| Doors: 5 pm | Show: 6 pm | Tickets: 38 Euro + fees |

The year 2022 draws to a close. Christmas is knocking on the door, winter too, and so everybody is slowing down or launches into some mad shopping just to get ready for the holidays. The concert season actually never ends, so to say, but yes, over the holidays most bands have a well-deserved break too.
The last quarter of the year doubled down and made up for all the cancelled, postponed and missed shows before. The NOCTURNAL HALL MAGAZINE crew was lucky enough to catch quite a few of those top-notch tour packages, we wrapped in words and images. To give the fading year the final kick we chose AMORPHIS to be our last show in 2022. It's meanwhile kind of tradition to end or begin the year with the Finns ;)
Five weeks on the road, tonight's show was the second to last on this itinerary. Just one more to do the next day in Hamburg and all bands would be released into well-deserved holidays right after. It was actually not clear till the change-over after DARK TRANQUILLITY, which band would be the headliner tonight, since it was a double headliner tour with both main bands changing that slot regularly.

However, at bitterly cold temperatures, I headed back to the :: Turbinenhalle :: in Oberhausen to see two of my favorites tonight. The shows kicked off early and, oh wonder, this time everything went nearly perfect for both, travel/arrival and actual begin of the show. Yay :) (To explain: It quite often happened at this venue that the first band had to kick off its show before the doors even opened. Just read our live report of the last AMORPHIS show here at this place in 2019).

:: pics :: NAILED TO OBSCURITY ::

As just mentioned, the last AMORPHIS show we saw was in January 2019, a four-band-package that played exactly here, just the smaller hall and with :: NAILED TO OBSCURITY :: opening. Familiar situation so to say ;) The current album is still the same then and now, Black Frost, the bandonce again used its title track to kick off the evening, and closing the 30 minutes show with Desolate Ruin. Only the three tracks in between have changed to the two brand new (still) stand-alone singles Liquid Mourning and Clouded Frame, plus Protean from King Delusion.
Bathed in dark blue lights NAILED TO OBSCURITY once again offered excellent melodic Death/Doom Metal, tonight much more self-confident and technically sophisticated than in 2019. And, this time the location was already packed right from the beginning and the crowd responded the way the band deserved for their great performance. It was just too short. Well, I comforted myself with a beautiful girly shirt of the band ;)

Band: Raimund Ennenga (vox), Volker Dieken (git), Jan-Ole Lamberti (git), Carsten Schorn (bass), Jann Hillrichs (drums)
Setlist: Black Frost, Protean, Liquid Mourning, Clouded Frame, Desolate Ruin

:: pics :: DARK TRANQUILLITY ::

Next up was :: DARK TRANQUILLITY ::, a band I was excitingly looking for as I haven't seen them playing live for a while. 5 years ago, supporting Amon Amarth, if I'm not wrong.
Instead of focusing on their Grammi awarded new album Moment, released in November 2020, DARK TRANQUILLITY played a set including many old gems but without being a best-of set. The band payed special attention to Damage Done and Fiction, both records are celebrating anniversaries (20 and 15 years). Yeah, cool stuff!
The pandemic years led to massive line-up changes within the band. Founding members Niklas Sundin and Anders Jivarp left, and so did bassist Anders Iwers. Christopher Amott on guitar is surely a win, Johan Reinholdz too. So it was kind of a premier for the new line-up, if you haven't seen the band on summer festivals.
The band looked tired and exhausted but it didn't narrow the quality of the show any bit. Especially singer Mikael Stanne was as lively as always, brimming with energy. He didn't stand still any second, walking the stage from side to side while singing and growling, and doing every emotional announcements that brought me and fans close to tears. What an awesome show! Kudos!

