Hellfire



HELLFIRE METAL FESTIVAL www.hellfire-zh.ch
at Dynamo - Zürich - 07/09/2002 www.dynamo.ch
with GURD (Hardcore Metal), PX-PAIN (Hardcore Metal), EX-ORTATION (New Thrash Metal), MIRTO MASSAKER (Scum Rock), Aggressive Fear (New Metal Hardcore), Prograss (Technoid Hard Core(THC)) und Plexylove (Inpendent Rock).




Mosh it up! Like it is written on the back of the PX-Pain shirts ( and underwears maybe too? damn i have not investigated hehehe he) sold at the merchandise corner. Mosh it up and mosh it up, yeah..! according to the title of the Px-Pain song and the very attitude of this evening. Moshing , headbanging and a lot of fun are the 3 words that could describe the success of this show at the Dynamo in Zürich that will offer seven bands on the stage with Gurd , practically just come back from the Summer Breeze Open Air, as headliners, playing after the new darlings of the trash/hardcore Swiss scene Px-Pain. The audience is composed mostly by young people, absolutely well knowers of the new Hardcore Metal music, demanding but very interested, longing for receiving a massive dose of good implacable metal heaviness. So let the f**ckin' festival begin, and may moshing and good (Swiss) music be with you! Cheers!

MIRTO MASSAKER
The performance of the first 3 bands taking part to this Festival has definitely warmed up the audience, slowly but inexorably. More and more people are coming so that the venue begins to be right crowded. And Mirto Massaker go on firing the evening in a cool way. Usually cover bands make me sick, i personally don't find nothing exciting in a band who is constantly proposing the "repertoire" composed by others, but well... Mirto Massaker are amusing me, the audience is really satisfied with listening to the ever green tracks of the Rock music, proposed in an original and attractive way. I must say they play well, without being boring, trying not to be a simple pale copy of the original interpreters, on the contrary they have their own personality dressed with a huge dose of humor. Though proposing a lot of covers like Paranoid, Electric Eye or Rebel Yell (yes ..yes Billy Idol , who usually makes me sick as well!) they gladden the crowd in a good measure. Appearing with enormous wigs and going on with a high entertainment quality, they show a good instrumental ability. In particular their lead guitarist is shooting brilliant riffs, and no one regrets the original pieces. And a little bit of pure fun won't do any harm.

setlist: Let there be Rock - Paranoid - Ace of Spades - Electric Eye - Breaking the Law - Trooper - Rebel Yell - Can't get you out of my Mind - Bomber

EX-ORTATION www.ex-ortation.ch
I don't know if Ex-Ortation are really in the closest meaning of the word so "new trash" like they label themselves. It's sure that Ex-Ortation music has many dark tones and, in my opinion, unfortunately rather monotone musical schemes too. But the audience seems to like them enough and a group of persons will mosh and bang their heads so much and practically nonstop during the show . Ex-Ortation begin with a very long and electro- futuristic oriented intro, atmospheric and dark, that contrasts so much with the lighthearted proceeding offered by Mirto Massaker. After a couple of songs i notice that guitarist Claude is playing insisting on the first 3 strings (the bass sounds) while drums are powerful, with recurrent double drum bass shootings, but not always perfectly co-ordinated with the rest of the band. But it's not completely their fault from the moment they have recently changed the drummer indeed. Chrigl Tierney is now the sticksman . The blonde short haired singer Marco Böhlen is providing for valuable vocals, but my gosh! he seems to me so doubtful and cryptic as only Nick Holmes sometimes is able to be. "Insignificant" particular: Marco is not Nick. Eh behhh nobody's perfect!. The music is proceeding hypnotic and heavy, and with these obscure inserts, bassist Giuseppe is providing for a good energetic charge but not always the tempo changes are agreeable to be heard. Anyway crossover/hardcore mid-tempo moments mixed with groove parts are countless providing for a new dark hardcore, that, though monochromatic, is rather original in itself. How could i say? is this a music for the "goths" of the Hardcore/Trash? or for the Hardcore fans who secretly listen to Dark music too? Waiting for an improbable answer coming to our mind it's the turn of Scream that is hitting me cause it's so aggressive with merciless loops.

setlist: Intro Techno - In Illusion - Things in your dreams - Hidden Gun - And that's that - Last Shot - Scream

PX-PAIN www.px-pain.ch
Px-Pain are loved by their numerous fans here in Switzerland and methinks that the time has really come for them to reach the well deserved international success one and for all . This evening it's the second time i see them live, cause i was in Sursee when they celebrated the last day of the tour together with Pro-Pain. And i was impressed at that time, but this evening even more: firstly for the huge enthusiasm received again by the band, secondly because they present very good songs which easily involve the crowd in a metalcore storm. But fans don't love a band so just to do something, it's not by chance that you get acclamation. Px-Pain are not only presenting damned good music in its genre, they care so much about their fans in general, offering them the mirror of a good organized background that ranges from various merchandise articles to the ever renewed fun for being on a stage for the fans, with the fans, enjoying their support, singing together with them, being so accessible for the audience, working so gladly with the other acts, often playing together. Px-Pain is a band who lives music for the satisfaction to give something so that creating a gig is practically a common experience for everybody there. And indeed they announce themselves with the intro "Penso positivo" by the gentle Italian rapper Giovanotti, in order to explode with full rhythm stretched out to the fans . The room is thrown into raptures, only rarely i've seen such a mythical jubilation. It's fully unnecessary to go on describing the enthusiasm around Px-Pain. Much more useful is underlining that singer doesn't wait too much in order to sing "vis a vis" with the metalheads nearer to him. He loves the contact with people and the thing is more than reciprocal. If a band gets the big jump to success due to the general acclamation in the own state, well... Px-Pain are ready. No wonder. I admire this kind of bands. they deserve the best, beyond personal musical preferences.

