| Doors: 7 pm | Show: 8 pm | Tickets: 17 Euro | At Door: 22 Euro |

Only one day after the sold out concert of Dark Tranquillity we were honored today with a varied and atmospheric package in Graz. THEOTOXIN open the evening, AU-DESSUS immersed the :: Explosiv :: in melancholy, before UADA provided for a fantastic performance. FURIA rounded off the evening with their mixture of Black Metal and reserved passages.

:: pics ::

Due to a train delay on our arrival from Oslo, we unfortunately, missed almost the whole presentation of :: THEOTOXIN ::, only the last sounds of Pontius Pilatus as final piece, according to the setlist, still reached our ears.

Setlist: Devoured By Sin, Deus Impostor, Yrsinia Pestis, Apokatastasis, Chant Of Hybris, Hexenflug und Teufelspakt, Somnus Profanus, Into the Depths, Pontius Pilatus

After a short break, it became dark and melancholic, but also energetic and highly melodic. :: AU-DESSUS :: played a warm and powerful gig, drowned in blue or red lights, without big or striking gestures and left their epic sounds standing for themselves. Some listeners were totally absorbed in the music, listened to the dreamy pieces with their eyes closed and drifted completely away. Sometimes the widespread atmosphere reminded me of older works of the venerable Katatonia - that's really not a bad association!

Now the question arose whether :: UADA :: would be as exciting as four days ago at the Inferno Festival - there the Black Metal hooded mystics brought a bouncy John Dee near to explosion. Today the audience seemed a little bit smaller, but the quartet played with the same enthusiasm and enthralled from the very first note. The highlight of the furious hour was the title track Devoid Of Light with its lovingly detailed structure, but the new tracks from the upcoming album Cult Of A Dying Sun also joined seamlessly in the driving, variable vocals including crazy screams. The hymns animated the listeners either to raise their fists in ecstasy, quiet enjoyment or ecstatic headbanging. UADA are quite rightly a damn hot potato in the blazing black metal fire at the moment - and also very nice and accessible musicians, as it turned out after the concert at the tour bus!

:: FURIA :: could not top this fantastic performance, but the Polish horde also spread an addictive aura. Slowly sound walls broke in over the auditorium, threatening guitar walls built up and dynamics were written in capital letters in the musical creation process. The more experimental compositions of the current album, Księżyc Milczy Luty, are undoubtedly the focus and captivated from minute to minute more with their unconventional and not at all catchy charm. The band has already released several albums, dug deep in the moth box and excavated an old piece from demo days to show themselves from both the dark and wildly rebellious side. The tempo ranged from slow to quite fast and so the playing time flew by.

Setlist: Zabieraj Lapska, I Spokoj, …, Cisza, Za Cma W Dym, Grzey, Sa To Kola, Zamawianie Drugie, Zwykle Czary Wieja

Conclusion: A compact, entertaining evening with a lovingly designed frame (home-made bread, legendary cookies (thanks Nino!) and even a prize draw for :: Eisenwald ::) gave every visitor the feeling of being warmly welcome – yes, the organizer :: Fuel The Fire Entertainment :: and the Explosiv crew deliver their awesome work with heart and soul!

story & pics © Leo Seebauer