12th – 13th August 2006
M’era Luna Day 1: Sono, Lluther, Northern Lite, Regicide, Gothminister, Midnattsol, Girls under Glass, Dope Stars Inc., Mesh, Liv Kristine, Funker Vogt, Unheilig, Die Krupps, Samsas Traum, Blutengel, Tristania, Front Line Assembly, Deathstars, Nitzer Ebb, The Gathering, Bauhaus
“The festival based at Hildesheim has grown substantially since it's recent beginnings in 2000 and is now a fixture on the European festival landscape. The biggest European wave and gothic festival attracts every year about 25.000 fans to celebrate a melancholic-dark weekend. A fashionable outfit with a touch of middle-age in combination with lacquer and leather is as popular as black colour or if necessary white. The most fans show themselves in the same individual and artificial way like the artists on stage. A lot of the famous bands and artists of the wave and gothic scene are mostly not for the first time at the M'ERA LUNA FESTIVAL. A new album release is not absolutely necessary for an appearance at this festival. The audience often wishes their good known idols to whom they feel close to but they also wait in suspense for unknown newcomers.” The whole festival was attended by nearly 22,000 visitors from all over the world who enjoyed the bands, met friends, got their autographs at several signing sessions and just had lots of fun. http://www.meraluna.de/
When we left for the festival on early Saturday morning it was raining cats and dogs and stayed like this until we nearly reached Hildesheim. But then it stopped raining and despite all the weather forecasts it stayed dry during the whole day – and in fact also on the Sunday. The first festival day was the day of the old heroes: ‘Die Krupps’, ‘Front Line Assembly’, the EBM old-schoolers ‘Nitzer Ebb’ and the fathers of Goth ‘Bauhaus’ were on the agenda - and in-between several other bands that were worth a closer look. Just in time at 11:00 the first band ‘Sono’ was announced by the festival moderator Medusa, who accompanied the whole festival on the main stage.
Sono – Mainstage [CL]
‘Sono’ had worked together as a band for three years now and feel a bit overwhelmed by their quick success. In the beginning, the group had to shop around for a label like all other no-name bands, but in the end they were able to conclude a contract with a major label, Polydor. And not only did their first single ‘Keep Control’ became a surprise hit in Germany, but it also spent an entire six weeks on the U.S. Billboard Dance Charts, where in 2001, it was the very first German hit to be selected “title of the year”. Various colleagues like ‘Trooper Da Don’, ‘Guano Apes’ and ‘Justus Köhncke’ declare themselves fans, while others like ‘Fischerspooner’, ‘Rammstein’ and ‘Timo Maas’ commission them to do remixes. With the first album ‘Solid State’, ‘Sono’ opened the way to new audiences which is even a surprise for them - the long player is not only well received by the dance and pop scene but also by the gothic scene as well and strengthened the band's claim to produce work that is not restricted to a certain genre and that opens the way to new territories. The current album is called ‘Off’ and was released in October last year. In autumn, ‘Sono’ will give in to the request of many fans: They will release ‘SONO RMXD’, a double album with the best remixes from the last six years of ‘Sono’ history - mixes that were only available on rare vinyl or maxi CDs. ‘Sono’ are Lennart A. Salomon, Florian Sikorski and Martin Weiland. http://www.sono.fm/ / http://www.myspace.com/sonomusic
Music
Full bass, more solidly electro sound, creative guitar improvisations and a sensitive voice - this was the little electronic breakfast that the first festival visitors had welcomed. Punctually at 11 o’clock the 3 boys from Hamburg began their gig. Only four songs could be played in 20 minutes - two songs taken from the current album (‘Dangerous’ and ‘New Cage’) and two older songs (‘2000 Guns’ and ‘Blame’). It was a very nice appetizer at this early time.
Performance
Contrary to the weather forecast the suns began to shine and a lot of people were attracted to the main stage. Florian and Martin served the machines in the background virtuosic. In the foreground, Lennart was singing very soulful and playing the guitar at a part of songs.
Setlist
01. Dangerous
02. 2000 Guns
03. New Cage
04. Blame
Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Light (daylight)
Sound 9
Total 8 (7.8)
Lluther – Hangar [NS]
The first concert day at M’era Luna at Hildesheim airport this year. After a nights partying I arrived at the hangar 5 minutes late to a concert I really didn’t know what to think about the show. Never heard of ‘Lluther’ I started to listen to with great interest. http://www.lluther.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/lluther
Music
For me the music sounded a bit like the same. That might have to do with that I don’t listen to heavy metal or almost nothing with live guitars in it. And ‘Lluther’ had at least one guitar on stage. Ok, something about the music then. As I said the music for me sounds a bit like the same, a mix of rock and even harder rock and the singing were quite average. I don’t like compare one group with another but after listening to ‘Ministry’ (review is to be come later) I believe that ‘Lluther’ sounds like ‘Ministry’ with a touch of KMFDM.
Performance
Three guys and one girl on stage making a quite average impression to me. All dressed in black to a black background they all “disappeared” on the stage. Singer, Gerry Owens, seemed like he had partying the whole night before. He just stood there and sang his songs with no engagement at all.
