Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany31st March 2024
Impericon Festival 2024 with Paledusk, Thrown, Landmvrks, Polaris, August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying
“Same procedure as every year”. This Easter, your favourite merchandise company IMPERICON has opened the (indoor) festival season in style. And boy did they pack a punch. Europe’s biggest festival club tour has signed up so many big names for the edition of their festival, that the biggest challenge was certainly to decide which band to see on one of the two stages of the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen. I decided to cover mainly the bands on the larger Monster Stage, as the stage times overlapped considerably.
Paledusk
The first band to open the smaller “American Socks Stage” was the Japanese progressive Metalcore band PALEDUSK from Fukuoka. The band toured Europe in the past weeks year as a support for POLARIS and has developed a considerable following over their 10-year lifespan. http://www.paledusk.com
Music & Performance
PALEDUSK attracted quite a considerable number of spectators despite the fact that it was still early afternoon when they were scheduled to play. Those who came, saw a very interesting version of Screamo Metalcore, which certainly got the crowd fired up. Good decision by the band to perform EMINEM’s ‘Lose yourself’ as an intro to their set. Singer Gt.DAIDAI and his bandmates acted with precision, delivering brutal speed parts and impressive breakdowns throughout their 30-minute set, which the audience of the already packed venue seemed to dig, as they gladly followed the singers orders to ‘move your asses and spin that shit’ in the form of circle pits.
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 7
Sound: 5
Light: 5
Total: 6 / 10
Thrown
Up next was Sweden’s best Metalcore newcomers THROWN. The four-piece from Sweden have carved up a loyal following with their uniquely aggressive vocals blended with immensely heavy and distorted guitars. So far, they have released a bunch of singles and one EP ‘Extended Pain’ in 2022. https://www.facebook.com/thrownband
Music & Performance
A thick Hip Hop intro (‘Imaginary Friend’ from GELOWLER) started, the four members of THROWN walked on stage, while the Hip Hop beat was brutally interrupted by the shrill guitar intro of ‘Guilt’, and when the first guitar walls set in, it became clear that this a brutally engineered assault on the ear canals was about to begin. Indeed, I have never heard a more distorted, “rough” guitar sound than from THROWN, so kudos to the band and the sound engineers for making that happen. THROWN’s playing style was nothing short of mesmerizing. The band members displayed exceptional technical prowess, effortlessly transitioning between intricate guitar solos, atmospheric synth textures, and driving rhythms. Their stage presence was equally impressive, as they commanded the stage with an infectious energy that spread throughout the crowd. And shouter Marcus Lundqvist visibly loved his job and delivered his vocals with a wrenching energy and gut-punching passion, it was a pleasure to watch. So this is definitely a band to watch out for, which should be put on the line-up onto a much later spot, so many more people can witness the sheer energy.
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 6
Light: 6
Total: 8 / 10
Landmvrks
Next up on my “must see-list” of this evening went to the French Metalcore band LANDMVRKS. Originating from Marseille, the band formed in 2014, and is currently on their third release (‘Lost in the Waves’ from 2021). Check out www.landmvrks.com for more info.
Music & Performance
Lots of fans filled the room in front of the larger ‘Monster’ stage, and people were screaming in anticipation, as white smoke filled the stage. As the first few notes of ‘Lost in a Wave’ boomed out of the speakers a resounding scream echoed from the darkness of the crowd, frontman Flo sprinting into the spotlight just before the band crashed into the first of many breakdowns of the night! LANDMVRKS have been growing enormously in popularity in the past couple years and tonight really showed that off, every song got an enormous cheer and there was non-stop action in the mosh-pit, and a handful of work for the security people to catch the incoming crowd-surfers. You could tell by the cheeky grins of the band that they were extremely happy with the response! ‘Death’, ‘Creature’ and ‘Self Made Black Hole’ were definite highlights of this evening, which left the crowd screaming for more after the 30 minutes of playtime flew by.
