Basic aspects of the concert:
Location: Schwimmbadclub, Heidelberg
Date: 2014-02-07
Entrance fee: 7€
Opening: 20:00
Begin: 20:30
End: ~1:00
Number of attendees: 100-150?
Tracklists: no idea …
Playing order (from bottom to top)
The Prophecy²³Entorx
Paniczone
Wake up the Fire
The Ashes Rising
To be perfectly honest, I stumbled over this event by mere chance. Considering that I am living in Heidelberg for not a particularly long time so far, I had been under the impression the so-called "Schwarze Nacht" (English: Black Night) that would mark the sole metal aspect of the Schwimmbadclub, while the main focus would be on other facets of the music scene. Good to see that I have been proven otherwise. Yet, as this happens to be a venue for metal concerts as well, is it a good one at that? Well, personally I fail to see the appeal of this division of space. It looks like several rooms have been merged together into a large one, while some of the walls have not been moved or could not be moved ... or whatever. The result is that there is not as much space as it could have been and that there is a strange unpleasant barrier in the middle of it all. This alone is somewhat annoying, but considering that parts of the audience are left out of the game to a considerable degree, it leaves more than just a slight bitter taste. One advice: be an early bird.
The Ashes Rising
The evening began with a young band with some stage experiences; at least such can be suspected from the comments made during the gig. No, a demo has not come to fruition so far, but there are plans to deal with this issue in the foreseeable future as well.
With an attempt to unleash energy of Phoenix-like proportions, TAR did not waste a second of getting the message across. Modern melodic death metal (metalcore and deathcore are not far away from their style either) with a muddy sound and a too large focus on the vocalist -- my usual complaint about everything and everyone. One has to acknowledge that the band was actually trying to get the message across, unlike some other band ... later ... There was a lot of action in the crowd and even though the music comes over rather unspectacular and exchangeable, it was a solid performance nonetheless.
Wake up the Fire
The second band goes back to the year 2007 and has been active since. On their websites they talk about a forthcoming release, but it seems nothing has hit the surface since. Of course the vocalist is a focal point of the band and I cannot shake of the reference to S.O.D.'s Billy Milano, even though in terms of the music both bands do not have too much in common. The music has a lot of energy, is able to get it across to the crowd and is actually quite enjoyable. Of course the songwriting has an effect as well and also in this regard WutF has more to offer than the first band. The mix had been better, the guitars and the drums had been nice as well. It felt somewhat strange to see them leave so soon, because some additional minutes would have been nice indeed. In terms of the music, then thrash metal, groove metal and crossover could be used as references.
Paniczone
Cool stuff ... cool band ... and a lot of energy. Unmistakably, this band has stage experience and a good amount at that. Not only the vocalist, also the guitarist -- Torsten Schweickart -- were able to add something the previous bands lacked somehow: charisma. It is one thing to have good songs, but it is another to get these across properly. And they did. A really cool performance with tons of energy, a lot of movement by the band and by the fans. Also to see the bassist jump into the crowd at the end of the concert and play amongst them, while those were moshing around of course, left another positive impression.
It is a band that knows what they are doing and they are good at it. Should you have a chance to see them live and on stage, then you should not miss this opportunity, because in the current line-up they are a blast. A violent explosion of thrash and death metal.
Entorx
It took a long time to change the equipment ... and ... then ... oh well... seriously, with three bands prior to this one, the musicians of Entorx should have been aware of what would be the winner's formula this evening or rather what the crowd expects and demands. Yet, such a lame performance and this pointless standing around on stage and not moving an inch, except for the vocalist that is, the set had been nothing but a disappointment. What did they expect? That their music alone would get the moshpit started? It did not ... and it did not for a good reason. Yes, to follow up to a band like Paniczone is difficult, but the band did not even try to create something of equal proportions.
I will see them again soon and maybe then they will be able to get their music across properly.
The Prophecy²³
Ok ... visit their entry at the Metal Archives. Interesting band picture isn't it? Well, it does not, I repeat, not correspond with those musicians that left the best impression of the evening/night. Similarly to Paniczone The Prophecy²³ knew what they were doing, what to do, how to get the people going and how to add some nice elements that made them stand out amongst all other ones. Again the vocalist had been a focal point, but also the guitarist played a considerable role in the screaming/singing. Furthermore, the entire band was moving around and switching places; they definitely made use of the stage.
Thrash metal meets death metal ... meets a lot of aggression and energy. Also, the lyrics have a considerably humorous touch, even though most of them were lost due to the extreme way in which these had been expressed; well, the metal heads had not been there to experience an opera, right? Yet certain phrases were arranged in such a way as to enable the audience to join in with the game and the longer the band played, the more the fans were allowed to join in with the fun. Once The Prophecy²³ brought in someone dressed up in a Hulk costume, they even spread some "meat" among the hungry crowd; presumably some Bifi (little beef sausage) like stuff.
Roughly an hour of music and a quite enjoyable one at that. The mosh pit had been quite aggressive during their gig, but honestly nothing else really fits their music. Compared with Paniczone their approach had been a bit more amusing as well as engaging. On this level a concert The Prophecy²³ is a hell lot of fun and should not be missed.
Closing comments:
In the end it has to be stated that the concert had been really cool, even though the venue can hardly be described as being well-equipped for this type of music. Halle02 and Karlstorbahnhof have more to offer in this regard. Thumbs up for The Prophecy²³ and Paniczone.