Maybe even Finnish is the next world metal language, as some Finnish bands are invading in the Frankfurt area with concerts in December; the world still has some catching up to do.

Nightwish, one of the biggest female-fronted symphonic metal bands, were guests in the Frankfurt Festhalle. But before they appeared, you could use your above-mentioned knowledge of Finnish with the first support act Turmion Kätilöt and, if you followed their almost 20-year band history well, you could also sing along. “The Midwives of Destruction” (I admit it, I’ve researched it… Editor’s note) like to appear in groups of six with martially made-up faces, let their hair fly, or their long braids, and offered to the audience which was alread there, a good start. Set in the corner of the rather rare Industrial-Metal with, in fact, Techno elements, this should be the first of the three styles of the evening.

In the meantime, things are happening under their logo of the skeleton sitting in a circle. “Sikiö” is the name of the “heraldic animal”, the archaeo-forensic scientists would be delighted with it, just look at the horns of this creature, which has yet to be determined…

The Festhalle, which was about half full at the time, including the tiers, begins to follow the music, gets caught up in the electro dance metal and gives everything to signal to the band that their performance still reaches the still meager audience.

A song in English is included towards the end, including hand waving. I don’t feel at a metal concert anymore, more like a dance party, but still comfortable. The performance simply inspires and somehow Turmion Kätilöt pulls you along. “One more in English”, and everything about the “Finnish-don’t-understand-what-sing-they-there?” is already forgotten – what a pity.

“Thank you Frankfurt – we love you” – “We love you, too”, the latecomers missed something that evening.

[See image gallery at catchingmovement.de] Beast in Black, also from Finland, conquer the stage, as can easily be seen from the oversized banner in the background. But first not in person, first with a bombast entrance music, which is supposed to signal to the audience that something big is about to appear on stage. Watching the beautiful female Anime-Amazon in the background, drummer Atte Palokangas begins the walk-in, greets the audience standing behind his drum kit and takes a seat, takes over the beat of the music and grins, which doesn’t stop for the whole performance. He’s having fun.

But there’s more musicians coming along to Blade Runner, the opening song. Very concise and with a very high recognition value, singer Yannis Papadopoulos, who revives the characteristics of the power metal of the 80s/90s with the band in many places with his head voice. I thought yes, the times are over, but no, in a new guise, this style simply puts you in a good mood. “Happy Metal” so to speak, as I recently read.

Thrown back in the times of Accept, Judas Priest, Bon Jovi and the like, From Hell with Love continues with the obligatory synth recordings, for which some bands were known at the time and those who had imitated them, became criticised. It just has to fit. “We are here for one reason…” the tension increases, which comes as an afterthought, “…to give you the real heavy metal”. That’s an announcement. Brave. Especially if you heard these sayings thirty years ago from bands that were maybe a bit “metal” but far from “heavy”. But that’s history, the past, a revival of the happy metal combo music is taking place here and that through Yannis with a sensational and surprisingly large vocal range. Just as some band names used to appear in the song titles, Beast in Black, the first track from the first album Berserker from 2017 (!) should not be missing. Directly after that it goes into the piece Die by the Blade with guitars swaying in unison, good mood is the program. They also love each other very much and transfer that to the audience, which surprisingly has a lot of diversity in the color of their clothes. Not “just black”, not “just cowl”, but probably also due to the average age and the composition of the bands, there were a lot of spots of color in the now somewhat better filled festival hall.

Nice staging of To the last drop of Blood, in which the drums and the three guitarists get going on their own, before Yannis jumps back onto the stage in his long, black coat and lets the audience also lift their feet. Power metal with that voice… It’s fun to see the guys again on their Dark Connection Tour in 2023, then as headliner. The pyro that some bands use to underline their songs is reserved for Nightwish this time, Beast in Black only has the choreo with guitarists playing in different ways, with a singer who busily jumps from one place to the other on stage.

After Moonlight Rendevous, the disco-dance-pop number – some still remember the “Disco-Fox” – the 80s electro-drums-with-sing-and-hand-waving state breaks out completely with One Night in Tokyo. Tough stuff for people who later want to have enough listening and movement energy for Nightwish. Endurance is the order of the day. Blind and Frozen follows, finally with a guitar solo, and before the threefold “Thank you” and the song End of the World doesn’t start the end, but the style simply goes on. Here Yannis shows his vocal range again and… somehow he reminds me of Rob Halford. Unfortunately, the title “Metal God” has already been given to, and even protected by, this one celebrity of similar vocal range… But who knows? … Maybe as a successor?

