Last Thursday began quietly around 7 pm in Quantic. After I heard lots of bad oppinions about the space and because as far as I know Metalhead events are always full of people I thought this might be a problem. But it wasn’t.
First band which went on stage was Tribulation from Sweden. Being used to the usual technical issues when the first band of the night plays, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the sound was perfect from the very first song. The cause of this must be the fact that the club made an investment recently in better sound equipment. I was very impressed by their awesome dark show, by their costumes and the whole atmosphere; a kind of Nosferatu vibe. Their performance is not a typical one, nor is it a static one; the band managed to take you far away from the monotony of a usual show through their music as well as through their image. Although the imagery and scenic presence of the band would rather transplace you in a 20’s silent film, creating a horror-like story with bats and gargoyles, the band’s music is very modern with catchy riffs implemented in the gothic/heavy metal genre with black metal influences here and there.
They played old and new songs. Especially from The Children of the night and from their new album called Down Below. The album is a bit darker than the others ones, but also a step into the unknown where gloomy and nightly creatures with white fangs howl. I must admit that I came especially for them to the show and I don’t regret my decision since it was an awesome performance. 
I was very impressed by Jonathan Hulten’s appearance. He is a great musician with a very nice scenic presence to conclude a well-established artist. He also has a side-project and you must check out it here.
Insomnium, the headliners of the event, is an “en vogue” band for the past few years, hitting it off with the song “While We Sleep”. Because of the fact that I missed their performance at Rockstadt Extreme Fest two years ago, I did not know what to expect from their show. The band was very well received by the crowd; the majority of people probably came to the show for them especially. They started off their performance with the song “Winter’s Gate Part 1” and continued with the rest of the album holding the same name.
Everything was ok, but the live sound delivered by the band during the show was not the one I was used to when listening to Insomnium at home. After the first couple of song I either got used to the sound or some small technical adjustments were made by the sound techs, because everything started to sound much better. When their reached the middle of their show, the sang the long awaited song “While We Sleep”. The guys from the band were very nice with the crowd, even retuning on stage for an encore.
The crowd was a calm one, and better than the type of crowd I’m usually used to seeing at big metal gigs, but people, please, if you’re coming to enjoy the show of your favorite band, don’t do it through the display of your phones.
The merch stand was full of awesome stuff, from CD’s to vinyl to band t-shirts and long sleeves. The show was a success, even perfect I might say for a start of the weekend.
Thank you Metalhead for making it possible for the show to take place!
Until next time !
All pics featured in this review were taken by our friend and fellow member Gheorghe Paraschiv. Here you can find more.