Setlist
01. People Is Ugly
02. Father of Lies
03. In Decline
04. Venus Complex
05. For You
06. American Gods
07. Agents of Empire
08. Disconnect from Me
Rating
Music 5
Performance 3
Light (partly daylight)
Sound 4
Total 4 (4.1)
Northern Lite – Mainstage [NS]
Arriving about 10 minutes late because I looked and listen to ‘Lluther’ before. ‘Northern Lite’ played at the main stage. The fact that I missed 10 minutes of the concert resulted in that I only heard 4 songs from this interesting German band that I never had heard of. http://www.northernlite.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/northernliteband
Music
With no exceptions at all ‘Northern Lite’ impressed me. ‘Northern Lite’ are doing what I should call techno-electric-goth with a touch of trance. A six song long concert gave me more to hope for. If you had taken. After standing listening to it for a while I realised that I really liked what I’m heard and that surprised me a lot. Might be that my expectations were none. The four songs I heard were really powerful, although in the two last songs it became more and more goth.
Performance
To perform in bright daylight doesn’t make any group justice and ‘Northern Lite’ is no exception. Ok, I don’t think that the show would have been better anyway because they seemed to be bored standing on the stage and no charisma. So in fact it was a quite bad stage show but the music made it a bit better.
Setlist
01. No escape
02. Reach the sun
03. My pain
04. Cocaine
05. Gimme what I want
06. Go with the flow
Rating
Music 8
Performance 5
Light (daylight)
Sound 6
Total 7 (6.6)
Regicide – Hangar [CL]
‘Regicide’ is a split between metal, gothic and musical. The band was founded in 2001 and consists of Frauke Richter (vocals), Timo Südhoff (vocals), Heiner Jaspers (piano), Jonna Wilms (violin), Jan Janssen (guitar), Malte Hunold (bass) and Til Kasmann (drums). The first release ‘Viorus’ came out in 2004, the current album was released in February this year and is called ‘Break the Silence’. http://www.regicide.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/regicidemusic
Music
Modern, hard and quite complex guitar reefs met classically shaped piano play as well as sad and additionally sometimes dramatic played violin sounds. The two singers shaped the sound, they alternated, sang unanimously or in two voices, sometimes strong and then again introverted or dreamy.
Performance
As the gig started with a 12 minutes delay and the hangar was filled very well. ‘Regicide’ presented their set self-confident, powerful and play-joyfully. The band members sovereign controlled their instruments. They were well coordinated to perfectly act together. Visually particularly pretty Jonna impressed at the violin. The gig started with ‘Pirates’, taken from the current album, followed by the highlights ‘An Embracing Spaces II’ and ‘An Embracing Spaces III’. The current single ‘The Hanger-On’ completed the gig.
Setlist
01. Pirates
02. An Embracing Space II
03. An Embracing Space III
04. The Fragrance
05. The Hanger-On
Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light (daylight)
Sound 7
Total 7 (7.4)
Gothminister – Mainstage [CL]
‘Gothminister’ was formed by Bjorn Alexander Brem in 1999. In 2000 the keyboard player Halfface joined in, followed by the guitar player Machine and Dementia aka the photographer Sandra Jensen (who developed the art direction of the band). They played all the big German festivals like WGT, Dark Storm Festival, M’era Luna Festival and the Schattenreich Festival. Since 2003, the band has two new members: keyboardist Android and live drummer Chris Dead. ‘Gothminister’ is currently working on the follow up album to ‘Empire of Dark Salvation’. The album will include live video material from this year’s European and US tours and festivals. This gig at the M’era Luna in 2006 is the 3rd one at this festival. http://www.gothminister.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/gothminister1
Music
The music can be described as Goth Metal with electronic elements - floating and danceable sound including orchestral parts. The set started with ‘Forgotten’, followed by songs from the both available albums ‘Empire of Dark Salvation’ and ‘Gothic Electronic Anthems’ and finished with ‘Happiness in Darkness’.
Performance
The performance was imaginative and diversified. Pyrotechnic effects like red fog at the very beginning, sparkling guitars and smoking skulls entertained the audience successfully. The band members were dressed in black with white rouged faces. Singer Bjorn was additionally wearing a strange looking walking stick and a black hat. Sometimes, the performance of the band appeared a little overacted and plateful – but it entertained the audience very well.
Setlist
01. Intro (Daughter of S)
02. Forgotten
03. Angel
04. We Die In Dreams
05. Gothic Anthem
06. Devil
07. Nachtzehrer
08. March of the Dead
09. Monster
10. Happiness in Darkness
Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light (daylight)
Sound 9
Total 8 (7.7)
Midnattsol – Hangar [MD]
‘Midnattsol’, translated as "midnight sun", is a Norwegian/German band. Their music can be described as "Nordic folk metal". Their lyrics are mostly inspired by Norwegian mythology, about fairies, trolls and elves. The band was founded in 2002 by singer Carmen Elise Espeneas (the younger sister from Liv Kristine) and guitarist Chris Hector. The band was completed by Daniel Fischer (keyboards), Birgit Öllbrunner (bass guitar), Daniel Froste (guitar, acoustic guitar) and Chris Merzinsky (drums). ‘Midnattsol’ has brought out one album so far: ‘Where Twilight Dwells’. http://www.midnattsol.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/midnattsolfan
Music
This band was programmed in the Hangar. Most of us will know that this setting is famous for its lousy sound quality and for bands like ‘Midnattsol’, having refined melodies and classical elements; it's hard to get the music to show to full advantage. This band had got 40 minutes to show their qualities. The intro sounded like the beginning of a fantasy movie soundtrack. The instruments formed a solid collective, but during the first part of the show Carmen's microphone was tuned in too low, so it was hard to hear what she was singing. On the CD, her voice sounds warm and folksy, but now she sounded unsteady and she sang somewhat out of tune. During the set, the sound engineer turned up the sound on her microphone a little bit, but in the harder parts her voice still seemed to fade away. The setlist mostly contained up-tempo tracks, with one point of rest, the partly acoustic song ‘Unpayable Silence’. The last song, Tavt Av Håp, was dedicated to Sabine Dünser, the singer of ‘Elis’ who died some weeks ago - the band was supposed to play on this festival as well.
