Author: Primož Novak
Photos: Sebastijan Videc
Video: Sebastijan Videc
Location: Mostovna, Solkan, Slovenia
Concert date: 03/30/2016
Ticket price: €22/€25
The time had finally come for Finland’s Amorphis to see whether their latest album’s popularity holds up on a club tour too, where they’re the headliners. The sprawling tour made a stop in Slovenia as well, at the beloved club Mostovna in Solkan. This time around, Amorphis were joined on the road by the Dutch band Textures and Greece’s Poem, two acts that are a bit different genre-wise.
So things kicked off with Greece’s Poem, a young band with two albums under their belt, who were now on their first longer European tour. In a good half hour, the band tried to win people over with their take on progressive metal, which leaned on alternative rock. In many songs it was obvious they’d taken Tool as a role model, though Poem kept everything a bit simpler. In their short slot, Poem managed to impress only a handful of people. The band isn’t boring, but they’ll have to keep at it if they want to convince us with something more original.
With Textures, things really got going. The Mostovna crowd was also lucky that the band was back on stage with their singer after five shows, since he’d beaten a brutal cold and gotten his voice back. Textures had a bit more time than Poem, but unfortunately that still wasn’t enough to showcase their five-album discography at its best. Opening with Drive and Regenesis was tailor-made for the band’s older fans. Then, with the new stuff from the album Phenotype (review HERE), New Horizons and Shaping a Single Grain of Sand, Textures proved they’re in top form. The band is incredibly energetic on stage, the songs were played tightly, and any little slip-ups were covered up fast. The band helped out the lead vocalist the whole time with extra »gang« vocals, while constantly jumping around the stage and motivating the crowd to move. Vocalist Daniël de Jongh showed that his voice stands out live too, which makes for a much better impression overall. On top of that, Textures showed remarkable skill in their playing, which, in a Meshuggah kind of way, demands a lot of technical know-how and precision. Rhythmically dynamic drummer Stef Broks contributed a lot to that, keeping the whole band running like a well-oiled machine. Textures are without a doubt worth seeing; with their music and performance they prove they’re not just another generic »djent« band recycling the same old tricks.
Amorphis logically opened their set with the new one, Under the Red Cloud, since the band has to promote their current album (review HERE) as much as they can. The emphasis was, of course, on albums released in the last decade. The setlist was somewhat predictable: the band served up simple, catchy, melodic songs built around 3-4 chord choruses, which the packed Mostovna hall could sing along to. After a few songs there was finally a little surprise, as the band played On Rich and Poor and Drowned Maid, which pleased the older fans, but it was way too little. Newer songs followed again, obviously meant for bigger crowds. There’s nothing to complain about as far as the band’s tightness goes, though their performance was pretty routine and average. Amorphis aren’t exactly a young band brimming with energy anymore, so they get through the show solidly. Years of concert experience show in the members, so again, no complaints about how tight they are. Tomi Joutsen’s vocals are convincing live too, especially the way he mixes clean and growled singing. Amorphis gave a nod to the old days with My Kantele, which was all we got from the old material. After a break, Amorphis played a few more hits, like Silver Bride and The Smoke, which left the old fans with a bitter aftertaste: cutting Black Winter Day from the set to make room for new stuff isn’t exactly inspiring. The band’s younger fans probably had nothing to complain about, since they got a best-of of the albums released on Nuclear Blast.
With Amorphis, Textures and Poem on the bill, Mostovna got a great mix of melodic, technical and progressive metal. There may not have been any standout moments, but it’s safe to say there’s plenty going on in the metal scene this year too.
Setlist
Amorphis
1. Under the Red Cloud
2. Sacrifice
3. Bad Blood
4. Sky Is Mine
5. Wanderer
6. On Rich And Poor
7. Drowned Maid
8. Dark Path
9. Four Wise Ones
10. Silent Waters
11. My Kantele
12. Hopeless Days
13. House of Sleep
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14. Death of a King
15. Silver Bride
16. Smoke
Photo gallery
