Another amazing Saturday night in Quantic Club. This place has become my second home, I’ve got the chance to see some of my favorite bands live here. The pub is not only reserved for concerts but for a nice night out too. The pub area is really comfortable and chill. The staff is always friendly and fast. The concert was organized by Final Step Production. In the last years the team made sure to show the same professionalism with small, local bands as they do with the worldwide known groups. I respect them for always making room for the local bands in there busy schedule and they are on their way of taking over the metal live stage.
Attic– First band of the evening were Attic, German King Diamond worshipers. A band which I discovered recently and which got my attention so far. I was very curious about how their performance could be. And it was exactly how I expected: Perfect! From the whole environment, and how they’re dressed and their make-up, Attic managed to create an image of a horror story. The layering of the vocals, which are outrageous and loud are definitely the focal point of Attic’s sound they’ve found a traditional heavy metal sound that feels appropriately modernized. The sound was a bit too loud I had difficulties in hearing the voice but it got better from the second song. For me Attic were definitely the headliners and I am expecting to see them as soon as possible!
Valkyrja- Second band of the night and getting closer to the night’s main attraction, Marduk. Valkyrja, the Swedish black metal band was exactly the right place at the right time. Valkyrja is a very powerful band and with the first song manage to take over the stage. Was really curious to see them live after the line-up changes. I will admit I was not disappointed. The lights turned off and a sickening blue/green/red lights fitting perfectly the creepy music filled the room. The alert guitar riffs made the public explode with adrenaline. It is incredible how fast this band can make everyone go crazy. They don’t interact that much with the fans but still manage to keep them headbanging like crazy with every song. No matter the concert this band is capable of rising the public from the grave. This band has incredible paced blasts mixed with a crazy bass and still somehow still stink of old school black metal. The repetitive parts are easily interrupted by insidious Thrash elements. This is a band to end the night with sparks in the air or start it, ensuring the audience of a cataclysmic night.
Marduk– Marduk is promoting VIKTORIA the album released in 2018. The album is a statement that Marduk are still the kings. Every song has its own unique powerful vibe. We get a beautiful combination of melodic and vicious black metal beats. The songs manage to keep you in a trance while making your pulse go crazy. The live concert was not far from what the album promised it will be. The crazy, corpse-painted band materialize behind a deep foggy stage, while the solid vocals were devastating the room. A band with such a long career is expected to deliver only the best. From a technical point the band had no issue, the sound was good and we can hear clearly the insanity that is Marduk. The good old sound of black metal bass, we were all able to hear it very well. Werwolf and Equestrian Bloodlust, the stars of the night, this songs are a tribute to the bands older material and also the beginning of the annoying fight Mortuus or Legion. And from somebody that is at the concert for the music and not the drama to hear this discussion in-between songs is just irritating. There was a Marduk before Legion and there is definitely one after him. This was the first time I saw VIKTORIA live and I think the 3rd or 4th time I get to see Marduk live, the thing that was a bit of a downer at this concert was the long breaks between songs, they just seem too long. After the first 2-3 songs people were getting irritated and you could hear everybody starting conversations. Yes, conversations, not the classic “wow, this song was great!”, “ I hope X song is next.” But full conversations about random things. The breaks were ruining the atmosphere the songs set-up. The alert and powerful music pumped up adrenaline in our veins only to let us waste it by waiting. A lot of bands have breaks in-between songs, this is nothing new, but they try to maintain the energy by talking with the public or just interacting with them in any way imaginable. The interaction was really limited and did leave a lot of us with a bitter taste in our mouth. After the concert we were left with a taste of unfulfillment. The concert was good but was missing something. The opening bands made themselves more appreciated than the headliner, maybe because the expectation for such an important band like Marduk have always been sky high. Do not want to sound so critical about Marduk’s concert but the wait to see them live was long and I do feel like the show was not as good as other live performances that I witnessed from them.
–Attic review by Miruna Vitriol
-Photos by Gheorghe Paraschiv