Guitarist Oli E. aka "Riffmasta" provides for good riffs indeed and for modulated sounds, bassist gives much more strength to the heavy soundscape with a lot of energy. Very often their sounds overlap and diverge then in order to impart a rhytmic echo. Every string of the bass is played with plectrum. Drums are armed with double drums. Singer Dani sings perfectly, nothing more to add and drummer Philip is simply brilliant, precise, reliable. Their hardcore is fresh and without compromises, enriched by good melodies, guitars shots so heavy and hard like knife-strokes, and by a galloping rhythmus. End of Everything is one of the songs i like the most with its bass loops.

And you think that, under these overpowering circumstances, singer Dani before and bassist T.C. too, later, would have not done a good stage diving among their fans? No eh? Ah ok! The acclaimed encore is then more than obvious. Great! And now it's 1 h and 20 mins, the night will still last long.

setlist: Add Fuel - payback Time - Still disgusted - Escape - End of Everything - Second Face - safari - Eyes of Hate - Mosh it up - encore: Ambiviolence - Scene of Crime

GURD www.gurd.net
new upcoming album "Encounter" will be released during this winter (very probably January 2003)

Well, it's rather late (or very early , it's a question of points of view), so someone has left the venue after the Px-Pain gig, but Gurd have found anyway a crowded place, and though Dani & co. have overpowered the audience, practically everybody is still here, waiting for the headliners full of energy, as if the moshing and headbanging like hell done till now would be digested like water. So everybody fit for Gurd ! One of the Swiss acts which has reached international success and got a considerable experience since years. just returned from the German Summer Breeze and still being on the point of reaching Germany again for the Fuck The Flut Open Air, here are Gurd! hugged by the consent of their Swiss admirers. Yes, cause if Px-Pain are loved, GurD are loved too but above all estimeed and admired by their fellow country-guys for the great work done till now. And the crowd, which defy the little late hours will not be disappointed. Eh yes there will be also a fine surprise: Gurd playing together with Px-Pain! But let's proceed with order.

1:47 Gurd begin to play opening with Learn and the stage is loaded by energy again. Hardcore/trash chords are in full swing and liven up people after the short pause. Riffs and pushing refrains. Mosh it up again! "Mercy vielmal Dynamo!" exclaims then singer and Gurd founder V.O./Pulver, presenting then Rule the Pit, with its melodic intermezzo, this uptempo song releases a trash explosion and a speed rhythm. Hmm... it begins to be clear to me that Gurd music is not only an attractive mix of many influences that merge in an unique style of its own, but that melodic passages constantly come between hammering schemes, so that songs are nice, with good variations, agreeable, suitable to a large number of listeners without being commercial. We could define it as a kind of melodic metalcore/trash and no one can remain indifferent. With cleverness, experience and class, they go on with A new War, a real hammer which arouses the dead, showing tempo changes and melodic loops too.. Let's g on headbanging with the catchy Older but wiser, with a general stop-start scheme where guitarist Spring confirm very beautiful riffs and solo moments. Time passes but no trace of tiredness, catch "Down the f***ing Drain" , as V.O. presents it. Someone tired? Nooooooo!! Gimme more!


It comes Groove with synchronous guitars with a cool backing vocals supports and a melodic gloomy bridge, which launches again the pushing refrain. And after we will resist, I.O.U. nothing falls on our head, and while i realize how beautiful this song is, it comes Get up that is even cooler . And while i realize that me , heavy gothic freak, can be ecstatic among many others for a rolling metalcore, it comes Control with its bass beginning, exploding then heavier and with industrial flavors. With Skin up i enjoy the biting guitars and the hard mid-tempo, with a outro where the song ends, slowing down its speed more and more. Wow mega ! Bassist Franky has been tireless all the show long, V.O. in top conditions and agility, drummer Tschibu, simply cool and exact, guitarist Spring providing for good sounds and riffs with his calm . And the terrible guys, called back by the crowd, are preparing a surprising encore, cause they come back announcing "United Forces"!! Let's say nothing about the enthusiastic answer of the crowd and let's present these United Forces: V.O. (GurD guitarist and vocalist) and Dani (Px-Pain voice) + Px-Pain bassist + guitarist Spring and drummer Tschibu play and sing together, showing that making music is still an expression of creativity without rivalry.

And after the United Forces have jumped on the stage, GurD come back playing other 2 songs, ending the show with Warmachine, with its old American Rock and Roll style. GurD have not presented Razorblade , a song included in the next upcoming album "Encounter" to be heard on their official site. This song is kicking ass in my opinion, and i was hoping so much to see it embedded in the today's setlist. But it is a secondary fact , cause i have appreciated GurD' s music so much also without the new cool Razorblade . We have heard "heavy dynamite" and speedy breakneck stuff with some Crossover elements too. Around 3: 00 a. m. : the festival puts out its hellfires but the dj-party should begin. Hell never rests!!

setlist: Learn - Rule the Pit - What do you live for - A new war - Older but wiser - Down the Drain - Groovy - We will resist - IOU nothing - Get up - Control - Skin up - encore: HxHxH - Warmachine

our interview with Gurd
The public use of these photos (© by Stefan Vogelaar) is strictly prohibited without written permission.