07.11.2004

HALLOWSEVE - TOUR 2004

DEW-SCENTED

COMMANDER

INTO DARKNESS

29th October 2004 - at DYNAMO WERK 21 - ZÜRICH - CH

presented by Hellfire

review by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo

- all pics © by Stefan "Absolut_Evidence" Vogelaar

the public use of these photos is strictly prohibited without written permission

INTRO

INTO DARKNESS

COMMANDER

DEW-SCENTED

INTRO: the "new" Slayer and the crowd as protagonist

Hi, dear readers, do you remember "my" Jiminy Cricket? This summer, at the Earthsheaker Fest, i made myself a promise: next time i could attend a Dew-Scented concert, i wouldn't have lost it. Dew_Scented: the German extreme Death- Thrashers that can be truly identified as the new European Slayer. Adding to their aggressiveness just a melodic touch and a lot of hooklines Dew_Scented are able to turn extreme Thrash into a fresh and an addictive banging pleasure. Today, Dew-Scented start their mini tour Hallowseve, and Zürich is the first station. This evening they will play a Hellfire Knüppelnacht at the Dynamo Werk 21 supported by Commander and Into Darkness. Actually, it's a bit of Dew-Scented/Obscenity gig , Dew-Scented will not show their full line-up: drummer Uwe, at the moment, is engaged with his examens at the uni. Marc from Obscenity will substitute him . Though Uwe's drumming is a mark of the band, this looks like an ace substitution: therefore i'm very interested to see how Marc will behave behind the skins. Hendrik will take care about the guitar sound.

I'm more than pleased to report again a Hellfire concert in a venue that's definitely becoming one of the new Swiss poles for Extreme Metal of quality. After Malevolent Creation in June, i'm looking forward to this new appointment with the Metal- like- it -should -be . And i'm right cause we will see how enthralling the concert will be and, above all, how protagonist a crowd can be, a crowd that presents many of the elite metallers of the German Switzerland. It's metal in action indeed.

INTO DARKNESS www.into-darkness.de

21:00. Into Darkness is the first band on the stage. It's amazing to see how the crowd is already numerous and attentive: there is a great appetite for metal without compromise, the audience is ready for a mosh- event, so the interest towards the first band is already notably high. The first signs for an enthusiastic event are clearly to be seen, obviously the bands are called to a task: such a crowd in such selective venues takes no prisoners. It gives all but it requires a brilliant performance back. Nonetheless, always the ice must be broken . After the intro, the fury of a punishing Death is unleashed. There is no long waiting in order to see the first headbanging's , the music impacts directly. But after the first track that should be Flow of Aggression, the applauses are few, there is still a veiled uncertainty and reluctance. So, Sebastian "Sebastard", after having greeted Zürich, asks with "nonchalance": "Hallo, seid ihr schüchtern oder was?? "(are you shy or what?) Of course such crowd is not shy. Joke apart, good vibes begin to flow and some technical initial problems are solved. Into Darkness from Heidelberg (founded in year 1995) can go on gloomy and severe with their smashing Death . Though their music is monochrome and simple enough , it is brutal violent and played with conviction. Well placed changes of rhythm offer the movement needed. It's resolute brutal/violent Death is genuine shape anyway, a music that breathes underground, suitable for metallers used with extreme stuff. And while the tracks become more and more hammering, spiced up with tremolo's and Black tendencies too, the audience gets more and more excited, a moshing starts off in the very first rows. The cymbals are fragrant, the double bass drums (all 3 bands are supported by an impressive double bass drumming) and bass strings add the suitable muscles to the rhythmic. The guitars is maintained as elastic as possible. The trio (guitar, bass-backing vocals, drums) keeps on the gig as relentless as they can do, for a bit more than half a hour. A rewarded work , if you consider the applauses and even a couple of encore calls.

