— Death Fucking Metal | 2013
Koen Theys

DEATH FUCKING METAL is the third and final film in Koen Theys' trilogy, following Fanfare, Calme & Volupté (2007) and Patria (2008). In all three video works, we encounter groups of people dressed in elaborate costumes, lying motionless in dramatic, staged environments, as if frozen in a state of existential collapse. In the first part, they wear the classic outfits of marching girls, in the second, the official uniforms of riot police, and in this final installment, they don the anti-uniforms of rock fanatics and faded stars.

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DEATH FUCKING METALwas filmed in a velodrome—an arena for track cycling—located next to the Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.) in Ghent. Due to its public accessibility, the filming also served as a live performance during the opening of Theys' solo show Home-made Victories on March 29, 2013.

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At the center of the arena, Theys installed a slowly rotating, three-tiered circular stage. Scattered across it are some thirty aging rock stars, draped over their instruments and amplifiers. Their tattered outfits and glittering guitars glisten under the stage lights, while beams of dazzling light pierce through the stage smoke. All the elements of a grand rock concert seem to be present, yet the musicians lie exhausted and lifeless, barely able to muster a note. Occasionally, a seemingly spent rock star manages to mutter a famous line from an iconic song, but these half-hearted attempts only emphasise the sense of decay. The performance seems on the verge of collapse, with the concert, like the performers themselves, inching toward its final death.

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Theys’ work captures a poignant contrast between the bombastic energy once associated with rock stardom and the profound sense of weariness that now permeates the scene, creating a powerful meditation on the inevitable decline of even the most rebellious forms of cultural expression.