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2007-03-02
AT – Salzburg - Rockhouse |
| The Rockhouse got one problem: there are precious little parking places! After we luckily found an alternative, the program started exactly on time according to the schedule. A few hundred Metal fans waited tensely for the package seeming not to fit together at first glimpse, but just this basic position was quite interesting… :: pics :: A couple of weeks ago, I got the flyer and the info text praised :: SABATON :: to the skies, the new album Attero Dominatus was denominated as hammer release…the word hammer came to my mind only in reference to the missing self-reliance in sound. It is really a doozer how shameless SABATON rip off, first and foremost the group reminded me of Nightwish's melody lines – the refrains were really taken over in a ratio 1:1. So the concert turned into a sole light bulb moment, all chords heard for at least hundred times, every arrangement composed umpteen times - and many bands did a better job before in this genre. I would choose the term recycling metal and consequently the singer’s outfit matched the scenery perfectly, because his little cuirass gleamed in the same optical characteristic as the media pit’s barrier. The only positive aspects: three band members can use their voice more or less adequately, the lyricist knows four Latin words and the entertainment value was okay for the first ten rows…but that’s nowhere near enough to stick out of the mass. Unfortunately the show was low-key, only the sound ringed clearly!
:: GRAVE DIGGER :: showed up in a totally different way. The first chord of Liberty Or Death out of Manni Schmidt’s guitar beclouded the reminiscence of the plastic opener. The diggers are in the prime of life since decades and started with a lot of power and joy in playing. I wonder where singer Chris takes his power from, because he seemed to be only as thin as a rake. Consequently his show full of sympathy and energy including some parts to sing along came across all the more noteworthy. His musical combatants were second to none, for example Manni’s facial expressions while playing guitar solos were funny. The sound? Hmmm, the engineer seemed to be keen on experiments, and the volume as well as the blend oscillated seriously. This fact did not have any negative effect on the good temper, no wonder if a group can rely on classics like Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching), The Last Supper or the final Heavy Metal Breakdown. It made no odds that a feeling of monotony came up after a while - GRAVE DIGGER wiped away this disruptive factor with a lot of steam hammer power and funny grimaces. As a result the crowd cheered for some encores and acknowledged the band with a long applause. GRAVE DIGGER played among others: Liberty & Death, In The Dark Of The Sun, Excalibur, Lionheart, Morgana Lefay, Silent Revolution, Knights Of The Cross, Rebellion, The Last Supper & Heavy Metal Breakdown
During
the scene-changing interval one could expect something great,
because the :: THERION
:: stage design was a looker (have s click on
the photos). The musicians showed up on stage separately and the
following concert had the pretence of a theatre performance. In
contrast to the last year not only optically something changed;
related to the agitation on stage something was different. So
it as obvious that the female singers took a more active part
in the events and made contact to the fans in the front rank.
The two male vocalists Mats and Snowy complemented each other
marvelously. Some petite details like an old book Snowy held in
hand to preach enriched the representation enormously. Alongside
Christoffer and his fugleman Kristian played their instruments
almost in the background. Mr. Johnsson acted as king of poses;
Kristian sprayed some good humor and cheered on the audience continuously.
Certainly the music itself left nothing to be desired including
new compositions taken from Gothic Kabbalah
(unfortunately not the title track, sniff!) as well as the classics
of the Theli era (particularly To
Mega Therion). The orchestral The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah
turned out to be the emotional highlight of this two hours lasting
event. Catchword orchestral: it was quite a surprise that synthetic
sounds only sparsely came into operation, so that the show took
the effect of a down-to-earth rock music occurrence. The short
drum solo aggravated this impression. THERION
afforded more than 120 minutes finest musical theatre legitimating
the high-priced admission.
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| story © Stormlord • pictures © Janine |
