Photo Reports
On August 25th, Asgaard‘s new season kicked off with a metalcore/deathcore event in collaboration with Return Bookings. Signs of the Swarm dropped by on their “Amongst the Low & Empty” album tour with supporting acts Mental Cruelty, When Plagues Collide, Knives To A Gunfight and Subvergence. The evening was kicked off by Subvergence (the performance unfortunately missed due to circumstances), after which “house band” Knives To A Gunfight kicked some ass. This band has been on stage several times in Asgaard. The band delivered as always, playing a very tight set. Then When Plagues Collide set the venue on fire. The band put themselves on the map with their album ‘An Unbiblical Paradigm’ and has everything to establish itself as one of the top bands in the scene, even outside Europe. What an energy and what a performance. For me, the discovery of the night.
Next up in line, Mental Cruelty. They played songs from their recent record ‘Zwielicht’, released in June. With their compelling blackened deathcore, they provided a moment of peace after the energetic deathcore rollercoaster that had already raged over us. The charismatic Lucas mesmerised the crowd and took them on a trip to hell and damnation.
The last performance was the headliner Signs Of The Swarm. This was the only stop in Belgium to present their latest album, “Amongst the Low & Empty”. It was the first time I saw them live, and I certainly hope to see them at work even more. It was spot on! The audience ate out of their hands, even though they were beaten to a nub by the devastating riffs and breakdowns. It won’t be long before they become one of the big names in the genre. They still have got a lot of room to grow.
On a cold night in Munich, we went to the small but very interesting Strom nightclub in the city centre. Here, the bands are hand-picked and the concerts are intense, as there’s the chance to see top-level bands literally in front of your eyes in an intimate setting. After several postponements, we finally got the chance to see Deathstars live and in colour, at a sold-out show that many people didn’t have the opportunity to attend due to the venue size.
Opening this Swedish night, the Liv Sin, classic heavy metal/hard rock songs on parade, they are a mature and experienced band, but this didn’t seem to convince the audience very much. Their short 30-minute set was enough to prove themselves and win them some new followers in Munich.
It was a complete surprise for me, the second project on stage, and I didn’t expect something so strange and enjoyable at the same time. Priest are a very interesting project and their stage presence disturbs some audiences, probably because they wear black masks associated with sexual fetishes. My companion in the front row always felt very uncomfortable and afraid to directly confront “Mercury”, the band leader, who wanders around the stage and among the audience, wanting to interact and create emotions in those present. The electro/pop songs date back to the 80s and are enchanting in their composition. It’s worth noting that this project has some big names in world rock, “Mercury” as well as “Salt” were part of Ghost, who are now recognized worldwide. The concert may not remain etched in the band’s memory, but it certainly did in mine. I didn’t know the project, but I became familiar with it, and I hope to be able to see it again as soon as possible under more favourable conditions for the band.
The long-awaited moment of the night left the audience in ecstasy! The Deathstars are very popular in Germany, especially in Munich, and bassist “Skinny Disco” is keen to say so. At last, the band was able to present their latest work “Everything Destroys You” live in front of their loyal audience. Just over an hour was enough to show that they are one of the best industrial rock/metal bands around. My hat’s off to “Whiplasher Bernadotte” and mates for this show, they’re huge and seeing them on stage is a huge privilege.
To celebrate their 20th anniversary Poets of the Fall went on tour through Europe and we caught them on their last stop in Tampere, at the Pakkahuone venue on 01.12.23 and went on an emotional journey through the history of the band with them. The band seemed to have a great time, and so did we.
November in Finland is a dark and melancholic place, so what better thing to do than to dive even deeper into the darkness and celebrate the melancholy in all its glory with some delicious live acts.
Both shows, Tampere and Helsinki, were completely sold out and for good reasons with a stellar line-up like this one, featuring SepticFlesh, …and Oceans, Vorna, Assemble the Chariots and Voidfallen!
Apocalyptica are currently in the middle of their ‘Matka Mieleen – Kaamoksen Sellot’ church tour, where they play some of their instrumental songs in re-arranged versions throughout some of Finland’s major cites.
The beautifully arranged songs in combination with the atmosphere of the church being painted in light made for a perfect evening that I won’t forget anytime soon.
Last time I saw Smash Into Pieces in action, was when they dropped by in Helsinki as support for Hardcore Superstar back in 2018. In the meantime, they’ve released quite some more music, and have only gained in popularity. Remembering their show being super energetic and entertaining, I was really looking forward to see how much they’ve come to grow over the past half a decade. As support, the modern metallers of Cyhra came over from Sweden to worm up the crowd properly!
Fear Factory are back on the road in style and force. The latest major change within the FF ranks was the acquisition of a new vocalist, Milo Silvestro, who was chosen to give voice to the project. The young Italian is currently living the dream of his life and shows a lot of professionalism, humility and commitment to what he does, being as perfect as possible live to deliver the old powerful songs similar to the vocalisations performed for years by the enormous Burton C. Bell. It was good to see the band again for me, some 22 years later, and I really enjoyed what I saw and heard. Dino Cazares continues to be a master of heavy riffs, always with a solid and effective presence, landing and greeting his loyal audience. The band’s rhythm is commanded by the bass of veteran Tony Campos, who has played in some of the most important metal projects we’ve heard in recent years, and who is paired here, with experienced newcomer Pete Webber, who has the strength to give Fear Factory the gas it needs.
Of particular note, is the energetic and fantastic stage performance by The Butcher Babies, who are touring for the first time in their career without Carla Harvey, who is recovering from an operation. Heidi Shepherd and co. have coped well with the problem and are a huge force on and off-stage.
Opening the night were England’s Ghosts of Atlantis and Ukraine’s Ignea, who warmed up the crowd well for the main acts.
A memorable night showing that Fear Factory are strong again!
SKYND has a deep fascination with the evil that humans are capable of. All their songs are true stories about some of the cruelest murders of all time, put in an electro/metal/rock format. Tonight they played 15 of their songs for us live in Antwerp.
Support act was Knife Bride.
While roaming around the internet and social media, from time to time, you come across a music project that pulls you in with its uniqueness and artistic vision. That happened to me again last when a project called Witch Club Satan came on my radar, a Norwegian black metal trio that is taking the underground genre to new places and even received mentorship and a stamp of approval from no other than black metal legend Necrobutcher from Mayhem. Luckily I came across them just in time to catch them bringing their theatrical performance to the Finnish theater festival Baltic Circle and got to experience this once in a lifetime piece of performance art…
Perhaps less heavy than we are used to on this website. Nevertheless, DIRK. made it a fantastic indie rock evening in Ghent. Warmed up by Sad Boys Klub and John Lemon, the well-filled VIERNULVIER venue had a great time.