Performance
Carmen looked like a fairy in her beautiful long white dress. Although her voice was unclear, she made a relaxed impression and moved graciously on stage. She was regularly searching for eye contact with the audience and made gestures to show her enthusiasm. At times, the attention of the audience was distracted by the female bass player, Birgit. She almost stole the show with her wild appearance. Mostly, she moved along the front of the stage, head banging and looking at the audience as if to see how they would react. The guitarists mostly seemed to be in their own little world, banging their heads with their long hair covering their eyes. The band entered the stage in a lot of smoke. During the whole show lots of smoke was used, but mostly the back of the stage was covered with it. Because of this fact and because there wasn't much light in the back, the band members who stood there could hardly be seen sometimes. The keyboard player only caught some backlights and the drummer didn't get any lights at all. Carmen got some front light although it wasn't too much. Although the show was held inside there was still a lot of daylight entering the hangar, so the light effects only partly made a contribution to the show.
Setlist
01. Dancing With The Midnightsun
02. Another Return
03. Unpayable Silence
04. Lament
05. Desolation
06. Another Return
07. Tapt Av Hap (dedicated to Sabine Dünser from ‘Elis’)
Rating
Music 5
Performance 7
Light 5
Sound 4
Total 5 (5.45)
Girls under Glass – Mainstage [KM/DV]
The band from Hamburg/Germany was founded back in 1986 and is still alive. On the M’era Luna, ‘Girls under Glass’ celebrated – after the release of nine studio albums – their 20th birthday together with their fans and a special stage performance. The most recent album ‘Zyklus’ was released in 2005 by Dependent Records. ‘Girls under Glass’ are Volker Zacharias aka Zaphor (vocals & guitars), Hauke Harms (electronics) and Axel Ermes (bass & guitars & noises). On stage, they were supported by Lars Baumgart on guitar and Jenny Kähler for backing vocals. http://www.girlsunderglass.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/girlsunderglass1986
Music
Definitely, the concert of ‘Girls under Glass’ was the one many people had been waiting for. During M'era Luna 2006, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary and hence the concert had been thought as a special one. Indeed, the music that took many fans off their feet was a blend of all the necessary elements: guitars, characteristic, unique vocals and electronics. Not being an expert of the band's artistic output I rely on the comments I heard after the show. According to the fans it was a revelation and fantastic music feast. Surely, it's hard to omit the perfection and artistry of all the musicians and the special ways the members of the band presents on the stage.
Performance
As I have already said: the concert was thought as a special once. During the show the vocalist presented the songs together with other musicians of various bands, e.g. Peter Spilles of ‘Project Pitchfork’, Oswald Henke of ‘Goethes Erben’ and Eric Burton of ‘Catastrophe Ballet’. That was definitely a manoeuvre that enriched the whole concert and attracted attention to its special nature. The musicians were rather static - apart from the vocalist and the artists accompanying him by the stage who in turn were very vivid and lively occupied most of the stage space. I was standing too far to see more details, so let me just say that in case of ‘Girls under Glass’ the 20 years of artistic activity is an advantage and not a burden.
Setlist
01. Touch Me
02. When I Think About You
03. Truly Living
04. Frozen
05. Feuerengel
06. Lucky
07. Burning Eyes
08. Die Zeit
09. Du Tier
10. Ohne Dich
Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Light (daylight)
Sound 7
Total 7 (7.47)
Dope Stars Inc. – Hangar [KM]
Originating from Rome in Italy, the band started in 2003 and as they speak of themselves they are "young, loud and synthesized". Their artistic output is collected on two albums '10.000 Watts of Artificial Pleasures' and 'Neuromance' as well as a new EP 'Make a Star' and a variety of compilations. 'Dope Stars Inc.' are Victor Love (vocals, guitars, synths, programming), Grace Khold (synthesizers), Darin Yevonde (bass) and Alex Vega (guitar). http://www.dopestarsinc.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/dopestarsinc
Music
What can I say... M’era Luna 2006 concert of Dope Stars Inc. was my second contact with the band playing live and the first impression that comes to my mind is that gentlemen increase the level of heat and passion presented on the stage with every concert. Their show on M’era Luna festival was even more energetic and rhythmical than the one on Amphi Festival and it definitely freaked the audience out. The music presented by the band is a combination of guitar riffs, strong, vibrating vocals of Victor Love and an avalanche of charisma that links the whole music and gives it the quality of steel hitting the fans' heads. The return to consciousness might be long and painful, so some people prefer staying in the amok instead :) The songs presented by the band were both - the recent output and the older tracks, so I believe both the fans and those unfamiliar with the music of DSI were all satisfied.
