Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany17th January 2015
Hammerfall, Orden Ogan & Serious Black
Just shortly after I reviewed the latest (and pretty good) HAMMERFALL record ‘(r)Evolution’ and so I was lucky to get the opportunity to see them live. After that output I was pumped to see them and now there is one more live event I can tell a story about... The show in Oberhausen was btw sold-out and so, the evening was promising to be hot!
Serious Black
SERIOUS BLACK was formed on a sunny 23rd of August in Spain (the year is not found on Facebook nor the bands website, but I deduct it happened in 2013). The band consists of former BLIND GUARDIAN drummer Thomen “The Omen” Stauch, Roland Grapow (Ex-HELLOWEEN), Mario Lochert (EMERGENCY GATE, ex - VISIONS OF ATLANTIS), Jan Vacik (ex- DREAMSCAPE), Dominik Sebastian (EDENBRIDGE) and vocalist Urban Breed (BLOODBOUND, TAD MOROSE). The guys play rock / metal. http://www.serious-black.com / https://www.facebook.com/seriousblackofficial
Music & Performance
Due to illness of Roland Grapow and Thomen Stauch, the band could not play in its standard line-up, but they did a good job anyway. The new and widely unknown band (aside from well-known members) starts with an epic and slightly cheesy intro and then rocks with ‘Akhenaton’. Singer Urban Breed (that name again...) does a good job on stage although he is not reinventing the art of singing. The mood tonight is already great at this point. To be honest, most of the songs were gone in a split second an didn’t get to stay in my mind but I will give these guys a chance on record and will give them a few turns.
Setlist
01. Temple of the sun (Intro)
02. Akhenaton
03. High and low
04. Setting fire to the earth
05. Sealing my fate
06. Older and wiser
07. I seek no other life
Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 6
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 6 / 10
Orden Ogan
This power metal band came into existence in 1996 and they released three demos over their first decade, named ‘Into Oblivion’ (1997), ‘Anthem to the Darkside’ (1998) and ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ (1999). Their debut ‘Testimonium A.D’ was self-published. After that they regularly recorded albums, the recent one in 2015. ORDEN OGAN performs a mix of folk and power metal, which is a fresh of breath air for those who think power metal is all about high pitched vocals and extreme guitar solos or keyboard solos. Think of ORDEN as a combination of ELUVEITIE and ELVENKING, bridging the gap between folk, melodic death, and power metal. ORDEN OGAN is SEEB (vocals, lead-guitar, keyboards), TOBI (lead-guitar), NIELS (bass) and DIRK (drums). www.ordenogan.de / https://www.facebook.com/ORDENOGAN
Music & Performance
The atmosphere in the hall is getting better by the minute and ORDEN OGAN is partly to blame for that fact. Even if I’m not a great fan of this power metal outfit and their music (I despise folk and / or world music influences and wind instruments in general), I have to admit they have a certain impact on the crowd here in Oberhausen. I don’t know any of their songs so I can’t rate the performance of the songs compared to their outputs but aside their influences the gig is quite okay. The crowd was with them during the whole show, raised their fists high into the air and sang along.
Setlist
01. Orden Ogan
02. F.E.V.E.R.
03. To New Shores of Sadness
04. The Lords of the Flies
05. To the End
06. Ravenhead
07. We Are Pirates
08. Deaf Among the Blind
09. The Things We Believe In
Rating
Music: 6
Performance: 6
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 6 / 10
Hammerfall
HAMMERFALL (the saviours of true metal) is a power metal band from Sweden formed in 1993, a time when metal was slowly wasting away due to the big companies discovery of genres like grunge. Metal wasn`t supported by the big labels anymore, so heavy metal had a hard time and many bands just called it quits. When HAMMERFALL released ‘Glory to the Brave’ in 1997 they revived power metal in all its glory. The critical acclaim that followed the release of the band’s debut was extreme. Some journalists claimed that this band single-handedly saved heavy metal. Originally formed as a project from Oscar Dronjak and Jesper Strömblad, HAMMERFALL participated in the so called Rockslaget a Swedish battle of the bands and got into the semi-final. Now 18 years and several records later, this band has become a heavy metal institution (love them or hate them but ignore them you can’t). HAMMERFALL is Joacim Cans (lead vocals), Oscar Dronjak (lead & rhythm guitars), Pontus Norgren (lead & rhythm guitars), Fredrik Larsson (bass guitar) and Anders Johansson (drums). www.hammerfall.net / www.facebook.com/hammerfall
Music & Performance
For me it’s always the same, the band and the gig stands an falls with the vocalist and Joacim Cans is in excellent form tonight. Before the show really started, loud “Hammerfall, Hammerfall” screams sounded through the hall. And finally, the band appeared on stage, welcomed by loud cheers. To start with ‘Hector’s Hymn’ is right down my alley and provides the spark to ignite the crowd. The atmosphere in there was good from the start but now everyone in here sings as one voice “Hammer high, to the sky!” what a blast! What a band! The setlist supplied the crowd with everything the desired and the band played tight and powerful. The Oberhausen crowd celebrated the band from start to the end and finally after about hundred minutes of finest Swedish Metal, the fans left the hall with great memories of a sweat-inducing show.
Setlist
01. Hector's Hymn
02. Any Means Necessary
03. Renegade
04. B.Y.H.
05. Blood Bound
06. Heeding the Call
07. Let the Hammer Fall
08. Live Life Loud
09. 400 Meter Medley
10. Raise the Hammer
11. Threshold
12. Last Man Standing
13. Glory to the Brave
14. We Won't Back Down
15. Hammerfall
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16. Templars of Steel
17. Bushido
18. Hearts on Fire
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 7
Light: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
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