Amaranthe / Follow the Cipher / Warkings @ Z7 Pratteln
02.02.2019 @ Z7 Konzertfabrik Pratteln, Switzerland – PHOTOGALLERY HERE
What better way to spend a Saturday evening than with three bands who promise Metal party feeling at Z7 in Pratteln?
The first are Warkings, dressed as Spartan, Viking, Crusader and Emperor storming the stage to start their war in Prattulus. Georg Neuhauser, also known as the singer of Serenity, delivers brilliant clean vocals, and the Queen of the Damned alias Melissa Bonny does all the growling. Some people might remember her performing with Kamelot.
The audience goes along with it right from the start and people cheer to «Sparta», «Gladiator» and «Never Surrender». The band invites the crowd to join into their war cry, and indeed the full Z7 club cheers the powerful Warkings performance with “Aha-Huh”.
Follow the Cipher were also the support of Lordi last year and they convinced me fully. The show of those young Swedes seems a bit less organized in comparison. The band seems confused occasionally or perhaps a bit tired from relentless touring. The songs are still great and the voice of Linda Toni Grahn as well, she just sounds a bit higher than I remember from last time. And somehow I am not as inspired as I was last time. That was not the case with the audience, the crowd celebrates the show of Follow the Cipher.
After a short changeover the audience screams as if the next act would be a Boy Band. Everybody is ready to party which the Swedes Amaranthe always deliver. Three singers and three instrumentalists – and it seems everything they touch is a big success. And you get something to look at – six people performing, and all of them have a huge stage presence. The guys also get some extra eye candy as Elize Ryd changes her outfit three times.
Yet my impression is that the two shows I have seen before had a bit more concept and action. I still don’t enjoy the fact too much that everybody seems to deliver a one-person-show instead of being a unity. And in a two hour show you sometimes have the impression that you have heard the same song earlier already. Moreover, as it is difficult to harmonize vocals of three people on a live stage, sometimes it’s a bit chaotic. Something is missing for me and therefore I am not fully convinced. They all are fantastic artists with huge talents but maybe working better as soloists than as a group. Luckily the crowd at Z7 does not agree with me and simply enjoy the party. Even a real tough guy in the crowd gets into the groove – which means this is a really good show.
photos: Sandy Mahrer
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