Only two months after moving to Germany, I have the chance to visit a nice event: one of my favourite bands, Angantyr, is going to play at a festival called Black'n Thrash Inferno, which is a two-day festival annually held in Essen, Germany. The name of the festival comes from the fact that one day is dedicated to thrash metal and the other to black metal. Black'n Thrash is held this year on March 28-29; the first day is the thrash metal day, the second one the black metal day. I will go only on the second day, the black day, especially for the sake of Angantyr, a band that I love very much.
So on Saturday March 29 I set off in the afternoon from Cologne, the city where I currently reside, and reach Essen by bus; there I meet my friends Sabrina and Daniel, and, since it is a nice sunny day, we eat an ice cream before going to the concert, which is held at a place called Zeche Carl. The door opening is scheduled at 6:00 pm and the beginning of the concert is scheduled at 6:45 pm.
Zeche Carl is a beautiful location: it is an old abandoned factory that is now being used as a place for concerts; it is a very nice place, typically German I'd say: the interior is relatively large and in the outdoor area there is the inevitable Biergarten. A very high mark goes to the merchandising stalls that have CD’s, patches and t-shirts of any kind of band and a lot of rarities; there is also a negative note: after writing emails and making phone calls in order to get a press accreditation, I discover to my big disappointment that there is no photo pit for photographers, and therefore I will have to take my photos from among the crowd, with all the difficulties and hassles that this entails. Strange indeed for an important event like this.
So on Saturday March 29 I set off in the afternoon from Cologne, the city where I currently reside, and reach Essen by bus; there I meet my friends Sabrina and Daniel, and, since it is a nice sunny day, we eat an ice cream before going to the concert, which is held at a place called Zeche Carl. The door opening is scheduled at 6:00 pm and the beginning of the concert is scheduled at 6:45 pm.
Zeche Carl is a beautiful location: it is an old abandoned factory that is now being used as a place for concerts; it is a very nice place, typically German I'd say: the interior is relatively large and in the outdoor area there is the inevitable Biergarten. A very high mark goes to the merchandising stalls that have CD’s, patches and t-shirts of any kind of band and a lot of rarities; there is also a negative note: after writing emails and making phone calls in order to get a press accreditation, I discover to my big disappointment that there is no photo pit for photographers, and therefore I will have to take my photos from among the crowd, with all the difficulties and hassles that this entails. Strange indeed for an important event like this.
I arrive at around 6:30 pm, I pick up my press-pass, have a look at the merchandising stalls, and then, as soon as I hear the music, I go to the concert hall where the first band is performing. It is Wrack, a German black metal band from Bochum. At 7:30 Darkmoon Warrior, another German black metal band from Eberswalde, begins their show; despite their arsenal of face-painting, studs and spikes, I am not very convinced of their show. At 08:15 pm Mor Dagor, a German black metal band from Essen, performs. The third of the three opening bands seems to me the best: they combine a high technical level with a good charisma on stage. Already during the performances of the opening bands I notice that the lighting on stage is not very good, and this gives me troubles when taking photos.
Then it is time for the big bands to play: the first one is Angantyr, black metal band from Denmark. This band does not play live so often; compared to the tour they did a few years ago, I notice at once that the line-up has been reduced to three members: just one guitar and a new drummer (I will subsequently find out that he is called Skogsvandrer and that he joined the band in 2012). Another thing that catches my eye is Ynleborgaz’s strange four string electric guitar. I really love this band, I praised their latest album Forvist in my review, but I am a bit disappointed by their show. I have a feeling that it is not a serious performance, especially because of Vrede and his ostentatiously eccentric, evil, almost histrionic poses, which seem to me out of place. Apart from this consideration, it feels improvised and unprofessional: the technical performance leaves something to be desired and the sound is very confused; at least from my position in the front row it is difficult to distinguish the riffs and the songs. The first three bands had a much clearer sound, and I was in a similar position. I'm happy, however, because I grab Vrede's bloody setlist.
After Angantyr it is the turn of Urfaust, atmospheric black doom band from Netherlands. It is a totally different kind of show, because of the peculiar genre of this band, which only consists of two members; the visual aspect plays a minor role and one should talk instead of atmosphere. One needs to be in the mood of this music, which is able to make the strings of the soul of many people vibrate, as I see. Personally, I am not very fond of the music of Urfaust, but they do their show and they do it well. The technical level is not very high, this is to be recognized, but at least they have a clear sound; it is also true that it is easier to get a clear sound when you are in twos. Anyway, I see that the audience in Essen adore them and applaud them warmly at every song; at the end of their show the audience acclaim them so loudly asking for another song, that the organization must let them give an encore. They are the first band that is allowed to perform an extra song.
The next band is Mgla, a Polish black metal band; I notice that they are very popular and a lot of people gather in front of the stage, there is a full house. Unlike Urfaust the visual aspect is very important with Mgla, as is evident from their “peculiar” look; and yet it is precisely from a visual standpoint that their show is decidedly weak. The band plays as usual in the dark and all of the members of the band are completely dressed in black, including a hood and a kind of ski-mask. I have a feeling that this look is penalizing because it becomes difficult to see well, especially if the stage lights are off. However, I give up photographing them. It must also be said that they are musically very good and they play really well, with a very clear sound. But their show is cold and I do not feel involved at all, perhaps because of the darkness on stage that increases the distance between the band and the audience.
The last band and headliner of the concert is Forgotten Tomb from Italy. Their show is impeccable from all points of view: the music is beautiful, the technical level of the musicians is high and the band has a great stage presence. I have to recognize that they are on a much higher level compared to the bands that have preceded them on stage today. Their setlist includes a few old songs alongside new ones. However, they have a technical problem with the battery, solved in a few minutes by drummer Asher; during this short interruption bassist Algol takes the opportunity to have a cigarette lighted. Forgotten Tomb too is loudly called back by the audience at the end of their show and they give some encores. Judging from what I have seen, Urfaust and Forgotten Tomb are the bands that the German public has liked best today.
The festival ends a little later than 1:30 am, the scheduled closing time. I was disappointed by some bands from which I was expecting more, but it was a nice day anyway, and this is important.
The festival ends a little later than 1:30 am, the scheduled closing time. I was disappointed by some bands from which I was expecting more, but it was a nice day anyway, and this is important.
Text and photos by Herjann
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