Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany 31st January 2020
Dimmu Borgir & Amorphis - Support: Wolves in the Throne Room
It’s been one year ago, that AMORPHIS played in Munich during their “Queen of Time” tour. By then everyone agreed, that it had been one of the best shows ever. When the band announced a co-headliner tour with DIMMU BORGIR, I was down for it.
Due to heavy traffic on the street that led to the venue and the slow progress in the line that led to the parking, I missed WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM who supported AMORPHIS and DIMMU BORGIR. The lines at the entrance were rather short compared to other events, but when I entered the main venue, the air was hot and stale, so I had to go back and buy a voucher for a drink. To kill the time before we were admitted to the media-pit, I had a look at the merch and found that some items were not available in every size, so AMORPHIS fans had already bought a lot of merch at the previous shows.
Amorphis
AMOPRHIS are a melancholic Dark Rock / Dark Metal band from Finland, who often merge Rock / Metal elements with some folkloristic elements and often their lyric refer to Kalevala or other classics from Finland. The band will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year. http://www.amorphis.net
Music & Performance
AMORPHIS came on stage around 8 p.m. and the band obviously had considered the problem that people standing in the crowd or in the back of the hall might not see what’s going on. Instead of video-walls, they had opted for solid platforms for the drums and the keyboards linked by stairs, plus three smaller platforms at the centre stage. Drummer Jan Rechberger was the first to come on stage, greeted cheerfully by the crowd and AMORPHIS opened the show with ‘The Bee’ followed by ‘Golden Elk’ both tracks from their latest release ‘Queen Of Time’. They won over Oberhausen from the first riff.
Vocalist Tomi Joutsen addressed the audience several times during the evening and also introduced every member of the band who got a small solo-part after their introduction. Then Santeri Kallio started the intro of my favourite song from ‘Under The Red Cloud’ and I marvelled at Esa Holopainen’s fantastic guitar-play and it seemed that Olli Pekka Laine playing the bass-guitar never left the band for what seemed to be an eternity, since he is back on stage, AMORPHIS are better than ever before. The lightshow illuminated the “thunder of the hammer” the thundering bass-guitar and guitars perfectly and Tomi Joutsens voice effortless switched between brilliant clear singing and heavy dark growls. “How does the band want to top the fantastic atmosphere they already created?” I asked myself. Tomi Joutsen himself gave the answer ‘Sign From The North Side’ a track from AMORPHIS’ first album ‘The Karelian Isthmus’.
I hoped, that the encore would be a song of ‘Tales from a thousand lakes’ (it was the albums 25th anniversary last year) and I was lucky, ‘Black Winter Day’ was on the setlist and the fans knew the vocals by heart. AMORPHIS had played a flawless show, but somehow the crowd in Oberhausen was reluctant to really join in and rock with the band. The front rows rocked really dedicated but most of the people somehow seemed to be there to just listen to the music and I found that somehow disturbing to what I have seen in Munich and Pilsen during the last years. AMORPHIS will play three special shows at Tavastia, Helsinki to celebrate the bands 30th anniversary in spring, make sure, to get your tickets, soon.
Setlist
01. The Bee
02. Heart Of The Giant
03. Bad Blood
04. Silver Bride
05. The Four Wise Ones (new)
06. Into Hiding (new)
07. Against Widows (new)
08. Sampo (new loved it)
09. Wrong Direction
10.The Golden Elk
11. Sign From The North Side
12. House Of Sleep
13. Black Winter Day
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Light: 10
Sound: 9
Total: 9.3 / 10
Dimmu Borgir
DIMMU BORGIR was founded in Norway in 1993 by Shagrath, Silenoz, and Tjodalv and named after unusually shaped lava fields and rock formations in Iceland. Inspired by incarnations of Black Metal from the 80s and 90s and inspired by the works of classical composers such as Wagner and Dvořák, the band’s music was resplendent in its raw & melodic vocals, sombre guitar work, destructive drums, and haunting keyboard melodies. Over the years, DIMMU BORGIR worked with orchestras and choirs and keeps exploring the boundaries of the band. https://www.facebook.com/dimmuborgir
Music & Performance
When DIMMU BORGIR came on stage the air in the venue was even hotter and staler than before but obviously the management had worked a miracle for the front-rows, the stage and the media pit, there was a draft of fresh air, coming from somewhere. While we were waiting, the only thing we could see on stage was the drum set, which was illuminated by candles and a spot. What happened next, was an amazing display of DIMMU BORGIR’s talents, an amazing and perfectly timed lightshow and Oberhausen even started to rock a little bit more.
DIMMU BORGIR opened with ’The Unveiling’ from their latest release ‘Eonian’ followed by ‘Interdimensional Summit’ from the same album. Then there followed a Heavy Metal ride through many of their albums. The thing that will be on my mind for a long time, was the fact, that the thundering guitars, bass and drums made the gallery quiver and the amazing lightshow I could enjoy from the gallery while fully enjoying DIMMU BORGIR at their best.
Setlist
01. The Unveiling
02. Interdimensional Summit
03. The Chosen Legacy
04. The Serpentine Offering
05. Gateways
06. Dimmu Borgir
07. Puritania
08. Ætheric
09. Council of Wolves and Snakes
10. Progenies of the Great Apocalypse
11. Mourning Pala
Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Light: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10
All pictures by Munich Vampire
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