Regarde les Hommes Tomber

Regarde les Hommes Tomber is a French post-black metal band from Nantes, formed in 2011.

The band released three albums: Watch Men Fall in March 2013, Exile in September 2015, and Ascension in 2020.

Beginnings and Watch Men Fall (2011–2014)

Watch Men Fall was formed in September 2011 by J.J.S, R.R and A.B, quickly joined by A.M. The name of the band comes from the name of the film by Jacques Audiard, unrelated to the film itself: A.M. had seen the film A Prophet which he liked and looked at the titles of the director’s other films. He was struck by this sentence and found that it fit well with the band’s universe.
The phrase pleased the other members, and the name was thus chosen.

Without a singer, they gave their first instrumental concert in May 2012 at Ferrailleur in Nantes, opening for the American band Wolves In The Throne Room. Following this concert, the label Les Acteurs de L’Ombre became interested in them and signed them. The band was looking for a singer, and U.W. joined them in the fall of 2012.

In this composition, they released their first album entitled “Regarde Les Hommes Tomber” in March 2013. The band is included in the booking of Kongfuzi, a live music promotion and development agency, which allows it to give around thirty concerts in France and Europe. During this period, they notably performed at Hellfest in June 2013 and at the Roadburn Festival in April 2014.

Recognition and Exile (2014-2019)

U.W. decided to leave the band in April 2014 and was replaced on vocals by T.C. Watching Men Fall then focused on the composition and recording of his second album,” Entitled Exile”, recorded at Studio Saint-Marthe in Paris by Francis Caste, was released in September 2015 and is still on the Les Acteurs de L’Ombre label. It was voted album of the year in the Vs-Webzine referendum.

Over the next two years, until December 2017, Watch Men Fall gave 80 concerts across Europe. They notably participated in Motocultor in August 2016 and once again at Hellfest in June 2017. They went on tour with the German Black Metal band Der Weg einer Freiheit and played as the opening act for Svart Crown for a few dates.

Since 2020

In March 2019, the band joined the Season of Mist label and announced they were working on a new album. On February 10, 2020, the YouTube video for the song “The Renegade Son” was unveiled and announced the release of the album “Ascension” for February 28, 2020. The album was published on the label’s YouTube channel on February 25, 2020.

Musical style and themes

The music of Watch the Men Fall can be classified as Post-Black Metal with inspirations from Sludge Metal. It is described as violent, melancholic, heavy, fatalistic, desperate and majestic.

The band usually performs on stage in dimly lit atmospheres with chandeliers. This choice comes from their first rehearsals in a very dark room, even in total darkness at the bottom of J.J.S1’s garden. Their participation in the Hellfest from Home concert on June 18, 2020, will allow them to perform lit only by candlelight.

The themes covered are linked to humans, Man’s capacity to self-destruct through the quest for power, the ego and religions. Ancient, mythological and biblical stories directly inspire the texts to illustrate the points.

The band presents visuals worked in particular in collaboration with Fortifem.