Location: Ljubljana / Gala hala / Slovenia
Date: Thursday, 20.03.2008
Does anyone still remember the Dark Tranquility, Chimaira and Hatesphere show, way back on 19.12.2005 in Ljubljana? This time, out of that trio, it was Chimaira who paid us a visit. In the true spirit of reviving metalcore skills. This time as headliners of a tour marked by the release of their new studio record “Resurrection” (2007). A somewhat modest number of metal fans showed up at the venue. Maybe the hockey game at Hala Tivoli between Olimpija and Salzburg had something to do with it (Olimpija won in the end!), because I doubt Psycho-Path pulled people away from the Chimaira show. They were presenting their new album at Channel Zero next door on Metelkova the same day (by the way, that show was already completely sold out for the second night in a row). However you slice it, a solid 130 to 150 people did turn up at Gala Hala, which meant the atmosphere in the hall was going to be more than well taken care of.
DEAD SHAPE FIGURE 20.30–21.00:
Dead Shape Figure, a Finnish outfit made up of vocalist Galzi, guitarists Juhani Flinck and Erno Talvitie, bassist Neibu and drummer Raikku Tuomikanto, from Uusimaa near Helsinki, started raising hell at 8:30 p.m. They had precious little room, since they had to squeeze extra drums onto Gala Hala’s already tiny stage. A blend of death and thrash metal led by screamed core vocals, with guitar phrases that made no secret of the influence of Slayer and Pantera. Tight work from the guitar duo, plus guitar solos thrown in! As the opening act they delivered a damn fine sound. The singer quickly figured out the stage was too small. He jumped off and strolled around Gala Hala, showering the crowd with the fury of his screaming. The set also included Blithering Icon and Remedy. Technically razor-sharp, the Finns proved it with a precise run through the set (especially in the transitional passages), and they can also whip up serious speed. The band is about to officially lose its innocence, since it’s announcing its EP “The Grand Karoshi”, out this May. Dead Shape Figure warmed the crowd up nicely and, toward the end of their set, even got part of the hall into a mosh pit. Lovely for the ears, and dangerously jagged at the same time!
THE SORROW 21.15–21.45:
The prettiest sound in the evening’s “brutal” category came from The Sorrow. The Austrian quartet from Moshviertel, who recently put out their debut “Blessings From A Blackened Sky”, served up a metalcore variant with even more melody than Dead Shape Figure. A bit of Europe’s Bullet For My Valentine or Caliban, and probably some passing parallels with America’s Killswitch Engage? Melodic twin guitar harmonies, straight out of the Iron Maiden factory. Once they back that with the torpedoing of the double bass pedal, the feel of those passages and the handling of the verses put In Flames right in front of your eyes. In the choruses the vocals liked to escape into clean melodic singing that evoked emo-core pathos, which perhaps felt jarring, because the whole hall was steeped in anticipation of the uncompromising hell that headliners Chimaira create. Maybe those mid-tempo melodic passages led by clean vocals explain the shorter hair length overall and the heavier use of combs, hair dye and hairspray. Pretty boys. Anyone who missed them this time can catch them in Slovenia again at Metal Camp 2008 in Tolmin. The guys are a seasoned, tight quartet, a good step behind the Finns of Dead Shape Figure, who raised hell before them, both technically and in the overall release of rage. Still, in a good half hour the up-and-coming The Sorrow made decent use of the minutes they were given for their showcase.
MAROON 22.00–22.40:
Germany’s Maroon, from Nordhausen! Guys with plenty of touring mileage and loads of experience presented their new album “The Cold Heart Of The Sun”, their fourth overall. Fear The Most Them Who Protect, Only The Sleeper Left The World and Reach The Sun left their mark on it in Gala Hala too. Vocalist Andre Moraweck is definitely the most important cog in this lineup. He’s an excellent leader and dictator of the band, so with his fired-up banter, heads under the stage whirled en masse into several hefty mosh pits during the short time the quintet had. His voice has incredible venom, and the feelings of rage, fear, agony and despair splashed out into the hall in a more concrete way for the first time. The older And If I Lose Welcome and Chosen Fate burned at full blast too. Devilish European metalcore, combining old-school thrashy guitar phrases à la Kreator or Sodom with guitar harmonies dropped into the transitions, though to a much lesser extent than the two bands before them. Maroon convincingly stoked the crowd up to working temperature, ideal for a joint charge into the abyss of evil and agony with the evening’s headliners Chimaira.