Performance
What I like most about DSI shows in the uncontrollable, unrestrained energy that emanates from the stage when the musicians start their concerts. Gentlemen's image, behaviour and style are very fine and inspiring. This time there was no disappointment either: the audience was given a fair share in power, strength and merciful beat of DSI music and performance. During the song "Theta Titanium" the vocalist was waving a flag (with which he almost ruined the microphone, but that was quite funny) and the musicians were standing on the edge of the stage and scanning the song and shaking their fists at the audience energetically to encourage the people to participate in the concert up to 100%. As for me - they succeeded. One thing is sure: though there might be some people who are not fond of DSI music or image, it's hard to deny their enthusiasm and creativity.
Setlist
01. Plugndie
02. Infection 13
03. Theta Titanium
04. Vyperpunk
05. Make a Star
06. Rebel Riot
07. Generation Plastic
08. Self Destructive Corp.
09. Defcon 5
Rating
Music 8
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 7
Total 8 (7.7)
Mesh – Mainstage [CL]
‘Mesh’ come from Bristol, were founded in 1991 and consist of Mark Hockings, Neil Taylor and Richard Silverthorn. ‘Mesh’ is one of my favourite bands – it’s ingeniously Synth pop with beautiful melodies, catchy refrains and significant lyrics. Caution, it makes addicted! In spring this year, they were touring through Germany to promote their wonderful new album ‘We Collide’ and now the fans were very happy to see ‘Mesh’ again here in Germany at M’era Luna. Last year, ‘Mesh’ already played at M’era Luna, but in the Hangar. This time they played on the main stage and it was the largest audience ever for ‘Mesh’. http://www.mesh.co.uk/ / http://www.myspace.com/meshwecollide
Music
The show started with a remixed version of ‘Petrified’ - the second A-Side of the current single ‘My Hands Are Tied / Petrified’, which was released a week ago. After it, the show went on with a good balance between older songs - like ‘Trust You’, ‘Leave You Nothing’ or ‘Fragile’ - and songs taken from the current album. The gig finished with ‘From This Height’ with the fantastic outro again. A great show, sadly the bass was a little bit too overdriven at some songs.
Performance
Like already the tour in spring, ‘Mesh’ used guitars on stage at some songs and were supported by a live drummer. The whole crowd was dancing and feting due the sweeping, powerful and passionate performance of this fast and danceable set. It was fun to watch which with what a passion the band played for us. Finally they left the crowd excited and satisfied. I'm sure that some more people are added to the fan crowd with this show.
Setlist
01. Petrified (remix)
02. Trust you (remix)
03. My hands are tied
04. Leave you nothing
05. Can you mend hearts
06. Open up the ground
07. Fragile
08. From this height
Rating
Music 10
Performance 8
Light (daylight)
Sound 8
Total 9 (8.9)
Liv Kristine – Hangar [CL]
Liv Kristine - the charismatic singer with the unique and seducing voice - announced the comeback of her solo project in 2005. Together with ‘Leaves' Eyes’ she has gained worldwide success. Moreover, in her former band ‘Theatre of Tragedy’ she and her soprano-voice were always in the centre of attention. As a solo artist she enchants with pop music of her own brand. On her debut solo album ‘Deus ex Machina’ she kept the listeners with intensive melodies, soft ballad tunes and poppy ear-wigs. The single releases ‘3am’ (featuring Nick Holmes/‘Paradise Lost’) and ‘One Love’ were chosen to be the title tracks of the famous German TV-movies "Tatort" and "Schimanski", where Liv got introduced to a large audience. At various concerts and sold out festivals (i.e. Dark Storm Festival, Wave Gotik Treffen), she again underlined her enormous talent and charming appearance. No wonder that there always are musicians asking for collaboration with the talented Norwegian singer. The long expected new solo album ‘Enter my Religion’ was released in March 2006. http://www.livkristine.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/livkristinepage
Music
Liv performed new and older songs and it was pleasing to the ear to listen to the beautiful voice of this congenial and pretty singer. Sadly the voice was too quietly because of bad sound conditions in the Hangar.
Performance
Visually and acoustically, Liv Kristine formed the centre of the show - the musicians only supported her. With the song ‘My Revelation’, the fans were surprised with a special guest on the stage: The sister of Liv Kristine entered the stage and the two sisters performed the song together. It was the first time ever that they sang together publicly on a stage.
Setlist
01. Intro
02. Over the moon
03. My revelation (with her sister)
04. Fake a Smile
05. Deus ex Machina
06. 3 a.m.
07. Trapped in your Labyrinth
08. A Distance there is
Rating
Music 7
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 7
Total 7 (7.3)
Funker Vogt – Mainstage [NS]
I believe this was my 5th show with ‘Funker Vogt’, the four German guys ready and dressed to go to war - at least thinking of the guy to the right playing synthesizer. With green painted face and quite an angry charisma he really rocked on stage. http://www.funkervogt.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/funkervogt1
Music
The first song ‘Navigator’ bounced out from the loudspeakers following by both ‘Killing fields’ and ‘Fallen hero’. With their energetic EBM of the highest class they put a spell on the audience for 40 minutes. This is EBM when it’s best; it doesn’t get any better then this. Though the last songs were not that good what takes the grade down a bit.
Performance
It’s quite fun to compare two concerts. I saw ‘Funker Vogt’ at Arvika Festival, Sweden, about two months ago at two a clock in the morning on the last day, quite tired myself and about 1,000 people. In Hildesheim they entered the stage at 3.50 pm in front of 15,000 visitors. This really affected Gerrit Thomas in a positive way. In Hildesheim he seemed to have more energy, but it’s not that strange – 15,000 jumping people are hard to ignore, that would have that effect on everybody. After the show they throw t-shirts and other stuff to the audience which reminded me about the hat I got at their show in Arvika 1999. I wonder where that is?
