Enslaved - Morgoth - Ghost Brigade - October Tide - Skepticism - Mar De Grises - Isole - As Light Dies

[Dajana] Doors of Sala Penelope opened just 10 minutes prior the show. Long lines and jams were inevitable, while the first band already started playing. Also change-over times of 10 minutes were way too short and quickly bands got behind the schedule what made the owner of Sala Penelope freaking out when the headliner overrun the curfew (for just 2 minutes). But more about it later…

:: pics ::

[Wiebke] :: AS LIGHT DIES :: were already about to finish their set and played in front of an empty hall. Most people were still outside waiting. Madrid’s local heroes took it easy and played a brand of mid-tempo paced Gothic Metal with a violin and many keyboard passages, straight and with much enthusiasm. Not so easily to access but I'm keen on more.
[Dajana] Time should be a big affair this evening. AS LIGHT DIES already started belated. And they were the one and only Spanish band on this year’s billing.

[Wiebke] It seemed that Spanish beer already had its impact on the one or the other musician of :: ISOLE :: Contrary to their dark and solemn Doom Metal their live performance was much lively. Singer and guitarist Crister was all the time headbanging, turning and twisting and pulling faces. Though he accurately played his leads, were his fingers whizzing over his fretboard and his clear voice hitting every tone. Just wow! Together with the deeper singing of guitarist Daniel and occasional growls by the 4-stringer a great sound and show experience was delivered. The Swedes rocked and doomed through their almost 20 years spanning career and enthused the audience, who warm-heartedly bid farewell.
[Dajana] I never saw ISOLE playing live before and I have to say: I’m crazy about them now :)
Setlist: Intro, From The Dark, The Lake, By Blood, Born From Shadows

[Wiebke] Next up is :: MAR DE GRISES :: who don’t have an easy job to keep up the high spirits. Especially the vocals of the introverted singer went down in the unbalanced sound. And so did the sophisticated guitar leads. The crowd is more interested in their own small talks than the music offered on stage. MAR DE GRISES only attracted attention when their music eruptively bursted out a little more. Too bad, because the Chilean have so much more to offer.
[Dajana] For the ones who have wondered: the new singer in MAR DE GRISES is an old one. It’s former singer Marcelo Rodriguez, replacing departed singer Juan Escoba on the band’s short European festival tour. And he did an exhaustingly great job. So, no keyboards live on stage, but it did not do any harm, sound was quite bad anyway.

[Wiebke] :: SKEPTICISM :: needed around 30 minutes to get their sound set up. Much time that got merciless deducted from the band’s playing time. At the end the Finns stood on stage for exactly two songs. What a pity! Really. What we got offered by the tailcoat wearing trio was gooseflesh causing: A guitar and an organ, asskicking drumming and fronter Matti, who sings deep. Really deep. Understandably deep-throated. I’m stunned. Totally blown away! For only two songs. That’s soooo bad!
[Dajana] Me too. Stunned and stoked and blown away! All in one. SKEPTICISM I knew by the name but never dealt with them really. Blame on me! An nonexcusable fault, soon to be changed. This show was short but truly awesome!

[Wiebke] When :: OCTOBER TIDE :: entered the stage I swore like a trooper, inwardly, for being trapped in the second row. The Swedes got into their set with such punching power, while fronter Tobias shows what to do with long hair. *Argh*, can’t move here any bit. The blond giant made girls hearts beating faster and perfectly mastered the crowd. As for the rest a “who is who” of the Swedish metal scene cared ;)
Setlist: The Custodian, Blackness Devours, Grey Dawn, 12 Days Of Rain, Heart Of The Dead, Blue Gallery

[Wiebke] I was much looking for :: GHOST BRIGADE :: The Finns got their equipment on stage as fast as possible to make up some time, while the appearing musicians on stage got already frenetically welcomed. But there must have been something bitten singer Manne Ikonen. Never saw him with such grim face before. But he managed to put his anger into his performance, so that we could enjoy a really crispy and powerful show. Around me die-hard fans popped up, singing along every song vociferously and finally also Manne cannot avoid showing a fugitive smile. At 22:22 Nihil GHOST BRIGADE went wild on stage, while my personal fave song Into The Black Light caused gooseflesh again. With the last song one member after the other left the stage till only drummer was Veli-Matti was there. And the stage manager already had nervous looks on his clock again…
[Dajana] Well, I have to confess I can’t really warm to the band’s newest opus Until Fear No Longer Defines Us. Significantly, GHOST BRIGADE only played the “smash hits” of the new album, one as opener and one as closer. Between they only played material from the grandiose predecessor Isolation Songs. Furthermore I have to state that tonight’s show was probably the most aggressive one I have seen so far from then ;) And for those who cannot get enough of GHOST BRIGADE: the gents start touring again in February 2012, supporting Enslaved! Woohoo!
[Edit - Instead of Lost I A Loop GHOST BRIGADE played Breakwater, so one one more song of the new record ;) - Dajana]
Setlist: Clawmaster, Suffocated, My Heart Is Tomb, Breakwater, 22:22 Nihil, Into The Black Light, Soul Carvers

[Wiebke] Now something surprising happened. It seemed that the audience was backing off. Till now. With :: MORGOTH :: entering the stage hell broke loose. The crowd was freaking out. Literally. Mosh and circle pits were being created quickly catapulting fans out. Crowdsurfer swam around but failed to reach the stage. Only one dude was climbing over the barrier and made it onto stage. MORGOTH meanwhile went wild too and played a fast-paced best-of set. Had a blast!
[Dajana] Totally agree. I actually did not expect that MORGOTH would go down that well here in Madrid. If I remember right it was their very first show in Spain. Surprisingly Marc talked in Spanish most time what made the fans freaking out. And musically, everybody and everything got blown away. MORGOTH played extremely powerful, fast and aggressive. Breathtaking!
Setlist: Intro, Body Count, Unreal Imagination, Resistance, Suffer Life, Pits Of Utumno, Burnt Identity, Isolated

[Wiebke] Also :: ENSLAVED :: seem to like Spanish beer, merrily jumped on stage und kicked off with Ethica Odini. Marvelous! Grutle emerged as a story-teller, looking a bit lost in reverie, but then again was wildly gesturing, joking and jumping around. Arve did not get a platform to pose upon, but he actually did not need one either. Even Ivar was switching sides pretty often and rocked the stage. Ground got dedicated to the women, Giants to everybody out here. No doubt, Madrid loves ENSLAVED. Special highlight was Led Zeppelins Immigrant Song, while Allfdr Odhinn and Slaget I Skogen I Botenfor pleased old school fans. Once again I take my hat off! ENSLAVED truly have a run these days!
[Dajana] ENSLAVED were definitely the highlight of the evening. Well, that was what I expected, although the setlist did not offer surprising moments. The Norwegian cats are just staggeringly great! That’s it.
Setlist: Intro, Ethica Odini, Raidho, Fusion Of Sense And Earth, Ruun, Ground, Giants, As Fire Swept Clean The Earth, Immigrant Song, Allfadr Odhinn // Isa, Slaget I Skågen I Båtenfår

[Dajana] Yes, that’s how the first festival day found its end. All bands have been great, and one freshly discovered. Only the sound was average during the entire day.
What I definitely did not like at all was the way we got swept out right after, literally, and with such relentlessness. “DISLIKE”. Anyway after 10 minutes (the magical 10) everybody was out and the hall almost clean again. No aftershow party, no disco.

story © Wiebke & Dajana • pics © Dajana