Setlist Beast in Black:

1. Blade Runner
2. From Hell with Love
3. Beast in Black
4. Die by the Blade
5. To the last Drop of Blood
6. Moonlight Rendezvous
7. One Night in Tokyo
8. Blind and Frozen
9. End of the World

[See image gallery at catchingmovement.de] The oversized banner with signature Nightwish artwork, blocking the view of the stage, has been hanging for twenty minutes when the first notes start to be heard. Kai Hatho, who has been Jukka’s successor since 2019, sits on the drums and starts playing the drums alone on stage to accompany the introduction. Gradually, the other members also appear. Then a short change, Floor is on the microphone with a German “Hello Frankfurt” and off we go. Noise is hip. No sign of the successful cancer operation in November. You can only write “Fuck Cancer” and hope that there is nothing left. Radiation therapy is still pending, the Asia tour has to be postponed. But, Nightwish are here and now in the now better filled Festhalle, including open tiers.

Well… as a longtime fan, I had to sympathize with Storytime as well. Yes, solid, vocally anyway, but personally I just miss Anette’s “snotty, cheeky” voice… Well… complaints on a very high level, Floor’s voice is too operatic for me, too trained, but that’s a matter of taste. “Now everything is possible again,” her words to the audience about the first beats of Tribal – and many of the visitors will agree with her. Now the Pyro really comes into play, the matching skulls appear on the background screen, while immediately afterwards it gets more ballad-like again with Élan. “It’s for my daughter” was the announcement and the audience sang along. It doesn’t really bother that the Festhalle once again lives up to the reputation of not being really well suited for such concerts. The double reverberation is probably only noticeable in the tiers. The atmosphere is what is important and it’s good.

On 7 Days to the Wolves, multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley can’t reach Marco Hietala on vocals. It just lacks the depths, the power, the charisma. Unfortunately, the song loses something as a result, as does Dark Chest of Wonders. The background animations switch to burning trees, an indication that the world is on fire all over the place.

Harvest comes very stripped down, Floor just sits on the pedestal and sings the song in a duet with Troy and everything is fine. Everything fits. The voices harmonize, autumnal leaves can be seen in the background, simply a very nice mood before it gets a little faster again with I Want My Tears Back. But here too… Marco is missing. Troy really does a great job, but the “but” remains. If you didn’t know the earlier times, then it would have to be like this. Nemo, an absolute Tarja song, is interpreted by Floor and that’s good for the song and for her too. Adapted to her naturally also trained voice, she sets a new direction; some eras of a Nightwish singer are simply over.

“Are they waiting for Christmas?” Floor asks, asking the audience for “Christmas candles.” So the cellphone lights go on, the lights dim and the Festhalle is suddenly in a romantic mood. How’s the Heart, illuminated by almost only mobile phone lights, in the acoustic version – simply beautiful. Shoemaker take things one step further. The piece maxes out Floor’s voice, towards the end of the piece the sun rises in front of the moon’s surface, opulently staged. Eye and ear are happy.

After Last Ride of the Day, Nightwish proves how long songs can unfold their full effect in a live concert. Ghost Love Score with a good ten minutes leaves the listener in a world of sound and images, which then in the highlight of the evening with The Greatest Show on Earth in full length again pulls out all the musical and pyrotechnic possibilities. A phenomenal rush of images and music is underway, creating a memory that will last. “We were here” as a triple exclamation mark.

On top of that, the accent in the “end credits”. The musicians have all left the stage, the piece Ad Astra is running from the tape, the audience is a bit at a loss, excited, until the band members line up on stage, Floor goes back to the microphone and sings the final part live. That’s goosebumps. Thank you Nightwish for these impressions.

Setlist Nightwish:

1. Intro (“Music” Ambient & Percussion)
2. Noise
3. Storytime
4. Tribal
5. Élan
6. 7 Days to the Wolves
7. Dark Chest of Wonders
8. Harvest
9. I Want My Tears Back
10. Nemo
11. How’s the Heart (acoustic)
12. Sahara
13. Shoemaker
14. Last ride of the Day
15. Ghost Love Score
16. The Greatest Show on Earth (Full)
17. Outro: Ad Astra

Co-Author of this report is Patrick of the Webzine Dark Art, which I also work for.

The post Nightwish – 09.12.2022 – Festhalle Frankfurt appeared first on Catching Movement.

Lorna Shore started as planned at 6:30 p.m. But before that could happen, the patience of the visitors was put to the test. Admission was originally supposed to start at 5:00 p.m., but it was delayed until 6:15 p.m., as apparently there were still guests on the premises from the trade fair that was taking place at the same time. Unfortunately, there was no information about the delay from the organizer or security either. Pretty pissed off and partly completely soaked from the downpour that had started again in the meantime, everyone tried to make it to the festival hall within the remaining 15 minutes, to buy beer, to leave their wet things in the cloakroom or to secure a good place. Not everyone succeeded and caused enough resentment, although admission actually went quite smooth.