Setlist
01. Intro
02. Navigator
03. Killing fields
04. Fallen hero
05. Take care
06. Killing ground
07. Gunman
08. Tragic hero
09. Worlds of power
Rating
Music 8
Performance 7
Light (daylight)
Sound 7
Total 7 (7.4)
Unheilig – Hangar [CL]
‘Unheilig’ is a band with a firm place in Germany’s musical story and with its roots in Electro-Rock. ‘Unheilig’ that’s German lyrics combined with the distinctive deep voice of "The Graf. The current album ‘Moderne Zeiten’ (modern times) was released in January this year. Appearance and charisma of "The Graf" give a special touch to the live performance of ‘Unheilig’. Three weeks ago we could see ‘Unheilig’ in Cologne at the Amphi Festival and I was very curious now about any set list changes or other surprises. http://www.unheilig.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/unheilig / http://www.myspace.com/unheiligfanpage
Music
The set list was quite similar to the one in Cologne, but not identical. The highlight of the show was the new song ‘Ich will leben’ (I want to live) which was composed by "The Graf" an Peter Spilles from the band ‘Project Pitchfork’ together. This was the first time ever that this song was presented in public.
Performance
Red light, a lot of altar candles all over the stage, the big clock in the background that displayed 5 to 12 – that was the setting when "The Graf" entered the stage - the same scenery like in Cologne and also the same charismatic performance. The show started with ‘Luftschiff’ after the intro, followed by the ballade ‘Astronaut’. For the curiously expected presentation of the new song ‘Ich will leben’, Mr. Peter Spilles from ‘Project Pitchfork’ entered the stage and was received with cheers. The audience enjoyed the new song which sounds more like ‘Unheilig’ than like ‘Project Pitchfork’. After it, the show went on with hits like ‘Freiheit’, ‘Sage Ja’ and ‘Machine’. Again this time during the last song ‘Mein Stern’ some sparklers were distributed to the audience and generated sentimental vibes in the hangar.
Setlist
01. Das Uhrwerk
02. Luftschiff
03. Astronaut
04. Auf zum Mond
05. Ich will leben
06. Freiheit
07. Sage Ja
08. Maschine
---
09. Mein Stern
Rating
Music 7
Performance 9
Light 7
Sound 8
Total 8 (7.8)
Die Krupps – Mainstage [NS]
Still being on their 25th anniversary tour it was no surprise to see those dinosaurs of good old EBM on the main stage at M’era Luna festival too. http://www.die-krupps.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/diekrupps
Music
I was around 13 years old when I heard anything from ‘Die Krupps’ at the first time. During the last ten years they have going from noise, EBM and industrial sound to harder metal. At M’era Luna I got really disappointed. I didn’t recognize them anymore. Musically they know what they are doing but to us, “the old guys”, who have listen to them since the early days got really disappointed. Sometimes it sounds more like ‘Metallica’ then ‘Metallica’ themselves. When sitting on the grass drinking cola I heard one song that I really liked – I believe the song was called ‘To the hilt’ – but that was the only one.
Performance
What to say about the performance? Not much actually. What to say when 5 guys standing there, barely moving with no charisma at all.
Rating
Music 5
Performance 4
Light (daylight)
Sound 4
Total 4 (4.4)
Samsas Traum – Hangar [MD]
‘Samsas Traum’ is a gothic/industrial/metal band that started in 1996 as a solo-project by Alexander Kaschte. Three years later, two new members joined the band and brought out their official debut ‘Die Liebe Gottes - Eine märchenhafte Black Metal Operette’, which contains an interesting mixture of industrial with classical music. After hardly two years the two new band members left the band. In the same period saxophone player Daniel Schröder joined in. The saxophone gives ‘Samsas Traum’ its unique sound, never heard before in the industrial scene. After a lot of coming and going of different guest musicians (that's how Alexander calls all his (ex-) band members because he still sees himself as a solo-artist) the band now consists of the following members: Alexander Kaschte (vocals), Daniel Schröder (saxophone), Martin "Acid Loverboy" Gutmann (keyboards) and Michael Puchala (guitars). http://www.samsas-traum.info/ / http://www.myspace.com/samsastraum
Music
‘Samsas Traum’ was programmed in the Hangar. From the beginning it was clear that this band is very popular in Germany. The audience was reacting very enthusiastic and most people were able to sing along with their songs. Most songs on the setlist were fast, ska-like songs that made people jump up. You could compare this with the music from the popular 80's band ‘Madness’, mixed with heavy black and gothic metal parts. On this merely relaxed festival, there were even some people crowd surfing when this band played. Personally I'm not so fond of Alexander's voice, which contains a mixture of singing and "rapping", which I'd rather call talking. The overall sound was quite acceptable, although they played in the Hangar. It seemed that how faster the songs were, the more masked the bad sound quality was. It was a real shame that the saxophone, which actually can be seen as their trademark, couldn't be heard during the first part.
