Live Review: Beyond the Black - Berlin 2018

Kesselhaus, Berlin, Germany
23rd September 2018
Beyond The Black, Follow The Cipher & Serenity

On 31st August 2018, the album ‘Heart Of The Hurricane’ was released, followed by a tour. For more than a year, the new band members have been gathering up live experiences together and were now presenting the new songs to the fans. In Berlin, Beyond The Black completed the last stop of their comprehensive, four-concert album release tour.


Serenity

SERENITY is an Austrian Power Metal band that was founded in 2001. A year later, the first demo recordings were released and in 2005 the demo ‘Engraved Within’ appeared and became the demo of the month in the magazine Metal Hammer. In 2007, the debut album, ‘Words Untold & Dreams Unlived’, came out on Napalm Records and last year, the current album, ‘Lionheart’ was released. https://www.facebook.com/serenityaustria



Music & Performance
The appearance of SERENITY started with a long intro. A big square backdrop decorated the stage in the Kesselhaus. At the start the club was half-filled. The on-stage time of the band had been brought forward at relatively short notice to 7.30pm. SERENITY’s first 3 songs were also the first three songs from their current album. From the beginning singer Georg motivated the audience to participate. “Hands up!” he said over and over. Soon the audience was fully involved and a very good mood prevailed in the ever-increasingly full club. He then made a few jokes about soccer, about the rivalry between Austria and Germany. In any case, it was a bit of fun but then he said there is not much time to talk, and so on with the music. Back in February the band had played in a nearby club and Georg said that he recognized some fans from back then in the audience. During ‘Spirit in the Flesh’ the band wanted to see the audience jump.



It was now a really great atmosphere and the concert was over too fast. The band said that it was absolutely worth the trip from Tyrol, it was a lot of fun. They would be going straight back after the concert, they said, so they invited the fans to come to the merchandise stand for photos and autographs - an offer that many fans took them up on.

Setlist
01. Deus Lo Vult
02. United
03. Lionheart
04. Velatum
05. Spirit in the Flesh
06. Legacy of Tudors

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 8.0 / 10

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Follow the Cipher

FOLLOW THE CIPHER is a Swedish power metal band, that was formed in 2014 by SABATON contributor Ken Kängström - and originally it was planned only as a solo project. However, later, singer Linda and other band members joined. The band released self-titled debut album in 2018 on Nuclear Blast Records. https://www.facebook.com/followthecipher/



Music & Performance
At 8:15 pm the band FOLLOW THE CIPHER entered the stage. Now it was significant full in the Kesselhaus. Musically and visually the Swedes offered a lot. Cool outfits, great hair - perfect for a modern metal band. The concert started with the opening track from the album ‘Enter the Cipher’. Singer Linda was very convincing with her high, but also partly smoky voice. The musicians around the red-haired singer put on a great show. For a short while they left the stage, all except for the drummer - as a drum solo was announced, and the fans seemed to really enjoy it. Before the next song, Linda said you may already know this one - and she was correct, as the song was known to many in the club - it was a cover of the SABATON song ‘Carolus Rex’.



The people in the Kesselhaus were excited, as every one of the eight songs they played was absolutely rousing. The band said they were really glad to be a part of BEYOND THE BLACK release tour. They said good bye to the appreciative audience with “Thank you Berlin. Keep us in mind! And we have some great merchandise - come and stop by, we’ll see you there!”

Setlist
01. Enter the Cipher
02. A Minds Escape
03. Winterfall
04. Play with Fire
05. Carolus Rex
06. I Revive
07. The Rising
08. Valkyria

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 8 / 10

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Beyond The Black

The career of the band BEYOND THE BLACK began with a bang as their first ever live performance was at the legendary Wacken Open Air in 2014 - the year that the band was founded. In February 2015 their debut album, ‘Songs Of Love and Death’, was released and there followed a very successful headlining tour that Spring. In February 2016 their second album, ‘Lost In Forever’, was released and it reached 4th place in the German charts. In July 2016, singer Jennifer Haben and the rest of the band separated - towards the end of that year the new members of the band were announced. On 31st August 2018 the new album, ‘Heart of the Hurricane’, was out, the first album with the new line-up. The band was showcasing their new material live in four German cities. http://www.beyond-the-black.com/de/



Music & Performance
After about a 30 minute changeover, this evening’s headliner took the stage around 9.30 pm. The backdrop for BEYOND THE BLACK was huge, almost as wide as the stage. The fans in the almost full concert hall were curious to finally hear live the songs from the Top 5 Album, ‘Heart of the Hurricane’. The concert began with the ‘Paint it Black’ intro and this was followed by the title song of the new album. Soon afterwards came a wonderful ballad, with singer Jennifer sitting at the piano. They also played ‘Songs of Love and Death’, the title track of the debut album. After that there was a great drum solo. Many of the songs were made special by excellent playing and great variety of sounds from the guitarists, they complemented Jennifer’s clear vocals perfectly. It was fantastic to watch the band take charge on this relatively big stage. This was really a great symphonic metal show with plenty of clapping along from the audience.



After a little less than an hour, the Kesselhaus was boiling! From the start the mood in the hall was great, but at the song ‘A Million Lightyears’ the crowd went into full party atmosphere. “Are you still in the mood for it?” asked Jennifer. This question was, of course, answered with extreme cheers because the fans desperately wanted to hear some more songs. A real highlight of the evening was the song ‘Hallelujah’, which begins as a ballad then becomes totally heavy towards the end. Just before 11 pm the band had to say goodbye, but the intense encore calls were still loudly ringing around the hall. The band then returned with a song ‘In the Shadows’ from the debut album. “Can you take one more?” asked Jennifer. The atmosphere by now was electric and no dared leave the club although Monday was just around the corner! ‘Running to the Edge’, also from the album ‘Songs of Love and Death’ ended a terrific, almost 100-minute concert.



For the last song all hands were up again and there was even a nice a-capella insert, Jennifer singing and accompanied just by the bass. As a farewell she said “Thanks for the last release show - and thanks to the other bands”. One day after the release tour, the band announced that they would be supporting WITHIN TEMPTATION on their European tour. What a great reward for a young band!

Setlist
01. Heart of the Hurricane
02. Hysteria
03. Written In Blood
04. Fall into the Flames
05. My God Is Dead
06. Burning In Flames
07. Song for the Godless
08. Songs of Love and Death
09. Forget My Name
10. When Angels Fall
11. Unbroken
12. A Million Lightyears
13. Beyond The Mirror
14. Beneath A Blackened Sky
15. Lost In Forever
16. Shine and Shade
17. Hallelujah
18. In The Shadows
19. Running to the Edge

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.5 / 10

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All pictures by Marko Jakob