Event - Psychotic Waltz - Power of Metal Tour - Live With Nevermore, Symphony X, Mercenary and Thaurorod - Hamburg, March 17th 2011

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Events and Reports - Psychotic Waltz - Power of Metal Tour - Live With Nevermore, Symphony X, Mercenary and Thaurorod - Hamburg, March 17th 2011

Written by Steen

One of my favorite bands, Psychotic Waltz, suddenly reunited and became part of the 5 band strong "Power of Metal" tour, which made a stop in Hamburg. There was no way I was going to miss this so Tommy and I got on the bus from "Livescenen" at noon and it took us directly to the Markthalle in the center of Hamburg with only a few stops on the way, the most interesting being when one of the guys on the bus was fined by customs officers for peeing in public.

We arrived at the concert hall an hour and a half late and outside we met up with Lunah and Tobias. First band of the evening, Thaurorod had already started their show and after a failed attempt at buying some Psychotic Waltz merchandise I was standing in a pretty cool hall watching the Finnish power metal band trying to get the evening off to a good start.

When I saw Thaurorod live with Sabaton back in September they had made a good impression but their lead singer had seemed like a weak spot. Now Michelle Lupi has joined the band as their new singer and what I saw tonight was an improvement since last. There were only two things missing. The first was the stylish backdrop painted by Ken Kelly, which I remember vividly from the Copenhagen show. The second was a better sound. Unfortunately the sound was terrible and it was hard to hear anything resembling melodies to tell the songs apart. Not a great beginning and quite unfair since the band tried hard.

Mercenary were next in this jam packed evening of 5 bands over 5 hours. Their new singer / bass player made a good impression and the band blasted through their set with much force. I'm not very familiar with Mercenary but they aired several new songs and got a good reaction from the crowd. Unfortunately the sound still sucked beyond belief and made it impossible to make out melodies or details. The lead singer was talking in a mix of German and Danish to the happy crowd and he managed to send out much love to his girlfriend before he roared through In a river of Madness. Nice.

By now I was fired up for Psychotic Waltz, in no small part due to the constant supply of Jack D and coke from the bar and not having had much food all day. I warmed up my voice further by singing some Manowar hymns with Tobias. Metal Warriors came off in a far out way and fortunately no one heeded our loud calls to leave the hall.

Psychotic Waltz is one of those rare bands which are completely unique and only in a dream had I ever imagined that I would one day be standing in front of the stage waiting for them to go on. With only a 45 minute setlist I was determined to get the most out of it. I had found a good spot in front of the crowd far to the right of the stage where the ground was raised, so I was actually looking slightly down at the stage. The band came on stage to the sound of Sleeping Dogs and as they began to play, the song quickly changed into the heavy part of Ashes. A perfect transition and a spellbinding way to open the show since Ashes, besides being a personal favorite, has a very distinct atmosphere.

Witnessing Psychotic Waltz live was a huge experience. There was something magical about how they effortlessly played their complex songs. With so many years apart I would have thought that there might be a tense feeling to the band but they felt completely natural and relaxed. Fortunately the sound had improved and was now pretty clear and it was possible to make out the little details. Anything else would have been a disaster. I guess I went rather crazy, headbanging and singing along at the front of the stage and back home it seems hard to pick out moments from the show since it was all so huge.

Following Ashes, Spiral Tower continued the show without pause. Guitarist Brian McAlpin was sitting in a wheelchair right in front of me. He often looked up to gaze at the crowd who went nuts and gave a sly smile. It was clear that there were many Psychotic Waltz fans in the crowd who had waited a long time to see the band.
Lead singer Devon Graves was able to hit most of the high notes in an impressive way and he has a stage presence that is fascinating and quite unique. It's almost as if he has created his own personal dance style and it fits perfectly with the music.

I had really hoped they would play the intense Cold from Mosquito, but Haze One was excellent as well and it fitted pretty well with my state. After this came a major highlight with Into the Everflow. The vibe of this song was perfectly captured and for 8 minutes I was enthralled by the band's performance. The band transformed this very special piece of music into a live situation with total conviction and I couldn't help but smile all through the song as they managed to keep the tension right there on the edge. When the guitar took focus in the last part of the song there was so much emotion in the air. I just closed my eyes and floated away. It was simply put, magic.

I was anything but Morbid at this point and, yes, the song did nothing to change that. One of my favorites from Bleeding and the heaviest part of the show for sure.

Halo of Thorns was another spellbinding epic and evolved from its beautiful acoustic opening into a whirlwind of metallic splendor. During the atmospheric opening part I'm sure I heard several other people singing along just as loud as myself.

The dual guitar opening to Nothing was particularly memorable as well. Dan Rock and Brian McAlpin played together in a brilliant way all through the show.

I of the storm ended the show with intensity and aggression.

With only 45 minutes to play and having waited 15 years to see Psychotic Waltz I was sure I would walk away disappointed. I didn't. I just hope I get a second chance to see them live.

Symphony X have a strong stage presence and Russel Allen has the sheer power to make almost anything work. This evening the band really struggled to compete with a terrible sound and it was hard to make out any details in their technical music. The highlight for me was the opening song Of Sins and Shadows and the band seemed to get off ot a great start but all too soon the muddy sound ruined the show completely and I lost concentration even though I had a great spot in the audience with a view of the whole stage. The band aired a new song, End of Innocence which did sound promising in spite of the sound.

Halfway through the show Russel gave a moving speech about the horrible events happening in Japan and after this the band played Paradise Lost.
After this I headed to the bar for a drink and there I met up with Lunah and we talked for a few minutes. The bar was apparently in a different time zone since Symphony X had finished their set when I returned to the hall.

Nevermore put an end to the evening and they did so with style and power. Inside four walls opened the set in a great way. The band had a strong presence and were very tight. Warrel Dane's voice was superb. Unfortunately the band also struggled with the muddy sound which had plagued everyone except Psychotic Waltz. Not as bad as with Symphony X but enough to mar the show.

I watched the Nevermore show from the middle of the crowd and had a great time. New and older songs flowed together very well. A couple of highlights included Born which had the entire hall singing along to the chorus. That chorus is just brilliant. As well as The Heart Collector which again included massive participation from the thrilled crowd.

8 songs into their set Warrel Dane introduced the next song as their big one. At this point I was famished since I hadn't had anything to eat since we arrived so late at the concert hall. I decided to pop outside for a quick bite. Unfortunately I ended up roaming the streets of Hamburg in vain as everything was closed. Fortunately I did manage to meet up with Tommy and catch the bus home before I passed out from hunger.

This was a great day and definitely a trip worth taking. During the Psychotic Waltz show Devon announced that they meant this reunion seriously and were already working on a new Psychotic Waltz album. Sweet music to my ears.

Thaurorod

Mercenary

Psychotic Waltz

Symphony X

Nevermore

Nevermore

All pictures taken by Lunah of Metal Moments - www.metalmoments.net

Written by Steen
Sunday, March 27, 2011

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RevelationZ Comments

Comment by Tobias (Member) - Monday, March 28, 2011

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Comments: 2
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Ah, the memories!
Fed aften, og jeg kan se at vi havde samme grund til at besøge koncerten.

Posted by Tobias
Monday, March 28, 2011

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