Performance
Most of the time, Alexander sang with his eyes closed, but regularly he walked to and from on stage and made contact with the audience by stimulating them to sing, scream and clap along. At these moments, the audience was the centre of the show with bright lights shining upon them. During the show the well-known hand puppet had its part too. Alexander grabbed it and used it to sing along with during a song. That looked rather stupid in my opinion. Another way to attract the attention was by throwing some white t-shirts with the ‘Samsas Traum’ logo into the audience. The keyboard player was totally freaking out when playing his instrument, which was very funny to see. The other band members, except the saxophone player, didn't attract so much attention. The light effects were not so special, partly because of the daylight coming from outside. Mostly white backlights were used and few red front lights.
Rating
Music 6
Performance 6
Light 5
Sound 6
Total 6 (5.9)
Blutengel – Mainstage [CL]
‘Blutengel’ was founded in 1998 by the mastermind Chris Pohl. Characteristic for this project are catchy sounds combined with male and female singing. The lyrics content all spectra of love and romantic and the live performance of ‘Blutengel’ is famous for amorous dancing. The last releases came out in 2005 – ‘The Oxidising Angel EP’ and a DVD ‘Live Lines’. Last year, Eva Pölzing left the band and was replaced by Ulrike Goldmann. ‘Blutengel’ are Chris Pohl (programming, lyrics, vocals), Constance Rudert (vocals, lyrics, visual concept), Ulrike Goldmann (vocals, lyrics) and Sonja (performance). http://www.blutengel.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/vampireromance
Music
Critics maintain the songs sound similar to each other and really it's not easy to differ between the individual songs if you are not a fan. The show started with ‘Oxidising angel’ taken from the last released EP, followed by various songs through the band’s history - everything catchy and danceable. It was easy-digestible food but pleasing to the eye.
Performance
It was to be regarded an imaginative stage setting, sexy dancers, pyrotechnic effects, much naked skin and artificial blood. The dance performance was nice to look at, particularly for the male part of the audience, but I missed musicians on the stage! Only the vocals were sung live, the music was played from tape completely as like a karaoke show. Anyway, the fans were satisfied and the show has not been boring!
Setlist
01. Oxidising angel
02. Go to hell
03. Solitary angel
04. Navigator
05. Beauty of suffering
06. Bloody pleasure
07. Lovekiller
08. Seelenschmerz
09. Vampire romance
10. Children of the night
Rating
Music 6
Performance 9
Light (daylight)
Sound 9
Total 8 (7.6)
Tristania – Hangar [CL]
‘Tristania’ is a gothic metal band from Norway, formed in the end of 1996. Their music is usually classified as Gothic metal, due to its strong ties with the genre's history, and the band making use of styles and traits stereotypical of the genre. Bandmembers: Vibeke Stene (female vocals), Osten Bergoy (clean vocals), Anders Hoyvik Hidle (guitars), Rune Osterhus (bass), Einar Moen (keyboards/programming), Kenneth Olsson (drums) and Svein Terje Solvang (live guitar/vocals). http://www.tristania.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/tristaniaofficial
Music
The show was a good balance of songs taken from different releases of the band history including a song from the upcoming album ‘Illumination’. The symbiosis of classic and electronic instruments combined with the different vocals of the three singers was nice to listen for everyone who likes this genre.
Performance
The performance was affected by the interplay of the three different voices of ‘Tristania’ and the powerful metal performance of the musicians. Quickly, the spirit and power of the music passed to the audience and the musicians were not the only head banging people.
Setlist
01. Angellore
02. Angina
03. The Ravens
04. Libre
05. Beyond the Veil
06. Sequel of Decay
07. The Wretched!!
Rating
Music 7
Performance 7
Light 7
Sound 7
Total 7
Front Line Assembly – Mainstage [NS]
Ok, now we’re talking. One of the main reasons that I went to M’era Luna this year, was this Canadian industrial group entering a European stage again. At 7.30 p.m. they entered the stage. Bill Leeb seemed to like it on stage together with Adrian White (drum), Chris Peterson (keyboard), Jared Slingerland (guitar) and Jeremy Inkel (keyboard). Rhys Fulber was unfortunately missing. With a brand new album, FLA were ready to please 20,000 excited visitors in the audience including me. http://www.mindphaser.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/frontlineassembly1
Music
The band started roughly with some of the new great stuff from ‘Artificial soldier’. ‘Front Line Assembly’ brought a great mix of both old and new tunes - mostly newer ones. Those who recently started to listen to FLA really enjoyed the show. But for me, who have listened to them for a while, missed some of the old stuff, to little for me to sing along to. Sometimes I just felt bored, too much guitars and too much rock ’n’ roll all over. The final track ‘Mindphaser’ made the crowd going wild. And that final track also made the concert better then the whole concert before and it was worth waiting for. Unfortunately after the show wandering away from the concert I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed anyway.
Performance
With a lot of expectations I really enjoyed the show. But something was missing. Maybe it was the darkness? Or the lack of darkness? As I have said earlier I believe that any concert would have been better in the evening with artificial light instead of daylight. Considering this, FLA made an average show. Not that I have anything to compare with because I haven’t seen them before. But back to the show. What an entertainer Mr. Leeb is - great contact with the audience. I never saw them in the 80’s but they probably had as much fun then as they had now. I read an interview with Bill Leeb where he said that they have a lot more to give then they have done. That sounds good for the future.
