Artillery, Whiplash, Xentrix and Vio-Lence invite to the Headbanger's Ball on this sore December evening and many fans accept the invitation, I think the Turock was pretty much sold out.

It starts with the Danes from Artillery, who carry away the audience from the first minute and sell their melodic thrash very well. They not only focus on the newer songs, but also play tracks from their older albums, which is frantically received in the audience. Singer Michael Bastholm Dahl is super likable and moves permanently all over the stage and also the somewhat older gentlemen at the instruments seem very agile. A successful start of the concert.

Setlist: The Challenge / By Inheritance / The Face Of Fear / Khomaniac / In Thrash We Trust / Terror Squad / The Almighty

Afterwards Whiplash metaphorically tore down the venue with their set. Focusing mainly on their first three albums, they know how to convince completely. Here, for the first time this evening, a few stage divers can be seen, especially the girl who steals the mic from her live bassist William Winton (and his look during this) are worth their weight in gold. No eye remains dry during the performance, an absolute killer show!

Setlist: Last Man Alive / Killing On Monroe Street / Burning Of Atlanta / Insult To Injury / Sword Metal Skull / Walk The Plank / This / Stagedive / Spiral Of Violence / Red Bomb / Spit On Your Grave / Power Thrashing Death

Hard to top the whole thing, but Xentrix got one better. They only play songs from their first two albums and instead of their current singer Jay Walsh, who didn't want to miss the birth of his child, their former singer Chris Astley is part of the band. The whole thing thus feels very nostalgic and is another highlight of the evening. Xentrix show is full of energy and at least for me next to Whiplash the highlight of the evening.

Setlist: Black Embrace / Balance Of Power / Questions / Reasons For Destruction / The Human Condition / Kept In The Dark / Dark Enemy For Whose Advantage? / Crimes / No Compromise

With Vio-Lence there is some more brutality on stage. Singer Sean Killian seems to be doing really well again after his serious illness. He moves across the stage like a psychopath, suddenly drops into the audience and also has a corresponding facial expression. In any case, he seems to enjoy the concert, just like the other musicians of the band, and he doesn't miss the chance to push some stage divers off the stage. Sometimes his acting is a bit over the top, but the audience celebrates the performance, which mainly includes songs from the classic album Eternal Nightmare, frenetically.

This evening was an absolutely memorable event and for me one of the concert highlights of 2022, hopefully 2023 will also hold such killer events!

Setlist: Eternal Nightmare / Serial Killer / Calling In The Coroner / Officer Nice / I Profit / Kill On Command / Flesh From Bone / Mentally Afflicted / T.D.S. (take It As You Will) / Upon Their Cross / Phobophobia / Let The World Burn

Wow, what a great billing with so many premieres on that lovely Saturday evening. First of all I had never been to Resonanzwerk in Oberhausen before and was surprised in a very positive way about the location. It is a very nice hall with a huge stage and cool illumination and a good sound. Apart from this the situation was pretty good and the beverage prices are fine, too. So that was a good start into this heavy metal evening, only the slightly disappointing attendance of 115 people on a Saturday where nothing else metal-related happened left a bitter taste.

Starting with Danish Angstskríg who premiered to play in North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time some technical problems appeared first but their vocalist did the best out of this situation and talked in German a little bit about his German at school and also some jokes. That was pretty entertaining and after a few minutes their show could start. Playing a mixture between old Celtic Frost, Mantar, punk and pretty harsh black metal the masked trio knocked the audience soft for the other three bands that should come later that evening. They had a very well balanced mixture of old songs from their debut "Skyggespil" and their newest self-titled output. The only thing I really missed was their bass player who is, as the band told me, not a person. Well, however, like Samael did it with the drums back in 1996, it also works with the bass. Cool show and a lot of people went over to the merch after their gig.

Setlist: 'Skyggespil' / 'Lad Paladserne Brænde' / 'Midt I En Angstskríg' / 'Lucifer Kalder' / 'Vishedens Ulidelige Lethed' / 'Luk Dine Øjne'

Next were the Finnish melodic black metal guys …And Oceans who really got my attention right from the beginning. I only knew their latest output "As In Gardens So In Tombs" which I really liked when it was released last year but I have to confess that I still haven't investigated the older albums yet. Which I quickly noticed was a big mistake because the melodic stuff they performed that evening was really stunning. It reminded me pretty much of old melodic black metal stuff back from the 90s I liked (like Satyricon and co)and there wasn't a single song I considered as weak. The show the sextet did on stage was full of energy and vocalist Mathias Lillmåns (whom the one or the other might know from bands like Finntroll or Ondfødt) knows how to get the crowd moving. Like Angstskríg they did a nice setlist where they included a lot of old songs, too. If there was a winner that evening, I would say that it would have been …And Oceans.

