I Prevail, Kataklysm, Tesseract, Dogma... Our first day at Motocultor!
- Eden Bisiot
- Sep 9
- 8 min read
August 14 marked the first day of Motocultor 2025. It was the first time the Earama team had been accredited, and what a pleasure it was! Once I had picked up my photo accreditation, it was time to enter the site, explore it, and start working. As it was my first time there, the many changes (the Bruce Dickinscene was no longer covered and there were some layout changes) didn't affect me, and I even found everything in its right place. The main stages were side by side, separated from the Bruce and Massey stages by stands and a Metal Market. I suddenly felt like I was at a Hellfest on a human scale, offering a breath of fresh air to French metal festivals.
The press area welcomed us warmly, and water flowed freely, much to the delight of every photographer/journalist given the increased heat that prevailed during the stay.
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
At 3:00 p.m., I headed to the Dave Mustage for the first concert of the day, but also of the festival: Dogma. The nuns arrived on stage to thunderous applause, starting their set with Forbidden Zone in front of a crowd that was already substantial for the early hour. Waltzing across the stage and dancing with the most graceful of provocations, the female band delivered a performance that was not without its hiccups but was nonetheless memorable, in front of a simple and effective stage design: a backdrop with their logo, and two canvases stretched across each side of the stage, displaying images of sins (which can be found on their most famous visual), surrounded by gold leaf.
The more the musicians play with the image of provocation, the more the audience likes it. The bassist even came down into the crowd to play near the barriers, facing the nuns in the front row. The band played most of their discography, from The Dark Messiah to their cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer, before taking a photo with the audience and leaving the stage, metal fingers in the air!
Dogma succeeded in their mission: to open the festival. It's an important and sometimes very stressful task, but that didn't stop them from giving it their all and delivering a thrilling performance.
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
For the second slot of the day, I chose Versatile, a Swiss black metal band that deserves our full attention. Arriving on the Supositor Stage one by one to a soft melody, the sound suddenly exploded, like a breakdown in the first few seconds of the set. As visually pleasing as they are to listen to, the band knows how to put on a show, through their stage costumes and their technique, whether it's Hatred Salander's perfectly mastered scream or the musicians' unstoppable techniques. The stage design was meticulously crafted, with two stretched canvases offering a view of the interior of a church lit by candles, combined with smoke effects and pyrotechnics. And while flames are a common feature at festivals, the actresses playing with flamethrowers added a unique touch. The crowd left as satisfied as they were stunned by a truly spellbinding show.
The first concerts of the festival lived up to their promise, but I had a completely different kind of appointment waiting for me: my first interviews at Motocultor!
The first was with James and Dan from the band Tesseract! I was eager to meet this duo, and they did not disappoint! We discussed the festival, as well as their stage experience and creative process, before engaging in a little game of Truth or Dare that we proposed to all the artists we interviewed. Some wonderful anecdotes await you there.
The second interview of the day was with Jean-François from Kataklysm, with whom we talked about their appearance at the same festival 10 years earlier before he opened up about the future of the band... But don't panic, we've shared everything with you here!
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
At 6:55 p.m., we returned to the Dave Mustage stage for Tesseract's performance. The band delivered a flawless show with a soundcheck that surpassed what one might expect from a festival. Interaction with the audience was fairly limited, but not in a bad way; Tesseract's concerts transport us, telling us a story. The goal is to watch it and understand it. Tesseract knows how to put on a show and lived up to its reputation. With a stage design that was as aesthetic as it was well thought out, the British band's universe was reflected in both the music and the visuals. The crowd continued to grow and seemed mesmerized by the show and the vocal power of Daniel Tompkins and the backing vocals provided by two young choristers, dressed in the band's theme, positioned on either side of the stage. They left the stage waving to the audience, smiling, to thunderous applause.
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
The next stop on my journey was Nailbomb, on the Supositor Stage. A few minutes before 8 p.m., you could hear the crowd getting impatient, whistling and shouting, imploring Max Cavalera's band to come on stage. When they entered the stage to a little background music, the audience went wild to welcome the band as they deserved. From the very first notes, the pogoing began, and it didn't take until the second song for the musicians to call for a circle pit, a call that was heard. The soundcheck may have been a little shaky, but the musicians were not lacking in energy !