Setlist
01. Buried Alive
02. Vigilante
03. Dead Planet
04. Bio-Mechanic
05. Maniacal
06. Millenium
07. Unleashed
08. Plasticity
09. Gun
10. Mindphaser
Rating
Music 6
Performance 7
Light (daylight)
Sound 8
Total 7 (6.7)
Deathstars – Hangar [MD]
‘The Deathstars’ are a powerful industrial metal band, formed in Gothenburg, Sweden. The largest part of the band consists of members from the former death-/thrash metal band ‘Swordmaster’ and some members from the bands ‘Dissection and Opthalamia’. Their lyrics are about the dark sides of life: death, suicide, war and destruction, all brought with glitter & glamour completed with an evil grin on their faces. ‘The Deathstars’ have topped the TV-charts in Sweden and Germany, but have also been banned from TV-stations for their controversy. The band members are: Andreas "Whiplasher Bernadotte" Bergh (vocals), Emil "Nightmare Industries" Nödtveidt (guitars and keyboards), Jonas "Skinny" Kangur (bass and backing vocals), Ole "Bone W Machine" Öhman (drums) and Eric "Cat" (guitars). http://www.deathstars.net/ / http://www.myspace.com/deathstars
Music
After a short intro, the band members entered the stage and the opening song ‘New Dead Nation’ blasted through the speakers. A rightly chosen opening in which the voice of the bass player/background singer Skinny was somewhat more placed on the foreground. The audience was served with thrilling duelling vocals: on the one hand there was the voice of Whiplasher, dark and raw and on the other hand Skinny's blood chilling whispers. Their show was like an unstoppable train, rushing forward. The setlist contained of a mixture of songs from the two albums they had made: ‘Synthetic Generation’ and ‘Terminal Bliss’. From the beginning to the end the music was very powerful with heavy guitar riffs, and electronic and keyboard sounds on playback. This tight set kept the enthusiastic audience awake. The bad acoustics in the hangar were masked because of this powerful whole.
Performance
After the intro, with spheric blue lights the band members entered the stage, dressed in green army-like shirts and black latex pants. Their faces were dyed white and they wore some dark make-up. Skinny looked like a twin-brother from Marilyn Manson. Whiplasher also wore a cap and a black and white feather-boa, as if to present the dark side of glitter and glamour. During the show he took his upper clothes off , his naked chest only covered by the boa, which he threw in the audience later on. He moved around a lot on the stage, and at times he lied down on his back on the floor or across a monitor speaker. The audience was even presented with a short erotic scene. At one moment Whiplasher walked over to one of the guitar players and started tongue-kissing him. All musicians showed themselves as very energetic creatures on stage and it was clear that they enjoyed themselves. They made eye-contact with each other and with the audience. The use of smoke and lights was right in balance. It was somewhat striking that in the beginning only few front lights were used, but when the photographers had left the photo pit these lights brightened up some more.
Setlist
01. New Dead Nation
02. Blitzkrieg
03. Tongues
04. Synthetic Generation
05. Motherzone
06. Little Angel
07. The Last Ammunition
08. Damn Me
09. Trinity Fields
10. Play God
11. Virtue to Vice
12. Semi-Automatic
13. Cyanide
Rating
Music 8
Performance 9
Light 7
Sound 6
Total 8 (7.9)
Nitzer Ebb – Mainstage [NS]
I don’t believe that ‘Nitzer Ebb’ needs any further presentation. And if you do – you may quit reading this review right now. After more than ten years away from the stage, ‘Nitzer Ebb’ is back! http://www.nitzer-ebb.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/nitzerebbmusic
Music
I have listened to ‘Nitzer Ebb’ since the beginning. I can’t remember when I first heard anything from them but it was a loooooong time ago. What I want to say with this is, that it’s hard for me make a fair review of ‘Nitzer Ebb’, who I have listen to for as long as I remember. But I will try... The first two songs Bon Harris joined Douglas McCarthy on vocals but later on he got to his drums, and the singing was taken care of by Douglas McCarthy with his characteristic and explosive voice. With bone hard EBM pumping out from the loudspeakers the crowd went crazy. I believe that everyone at the festival was there. With tunes like ‘Let your body learn’, ‘Getting closer’ and ‘Murderous’ it is really hard to stand still. A great mix from all the albums made this a concert to remember. I have never been to a concert that has been only good – not even this one. One negative thing was that it was too long. 1 hour and 15 minutes jumping around really kills your feet.
Performance
With black trousers, greyish shirt and dark sunglasses, Douglas McCarthy and his partner in crime Bon Harris (dressed in black) and with a very sexy blond girl, Kourtney Klein, entered the stage. With two sets of drums, one for Bon and one for the “guest player” - the beautiful Kourtney Klein - and a Douglas McCarthy almost everywhere on the stage the performance was great from these guys. This was the third time I saw ‘Nitzer Ebb’ playing live ever. The very first time was at Stadt Hamburg in Malmö, Sweden, in the 80’s. Around 500 people in the audience were watching back then. The second time was in Arvika, Sweden, about a month ago with approx 10,000 in the audience. The third was here at M’era Luna. And I have to say it was better in both Malmö and Arvika. It was more intimate then at M’era Luna. I don’t say that they made a bad show only less good, I just couldn’t stop smiling.
