Großmarkt, Hamburg, Germany15th August 2015
Elbriot Festival 2015 with In Flames, Kreator, Opeth, Enter Shikari, Kvelertak, Callejon, Blues Pills, Black Stone Cherry, Eskimo Callboy and Vitja
On this Saturday morning, after a rainy night, the black metal crowd that was on their way from the Hamburg main station to the Großmarkt which is some walking minutes away, was very hopeful that the day stayed nice. There, the Elbriot Festival would be taking place for the third time. And one thing in advance: the Elbriot is so successful that it will get another day of the finest of metal music next year. Like the year before, more than 10,000 metal heads came along to see the shows. But it seemed like the day demanded all the energy of the people since the after party in the Markthalle was pretty empty.
Vitja
VITJA had the honour to be the opener in 2015. The four guys from Germany filled in very spontaneously for the originally planned MASTODON who had to cancel the gig due to a personal family matter. VITJA did a great job and were surprised how many people already stood in the crowd in front of the stage. They seemed still a bit tired but after some calls from singer Dave Beule they started raising their hands, some jumped and sang along and in the end it did not make the impression anymore that VITJA just started the festival day. Loud Metalcore sounds resounded over the whole Großmarkt area and even the clouds broke open. During the last song, a short but heavy raining shower started, but it did not chase away anyone. VITJA was just founded in 2013 and released an album and an EP, so we can remain curious about how this band will develop. // https://www.facebook.com/vitjaband // Rating: 7 / 10
Eskimo Callboy
Still standing in the rain, calls for ESKIMO CALLBOY became loud. Then suddenly, a guy, not very slim, jumped all over the stage, without a shirt but with a giant bunny head on his head. Then, ESKIMO CALLBOY entered the stage. With their transcore metal, the Germans are kind of a whiz in this genre. The rain went away, the sound was turned down a bit and these two facts remained for the rest of the day. ESKIMO CALLBOY gave some beer showers to the first rows, came down from the stage to the crowd to stand between them while everyone was sitting down and waiting to jump up in order to start the first wall of death. A little disappointment was the missing song ‘Jagger Swagger’ which was recorded together with Basti from CALLEJON who had their gig some hours later. // https://www.facebook.com/eskimocallboy / https://www.eskimocallboy.com // Rating: 8 / 10
Black Stone Cherry
A stylistic inconsistency brought along the US hard rocker BLACK STONE CHERRY. But it was a welcome change, a break from the jumps and a beautiful show, especially with regard to how drummer John Fred Young swung his sticks. It was very sweeping and from time to time, a stick was flying into the crowd but you never saw him really throw them. The smoky voice of Chris Robertson, cool hard rock riffs and even a bass solo made the half hour show perfect. At this time, the weather started to get humid because of the out coming sun so nobody really wanted more than some whipping or head banging to the great music. // https://www.facebook.com/blackstonecherry / www.blackstonecherry.com // Rating 8 / 10
Blues Pills
At first, BLUES PILLS from Sweden seemed like they ran into the wrong festival, the stage scenery would match some kind of Woodstock better. The music can be described as Rock’n’Roll blues and soul and they had some great bass lines. But the songs were often very lengthy. Female singer Elin Larsson danced tirelessly over the stage, always with her tambourine playing to the music. The BLUES PILLS show was more suitable to get some new beer at the bars, without having a guilty conscience that one might miss something important and take a deep breath, before the Hardcore music programme proceeded. The square in front of the stage was filled well so there must have been still enough people who liked their music. // https://www.facebook.com/BluesPills / www.bluespills.com // Rating: 5 / 10
Callejon
Back to the roots of the Elbriot, CALLEJON brought back the Hardcore. Accordingly, the security wore the skull of the last record ‘Wir sind Angst’ (‘We are Fear’). Besides the two parts of the brand new songs, CALLEJON played crisscross through their discography but for someone who has seen their shows a couple of times, there was unfortunately nothing new happening in the last years. The great guitar solo during ‘Snake Mountain’ from the cartoon ‘Heman’ was getting faster every time they played it but the rest of the setlist and show was predictable. However, the guys gave all their power and overall, it was a good festival concert which made the crowd wake up from the long Hardcore break. // https://www.facebook.com/callejon / www.callejon.de // Setlist: 1. Trauma / 2. Wir sind Angst / 3. 1000 PS / 4. Schwule Mädchen / 5. Snake Mountain / 6. Sommer, Liebe, Kokain / 7. Ich lehne leidenschaftlich ab / 8. Dunkelherz / 9. Kind im Nebel / 10. Blitzkreuz / 11. Schrei nach Liebe / 12. Porn from Spain 2 // Rating: 8 / 10
Kvelertak
