Lastera
Epic Fest - 2023
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Lastera is a relatively new progressive power metal quintet from Copenhagen, being formed in 2021, and having released a few singles and one album, From The Ashes.
They were also the lucky ducks who got to open Denmark’s brand new power metal festival, Epic Fest, at Gimle, Roskilde, and they did so to a pretty packed house.
Definitely not the worst conditions to play a gig.
“We’re Lastera from Copenhagen, and we’ve been looking forward to this show for a looong time, and we’re finally fucking here!”
- Oliver Svensson (vocals)
Having no previous knowledge of this band before seeing them announced at the Epic Fest and giving them the old Spotify quickie, I had no real idea what we were in for, and this sentiment was apparently shared by a lot of the other festival goers. There were at least a good deal over half of the crowd that answered in the affirmative, when Oliver Svensson asked how many had never heard of the band before. Luckily, this didn’t phase the band one bit, who chose to laugh it off and continue on - they were under no false comprehension of their status, and were just intent on widening their audience, and of course have a good time doing it.
This good mood carried the band through the show. Straight from the start, they showed dedication to delivering a true performance, not just playing songs. They were active, energetic, and especially Svensson engaged the audience between each song. First he spoke in Danish, but in recognition of the international crowd, he quickly put it up to a vote if he should continue on in Danish or switch to English - English was the winner, and that’s what he spoke for the rest of the show.
After Svensson, it was definitely bassist Kristoffer Koudahl who did the most for the crowd. During each and every song he displayed an instinctively playful side, dancing and grooving along. Still, there was time for guitar poses and solo duels as well; there was always something to look at.
“Let me see you headbang your necks off for this next one!”
- Svensson (vocals)
That Lastera was deeply anchored in the power metal genre, with their own touch of progressiveness to it, was no hindrance for them to get good and truly heavy from time to time as well. The above comment was said before the band played the aptly titled Paralyzed, but it wasn’t the only song with an extra kick. The final track, Behold, was without comparison the heaviest and most aggressive song of the set, sending us off on an energetic high, but Cosmic Tranquillity also showed a nice heavy chug riffing throughout.
Cosmic Tranquillity was together with something that ended on Astray, a new and as of yet unreleased song from the band, live debut as far as I can tell. They were teasing an upcoming EP, set to be released sometime later this year.
Astray (let’s call it that for now) and Behold were also the two songs in which Svensson went darker with his vocals, changing the clean power metal style up with some deep growls and core inspired screams.
Going in blank and getting a positive surprise is a wonderful feeling, and Lastera delivered just that. Admittedly, I’m not the target audience for their style of metal, and it’s not something I’ll be putting on at home after this (though I encourage fans of the style to check them out), but the way they handled the show was absolutely right from start to finish. This is precisely everything I could have hoped for from an opening band; they set the mood and energy for a fantastic festival, and left us all in a positive and happy state, ready for more.
Setlist:
Feet Made Of Clay
Trial by Fire
A Man In A Suit
Astray
Paralyzed
From The Ashes
Cosmic Tranquillity
Behold
They were also the lucky ducks who got to open Denmark’s brand new power metal festival, Epic Fest, at Gimle, Roskilde, and they did so to a pretty packed house.
Definitely not the worst conditions to play a gig.
“We’re Lastera from Copenhagen, and we’ve been looking forward to this show for a looong time, and we’re finally fucking here!”
- Oliver Svensson (vocals)
Having no previous knowledge of this band before seeing them announced at the Epic Fest and giving them the old Spotify quickie, I had no real idea what we were in for, and this sentiment was apparently shared by a lot of the other festival goers. There were at least a good deal over half of the crowd that answered in the affirmative, when Oliver Svensson asked how many had never heard of the band before. Luckily, this didn’t phase the band one bit, who chose to laugh it off and continue on - they were under no false comprehension of their status, and were just intent on widening their audience, and of course have a good time doing it.
This good mood carried the band through the show. Straight from the start, they showed dedication to delivering a true performance, not just playing songs. They were active, energetic, and especially Svensson engaged the audience between each song. First he spoke in Danish, but in recognition of the international crowd, he quickly put it up to a vote if he should continue on in Danish or switch to English - English was the winner, and that’s what he spoke for the rest of the show.
After Svensson, it was definitely bassist Kristoffer Koudahl who did the most for the crowd. During each and every song he displayed an instinctively playful side, dancing and grooving along. Still, there was time for guitar poses and solo duels as well; there was always something to look at.
“Let me see you headbang your necks off for this next one!”
- Svensson (vocals)
That Lastera was deeply anchored in the power metal genre, with their own touch of progressiveness to it, was no hindrance for them to get good and truly heavy from time to time as well. The above comment was said before the band played the aptly titled Paralyzed, but it wasn’t the only song with an extra kick. The final track, Behold, was without comparison the heaviest and most aggressive song of the set, sending us off on an energetic high, but Cosmic Tranquillity also showed a nice heavy chug riffing throughout.
Cosmic Tranquillity was together with something that ended on Astray, a new and as of yet unreleased song from the band, live debut as far as I can tell. They were teasing an upcoming EP, set to be released sometime later this year.
Astray (let’s call it that for now) and Behold were also the two songs in which Svensson went darker with his vocals, changing the clean power metal style up with some deep growls and core inspired screams.
Going in blank and getting a positive surprise is a wonderful feeling, and Lastera delivered just that. Admittedly, I’m not the target audience for their style of metal, and it’s not something I’ll be putting on at home after this (though I encourage fans of the style to check them out), but the way they handled the show was absolutely right from start to finish. This is precisely everything I could have hoped for from an opening band; they set the mood and energy for a fantastic festival, and left us all in a positive and happy state, ready for more.
Setlist:
Feet Made Of Clay
Trial by Fire
A Man In A Suit
Astray
Paralyzed
From The Ashes
Cosmic Tranquillity
Behold
Lastera
