris suburbs. The town was pretty and pleasant, and the weather was fine - all the ingredients for a great time!
The audience was there, and what was surprising was the family atmosphere - truly from 7 to 77 years old ! Several generations are present, one raised on Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the other on Iron Maiden, Metallica - and some more recent, more adept & fond of nu-metal, groove-metal... So... Let's the party begin !

First band to take the stage, UNFATE, from Lille... the style is to be classified as Alternative Metal, with Rap and Grunge influences... Somewhere between RATM, PROPHETS OF RAGE and SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM - very interesting, it's energetic, varied, very well constructed, and the musicians show great mastery at all levels... Visually, the singer does the job too - as well as being at ease in both hardcore and rap registers, which are very well mastered, visually it's not to be missed ! he brings the lyrics to life, the emotions transpiring from every pore of his skin (well, okay, it was hot as hell, and that's also the reason for the sweating - but not only !), he undeniably adds a theatrical touch to the stage performance - really a great band to kick off hostilities with! Well well done !

3rd FROM THE SUN takes over. I must admit, I loved their first album, released in 2019, and their style, in my opinion, is somewhere between bands like PRONG and VOIVOD, with a pinch of NOMEANSNO thrown in... so I was quite curious to discover them live! Since this first album, the line-up has been beefed up with a second guitarist, and that's already a good thing for the stage! They play hard, they hammer hard, their guitars are syncopated, their vocals ooze urgency, their energy is high, and their rich, disconcerting compositions are an excellent blast of Indus Metal - the band also plays a few tracks from their upcoming album, currently being finalized, which I think should be excellent! Curious at first, seduced on arrival :-)

The atmosphere begins to heat up and BLACK HAZARD arrive, they seem to enjoy a fine reputation locally, judging by the audience's reception... A change of style, as the boys unleash a furious blend of Stoner and "big, fat" American Hard-Rock... with powerful, heartfelt vocals! The style smells of beer, racing cars and rock'n'roll spirit - they deliver one track after another without fail, and every time, it hits the bull's-eye ! Well set up on stage, musically very-well structured, BLACK HAZARD make a very good impression, and we'll particularly appreciate their pleasure and joy at being on stage, sharing their music with the audience... the very essence of a LIVE band!

RAVEN'S CREW - the fourth band of the evening, STILL with a different style and approach - I have to admit I really enjoyed this side of the program too, with something for everyone and every taste! For the time being, we're more into a Modern Metal style with alternative, hardcore and rap influences - to be classed alongside bands such as SIDILARSEN, NO ONE IS INNOCENT, MASS HYSTERIA - it's efficient, heavy and groovy as f**k !
The band is on top form, energetic, right on topic, and their performance is spot-on. I really appreciated the lead guitarist's personal touch, which sets the band apart from many other bands in the same style; these little ethereal, light, ambient touches were of the finest effect ! We also appreciate the French lyrics, full of meaning in these troubled times... Definitely, not a band so far that disappoints... quality, more quality! Well done!

The mood is right, the crowd is hot - and then comes THE METAL CIRCUS SHOW who would be better classified as a “collective” than a “band” ... 3 singers, 2 guitarists, 1 bassist, 1 drummer whose aim is to bombard the audience with hard-core/punk classics from the 80's/90's ...
You can imagine the energy, the stage madness! There was no respite, everything was on maximum - and we were treated to ultra-vitaminized versions of songs by GBH, Discharge, Broken Bones, Nailbomb, MOD, Sick of It All, Stooges... I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but SOD's “United Forces” at the end of the show was unstoppable and put everyone in agreement! A hardcore BLAST blew through Ecourt-Saint-Quentin!

As if all that wasn't enough... now came the turn of the most Mexican of French bands, LOCOMUERTE ! The guys arrive cool, with a little Mexican intro music... the calm before the ... deluge !!! The “Locos” deliver a totally insane, over-the-top performance, displaying incredible energy and undisguised pleasure! There's no time to settle down, everything's at maximum, and the tracks follow one another at breakneck speed in the warmest of atmospheres! “Bandolero” and its chorus taken up by the audience, “Demonios de Parano Booster”, “Mi Familia”, “Barrio” to name but a few (ok, I can't remember the others, sorry!) - a joyful chaos!
The icing on the cake and a special moment: just after Midnight, bassist Nico Loco grabs the microphone and announces "It's past midnight? I'm 50 years old and I feel like going completely “loco” (Crazy in Spanish, if you don't know 😉 ) - the atmosphere goes up another notch, and we're on the verge of complete madness with the release of crocodiles (made of plastic, it should be pointed out) on which a few members of the audience go riding... It ends in a total apotheosis... The “Locos” knocked it out of the park and impressed everyone with their mastery and professionalism, which didn't stop them from being totally festive!

In conclusion... a superb line-up, a really great atmosphere, a perfect welcome from all the festival volunteers (really a point to underline! You were all perfect!), a successful organization - a festival to follow and support without a doubt! See you next year!

Photo credits :
All pics by MESS WITH ME Photography (See more pics of the festival HERE)