Kissin’ Dynamite / Dynazty / Formosa @ Z7 Pratteln
11.03.2023 Z7 Konzertfabrik Pratteln, Switzerland
Day 2 of the concert series this weekend and a shock, it snowed overnight – luckily the white stuff doesn’t even stay until the evening. April weather in March, and tonight the heat is on, with two acts from Germany and the latest export hit from Sweden. On top of that, the Z7 is almost sold out and everyone is piling up at the bar, because on Saturday you can drink more than usual. Not only the number of people, but also the behavior of some make this experience a bit unpleasant. Pushing, complaining before the concert even starts, only to stand in the audience afterwards and talk during the whole concert or look at the mobile phone screens. Watching a live DVD at home has the same effect, why bother to attend a concert? I don’t understand, and I probably never will, why you can’t just leave this stupid thing in the bag. A few photos or a video for memories, OK, but not a complete live recording of 3 bands.
Formosa have the honorable task of ringing in the evening with their hard rock. The gentlemen will release their new album “Danger Zone” on 21.04.2023. Perfect promotion for them to be here on this tour as a support act. I have seen Formosa before as a trio in a different formation. Now the band consists of three guys named Nik and one called Paris. That makes it easy, if you want an autograph – just shout out Nik and someone will react. The guys make great music and there is this unique voice, the only question is whether it’s good or bad. For me it’s too high and squeaky, a bit annoying. The songs are really so good that you still want to listen to them. Personally, I would like to see more variety in the singer’s voice color and usage, to add overall variety and to make it easier for the ears. But otherwise the guys create a great atmosphere and they really know how to write good songs.
I must confess, I have never seen or heard Dynazty. Yes, shame on me, they’ve actually been around for a long time, but some bands just pass you by without a trace. Nils Molin is known to me through Amaranthe, but I didn’t really take notice of his own band. Well, the guys create a great atmosphere and I would say that the audience is also divided, which band of this co-headlining show of Dynazty and Kissin Dynamite to enjoy most. The bands are quite different: The Swedes around Molin provide more epic metal, while KD is more hard rock/classic metal based. Anyway, it’s a good show of those guys. Musically, Molin’s voice is convincing, but the stage show and also the music doesn’t impress me as much as I would like. But the audience around me seems to have a different opinion. Girls sitting on their boyfriends’ shoulders, hopping around, holding up signs with the question “What shampoo do you use, Nils”. Oh, this kind of fandom will never disappear, and it just goes to show that heavy metal is far from dead. The more silent connoisseurs watch from the side and are a bit more critical about the sound and the overall playing quality. But on the whole, the Swedes deliver and make a good first headlining act.
The second headliners are the Germans Kissin’ Dynamite: they appeared on Fernsehgarten, recorded a song with The Baseballs and are more familiar faces in our country and in Germany than some would like. Singer Hannes, who is known for his wild blond mane, and his boys are currently touring Europe with their latest work “Not the End of the Road” on this co-headline tour with Dynazty. The KD’s are simply appealing, the members are committed to the band and use every chance to do something for a good cause. For example, they donated the proceeds of their single “Good Life” to an association that supports children with cancer.
The stage is transformed with stairs, a platform, a huge Ibanez guitar neck in the middle of the stage and electricity poles at the end of the street. Beautifully designed and it creates an overall good impression. After the intro the band appears on top of the platform, a great picture, but unfortunately difficult to capture because of fog and sparse lighting. In general you could tell bands that if they want usable photos, more light and less fog for the first three songs, and maybe skip red and blue lights, those are not very good for cameras either…
A good mixture of old and new songs is about to follow, although I missed a few favorites. But the atmosphere in the hall is great, even though it seems that some have already left after Dynatzy. Many fans, on the other hand, are only present because of KD and they cheer on the band. Hannes speaks out again and again how impressed and overwhelmed he is by such a response, and the rest of the band seems to have a lot of fun on stage as well. It’s nice that they make full use of the stage set like the stairs again and again during the show: Hannes with a king’s cape or a flag, or Jim showing off his guitar skills up there next to the giant guitar neck. The guys just create a great atmosphere and I would want to see them live again immediately.
The tour is still running for a few days, so get your ticket and go see Kissin’ Dynamite and Dynazty, it will be worth it.
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