Lorna Shore

Then finally, Lorna Shore, with exceptional singer Will Ramos, started their show on time. With lots and lots of fog and dark light, the band entered the stage, which had an outsourced bridge in the middle, to start with a cracker as the first song. To the Hellfire, one of their most well-known songs, blew the minds of listeners. This is where Will‘s unbelievable talent was shown, who manages to create such unbelievable breakdowns on his own vocally that you really wonder how such an unbelievable voice can come from such an inconspicuous and delicate person. When he then called in a Wall of Death, it was no surprise that he got it. Unfortunately limited in size by the wave-breakers, it still was quite impressive for the first band. Even though Will emphasized that he wasn’t feeling well that day, he definitely didn’t show it. However, I wouldn’t have put them as an opener, because the mood would have been a little better if While She Sleeps had really got the crowd going. Nevertheless, Lorna Shore delivered completely and convinced the audience.

With a very dark show and little light, the guys presented a few more songs like Sun//Eater and Cursed To Die. Unfortunately, the set was pretty short and after the five songs, the band left the stage to loud applause.

[See image gallery at catchingmovement.de] Setlist Lorna Shore

To the Hellfire
Of the Abyss
Sun//Eater
Cursed to Die
Into the Earth

While She Sleeps

Next up, While She Sleeps entered the stage of the Frankfurt Festhalle. The hardcore quintet from Sheffield in Great Britain obviously made it their mission to make everyone present sweat a lot. It started with the title track of their last record, Sleeps Society and immediately the first small pits formed in the auditorium. Frontman Loz just whirled across the stage and the bridge that jutted out into the crowd.

Already with the second song, the band managed to get the audience to mosh, to sing and to start one or the other Wall Of Death, which is a proud achievement for an opening act. The setlist consisted of several new and a few older songs. They played the song Anti-Social very melodically and with a lot of energy. As with Lorna Shore before, the stage lights were very dim and foggy. This made it very difficult to see the back band members from the auditorium, but that didn’t spoil the very good atmosphere: the audience sang along at the top of their lungs during the song You Are We.

After a full hour’s program, the English left the stage to great applause and gave the audience a little breather. After this sweaty show, everyone involved could get drinks to wait together for the main act of the evening.

[See image gallery at catchingmovement.de] Setlist While She Sleeps

Sleeps Society
Anti-Social
You Are All You Need
The Guilt Party
I’ve Seen It All
Eye To Eye
You Are We
Fakers Plague
Silence Speaks
Systematic

Parkway Drive

During the short changeover break, the entire stage was covered in thick smoke with smoke machines. For a mysterious and atmospheric intro, some figures dressed in black cowls first entered the stage. They held great torches in their hands and had their hoods pulled low over their faces. Shortly thereafter, the guys from Parkway Drive appeared and got off to a brilliant start with their latest song Gitch. The song was accompanied by powerful volleys of pyro, which were fired rhythmically and brought the air around them to a boil. With a permanent grin on his face, singer and frontman Winston McCall thanked the other bands of the evening and the numerous spectators.

With their choice of songs, Parkway Drive hardly gave their fans a chance to take a deep breath in 90 minutes: Right at the beginning of the set there were the fan favorites Prey and Carrion. So one hit followed the next – then came Vice Grip and people jumped up and down to the beat. In addition to Glitch, the quintet also brought along Ground Zero, The Geatest Fear and the title track Darker Still from the brand new album. The band was not only convincing musically. Above all, Winston McCall put on a show that which is up to all the dodges.

The absolute highlight of the evening was the performance of Shadow Boxing. What was special about it? That the band was accompanied by a string quartet and Casper, who originally sang along with the song, suddenly appeared on stage to demolish it. The audience absolutely loved it.

During the following song Bottom Feeder several Pyros went up in the air. The whole thing was even topped during the following song Crushed, as the entire edge of the stage including the bridge literally burned. This looked really spectacular.

Of course, the guys splashed out and played the last song, Wild Eyes from the 2012 album Atlas, to loud calls for encores. It really was a hardcore evening of an extra class. Gladly again, Parkway Drive!

[See image gallery at catchingmovement.de] Setlist Parkway Drive

Intro
Glitch
Prey
Carrion
Vice Grip
Dedicated
Cemetery Bloom
The Void
Karma
The Greatest Fear
Schattenboxen
(with Casper)
Darker Still
Bottom Feeder
Encore:
Crushed
Wild Eyes

Co-Author of this report are Steffi and Viola of the Webzine Dark Art, which I also work for.

The post Parkway Drive – 14.09.2022 – Festhalle Frankfurt appeared first on Catching Movement.