CHIMAIRA 23.00-24.00:
Around eleven at night, the main target of the visit hit the stage: Cleveland’s Chimaira, with Mark Hunter (vocals), Rob Arnold (lead & rhythm guitar), Matt DeVries (rhythm guitar), Jim LaMarca (bass), Chris Spicuzza (keyboards, backing vocals) and Andols Herrick (drums). The tour is dedicated to presenting their excellent new album “Resurrection” (2007).
The stage was swallowed by thick fog in an instant, and through the flashing strobes (read: death for photographers), Chimaira crept onto the stage and took up battle positions. Pure Hatred (“The Imposibility Of Reason”, 2003) was picked to open the show, and with this maximally accelerated number, driven by the ultrasonic rolling of the double bass pedal, they sent the crowd into delirium. Mark Hunter is definitely in the form of his life, and the way he shifted the shades of his screams was perfect. He strung together the bitterest feelings from the darkest corner of his soul like it was a joke. The man is a born leader, with charisma beyond compare. During the instrumental passages he put his right forearm behind his back, commander-style, as if inspecting his battalion of death. The ultra-alive, white-hot sound Chimaira conjured up blew the opening acts into oblivion in an instant. Noble elements of Pantera’s renaissance-era riffs, adorned with a deeply detonating “groove” effect created by the signature contrast between rhythm line and riff section, felt arrogant and unyielding. The Flame that followed showed no mercy either. As Chimaira rolled out song after song, the little hall looked more and more like total chaos and devastation. The hall’s parquet floor was soaked in spilled beer and other liquor. People were losing it, and Hunter had no qualms about egging the crowd on. It was more than obvious that the new album “Resurrection” had already caught on big with the Slovenian crowd, since the front rows sang the verses of the new songs along with Hunter at full volume. That the keyboards couldn’t be heard during the show hardly needs pointing out. It’s only logical for a club space like this, where the sound always likes to play at least a few tricks.
Most of the set was made up of songs from the new album “Resurrection” and from “Impossibility Of Reason”, which the band clearly holds dear. Toward the end the guys touched on their debut “Pass Out Of Existence” (2001) with Severe and Let Go, where the show hit one of its most intense moments. The album’s title track, Resurrection, with its interesting, almost epic chorus, got Gala Hala back on its feet once more, and then, after just one hour, the monstrous Chimaira packed up their bags and left us without an encore.Chimaira set list:1. Pure Hatred2. The Flame3. Power Trip4. Worthless5. Black Heart6. Nothing Remains7. The Dehumanizing Process8. Cleansation9. No Reason To Live10. Let Go11. Severed12. Resurrection
A headliner show with barely an hour-long set? Sounds and reads sad, but we got a package of four bands for a ridiculously low ticket price. Even so, that hardly matters, because the atomic detonation Chimaira, those excellent champions of metalcore, unleashed felt 100% real in its heritage and execution. Just as expected. A paradise for all fans of good metalcore came fully alive. Fierce, ominous, noisy and incinerating! Chimaira have convinced the Slovenes for the second time that, in their musical territory, they recognize no one better than themselves.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
The Sorrow set list:
1. Elegy
2. The Dagger Thrust
3. Far Beyond The Days Of Grace
4. Intro
5.From This Life
6. Her Ghost Never Fades
7. Knights Of Doom
8. Death Fom A Lovers Hand
Chimaira set list:
1. Pure Hatred
2. The Flame
3. Power Trip
4. Worthless
5. Black Heart
6. Nothing Remains
7. The Dehumanizing Process
8. Cleansation
9. No Reason To Live
10. Let Go
11. Severed
12. Resurrection