COMMANDER www.commander-crew.de

My congratz to Commander! What Into Darkness have well begun, Commander carry now on in the best way . First of all , as a woman, i am well impressed by Birgit's nice feminine presence at the bass. I think that bass is an outstanding instrument, incredible important for a metal band, somehow suitable for women too (see for example Runemagick) . Secondly, Commander perform a very good gig , underlined by the great response . By the way audience: the crowd is growing so much, that it's not hard to think that with Dew-Scented the concert room will be very near to be packed. Commander play laying much emphasis on the rhythmic session. Their music is written for the rhythmic sector, being a Death/hardcore very cadenced, rich in loops and starting points, suitable for a plethora of banging. Commander should produce some more melodic contents, nonetheless their thundering and steamhammering hooks are the best trigger for a wide moshing and crowd-surfing. The audience really enjoys it all enormously. Commander introduce themselves telling they're from München, after having started off the concert with Salvation for a dead World. They produce such a force that the cover of Hypocrisy's Roswell 47(well executed) looks like a nice melodic and hypnotic intermezzo. An intermezzo of a major musical content anyway, cause it adds that number more to the gear of Commander, who, like mentioned before, should cover their strong rhythmic skeleton with more harmonic flesh. But, all in all, Commander hold very well this second part of the event : it's with the third track Cowards, that crowd-surfing, stage diving (for what possible here) and moshing take their feature of Metal rituals nowadays so hard to be seen, bringing me back at the times of the good old Wärchhof concerts . Cool to see that this flame is still burning and that it has found in Zürich one of its new homes. Commander can be pleased to see the success of tracks like Disharmony which gives a lot of relentless catchy loops, or Drowned in Sorrow sort of Death ballade performed in a red surreal light, spreading finally also some nice melodic lines. The seventh track, Save one's own hide (which will be the opener of their upcoming full length called World's Destructive Domination) lets the dead arise. Overpowering massacre supported by an exciting drumming. Nothing for the masses, my congratz!

DEW-SCENTED dew-scented

Total Impact

23:00. After the good performance of the supporters, it's time for Dew-Scented now! The metalheads of the Werk 21 are now free to welcome the band of "Impact" : the German act, whose music, in the opinion of many, can truly carry on the heritage of Slayer. My opinion? It is even more radical, not susceptible to the smallest change: it sounds like "Slayer good -bye". Slayer never impressed me that much, even not (or better said even less) when i saw them live . On the contrary, when i listened for the first time to some tracks from Inwards and then to Impact, it was the blow. Neck-breakers like Cities of the Dead, Down my Neck, or Soul Poison are still the blow . I have reproached myself bitterly at the Earthshaker , but today i can be happy. Cities of the Dead has been performed two times in a worthy thrilling atmosphere. And it's Cities of the Dead that will close this awesome metal night as last track of the much acclaimed Dew-Scented encore. Dew-Scented take the stage punctually at 23:00 and start immediately , in the way i like for concerts like this. Showing not a complete line -up and with some small microphone and sound troubles at the very beginning of the show (solved again immediately), they are nonetheless able to master the mayhem since the first notes. Implacable drumming (Marc is doing an optimal job), the ability and adaptability of Hendrik's guitar, and the straight- into-face charisma of Leif Jensen are the poker -combination for the Dews.

Dew-Scented, that had to "compete" with Subway to sally in the same Dynamo, has received an hyper enthusiastic support by "their party". The die hard Zürich (and Luzern) supports the Dews with passion. Concerning then the joy with which the crowd attends the concert, the right comparison, as far as i know, is with the gig headlined by Tankard at Wärchhof in 2002. Technically, the sound gets better and better, songs after songs; the self-confidence of the band as well. Singer Leif is pleased but at the same time attentive concerning the divers on the stage. Drumming is effective and mighty, the general stage presence is more than good in particular when a blonde headbanging in -sync- line it's reached. The pit is practically getting the role of the fifth man on the stage. The ambience is enjoyable and underground, the music total lethal, nevertheless refined enough so that the aggressive moshing never loses control . The smoke effects are really light, less imposing than those ones of the previous bands. Tracks like One by (fu*king) One (so it's announced), Acts of Rage, Destination Hell and Cities of the Dead are kicking some major ass, proving that Impact is still so persuading; it's the turning point beyond any excerpts of their career.

Typical is that " go! " that, at times, strikes us like a hammer .

RETRIBUTION - ABSOLUTION GO!

Acts of Rage! go! Leif is surrounded by risen hands and horns up! The second time of Cities of the Dead signs the closing of the encore, it's the crown of a formidable concert. Now this track is performed even better than the first time. It's more than a rollercoaster pleasure. Stuff of staying power. Jiminy Cricket is always right.

dalia di giacomo

interview with Leif Jensen

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