Live Review: Ultima Ratio Fest - Oberhausen 2022

Turbinenhalle 2, Oberhausen, Germany
15th October 2022
Ultima Ratio Fest 2022 with Moonspell, Insomnium, Borknagar, Wolfheart and Hinayana

What could be better than celebrating a 30th anniversary with befriended bands? The guys from the Portuguese band MOONSPELL thought so too. So, MOONSPELL invited international bands like INSOMNIUM (Finland), BORKNAGAR (Norway), WOLFHEART (Iceland) and HINAYANA (USA) to celebrate with them at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen.


Hinayana

The band HINAYANA around singer and guitarist Casey Hurd started the evening. Even though the stage was only sparsely decorated with two large banners, the guys really went full throttle. What was immediately noticeable was that besides singer Casey Hurd, the second guitarist Erik Shtaygrud was not playing the usual 6-string guitars, but a 7-string version for a wider sound range. Matt Bius also used a bass guitar with one string more than usual. With deep vocals and fast melodic guitar riffs, the Texans got the audience head banging. https://www.facebook.com/hinayanamusic / https://hinayana.bandcamp.com

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 7
Sound: 8
Total: 7.8 / 10

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Wolfheart

The Finns from WOLFHEART kept the tempo of the evening at the same level with their melodic Death Metal. The fast double-bass attacks of drummer Joonas Kauppinen already pressed a bit in the stomach area. The fast and melodic guitar riffs of Joonas Kauppinen and Tuomas Saukkonen created the right atmosphere among the fans in the audience. Tuomas Saukkonen, besides playing guitar, was also responsible for the vocals. With his deep, dark and smoky voice, he perfectly supported his band mates. https://www.wolfheartmetal.com / https://www.facebook.com/WolfheartRealm

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 6
Sound: 8
Total: 7.5 / 10

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Borknagar

The third band of the evening was BORKNAGAR, also from Scandinavia. They quickly captivated the audience with their Rock and Metal music. Lars A. “Lazare” Nedland behind the keyboards seemed a bit like a preacher speaking to his congregation. So, he sometimes raised his arms and stretched them high. In between, he also took over the vocals from singer Simen “ICS Vortex” Hestnæs. His band colleague Øystein G. Brun on electric guitar, on the other hand, could also communicate with the fans at the edge of the stage. With his long chin beard braided into a plait, he was already an eye-catcher. Jostein Thomassen, the second guitarist, let his long blond hair fly through the air by head banging. https://www.borknagar.com / https://www.facebook.com/borknagarofficial

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8 / 10

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Insomnium

For almost 25 years, the guys from INSOMNIUM have been on the road on stages all over the world, thrilling Metal fans. On this evening, the guys from Finland stood in for MY DYING BRIDE. That the music of INSOMNIUM is called Melodic Metal could be perceived very strongly in Oberhausen. Fast hard melodic guitar riffs, fast drum playing and the rough voice of singer Niilo Sevänen, combined with synth loops. Right at the beginning, the two guitarists Jani Liimatainen and Ville Friman stood next to their singer and bassist on stage and banged their head up and down. Only drummer Markus Hirvonen was not directly visible, but drew attention with his drum beats. https://insomnium.net / https://www.facebook.com/insomniumofficial

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8.5
Light: 8
Sound: 8
Total: 8.1 / 10

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Moonspell

After a break, the members of headliner MOONSPELL came on stage one by one. After the drummer appeared almost unobserved behind his drum kit, the silhouette of the keyboard player Pedro Paixão with his black cowboy hat could be seen. Then, shortly afterwards, guitarist Ricardo Amorim, Aires Pereira on the bass guitar and singer Fernando Ribeiro also came into the spotlight. Fernando raised his arm with fist upwards or sometimes both arms. Very often he also took the microphone stand and played with it. He also liked to show the Metal greeting “Mano cornuta” in the direction of the audience. His singing was sometimes rocky, sometimes growling. With their melodic Dark Metal, the Portuguese have created a large fan community and filled the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen. https://www.moonspell.com / https://www.facebook.com/moonspellband

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8.5
Light: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 8.6 / 10

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

All Pictures by Andreas Klüppelberg