Psychotic Waltz certainly wasn’t the biggest name slotted for Copenhell 2017, but it was just as certainly one of the names we were looking the most forward to!

“I want to thank the crew for having us. Much appreciated, man!”
- Devon Graves (vocals)

It would seem that some of the best shows were placed on the Pandæmonium stage this year, the smallest of the stages. On the opening day, Invocator had won the day on this very stage, and now our second day began at this very same place. Only now it was occupied by a completely different kind of band.
Just how popular Psychotic Waltz is in Denmark is quite impossible for me to guess, but here at the Metalmoments HQ, we are all quite smitten with their music. Hence, we made our way up to the stage in good time before the show. Grey and rainy clouds were forming overhead, and finding a spot proved easier than expected, as the gathered crowd was very small at this point. It would come to grow a bit more during the show, but never grew as big as a band of this calibre deserve. Oh well.

When it was finally time, the band came out, and without ado they went straight for the music. Dancing In The Ashes opened the show, and set a nice, rocking tone that immediately grabbed me.
Graves was performing his pants off, figuratively speaking, with dancing, posing, and gesticulating wildly. The rest of the band let him do most of the job when it came to physically rocking out, but their smiles were broad, and they all kept a good contact with the crowd. Ward Evans was seen at several times locking eyes with someone from the crowd, giving him or her an appreciative nod or wave, before moving on in the show.

Now, given the nature of things, Psychotic Waltz didn’t have an abundance of time to play in, and maybe this is the reason Graves didn’t really say much between songs. Well, maybe that, or maybe it was because his voice seemed a little strained. Between songs, he was often seen chewing on something pill-like, and in the high, extended notes, it could be heard that he was struggling. Still, he was a trooper, and fought through without complaint, and most of the time you couldn’t even hear it. And it wasn’t as though he was taking it easy either – I have never seen anyone else with this microphone technique before. The rule is, the closer you have it to your sound source, in this case mouth, the clearer a signal goes through, and the less you need to push it. Graves held his mic at a very long distance almost all the way through!

Even with this minor blemish on the show, every second of it was pure ecstasy! It didn’t matter that the rain came down so hard the band had to move back on the stage to keep dry, and it didn’t matter that Graves’ voice wasn’t in top shape (here’s hoping it didn’t bother him either). If anything was the matter, it would be the fact that the show was over too soon. Sure, Psychotic Waltz used the time they had been given, but as the fans who had finally gathered were howling for more after the last song, the band was still given the thumb down when they asked if they could do an encore. Understandable of course, as festivals must maintain a tight schedule not to get out of hand, but it was sad nonetheless.

So, let’s pray this tasty aperitif will lead to an even yummier full course in a not too distant future! Yes, I am of course wishing for a regular tour visit, and if you attended the show, I’m sure you do too.

Setlist:

Dancing In The Ashes
Faded
Mosquito
Northern Lights
Haze One
Ashes
Locust
I Remember
Morbid
…And The Devil Cried