A Concentrated Dose of Melodic Death – WOLFHEART in Leipzig

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier.

The days have become longer, darker and colder. At the moment, I keep finding myself adapting my music consumption to this gloomy mood. While Power Metal still reigned supreme in the summer and late fall, I’m now slowly but surely turning to my beloved Melodic Death Metal. So what could be more obvious than checking out the Melodic Death Metal tour package of the year? Right, nothing!

On November 17th, WOLFHEART’s first headlining tour stopped in Leipzig and featured BEFORE THE DAWN and HINAYANA. You can check out what I thought below!

But first my thanks go to lightinmirror.de (and her Galaxy Taco Cat sweater), who once again gave me outstanding support that evening.Also big thanks to Napalm Records for organizing and Tuomas Saukkonen for the backstage passes! It was a huge honor and pleasure!

HINAYANA

The evening kicked off with the Texans from HINAYANA. The choice of name alone is remarkable: unless my knowledge of Buddhism deceives me, „Hinayana“ is one of the paths of faith that is ultimately supposed to end in enlightenment. In terms of the band’s geographical origin, this name seems a little strange, but if you take a closer look at the band’s lyrics, things start to look a little different! On Friday, the band presented songs that dealt with the position of the individual in the eternal struggle with themselves and their environment in a very scene-typical way.

As a big fan of INSOMNIUM’s One For Sorrow era, I got my money’s worth in terms of music here. What the Finns have lost for me in recent years, the Americans seem to have consciously incorporated into their music. Dark and nasty growls meet heavy guitars, which are wonderfully framed by catchy melodies and a touch of doom. I particularly like the songs Triptych Visions and Reverse the Code!

The only small complaint I have is that I would have liked a bit more audience interaction. This was more prominent with the other two bands of the evening. As a support act, you only have so much time, but with a few more words, the announcements of the upcoming song don’t seem so business-like.

Nevertheless, it was a wonderful performance by a band that should definitely be on your radar, especially with their recently released album Shatter and Fall!

BEFORE THE DAWN

When I talk to my friends who don’t listen to Metal, it’s very difficult for them to understand that you can also be emotionally moved by Melodic Death Metal. Of course, I can’t speak for all Metalheads, but this music touches me immensely!

BEFORE THE DAWN are once again a very special example in this context. When I discovered them when I was about 17, they had already disbanded and I had no hope of ever seeing them live. Given this fact alone, the evening at Hellraiser was something very special!

In the meantime, BEFORE THE DAWN have found a powerful new singer in Paavo Laapotti, who knows how to give the songs his very own style. It’s certainly not the same feeling as before the break, but it would also be unfair to apply this standard. I value authenticity more than any kind of cover. And guys, I’m telling you, I could have cried with emotion the whole set. It was such an uplifting feeling to experience this band live with such radiance. Deathstar Rising is one of the most important albums ever for my musical development and then they also played Winter Within and Deathstar straight away. The highlight of the newer songs however was Downhearted. I can barely make you understand how much emotion Paavo sang this song with. It was simply beautiful!

I think if you are a long-time fan and expect exactly the same sound and feeling as before the dissolution, then you will certainly be disappointed. For me, the important thing in this context is simply whether the emotional level of the music is right. This Friday, there was a band on stage that simply delivered! You can feel how much joy there was – especially from singer Paavo!

Similar to what I wrote about EQUILIBRIUM in the summer, I can only say that we as humans are always subject to constant development. There is no real standstill or true continuity in real life, so I think it is unfair to hold bands to this standard. We continue to develop, learn and gain new experiences. For artists, this translates to the stage and leads to different sounds. If you’re open to musical innovation and development, BEFORE THE DAWN will be just as much fun in 2023 as it was in 2011 when Deathstar Rising was released!

WOLFHEART

If you’ve read my article on the fourth day of Rockharz this year, you might remember that WOLFHEART played a big part in my musical development – especially with their album Winterborn! After I was so impressed by their performance at the festival, it was no longer really a question of whether or not to go on the upcoming tour.

And what can I say? After the two supporting bands had already warmed up the Hellraiser properly, WOLFHEART simply tore it down! The Nordic-cold sounds fit perfectly with the current season and artistically it’s a feast anyway!

With songs like Skyforger, The Hammer, The King and The Hunt, there was a lot for fans to enjoy in musical terms! You couldn’t even tell that frontman Tuomas Saukkonen had played twice as many shows on this tour, simply because he was also playing drums for BEFORE THE DAWN. But when life gives you lemons, you should get some vodka and make the most of it.

What I particularly appreciate about WOLFHEART’s live performance is the versatility of the band members. Everyone contributes vocals, animates the audience and can move freely on stage and it doesn’t seem rehearsed or forced. The artistic talent on display here is enormous!

I would also like to briefly emphasize the fact that Juuso Raatikainen (SWALLOW THE SUN) stepped in on short notice for Joonas Kauppinen, who was unable to play the tour due to an injury. Of course, some details are always a little different with a stand-in, it just has something to do with personal style, but Juuso really did a wonderful job here.

Unfortunately, as always in life, the good things always end far too soon and it was the same here. I would have liked a longer set overall, but considering that Tuomas is playing twice as many shows and that’s certainly not without physical consequences, it was justifiable. I’m sure the next show will be three times as long!

But of course that wasn’t the end of the evening. The interview with Tuomas awaits you here in the coming days, so stay tuned!