Live Review: Stoneman - Bochum 2018

Rockpalast, Bochum, Germany
6th September 2018
Geil und Elektrisch with Dynastie, Auger, Alienare, Stoneman, V2A

On the 7th September, the new now sixth album by STONEMAN was released and one day before was tour start for the eponymous tour at the Rockplast in Bochum. In a total of ten cities, the Swiss, which were founded in 2004 by singer Mikki Chixx and drummer Rico H., will promote their ‘Geil Und Elektrisch’ output and bring along a few colleagues from the Dark Rock and Electro scene. The venue is not sold out this Thursday but well filled and everywhere you saw acquaintances from the black scene. Not infrequently, the current T-shirt from the Amphi Festival in Cologne was proudly displayed.


Dynastie

DYNASTIE are the first to let the cat out of the bag. The band was founded in 1996 by shouter Kai Trautmann and can stylistically be categorized as melancholic Electro Pop. Huge drum sounds meet impulsive keyboards and the calm, dark and raucous-sounding voice of the charismatic singer floats above everything. The current line-up includes drums, bass and guitar, namely Konstantinos Exarchos, Mirko Pollmann and keyboard Markus Keller.

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Auger

Next up were British AUGER around vocalist, keyboardist and programmer Kyle Wilson and guitarist Kieran Thornton. The two had an easy game and their energetic, hyper-melodic Darkwave with really danceable rhythms was great. Since the beginning of April this year, their debut work, ‘The Awakening’, is on the market.

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Alienare

The singer T. Green with corresponding green hair, but also mastered all other common instruments, and the keyboardist T. Imo form the duo ALIENARE. Dark Wave and dark-tinged Synth Pop, along with a deep, catchy voice were the hallmark of Hamburg-born guys and convinced the audience.

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Stoneman

Mikki Chix (vocals), Rico H. (drums), Dee (bass) and Ypsilon (guitars) are STONEMAN and today’s headliner, who were starting primetime at 21:00. The quartet characterized a stylistic change from the initially English-speaking Dark Rock to more Neue Deutsche Härte with corresponding electronic bonds and German lyrics. The fourth album, ‘Goldmarie’ from 2014, of which they played today ‘An Die Geräte’, ‘Der Rote Vorhang’, ‘Liebe, Liebe’ and ‘Mord Ist Kunst’, was for the first time completely sung in German and reached for the first time covers of corresponding magazines and fourth place in the German Alternative Charts. ‘Steine’ from 2016 was even more successful and gave the Swiss their first headliner tour, proving that Mikki & Co. are in the right mood and can name their own fans today with a great, rousing show in which could be danced to. Bands like EISBRECHER, NACHTBLUT or HÄMATOM are, sound-wise as well as when it comes to success, idols of the band and push them forward.

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V2A

After STONEMAN, the venue was visibly emptying so that the last bands of the evening, V2A, unfortunately had to play in front of an almost empty hall. V2A, the German-British project, stylistically located between EBM, Industrial and Techno, bothered but little and the five members, dressed in apocalyptic-looking clothes, offered a rousing show. To the dark, engineered, and driving rhythms, there were dark growls by Kevin Stewart (vocalist 304) and bright, snotty shouts from Ines Lehmann (vocalist 306), who came across as punky and puppet-like, even choppy. For percussion and drums 654SMO (Matt) was responsible.

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All pictures by Andreas Gey (Kommodore Johnsen)