[Dajana] Holy shit!!! What an evening! An evening of total destruction. After a rather quiet concert evening last night at the Rockpalast next door, I wanted it to be a bit wilder tonight at the • Matrix •. That it would be sold out tonight and a fucking hell of a show, I did not expect *laughs*. The Matrix truly was razed to the ground tonight.
:: pics ::
[Dajana] Actually, it looked pretty much the opposite at the beginning. At first we had to struggle through the same setting as the night before. A double show at Rockpalast and Matrix, both sold out, which means problems to find a parking, and problems to get in and out. When we finally had made it through and stepped down the stairs we entered an empty Tube. Three bands, every single one worth to headline such kind of tour and the hall is empty? WTF?
[Dajana] To book :: ABORTED :: as the opening band is a weird approach. However, remembering my partially fractured ribs from the ABOFRTED show in 2006 there was no need to be scared tonight, there was a photo pit ;) (A very rare thing at the Matrix club). But to see so few people in front of stage was indeed scaring! ABORTED definitely did not deserve such behavior.
[BRT] However, let the party begin! ABORTED are known to be a force live on stage: ultra brutal, straight forward, sometimes groovy, but mostly at full force and full speed. You know, like driving a bulldozer through a divine service. Not nice, but it is a huge fun! Singer Sven De Caluwe is an extremely agile frontman, whirling over the stage like a devil. Also his band mates don’t fall any bit short. ABORTED truly rock the house and the Matrix slowly fills. Yes, you can start a concert evening like this ;) Though I was wondering why ABORTED were set as the opener on this tour. Maybe Kataklysm were scared that ABORTED would steal the show from them. A legitimate question prior the show, clearly answered afterwards.
[Dajana] Yeah! I agree. But it does not mean that ABORTED would have fallen short of the headliner. Much the opposite. ABORTED were extremely great, ultra brutal and all crushing! And they made our mouths watering with the first brand new songs from their upcoming album RetroGore, set to be released in April. Fucking awesome!
Setlist: Meticulous Invagination, Parasitic Flesh Resection, Necrotic Manifesto, Hecatomb, Termination Redux, Expurgation Euphoria, The Holocaust Incarnate, Coffin Upon Coffin, Bound In Acrimony, Sanguine Verses (…Of Extirpation), Threading Prelude, The Saw And The Carnage Done
[Dajana] Aaaahhhh, let me take a breath… And now :: SEPTICFLESH ::. Have seen them last year on tour with Moonspell, were the Greeks were killing. Tonight I had my difficulties with them…
[BRT] Yep. I was much looking forward to see SEPTICFLESH but they actually emerged to be quite disappointing. Beside from the fact that most of the symphonic sounds unsurprisingly came from tape, SEPTICFLESH almost butchered every song by crowd animations a la "hey,hey,hey - Bohkum, louder, hey". The so impressively epic and mystic atmosphere known from their recordings did not went down the way I was hoping for. Okay, it surely wasn’t the easiest task after Aborted to keep the party going, but well, no. I’ll rather stick with the albums. Sorry guys.
[Dajana] Well, I wouldn’t call the show a disappointment. But I have seen much better ones. Maybe the Greeks are tired of touring. Extremely bad the light was. Only red and smoke-blurred wish-wash. You could hardly see anything. As for that, drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner seems to have a big and strong fan-base ;)
Setlist: War In Heaven, Communion, Order Of Dracul, Pyramid God, Prototype, The Vampire From Nazareth, Anubis, Prometheus
[Dajana] So, let’s talk about tonight’s surprise (if at all). I know, :: KATAKLYSM :: are quite popular and I know, the Canadians draw people. But that the Matrix would be so crowded and packed, in a twinkling of an eye, and that those fans would so downright freak out right from the beginning… puuuhhh. WOW!
[BRT] When it comes to KATAKLYSM I’m biased. Their cool Northern hyperblast banging is long gone and with much overproduced and predictable as well as calculated staccato groove of the newer records I can’t do anything with. Yeah, okay, they have some great melodies, the can groove and they know how to entertain the crowd, but it’s all without soul and without elements of surprise. Not my cup of tea. And, it was somehow characteristic that the audience was much “Wacken-resque”…
[Dajana] Um… that might explain the full house ;) I actually could not see that much from the show. After the three songs in the photo pit the crowd surfing increased to that the security lead us out. Since the Matrix is a long tube they got us out via the backstage area. Reaching the end of the tube again, 3 stairs deeper I could not see anything from and on the stage. So listened to two more songs at the merch and then decided to leave. Well, there was another early shift ahead, so it was not the worst thing ever ;) To me Aborted was the winner of the day! :)
Setlist: Breaching The Asylum, If I Was God... I'd Burn It All, As I Slither, The Black Sheep, Manipulator Of Souls, At The Edge Of The World, Thy Serpents Tongue, Push The Venom, The Ambassador Of Pain, Where The Enemy Sleeps..., Soul Destroyer, The Chains Of Power, Open Scars, In Shadows & Dust, Crippled & Broken // Iron Will, Elevate
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