Setlist
01. Intro
02. Getting Closer
03. Let Your Body Learn
04. Shame
05. Hearts And Minds
06. Captivate
07. Godhead
08. Blood Money
09. For Fun
10. Ascent
11. Lightning Man
12. Control I'm Here
13. Murderous
14. Join In The Chant
---
15. Fun To Be Had
16. Family Man
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17. I Give To You
Rating
Music 9
Performance 8
Light 8
Sound 9
Total 9 (8.6)
The Gathering – Hangar [MD]
‘The Gathering’, starting as a doom metal band, was founded in 1989 by the brothers René and Hans Rutten and Bart Smits. New members joined the band and in 1992, they released their first official album ‘Always’. Not a long time later they encountered the dark side of the music business. New hope arose when a new singer came into the picture, Anneke van Giersbergen. With her, the band released the atmospheric album ‘Mandylion’, followed by ‘Nighttime Birds’. Throughout the following years, their music had changed from dark, heavy riffs to a more melancholic and psychedelic sound. This style is called by themselves "triprock". This year they brought out the new album ‘Home’. The current band members are: Anneke van Giersbergen (vocals), René Rutten (guitars), Marjolein Kooijman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Frank Boeijen (keyboards, programming) and Hans Rutten (drums, percussion, loops). http://www.gathering.nl/ / http://www.myspace.com/gatheringofficial
Music
After the thrilling energetic show from the ‘Deathstars’ it was time to cool down on the soothing notes from ‘The Gathering’. During their show about two/third part of the Hangar was filled . That must have been due to the famous classic Goth band ‘Bauhaus’ who was about to start playing on the main stage. ‘The Gathering’ started with two songs from their new album ‘Home’: ‘Shortest Day’ and ‘In Between’. It was clear that the Hangar was not the best place for their quiet atmospheric listening music. When standing in the front, the music sounded clear enough, but the further one stood in the back, the more distorted the music sounded. There just wasn't much to do about that. Hearing Anneke's voice was breathtaking, it sounded so soft and clear. It left the audience spellbound. All band members showed themselves as a tight collective, with all instruments rightly adjusted to one another. Sometimes, the backing vocals of Marjolein couldn't be heard properly, but that was a minor detail. The setlist contained three songs from the new album. Although ‘The Gathering’ had made a lot of albums by now, the setlist contained three songs from the brilliant album ‘Mandylion’. The small hit ‘Liberty Bell’ couldn't be missed either. In my opinion they chose the right songs for the setlist, songs the audience wanted to hear.
Performance
All band members wore clothing, in which they felt themselves at ease, a simple t-shirt with jeans. Anneke was a charming personality on stage. She was visibly enjoying herself. Once in a while she was moving graciously on the music with closed eyes and a smile on her face, as if she was an enlightened spirit. She took enough time to give her fans some personal attention by looking and smiling at them and when she recognised some die-hard fans she made clear with looks and gestures that she was very pleased to seem them again. The other band members enjoyed themselves as well and were mostly concentrating on their own instrumental parts, and sometimes taking a look at the audience as if to see if they were still awake. The front lights were just used for Anneke. In the colourful lights and with the absence of too much smoke the other band members could also be seen.
Setlist
01. Shortest Day
02. In Between
03. Liberty Bell
04. Probably
05. A Noise Severe
06. Saturnine
07. In Motion #1
08. Eleanor
09. Strange Machines
10. Travel
Rating
Music 9
Performance 7
Light 7
Sound 6
Total 8 (7.7)
Bauhaus – Mainstage [CL]
‘Bauhaus’ is a British rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The band took their name from the German Bauhaus art movement, originally going by the name Bauhaus 1919, dropping the latter portion within a year of the band's formation. The font used by the band for the band name on album covers and other products is the same font used on the Bauhaus college building in Dessau, Germany. Although there were bands before them that pre-figured the style, Bauhaus is generally agreed to have been the first Gothic rock group. Bauhaus are: Peter Murphy (vocals), Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone, keyboards), David J (bass guitar, keyboards) and Kevin Haskins (drums). http://www.bauhausmusik.com/ / http://www.myspace.com/officialbauhaus
Music
From the first minute on, Peter Murphy was in an excellent mood. He was smiling, dancing around like crazy, running around the stage in his typical Murphy way and it was a pure joy to watch him. They did play a set about 70 minutes including two new songs ‘Adrenalin’ and ‘Endless Summer of the Damned’. The show finished with the all-time evergreen ‘Bela Lugosi's dead’.
Performance
At the beginning I was remembered to the show of ‘The Sisters Of Mercy’ last year here at M’era Luna - dark stage, much smoke and nothing to see... Apparently, the sound was really really bad during the first half hour, we couldn't hear Peter, but Danny was much too loud, then it got better. The view was also bad due to the smoke on stage. People could hardly see anything. Many people were disappointed by ‘Bauhaus’ and thought they don't "have it" anymore. But the fans at the first rows all were satisfied!
Setlist
01. Double Dare
02. In the flat field
03. God in an alcove
04. In fear of fear
05. Adrenalin
06. She's in Parties
07. Severance
08. Silent Hedges
09. Endless summer of the damned
10. Kick in the eye
11. Rose garden funeral of sores
12. Stigmata martyr
13. Dark entries
14. Bela Lugosi's dead
Rating
Music 8
Performance 8
Light 7
Sound 6
Total 8 (7.6)
More pics on Black-Cat-Net
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Reviews:
Daniela Vorndran [DV] – general words and overall editor
Niclas Sandén [NS]
Carsten Leopold [CL]
Karolina Moszkowicz [KM]
Monica Duffels [MD]
Pictures:
Daniela Vorndran
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