Lordi, All for Metal, Crimson Veil @ Z7 Pratteln
25.04.2024 @ Konzertfabrik Z7 Pratteln, Switzerland
At the end of my spring concert season, it’s time to release the monsters. Lordi are coming to Switzerland on their «Unliving Pictour Show 2024» EU tour to perform many songs from «The Monsterican Dream» record, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It all started with this record and «Get Heavy», and for me those are still the two best albums of this band.
But I’m actually today more excited about the second act, All for Metal, than Lordi’s show.
However, it starts with a previously unknown band from England, Crimson Veil, who are starting their first ever tour as support for these two acts. It’s doubtful whether their music fits in with the rest of today’s acts, but the three ladies and one gentleman do very well. Right from the start, the four manage to conjure up a mystical atmosphere on stage. Hana on cello embodies the dark side, together with guitarist Garry Mitchell, while singer Mishkin and drummer Anna reflect the light side. Without light there is no shadow, which is also how I see Mishkin Fitzgerald’s voice: sometimes she sings like an angel, then she screams crazily into the microphone or emits dark growls – like the battle between light and darkness. You definitely get something to look at for the full playing time, it never gets boring. Although their music is quite experimental, this Crimson Veil is indeed amazing, a great calling card for future tours for this band.
Now it’s time for a Metal Party Band – and was it a casting process like “the Voice of Germany”? I could easily imagine that. Or is it simply the brilliant idea of a record label, or did Antonio and Tim just happen to cross paths somewhere? Nevermind, the All for Metal guys deliver a terrific show. The combination of Antonio Calanna’s high, clear voice and the powerful deep grumble of thunder god Tim «Tetzel» Wagner is a match made in heaven. The whole thing is packed into catchy songs that everyone can sing along to immediately – this band is the latest heavy metal party hit par excellence. Every song is a sing-along hit, from «Born in Valhalla», «Raise Your Hammer» to «Gods of Metal», you’re right there with them. For the guys in the crowd there’s something nice to watch with the two dancers Christina Schulz and Luisa Lohöfer, although as a man I would rather focus my attention on the two ladies on guitars: Jasmin Pabst and Ursula Zanichelli not only play skillfully, they also look great. Florian Thoma and Leif Jensen round off the group on bass and drums. Oh, I almost forgot, there’s also something nice for the ladies to look at with the two front men… But after all, we’re here for the music to enjoy and celebrate. Somehow you get a feeling of a strong connection – All for Metal music is for everyone and nobody is excluded. That’s what the band reflects and at the same time it’s also the feeling they also convey to their audience – really nice…. For me personally, this is already the best new discovery of this year – hello, Z7, I’d love to have All for Metal as a headliner next time. Thank you very much.
Well, the extremely long changeover was expected … and somehow it’s just not like it was before …. When you’ve known a band for so long and have been through every line-up change, at some point it’s just not the same anymore, even if the singer has fortunately always remained the same. I still mourn the Valkyrie Enary as well as Kalma, Kita, Ox and Amen and at every show without them you ask yourself, whether the magic has been lost somewhere or not….. For me, Lordi equals Nightwish – the original line-up of the first albums simply feel like the best fit. Nevertheless, we have to be fair and affirm that the show is still good. It seems to me that some show elements have been shortened, not everyone gets their own little act anymore and the special effects have also been decimated. It’s still good, but the band seems tired. Maybe it’s also because Mr. Lordi himself suffered from health issues during the tour and they even had to cancel some shows. Or elements were deliberately removed so that more songs could be played. I still have the greatest respect for the band members – how could anybody endure more than 30 minutes in such a costume?
But Mr. Lordi is in the mood for raunchy jokes, as usual, and seems touched by the recurring «Lordi, Lordi» chants from the audience. Old songs like «Kalmageddon», «It Snows in Hell» and «Blood Red Sandman» were in my top ten 20 years ago and I didn’t listen to anything else back then, so it’s a nice trip down memory lane. All in all, a good show, no doubt about it.
My live show spring season is over and I will take a break in summer, therefore ’till next in September when Tarja and Marko make a pit stop at Z7.
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