Our beloved Backstage presented during one evening two different ways to receive ringing ears. Either you only listen to death metal in the hall, or you only listen to thrash metal in the club, or you listen to both for 5 hours. We decided to do both, which was possible by purchasing a combination ticket. Both venues were well filled, the average age in the hall was between 45 and 55 years old, and in the club it was around 30 years old, because two generations of metalheads were at the concert.
First up was Bloodline from Munich, whose music oscillated between blast beats, thrash metal with slight death metal influences. Their likeable stage presence fit perfectly with Exodus' motto "Good friendly violent fun", the audience was worried, moshing and shy circle pits were also spotted.
The tight schedule sent us into the hall, where the Dutch death metal band Bodyfarm unleashed a heavy rolling death metal reminiscent of Entombed and At the Gates. Hair flew, banging heads and perhaps it was also due to the older average age of the audience that there were no circle pits despite the appropriate and pushing music.
Back at the club we are welcomed by the Bavarian thrash metal band Battlecreek. At this point the club is very full with around 200 visitors. And after two or three Augustiners the crowd goes wild. Numerous fans who traveled along and sang along quite confidently turned this concert into a Thrash Metal party. However, there was also a band on stage who clearly had fun playing and partying. Above all, a charismatic singer with a really good voice, who with his two colleagues on the front line brought the audience to numerous mosh pits and circle pits. And whoosh, the concert was over again.
Carnation from Belgium are musically more between Death and Black Metal, so their music does not address any concepts of international understanding. The band sounds all of a piece and, in Simon Duson, has a singer with both a wide vocal range and a sense for large and dramatic gestures.
Angelus Apatrida from Albacete, Spain, are the only Spanish band that regularly tours outside of Spanish-speaking countries. This routine, combined with a super friendly demeanor and an unbridled joy of playing, caused the entire club to go crazy. Even a few technical problems didn't disrupt the atmosphere and flow of the concert. What was surprising was that half of the visitors sang along to all the songs. Almost like in Spain.
After almost 4 hours of headbanging, the first phases of weakness appeared. Nevertheless, Pestilence and their mastermind Patrick Mameli are musically very interesting. Pestilence played death metal in a similar way to the American band Possessed, but there was no pigeonhole for their extreme and more complex version of thrash metal. During this concert the band went on a journey that began in 1985, stalled a few times and is now back on track to finally getting the recognition they long ago deserved for their avant-gardism. An impressive concert.