Band: Mikael Stanne (vox), Martin Brändström (keys), Christopher Amott (git), Johan Reinholdz (git), Christian Jansson (bass), Joakim Strandberg-Nilsson (drums)
Setlist: Identical To None, Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive), What Only You Know, Atoma, Nothing To No One, Cathode Ray Sunshine, Hours Passed In Exile, Phantom Days, Misery's Crown

:: pics :: ELUVEITIE ::

Seeing bagpipes and flutes brought on stage it was clear that :: ELUVEITIE :: would enter the stage right after. I didn't had any expectations towards their show. I have lost sight on the Swiss band for many years as the genre itself, Folk/Viking/Humppa Metal, became utterly boring to me.
I met them live last time in 2009. So, many things have changed till then. Musicians came and went. To me, founder Chrigel is the only one I recognized from this time. Meanwhile there are 9 musicians in the band and live on stage, which actually had a nice setting. Only the lights sucked during the first three songs where I photographed them.
Musically, the band went through their entire back catalogue, back till the sophomore Slania. I still can’t do much with them, it is just not my cup of tea, but watching the crowd and their response it was a good show.

Band: Christian "Chrigel" Glanzmann (vox), Fabienne Erni (vox), Kay Brem (bass), Rafael Salzmann (git), Jonas Wolf (git), Matteo Sisti (Whistles, Dudelsack), Nicole Ansperger (violin), Annie Hurdy Gurdy (Annika Maria Riediger - Drehleier), Alain Ackermann (drums)
Setlist: Exile Of The Gods, Nil, Deathwalker, Epona, Anu, A Rose For Epona, Thousandfold, Ambiramus, King, Breathe, The Call Of The Mountains // Aidus, Ategnatos, Inis Mona

:: pics :: AMORPHIS ::

Ah, finally it's time for :: AMORPHIS ::! That's why we are here for, right? ;) No secret anyway. I was much looking forward to dance and rock out a little as the venue was ice cold. Especially from the ground, the cold crept up the legs.
AMORPHIS again focused on their brand new album, Halo, which was released in February this year, and made it up to #3 in Germany. They added newer material and some classics to the set. Hm. There is the band's debut album, The Karelian Isthmus, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. So, the Finns could have made something special out of this for the tour, but no, the band instead played what's well-proven. I won't nag either, every AMORPHIS show is stunning, they never fail, no matter what.
The Finns had a nice stage setting too, and much better lights. While the band acted rather restrained, the crowd took over the energy and went wild. The stage security had a lot to do to catch all the crowd surfers ;)
Ah, yes, that was a great evening to close my concert year 2022 with. Now it's time for some resting days. We’ll be back again soon in 2023 :)

Band: Tomi Joutsen (vox), Tomi Koivusaari (git, vox), Esa Holopainen (git), Olli-Pekka „Oppu“ Laine (bass), Santeri Kallio (keys), Jan „Snoopy“ Rechberger (drums)
Setlist: Northwards, On The Dark Waters, Death Of A King, Silver Bride, Into Hiding, Wrong Direction, The Moon, Seven Roads Come Together, Black Winter Day, My Kantele, The Bee, House Of Sleep

In retrospect, I would say, 2022 made clear how much the music business and live sector has changed due to the pandemic, the war, crises and the inflation. And it won't get better in the near future. I guess, bands and biz have to rethink and develop completely new concepts and strategies to become/remain (commercially) successful. Remember the times during the millennium, where online streaming and digitization made CD sales shrinking to almost zero. To go on tour was the last chance for bands to earn some money and this is now in danger too due to the inflation. Tickets and merch prices have increased and reached a point where fans stop buying due to own financial insecurities. Many tours have been cancelled this year because of its production costs and poor ticket sales. I actually have no idea how things will go on in the near future, and what I, we, all can do to make things better. But I know that life without live metal music is impossible! So, I'm sure, there will be a way.
In this spirit, have great holidays and make it safe into the New Year. See you in 2023 :)

Sincerely yours – Dajana of NOCTURNAL HALL

Many thanks to ConcertteamNRW for the press accreditation :)

Story & Pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography