Reithalle Strasse E, Dresden, Germany21st November 2025
Diary of Dreams & Special guest: Auger
Some evenings arrive with the quiet promise of something extraordinary, and the night of 21st November in Dresden was exactly that - a convergence of two distinct musical worlds sharing one stage, one atmosphere, one charged and expectant crowd.
Long before the first note sounded, there was a particular tension in the room: not restlessness, but readiness. The kind of anticipation that comes when you know you’re about to witness not just performances, but a sequence of emotional territories, each with its own landscape, its own gravity. The hall felt like it was holding its breath as the lights dimmed. This wasn’t simply a double-bill; it was a pairing that made sense on a deeper, instinctive level: AUGER, with their immediacy, voltage, and sharply defined emotional current and DIARY OF DREAMS, whose music expands outward like a slow-burning fire, immersive, atmospheric, and rich with memory.
Two acts with different textures, different emotional temperatures, yet united by an ability to create experiences that blur the line between audience and performer. Together, they shaped the night not as two separate chapters, but as a single unfolding, beginning in tension and electricity, moving into depth and resonance, and ultimately settling into something that felt communal, shared, and beautifully sincere. This was not a night of passive listening. It was a night of immersion. A night where sound didn’t just fill the space - it reshaped it, rewired it, and, for a few hours, made Dresden feel like the centre of something meaningful.
Auger
AUGER are a UK-born, Germany-based Darkwave / Dark Rock duo formed by Kyle J. Wilson (vocals, keyboards, programming) and Kieran Thornton (guitar). Since forming in 2017, they’ve built a distinctive, narrative-driven sound defined by heavy electronic foundations, sharp melodic hooks, and an emotional directness that resonates strongly with listeners. Their albums ‘The Awakening’, ‘Insurgence’, ‘From Now On I’, and ‘Nighthawks’ have earned them critical recognition and a devoted fanbase throughout the European dark-scene. Their live shows are known for their immediacy, intensity, and ability to connect deeply with audiences. Kyle’s current drummer Alex was switching drums for guitar for this current tour.
Music & Performance
Some concerts don’t simply introduce you to a band - they open a door. It was my first encounter with AUGER live, and from the moment they stepped onto the stage, it felt as if the entire space shifted its temperature. Their presence was immediate, magnetic, and impossible to ignore. AUGER came with an energy that didn’t just fill the room; it grabbed hold of it and reshaped it.
What struck me first was their natural command of the moment. There is something deeply instinctive about the way they perform - a mix of theatricality, precision, and raw authenticity. AUGER are known for this combination: Dark-Electro foundations infused with sharp hooks, expressive vocals, and a certain narrative quality running through their sets. But experiencing it live is different. The interplay between the two musicians becomes a force on its own, a choreography not of movement but of intention.
Their music hits with the impact of Industrial Rock and the emotional gravity of Dark Electro. The beats land with weight, the synths pulse with urgency, the guitars cut in at exactly the right angles. Yet, beneath that force, there is unmistakable lyricism, the thread that lifts their tracks from pure energy into something more personal, more evocative. Their poetics are not ornamental; they shape how the songs breathe.
This was especially true last night. From the first track onward, they invited the audience not just to listen but to participate in a shared current. The exchange was effortless: a room leaning forward, drawn into every shift of mood and every spark of connection. AUGER’s concerts are known for that sense of reciprocity, and here it was in full form - alive, warm, instinctive. You could feel the give-and-take with every chorus, every gesture, every dynamic rise.
What made this performance so compelling was the balance. AUGER delivered striking intensity: powerful rhythms, bold melodies, the unmistakable edge in their sound, but they paired it with emotional openness. Their set carried moments of uplift, of playfulness, of sincerity. There was positivity, but the kind rooted in passion rather than pretence. At times the atmosphere turned darker and more introspective; at others it lit up with unfiltered enthusiasm. That duality is one of their greatest strengths.
Their newer material blended seamlessly with older favourites, revealing how consistent their artistic identity has become: dramatic yet direct, emotional yet physical, dark yet undeniably human. The lyrical undercurrent; reflections, questions, fragments of personal storytelling - added a depth that made the heavier sections feel earned, not decorative.
Musically, this was a show built on precision and presence. The pacing of the set, the dynamic control, the interplay of electronics and voice - everything shaped the flow of the evening with clarity. And the chemistry between the two musicians made the performance feel not rehearsed but alive. There is joy in how they perform, an unmistakable sense that they are fully present in the moment, feeding off the crowd and giving back twice as much.
What stayed with me most was the sheer “emotional temperature” of the concert. AUGER’s music has the kind of structure that invites movement, but it also invites introspection. Songs that hit like a strike also leave an afterglow. There’s a narrative inside their sound - a journey through shadow and certainty, through doubt and drive - and last night that journey felt vivid, urgent, and beautifully genuine.
This first meeting with the project became something more than discovery; it became a reminder of how powerful live music can be when it carries both force and heart. Their performance in Dresden was a lit-up moment - intense, poetic, and irresistible - and one that will stay with me.
Setlist
01. Goodbye
02. Sound of the Machine
03. Dark Clouds
04. You Are By Nature
05. Where Do We Go
06. The Old Arcade
07. My Guardian
08. Oxygen
Diary of Dreams
For more than three decades, DIARY OF DREAMS have been a defining presence in the Dark-Electro, Gothic, and Darkwave landscape. Founded by Adrian Hates, the project evolved from introspective, guitar- and piano-driven beginnings into a complex, multi-layered universe where electronic pulses, shadowy atmospheres, and poetic lyrics intersect. Albums such as ‘Freak Perfume’, ‘Nigredo’, ‘Elegies in Darkness’, ‘Grau im Licht’ and ‘Hell in Eden’ have secured their status as one of the genre’s most distinctive and emotionally charged bands.
With ‘Chapter 1: Dead End Dreams’, released on 31 October 2025 via Accession Records, DIARY OF DREAMS open a new cycle: a series of mini albums / EPs whose number remains deliberately undefined - “the series ends once the story has been fully told” as Hates explains. The title is taken from an unfinished line in the lyrics of ‘Panik?’ from the 2002 EP ‘PaniK Manifesto’, now expanded into a larger narrative about dark, apocalyptic scenarios and an interior retreat from an overwhelming reality.
Musically, ‘Chapter 1: Dead End Dreams’ distils everything that defines DIARY OF DREAMS - emotive vocals, cinematic electronics, and finely sculpted guitar work - while introducing an even more focused, filmic tension. Live, the new material blends seamlessly with the classics, proving that the band is not only looking back on an immense catalogue but also fully alive in the present, in formidable live form.
Music & Performance
For me, the music of DIARY OF DREAMS has long been a landmark, a towering presence in my musical landscape. Seeing them live last night felt less like “going to a concert” and more like stepping into a ritual of emotion, sound, and resonance - a celebration, yes, but one grounded in depth rather than spectacle.
From the opening moments, the air in the hall changed: the lights dimmed, the first chords rang out, and suddenly the world outside slipped away. Their performance was a powerhouse - both musically and emotionally. There was the physical impact of sound: beats you could feel in your bones, textures that drew you into the heart of each song. But there was also a quieter, more vulnerable dimension: voices that reached out, melodies that lingered, lyrics that invited you in rather than lecturing you.
The band were in outstanding live form, and the set was absolutely fantastic. On this tour they are joined by Yannick Fleming (guitars, backing vocals), whose playing added sharp edges, warmth, and extra dynamic lift to the arrangements. In the space between stage and audience there was an electric current, a shared uplift and release. Older songs and newer ones alike were given fresh breath - each one part of a larger arc, part of a journey.
And when they played ‘Chemicals’ (a song that for me holds its own sacred place), or iconic ‘Butterfly:Dance!’ the effect was stunning: the familiar refrains felt renewed, alive, vital. It wasn’t nostalgia, it was reaffirmation. Each of these songs carried something: history, emotion, transformation. Watching the band move through them felt like witnessing a living archive: their past, their present, our shared experience.
What struck me most was the emotional load: there were moments of exaltation, moments of hushed stillness, moments where the music opened a space for something deeper than words. The beauty of the sounds was tangible: synth lines shimmering, guitars cutting through, voice - at times commanding, at times whispering. They honoured the old while embracing the new. And in that balance they created something rare: a live moment that felt both grand and intimate.
To stand in that hall, among people who clearly share a devotion, and to feel that momentum build - that was special. I loved the positivity: not superficial joy, but a kind of shared uplift, a sense of being part of something alive and breathing. This is the reason why this band matters to me. Because they don’t just perform songs, they conjure spaces. They invite you in and you find yourself changed, even if slightly.
Setlist
01. Kein Allein
02. The Chemistry of Pain
03. Chemicals
04. Mankind
05. Reign of Chaos
06. Viva La Bestia
07. Schuldig!
08. Dead to Me
09. StummKult
10. Nekrolog 43
11. But the Wind Was Stronger
12. King of Nowhere
13. Tomorrow’s past
14. The Secret
15. hurt people hurt people
16. Endless Nights
17. Lebenslang
18. She and Her Darkness
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19. Butterfly:Dance!
20. Undividable
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21. A Day in December
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22. Ikarus (acoustic)
The show in Dresden was more than a gig - it was a meeting of worlds. AUGER came first and struck like lightning, precise, bold, deeply alive. Then DIARY OF DREAMS carried us into a vast, emotional cosmos - intimate, transcendent, real. The two acts complemented each other beautifully: one ignited, the other carried. Walking out of Reithalle Straße E, I didn’t just feel like I had seen a concert. I felt like I had shared something: a moment, a memory, a pulse. Their echoes will stay with me.
All Pictures by Karo Kratochwil