For 50 minutes, the band played a string of hits from their discography, putting on an unforgettable show that was perhaps a little chaotic due to the numerous mosh pits and slam dances. They ended their set with a short speech: "Goodbye everybody! We're Nailbomb! Don't give a fuck what people say!" before leaving the stage, bringing calm after a storm of trash metal that marked the day.
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
I then headed to the Bruce Dickinscene for the first time to see and photograph Witchcraft. The Swedish band arrived in a very relaxed manner and treated us to an hour of doom metal and rock, focusing more on technique than pogo dancing, much to the delight of their fans who had come to listen to them at this open-air stage. After the first song, the singer took the time to introduce the band with a touch of humor: “No background, but we are Witchcraft”, which made the crowd smile. After an hour-long set, the trio left the stage with smiles on their faces, thanking the audience.
And while I had many surprises during the day, it was nothing compared to the evening that awaited me!
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
The clock struck 10 p.m. when I returned to the Suppositor Stage for Kataklysm's show. Before the set began, we were treated to the first interaction of the evening, with a few words and a “How's it going, Motocultor?”. The band then took to the stage, instruments in hand, with their usual smiles and good humor, bringing a wave of positive chaos to this promising evening. The music kicked off abruptly, drawing the crowd into pogo dancing from the very first notes and crowdsurfing from the very first songs. During the second song of the set, Maurizio called for a circle pit, which formed in seconds. After a few songs, the members took the time to communicate with the audience, but before they could say a word, the crowd began chanting “Ka-ta-klysm” in rhythm, which delighted the artists.
They then started, on a humorous note, recalling the last time they came to Motocultor and their habit of making the whole audience shout a word in Quebecois. “It's even more important to us than playing here tonight,” they said with a laugh, before making a crowd of cheerful festival-goers shout “Tabarnak.”
They only had time to play The Rabbit Hole before taking another break to ask, “Do you know what surfing is? It means we're going up in the air! Come up to us and we'll put security to work!” And the slams continued while security gave it their all (kudos to them for their work during the festival, by the way!). Once the big wave of slams was over, Maurizio thanked security and congratulated them.
Their set ended with a gigantic circle pit and an announcement (still humorous) from the band: “We'll be back in France next year! Because we're going on tour, and this time, France will be part of it!”
Kataklysm delivered an unparalleled performance that delighted fans and set Motocultor alight. But the evening wasn't over yet; there was still one band left that was not to be missed!
Photos : Eden Bisiot / @bisiot.photos
At 11:15 p.m., I took my place in the Dave Mustage photo pit for the arrival of I Prevail. It was a highly anticipated concert for the audience that filled the Mustage pit. The musicians entered one by one to the cheers of the crowd before kicking things off with Bow Down, which set the tone for the evening. The festival-goers gave it their all, responding to Eric Vanlerberghe's call of “Motocultor, fuck this place up!”
And the crowd responded; there was non-stop pogo dancing and crowdsurfing, and the new song Violent Nature was greeted with a huge wall of death... Eric seemed to enjoy it, shouting: “There's one thing I haven't seen. How do you say... A circle pit? Yeah? I wanna see the biggest circle pit ever!” The festival-goers started running, but the frontman seemed to want more. “We can go bigger. Much, much bigger!”
The setlist oscillated between new tracks from the upcoming album due out on September 19 (Violent Nature), hit songs (There’s Fear In Letting Go), and a touch of humor that led the band to play their cover of Taylor Swift’s Blank Space, as well as a short medley that drew from Deftones’ My Own Summer (Shove It), Alice In Chains' Them Bones, and System Of A Down's Chop Suey! as an intro to Choke.
There was plenty of interaction with the audience, but the most touching moment was yet to come.
"I don't want the night to end... Right before we left on this tour, a good friend of ours, a very dear friend of ours, lost his wife in a horrible accident. So every night, I take a moment and I dedicate this song to him. I love you. Thank you so much. Without him, this tour wouldn't have been possible. This record would have taken years. I ask two things of you: put your lighters up, and light this place up!"
The band began Hurricane under the light of lighters and phone flashlights, with the audience singing along. After a few moments, Eric came down to the barriers to shake hands with fans and stayed there to sing the end of the song with them. He then thanked the audience before announcing the last song of the evening, Gasoline. The musicians left the stage to the cheers and applause of the fans.
This first day ended on a high note, promising a sequel that would set the bar very high. Motocultor skillfully blended styles and eras to offer us a rich lineup of bands to discover, while maintaining a slight penchant for mainstream acts that draw crowds.
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