The Norwegian KVELERTAK started with 10 minutes delay which sshortened their stage time and they had to play one song less. Their music that they call themselves "Black'n'Roll" was fast, exciting and different but after some songs, the new experience was gone and it always felt almost the same. KVELERTAK left out the breaks between the songs, too, so it was sometimes difficult to decide, whether it is already a new song playing or still the same. Some song passages were, like at the BLUES PILLS show, too long - or really just the new one. But all in all, KVELERTAK played a good show, letting the crowd celebrate along and they fitted in this festival day. // http://www.kvelertak.com / https://www.facebook.com/Kvelertak // Setlist: 1. Kvelertak / 2. Nekroskop / 3. Evig Vandrar / 4. Blodtørst / 5. Undertro / 6. Ulvetid / 7. Fossegrim / 8. Offernatt / 9. Månelyst / 10. Bruane Brenn / 11. Mjød // Rating: 7 / 10
Enter Shikari
Singer Rou Reynolds appeared almost noble with his outfit compared with the bands before but it didn't affect his spirits. He had so much energy like he was waiting for days to let it out. ENTER SHIKARI from the UK, another transcore band like ESKIMO CALLBOY, let their singer jump around the stage like a bouncing ball, he climbed everything and of course jumped down to the crowd, too. When he was standing still, it was just because Reynolds grabbed a guitar in order to play some songs. The electro elements in their music made ENTER SHIKARI stand out that evening. // https://www.facebook.com/entershikari / www.entershikari.com // Setlist: 1. The Appeal & the Mindsweep I / 2. Destabilise / 3. Radiate / 4. The Last Garrison / 5. There's a Price on Your Head / 6. Sorry, You're Not a Winner / 7. The Paddington Frisk / 8. Torn Apart / 9. Slipshod / 10. Anaesthetist // Rating: 8 / 10
Opeth
When OPETH started to play, the world stopped. Progressive metal from Sweden which turned down the speed of the bands before. Before they started to play, some jokes were made that OPETH wouldn't make more than three songs because of their length but actually, they played double the amount. OPETH touched the brain, touched the hearts and you just wanted to listen, maybe bob a little to the music, sit down and enjoy. The sun started to go down and the atmosphere was just too perfect. OPETH used their time for their music, less for conversations. But singer Mikael Åkerfeldt had to say one German sentence: “Mein Hund ist dunkelblau” (my dog is dark blue). Good to know. // https://www.facebook.com/Opeth / www.opeth.com // Setlist: 1. Eternal Rains Will Come / 2. Cups of Eternity / 3. The Drapery Falls / 4. To Rid the Disease / 5. The Devil's Orchard / 6. Deliverance // Rating 9 / 10
Kreator
Now it was time for the headliners to start. With two guys holding torches, the intro to ‘Enemy of God’ began and Germany's old school trash metal band KREATOR demonstrated that they are still as good as they have been the past thirty years. Giant streams were discharged through guns into the masses and the prelude was perfect. In the back, big screens completed the show. Many pyros and a lot of smoke during the show which lasted one hour proved that KREATOR gave everything they had. Every available lamp on stage enlightened the band. Singer Mille Petrozza called out for the biggest circle pit of the day and of course the crowd wanted to present it to him. None of the biggest songs were missed and the new stuff went down very well, too. // https://www.facebook.com/KreatorOfficial / http://www.kreator-terrorzone.de // Setlist: 1. Enemy of God / 2. Terrible Certainty / 3. Phobia / 4. Awakening of the Gods / 5. Endless Pain / 6. Warcurse / 7. Mars Mantra / 8. Phantom Antichrist / 9. From Flood into Fire / 10. Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite) / 11. Civilization Collapse / 12. The Patriarch / 13. Violent Revolution / 14. Pleasure to Kill / 15. Tormentor // Rating 9 / 10
In Flames
This year, IN FLAMES from Sweden had the honour to be the headliner of the Elbriot. With their melodic death metal, they rounded out the mix of the different genres the festival had to offer. IN FLAMES gave a “best of” the most known songs, crisscross through their discography. Newbies and old school fans of the band got the perfect mix. Maybe, IN FLAMES lost a bit of their energy in the past years but still no one can say that the concert was not good or that they were not a great headliner for this year. After one hour, everything was over and the Elbriot 2015 came to an end. Without any encores, the band left the stage. The calls for one did not get loud because IN FLAMES haven't given any since years. However, after this setlist, there was nothing else to be desired. // https://www.facebook.com/inflames / www.inflames.com // Setlist: 1. Only for the Weak / 2. Everything's Gone / 3. Bullet Ride / 4. Where the Dead Ships Dwell / 5. Paralyzed / 6. Alias / 7. Deliver Us / 8. Cloud Connected / 9. The Chosen Pessimist / 10. The Quiet Place / 11. Delight and Angers / 12. The Mirror's Truth / 13. Take This Life / 14. My Sweet Shadow // Rating 8 / 10
All Pictures by Jan Termath (http://www.profound-passion.com/)
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