Basic aspects of the concert:
Location: 7er Club, Mannheim
Date: 2014-03-08
Entrance fee: 7€
Opening: ~19:45
Begin: ~21:10?
End: ~01:15
Number of attendees: not that many … which had been a shame actually
Tracklists: no idea ...
Playing order (from bottom to top)
BoomerangEntorx
Ivory Night
Axolution
The 7er Club in Mannheim is located, from the looks at the evening, in an industrial area in the outskirts of the town. Would you drive through the streets and pass this location by chance, then you might not even notice it. Slightly hidden, not communicating it openly and giving the impression of something like an insider tip; something only a selected few might be familiar with. Once inside, one has to acknowledge a good division of the space and how the stage is well equipped for concerts.
According to the flyer the venue was to open at 19:00. Whatever had been the reason, a delay of nearly forty-five minutes is nearly intolerable … but to let the fans wait until nearly 21:10 to get the concert going – originally 20:00 – and the first band to hit the stage, left me somewhat baffled. Especially as there had been no communication at all. No announcement, no sharing of information, nothing. Folks … there is a lot room for improvement.
Before discussing the band in detail it is important to note that the concert had a specific topic:
Power vs Death Metal
with two bands of each genre it is of a kind that you will not see every day and that stands out somehow.
Axolution
Even though the band goes back to the year 1993 (!) they have only released one album so far and this happens to have hit the streets in 2013 (!!). The reason for this is pretty obvious, they had been on hiatus for twenty years. Stuff like this happens. When it comes to their music, then it is quite conservative and without modern influences. Furthermore, they sound on stage better than on the album; this is especially true for the vocals whose somewhat lifeless sound on the disk fails to leave a mark.
The music is a mixture of old-school death and thrash metal with vocals inspired by the former genre. There are solos of course and in terms of the tempo it is not particularly slow. Even though the mix was by no means optimal, the band offered a good gig and came over rather easy. One has to see where this band will head toward and how it will evolve, but they music can be enjoyed by those with a certain fascination for old-school death metal. A rather easy-going gig with some chatting with the fans. Not bad actually.
Ivory Night
One thing is for certain: a band with stage experience will be able to create a certain fascination and leave a mark. And Ivory Night did. Undoubtedly they had been the band of the evening and left the best impression of them all. Communication with the fans is an important aspect and the front man of this band from Kaiserslautern did it in the proper way. Announcements and song titles were woven together, even though some of those could have raised some eye-browse. But what is power metal without some form of cliché?
Ivory Night is a band with a large amount of energy and they were able to unleash it from the very first second onwards. Aside from this, there is consistency in the performance and they are able to keep this level up to a certain point. Music and charisma go hand in hand in this regard. Posing is important, but also surprising elements, which on this day had been a cover version: Motörhead's Ace of Spades. Of course, the bassist had to sing it and of course it had been the peak in energy of his evening; not only by this band but of all other ones as well. This is the stuff that makes a performance somewhat special: the unexpected. All too often bands fall back on a certain scheme and all looks like it is enacted for the millionth time; this is one reason that I cannot go to a Hypocrisy concert any more – they are an awful band on stage, because what they do on stage looked wrong somehow. I knew their live VHS and all looked the same and all the same poses at the very same time … and the überelite-Hypocrisy fans that shoved all others away to the back and therefore away from the stage really took the cake back then, but I am drifting off and back to the topic.
Compared with Ivory Night's latest album their music on stage had a touch more energy and atmosphere. The music is well crafted, comes with some nice melodies and has not too many off-topic facets. Should you have a chance to see them, then go for it … on this level they can really be enjoyed.
Entorx
Yes, Entorx … the band that received a slightly negative review from my side for their gig at the Schwimmbadclub in February. A fan approached me early on and wanted to know from me whether they will receive a better one this time. No, bribery had not been attempted and is rather futile anyway. Also threatening me physically is something that should be avoided. I know how to defend myself.
Whatever, compared with their previous gig this recent one in Mannheim had indeed been better, yet compared with the previous band they simply failed to leave an equally positive impression. Asking the crowd about which genre had been best so far – according to them “death metal” of course – did not help to change matters or turn the tides in their favour.
Entorx play a mixture of thrash and death metal with songs that stretch up to nine minutes and show a lot of conceptual experiments. They are alright in terms of music and style, but even after two concerts I cannot say that I am impressed in one way or another. Also their songs on Soundcloud fail to leave a mark. They have a good drummer and are definitely able to get a pit going, like they did on this evening as well. In terms of the music old and stuff stuff had been offered. What I had been criticized about their gig in Heidelberg, their reluctance to move around on the stage, has again be true, but one has to acknowledge a certain improvement in their action on stage. All in all Mannheim proved to be a better spot for them and their music.
Boomerang
The last band of the evening … and the best atmosphere? The best performance? The best … of everything? Wow … it is difficult to find the proper words for what one had to experience once Boomerang hit the stage. Seriously, I had been baffled about the low turnout of fans at that time and in front of the stage. To express this in words is difficult. Maybe half about what had attended the two prior bands have remained at the location and with only a handful in the front row. All others have left already. How fucking disgraceful.
Boomerang has to be praised dealing with the issue in a professional kind of way and two thumbs up for that. They attempted to do the best out of the situation and against all odds they tried to get the “crowd” going. I can tell you, it had been embarrassing to see them offering a cool gig and performance, while there were hardly any folks around to actually be able to enjoy it. A lot of cool poses, solo parts and all such stuff that can be expected to be done by folks, who have been around in the music scene for some time.
I do not want to waste words about their music, the mix and all this stuff, because sometimes there are other things that need to be emphasized. Boomerang like to rock, even when there is hardly anyone around and without making a fuss about it. This has to be praised. I really would like to see them playing for a larger crowd and with a proper sound.