Jane’s Addiction. Metz. Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes.
The list of great bands who have gone on ‘indefinite hiatus’ seems to have been growing almost daily just recently.
Among these illustrious names, the demise of Belmondo, at least in their current form, may not have caused much of a stir. Yet, in many ways, it is the most disappointing. For while the three bands above have been doing their thing for years, and have maybe fulfilled their creative potential, Belmondo were really very early in their journey, one that had immense promise.
Maybe this one shouldn’t have been a surprise. Comprising Carmen Mellino (vocals/bass), Kelan Moore (vocals/guitar), Laurent Lesaffre (guitar) and Jules Freiss (drums), Belmondo formed during COVID, four university students from three different countries with no previous relationship and vastly different musical tastes. As origin stories go, it’s a pretty unusual one.
Playing their first headline shows in early 2022, though, they quickly turned heads with their grunge/industial sound, and darkly gothic songwriting. Among those who took notice was Filter frontman Richard Patrick, and Belmondo spent March this year touring Europe with the legendary industrial rockers. With a debut EP, The Blessed and the Evil, following soon after, the future looked very bright.
Sadly, the dreaded ‘creative differences’ then took hold, and last month the forthcoming departure of Mellino from the band was announced. Thus, rather than tonight’s show being another step in a very exciting journey, it instead marks their last ever performance, at least in their current form.
Much respect to them for turning up. Having played a raucous final hometown show in Brighton at the end of last month, it must have been tempting to make that their farewell, rather than doing a 350-mile round trip to play in a basement in Bristol.
Show up they do, though, and they give it plenty of welly too. Second song ‘Getting Closer’ brings to mind Alice in Chains‘ ‘Them Bones’, with an insanely heavy, grinding guitar line. The gathered crowd, most of whom may well not have heard this band before, look impressed.
The shared vocals are definitely a key factor in what makes this band so absorbing. Moore’s voice is fierce and scathing, where Mellino’s veers elegantly from tender to operatic. The interplay between them really keeps the listener off-guard, contributing to the performance moving effortlessly from the darkness to the light and back again.
What is really impressive here is how the guitars, which really are very heavy indeed in places, manage to complement these vocals so effectively. In songs like ‘Bethlehem’, for example, the guitar almost hovers in the background during the verses before unleashing itself in the chorus. That said, they certainly aren’t afraid to throw in some thrashy moments when the mood takes them, like on ‘She’s So Cool‘.
Probably the best song of the night, though, is ‘Ventriloquists’. If there was one thing that pointed to this band having real scope for getting big, it was their potential for crossover appeal. Yes, the guitars are heavy, plenty for fans of hard rock and grunge, but they integrate beautifully with the nuance of the music and the expressive vocals. There are parallels with bands like Evanescence in that regard.
Sadly, it is not to be. Maybe the band will carry on without Mellino and still be as good, or maybe they will go on to do great things individually. Sadly, though, it feels like something very special has been lost here which will be very difficult to replicate. What a huge, huge shame.
By set-closer ‘RTD’, the crowd, initially reserved, is right into the action, and the band plays from the moshpit, bouncing off the audience members. It’s a fitting way to end.
RIP Belmondo.
