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diekrupps11Stary Klasztor, Wroclaw, Poland
29th August 2018
Machinists United Tour with Die Krupps, Front Line Assembly and Tension Control

I must admit I had not experienced such an accumulation of energy and guitar madness as on 29th of August for long. Stary Klasztor gothic hall has the exceptional atmosphere of an old, elegant fortress and it created a perfect venue for what was about to happen during the night. Three bands of “The Machinists United Tour 2018” - DIE KRUPPS, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY and TENSION CONTROL - showed what it takes to warm up and heat the audience to 100 degrees... and to keep them at the highs of music dope. It is a rarity to see such a combination of top notch bands together, so taking into consideration their class and the power of their musical impact - I couldn’t just miss their show.


Tension Control

TENSION CONTROL appeared on stage as first. Their style is highly energetic, dancy EBM. They have played together since March 2016 - their recent release is ‘Im Rhythmus Der Maschinen’ of 2017. www.facebook.com/tension.control.ebm / tensioncontrol.bandcamp.com

Music & Performance
One thing has to be said at the very start - they are energy and fire concentrated! Speed, strength of sonic beat and charisma - it’s all needed for a good performance and they have it all. The gents managed to establish a good connection with the audience from the very start and set the atmosphere for the whole show in a perfect way. Dynamic, harsh rhythms served by the duo: Michael Schrader and Eli van Vegas (drummer Marcel Lüke was not accompanying the tour), proved to be a perfect example of a high class electronic body music of NITZER EBB or DAF breed. I do not know if the musicians took the said bands as their inspiration, but the influence of the bands was clearly audible in their music. The pieces presented were, e.g. ‘Passion for Aggression’, ‘Das ist Sex’ or ‘Im Rhythmus Der Maschinen’. Energetic, lively show - good kick-off!

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10

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Front Line Assembly

FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY [FLA] attracted the biggest audience in Poland - the hall was packed to the full and every single person was excited and curious to see them live since it was the first show of the band in Wroclaw. https://www.facebook.com/frontlineassembly

Music & Performance
The show of FLA was opened by instrumental ‘Anthropod’ - the musicians hidden in navy blue light plus monumental music swaying from irregular and harsh to harmonically pulsating, set an intriguing intro to the whole performance. The moment Bill Leeb entered the stage the madness started and it lasted for the whole performance alike. The impressive musical part was enhanced by the game of lights: gold, blue and silver, and visualisations reflecting patterns at musicians’ faces - it all created an importation component of the visual part of the concert. The pieces chosen for the show could be justly called crème de la crème of FLA artistic output - we could hear such hits as ‘Killing Grounds’, ‘Plasticity’ or ‘Millennium’.

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The band’s music unveils in either cold or glass sharp tonal quality, it suppresses its richness for a while to reach a full speed turned by the one and only, FLA specific, pulsating beat. The audience’s reaction was extremely lively and Bill Leeb made everything to keep the temperature high.

Setlist
01. Anthropod
02. Eye On You
03. Neologic Spasm
04. Killing Grounds
05. Vanished
06. Shifting Through The Lens
07. Gun
08. Plasticity
09. Deadened
10. Millenium

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 10
Total: 9.8 / 10

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Die Krupps

The fame of Die Krupps being real scene rockers works as the best ad for them and exceeds them; their most ravishing music and above all passion, joy of performing and incredible energy made them long-awaited treat of the night. www.diekrupps.com / www.facebook.com/diekruppsofficial

Music & Performance
For me personally, DIE KRUPPS was a real highlight of the line-up. From the moment they entered the stage they ruled it absolutely, making the audience move, rage, and run crazy. They wouldn’t slow down for even a second during the show that lasted for over an hour. Raging guitars that made my heart jump like crazy, echoing in my whole body and Juergen Engler’s incredible scenic manner made the concert a real blast! He would not stand still for even a moment, running from one end of the stage to the other one, jumping on instruments and chatting with the audience. Sparkle, fire, pure power!

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The whole band was totally engaged in the show - one could not simply resist their dynamism - even just watching the vivid, marvellous way of frontman and the supporting guitarists - it was a pure pleasure and surely made blood boil (or turn to vodka... whatever you prefer). I believe nobody felt disappointed by the choice of songs either - hit after hit, killer speed and harsh, dancy tones - all of it made the audience go so wild that soon it found its outburst in a crazy moshpit right in the centre of the hall. After two encores the band left the stage signing CDs to the fans gathered by the stage. Real battery recharge, beautiful concert!

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Setlist
01. The Dawning Of Doom
02. Der Amboss
03. Schmutzfabric
04. Germaniac
05. Fly Martyrs Fly
06. Black Beauty White Heat
07. Fuck You
08. To The Hilt
09. Metal Machine Music
10. Robo Sapiens
11. Nazis Auf Speed
12. Fatherland
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13. Machineries Of Joy
14. Bloodsuckers

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Sound: 9
Light: 10
Total: 9.8 / 10

To recap briefly - the concert attracted a huge audience - the place was packed to the full. Those who decided to attend the concerts were given a huge dose of positive energy and the artists proved once again the music can be a reason, a way, a purpose. Thank you!

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All pictures by Karo Kratochwil

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