And Oceans Between Us – OCEANS in Leipzig

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier. 

Once all the gods have been buried, there’s much more room to have fun! Whether this was the theological superstructure for DELIVER THE GALAXY’s Bury Your Gods Fest Vol. 1 is actually irrelevant, because it was a hot evening with even harder sounds. The headliners that evening were OCEANS, who were also on their first headlining tour. But a good metal lineup always has room for more, so RISE OF KRONOS and ZEIT were also there. 

Without giving too much away, I can say that we had a lot of fun once again, and when DELIVER THE GALAXY calls us, we’re always there!

Thanks again to lightinmirror.de for braving the most adverse working conditions to take these photos!

Zeit

The local heroes ZEIT kicked off the evening. The trio performed straightforward but all the more honest black metal. Logically, the question “How much fog do you want?” was answered with a resounding “Yes!”.

Due to their short set, they completely dispensed with any form of announcements and concentrated fully on their music.

Black Metal simply has to be straightforward, and they definitely delivered that. My problem, however, was that they simply got lost in the lineup for me. I think this kind of music simply has to be presented together with other Black Metal bands. It was really well done, but when the following bands offer more tempo and more interaction simply because of their different genres, it’s a shame.

Nevertheless, ZEIT delivered, and next time it will come across better!

Rise of Kronos

Rarely have I experienced a band that has internalized the word “facial circus” as profoundly as RISE OF KRONOS. The death metal band from Hamburg obviously doesn’t believe in restrained emotionality, but rather focuses on expressions!

You don’t have to be a psychic to know that when a band pumps this kind of energy into a room, they get even more in return! They may have been “just” one of the opening acts for OCEANS, but they played as if it were their own headline show. That’s exactly the kind of commitment you want! In addition, there was a lot of interaction with the audience, which further lightened the mood. RISE OF KRONOS emphasized so often that they play death metal that when they asked, “What should we play next?”, I couldn’t help but shout, “Death metal!” If that’s not a good way to establish your brand, then I don’t know what is!

Deliver the Galaxy

I’ve probably written so much about DELIVER THE GALAXY this year that you’re probably thinking, “Oh no, not again!” And honestly? Yes, it has to be again! If the guys played a concert near me every month, I would still go every time and write about it again and again!

Not only have they greatly improved their stage presence over the years and their songwriting has noticeably gotten better, but you can also tell how much fun they have with their music. What particularly struck me that evening, however, were the small differences I noticed compared to Rockharz. Of course, you can’t compare a big festival show to a club show, but the devil is in the details. Seeing how DELIVER THE GALAXY obviously analyze each of their performances and then make adjustments to improve further is just brilliant! At the same time, they retain a naturalness and authenticity that is simply fun!

Oceans

Milestones in a band’s history are always something special, and we are always happy when we can be part of something like this! If the first headlining tour isn’t one of those, then I don’t know what is.

Last year, we were already impressed by the furious energy that OCEANS deliver on stage, but their own shows are something else entirely. I was also very happy to see that the club was so full and that the crowd was eagerly anticipating the set. 

The set, which contained 17 songs if I counted correctly, was characterized by enormous enthusiasm throughout. In addition, the professional playing style was evident throughout the entire concert in a catchy way, and it was simply a joy to experience!

My personal highlights were Spit, which really pushes forward with its power and set the tone right from the start. Apart from the fan service in the form of Into the Void, one of the highlights for me was definitely hearing Atlas. The song had only been officially released the day before, so it was something very special, even though they had already played it on tour. Unfortunately, it was over as quickly as it began, and OCEANS ended their set with Icarus, which was the best choice they could have made! 

So here’s my appeal again: if you like really raw and powerful, yet modern songs, then OCEANS is your band!