Setlist: 'The Collector And His Construct' / 'Trollfan' / 'The Dissolution Of Mind And Matter' / 'Cloud Heads' / 'Aquarium Of Children' / 'Within Fire And Crystal' / 'Äcid Sex And Marble Tears' / 'Tears Have No Name' / 'Ambivalent God'

With Attic the only German band this evening entered the stage. But before this the stage had to be decorated with a fence, candle lighters and much more stuff. When vocalist Meister Cagliostro appeared with a huge upside down cross which he placed on the altar the show became pretty impressive. Apart from the quality of the songs also the show, (which had quite a home match this evening because they don't come away too remotely), was amazing and very intense. I guess, I haven't experienced such an intense metal atmosphere for many years with all the lights, theatrical elements and scents like the fog and I guess it was incense. Nevertheless the audience was a little bit more reserved than at …And Oceans and I guess there were less people in the hall to watch them which really was a pity. But okay, the Mercyful Fate-similarities might not be the cup of tea for everyone. I liked the show and was pretty pleased that they did some of my faves like 'A Serpent In The Pulpit' or 'The Headless Horseman' but also presented two new songs from the upcoming album ('Hailstorm And Tempest' and 'Synodus Horrenda').

Setlist: 'Iudicum Dei Intro' / 'Sanctimonious' / 'Satan's Bride' / 'A Serpent In The Pulpit' / 'Hailstorm And Tempest' / 'A Quest For Blood Intro' / 'The Hound Of Heaven' / 'Dark Hosanna' / 'The Invocation' / 'Synodus Horrenda' / 'The Hidden Grave Intro' / 'Funeral In The Woods' / 'The Headless Horseman'

And finally, also coming for their first show ever in North Rhine-Westphalia, French symphonic black metal legends Seth appeared. The stage was again decorated with a lot of stuff like skulls, daggers, a Holy Mary statue, all you need to celebrate a black metal session. Center of the show was vocalist Saint Vincent who wore a robe and was more or less disguised with a scarf around his head. The show was more of a celebration than a black metal concert you might know from bands like Marduk and the audience was very much involved in it because Saint Vincent interacted a lot with the crowd and did his comments in English. Music wise they have released 6 albums. They had a pretty strong album called "La Morsure De Christ" up their sleeve but they didn't really focus on it, they did a lot of songs from their first album "Les Blessures De L'Âme" which I find quite remarkable. Well, however the songs were performed really great and just like Attic did, they created a very dense atmosphere during their show. After about 80 minutes and being 0.10 AM the gig ended (I haven't attended a show for many many years that took so long) with a lot of satisfied fans and I guess I am not the only person who hopes that these bands will come back on stage around here soon again!

Setlist: 'La Morsure Du Christ' / 'Métal Noir' / 'Les Océans Du Vide' / 'La Quintessence Du Mal' / 'Hymne Au Vampire Acte 1' / 'Hymne Au Vampire Acte 2' / 'Hymne Au Vampire Acte 3' / 'Sacrifice De Sang' / 'À La Mémoire De Nos Frères' / 'Le Triomphe De Lucifer'

Today, in cooperation with Dying Victims Productions, we are thrilled to present the new track 'Gates Of The Eternal Night'' from Germany's LUCIFUGE sixth album, Hexensabbat.

Since 2016, Germany's LUCIFUGE have been steadily perfect an addicting style of blackened speed metalpunk, all guided by the iron fist of mainman Equinox. Come 2021's fourth full-length Infernal Power, Equinox expanded LUCIFUGE to a full lineup, and it paid off in spades: the band's first album under the banner of Dying Victims capped this signature sound with power and aplomb, exuding a new professionalism that somehow sounded dirtier than ever.

However, it was 2023's Monoliths of Wrath where LUCIFUGE further spit-shined their sound and took it in a newer but no-less-parallel direction: classic, ripping-fast thrash of '80s gods Sodom, Kreator, Exodus, and of course Slayer. Thankfully, LUCIFUGE keep that sonic shift going with their sixth full-length, Hexensabbat. Ditching more its predecessor's complex song structures, Hexensabbat heaves toward the gates of Hell with a greasy gallop that brings back a bit of the black while honoring the nether-realms of still-stuck-in-the-'80s thrash and speed metal. True, those aforementioned gods still hold a place in LUCIFUGE current sound, but more so can one detect the likes of Exciter, Razor, Iron Angel, and even later '80s Gang Green, the Exploited, and Crumbsuckers. Put another way, if Monoliths Of Wrath was spiritually akin to a Combat Records release, then Hexensabbat would definitely come out on Combat Core, so straightforward and rancorous is its all-pistons-pumping surge. Plus, more than a bit of Lucifuge's old-school grit is back in full force, which makes the album's slightly melodic-yet-malevolent riffing sound majestic – and, most importantly, not render Hexensabbat a total retro retread.

Leaner, meaner, and keeping the 1987 faith alive, LUCIFUGE command you to honor the Hexansabbat!

LUCIFUGE is:

Matorralix - Bass
Dominatrix - Drums
Berenjenix - Guitars
Equinox - Vocals, Guitars

MORE INFO AND PRE-ORDERS:

https://www.facebook.com/lucifugeblackmetal/
https://lucifuge666.bandcamp.com/
http://www.dyingvictims.com/
https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/dyingvictimsproductions/