On May 8th, the Finnish band Wolfheart brought their second leg of the European tour to Bucharest. Since the release of their acclaimed sixth album, King of the North, in September 2022, via Napalm Records, the band has been touring extensively to promote it. Last year Wolfheart was present at most of the major festivals and has toured with Before the Dawn. Furthermore, they toured with Fleshgod Apocalypse the first part of this year and they will also tour with Dark Tranquillity and Moonspell, later this year, in autumn.
After playing at Cluj-Napoca the night before, Wolfheart bought their show to Bucharest on May 8th. The event brought two Romanian bands on stage, as artist support for the Finnish band.
Blacksheep opened the event
Around 7PM, Blacksheep started their show. The band founded by Liviu Gugui plays some sort of death’n’roll which is electrifying. It is not one of the most popular styles of the Romanian underground, yet the band seems to have created a strong fanbase . However, the band did a good job on stage and the audience acclaimed them. The new guitarist, aged 16, made a strong impression on everybody as he proved to be almost flawless, despite his young age. If he was nervous at any point, it didn’t show, which also impressed the audience. The band played a new song, also, Eaters of the Dead , which means they are working on new materials! Oh, and the balloons… The band came with some white balloons, with sheep and they threw them to the audience, who played with them all evening.
Machiavellian God released their second album
Then, Machiavellian God followed! The melodic death metal band from Bucharest is made of five experienced musicians, who have been involved in many other musical projects during the recent years. However this particular concert was special for them, as they were releasing their second full-length, titled Beyond the Void. Actually this is the reason why they played all the five songs from the new album and only one song from their debut one. The band started their show with the emotional song Into The Abyss. A 16 minute long song where the guitar riffs amplify Mihu’s haunting voice. Then, the fastest song from the newly released album followed: Shadows and Chains. The drumming on this one is actually amazing and there is another surprise … Mike on clean vocals!
Eternal Echoes came next and this song brought Teddy Möller (Loch Vostok– vocals and guitar) on stage, the guest artist from the recording. Aeon’s Dawn needs no presentation, since it is one of their iconic singles, and the only one they played from the debut album. Burden of Existence and Serenade of Solitude were the last two songs from the setlist and the ending was emotionally intense.
The headliner’s show
With the audience cheering and the mood already set, the headliner, Wolfheart, came onstage around 9 pm and played for a little more than one hour. Less than expected, to be honest. Everything was minutely taken into consideration…there were stag heads on the mics, the lights highlighted the perfect sound and live performance. It is worth mentioning that the sound was flawless, from the beginning to the end, from any spot of the venue! The Finnish band setlist included songs from most of their albums. However, they focused more on their latest release, as they should, taking into consideration the purpose of the entire tour.
Even though Tuomas scarcely interacted with the audience, the music found its way to people’s hearts. It is interesting how the band sets the mood for melancholic daydreaming and, at the same time, boosts the energy… Sometimes even to uncontrollable levels… Which makes people want to move, headbang and start a mosh pit!
Wolfheart’s music is anything but boring! There is a story behind the songs, the vocals go from clean to harsh just as the guitars alternate solos with heavy riffs. Not to mention the drumming, which is central in the cohesion of the songs binding everything together and building the spine of the whole universe they brought to life! Too short of a show, unfortunately, yet amazing! That’s why the audience cheered “we want more” for minutes after the band left the stage!
