dEUS 9 789492 081148
dEUS
HANNIBAL
Dear Reader, Since the mid-nineties, I have always looked to the Belgian band dEUS for inspiration. Not because they are from Belgium which happens to be my birthplace, nor because of the fact that over the years I have become friendly with many of its members, past and present. I have looked to them for inspiration because, in an industry filled with mediocre and insipid drivel that some, with great conviction, try to pass off as good art, dEUS have stuck to their guns, have continuously re-invented themselves and have firmly pushed a middle finger into the faces of critics and dilettantes who refuse to take the necessary step towards true art in order to understand it. Basically, they have not given a flying fuck. Now what else could possibly be the hallmark of a classy and worthy rock ‘n’ roll band than all of the above? From the first strokes of an out-of-tune violin in “Suds and Soda”—the first dEUS track I ever heard—I was well and truly hooked. Their first album “Worst Case Scenario” was like a drug to me, one that I often consumed with other drugs. The musicians that comprised this original line-up, so forceful, brazen and fully formed were they in their musical vision, that in my mind images of some kind of ten-legged monster, brave and frenetic, were conjured up. One of them, however, I could tell was in dire need of a hot bath. Please, dear reader, do not misconstrue the very last line of the previous paragraph. dEUS are proof positive that success is achieved, in their case more artistic than commercial, through 99% perspiration versus 1% inspiration. And boy have they perspired over their twenty-something career, on occasion even on me, for which I am grateful. They seem to have understood, as has yours truly, that simply refusing to go away is to win half of the battle, regardless of junkie drummers or other band members who leave to pursue more esoteric and obscure paths and avenues. There is nothing quintessential about dEUS. They are the embodiment of chaos captured on acetate, artistic freedom personified, world-class snake-charmers. They have created their own world around themselves, one that they explore tirelessly and with such devotion that they sometimes appear to forget that the rest of the world exists around them at all. That is a masterstroke and one that is achieved by only very few. So enjoy this photographic document, or don’t, if you will. But please do so safe in the knowledge that dEUS probably have no opinion on your opinion of it. Why should they? And let your heart be warmed by the fact that they will also probably forget to send me a copy. Part of me would be insulted if they didn’t. Sincerely, Brian Molko London, 2014
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22
Glasgow, UK, 1994
24
Glastonburry, UK, 1994
Klaas Janzoons, Tom Barman, Jules De Borgher, Craig Ward and Danny Mommens. San Pedro, Spain, 1998
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Porto, Portugal, 1999
65
86
Bataclan, Paris, France, 1999
109
Klaas Janzoons, Tom Barman, StĂŠphane Misseghers, Alan Gevaert and Mauro Pawlowski. Moscow, Russia, 2006
123
Antwerp, Belgium, 2008
133
Moscow, Russia, 2006
147
Antwerp, Belgium, 2012
179
Les Ardentes, Liège, Belgium, 2013
197