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 8 / 10
Polaris
The latest addition to seemingly growing roster of Australian Metal bands marked the next band of that special evening: POLARIS, a Metalcore band from Sydney, Australia. Founded in 2012, the band has released its debut album ‘The Mortal Coil’ in 2017 and their last album ‘Fatalism’ was released in September 2023. https://www.facebook.com/polarisaus/ or www.polarisaus.com.au
Music & Performance
POLARIS entered the stage with a bang with the first riffs of their song ‘Nightmare’, the approximately 4,000 people inside the arena made it clear that they were here to party, as the first circle pits and crowd surfers started to appear instantaneously. Jamie and his band mates delivered an extremely energetic show, which made it clear they took their job very seriously. After that, the band put the pedal to the metal music-wise once again and gave the people in the mosh pit the heavy riffing they were waiting for. The fans thanked the band in the form of a giant wall of death, which underscored what an excellent addition POLARIS have been for this line-up.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 7
Total: 8 / 10
August Burns Red
The sub-headline spot went to the American Metalcore band AUGUST BURNS RED. Formed in 2003 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the five-piece steadily built and increased their followership over the years by relentless touring and album releases. They are currently on album no. 10, and their last album which is called ‘Death Blow’ was released in March 2023. www.augustburnsred.com
Music & Performance
AUGUST BURNS RED gave the approx. 3,500 listeners the Metalcore treatment they were looking for. Although initially it sounded like the complete opposite. The band used the Eurodance anthem ‘Everybody’s Free’ from ROZALLA as an intro, which was frenetically received by the audience, while the band entered the stage. The Eurotrash frenzy was suddenly interrupted by the opening riff from ‘Composure’, and immediately the first half of the entire Turbinenhalle in front of the stage turned into a giant mosh pit. Front man Jake Luhrs developed an incredible stage presence, screaming and growling while running back and forth on the stage.
Together with the rest of the band members providing the energizing musical input, he unleashed a stream of crowd surfers, who kept the security personnel extremely busy. After 40 minutes of playtime, AUGUST BURNS RED had everyone dripping with sweat and screaming the vocals, as the energy levels inside the venue went through the roof.
Setlist
01. Composure
02. Provision
03. Defender
04. Backfire
05. Bloodletter
06. Animals
07. Paramount
08. Marianas Trench
09. White Washed
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 7
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10
As I Lay Dying
The final band on the line-up were the San Diego, California Metalcore veterans AS I LAY DYING. Founded back in 2000, AS I LAY DYING became a household name in the business of pairing screaming and clean vocals with neck-breaking breakdowns and captivating guitar chords. However, back in 2014 the band went into an hiatus, after singer Tim Lambesis was convicted for soliciting murder of his estranged wife. The band reunited in 2018, and they have released seven studio albums so far. The latest is called ‘Shaped by Fire’ and has been released in 2019. http://www.asilaydying.com
Music & Performance
Certainly, AS I LAY DYING were the most anticipated band of the evening. However, after nine hours of excellent music, a sense of fatigue right before the start of the evening’s last set seemed palpable. All of this was blown away, as soon as AS I LAY DYING took to the stage and hammered home their opener ‘Nothing Left’. This energized the crowd inside the venue to give whatever was left in their tank, and they got the whole crowd moving and jumping in no time again. Lead singer Tim Lambesis showcased his enormous body (he could easily audition for the role of Aquaman) and moshed his long hair during the instrumental parts, while his fellow band members quite literally unleashed pyrotechnics and fireworks with their musical metal performance.
Over the next 60 minutes, AS I LAY DYING proved to be a worthy headliner of this remarkable evening of Hardcore music, and I am definitively looking forward to next year’s celebration of the next Impericon Festival.
Setlist
01. Nothing Left
02. Falling Upon Deaf Ears
03. Through Struggle
04. Redefined
05. Condemned
06. An Ocean Between Us
07. Shaped by Fire
08. 94 Hours
09. The Darkest Nights
10. Blinded
11. Anodyne Sea
12. The Sound of Truth
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13. My Own Grave
14. Confined
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 9
Light: 9
Total: 8.5 / 10
All Pictures by Marcel Rotzoll (https://black-cap-pictures.de)
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