Pyogenesis
Molotow, Hamburg - 2020
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Before Hannover, we were supposed to see Pyogenesis in Bremen, but sadly that show was cancelled. That, in combination with us absolutely loving the Hannover show, quickly convinced us that we had to seek out another show down the road. Hamburg, closer to us, and hometurf of the band, was chosen - how could this be anything but epic?
“You wanna hear some music? Yeah! Wait, wait! You wanna hear some music from Pyogenesis?! YEAH!”
- Flo Schwarz (vocals/guitar)
Well, the Molotow, with its scenic location on the famous Reeperbahn, was another small club, but luckily the band was playing in the (slightly) larger of the two rooms it held. Pyogenesis was not supporting themselves this time around, and the outside help had changed as well. Tonight they were called Blood Fire Death, and were a semi local Bathory cover band. They did an alright job of it, but there was no question for whom the audience had come.
At Molotow, the entrance from whatever backroom there might have been, was the same entrance as everyone else got in through, so the band walked straight up in the side of the stage in full view, when it was time to begin. A bit of soundchecking, and we were ready to go.
The band was well dressed, they were lit, and they started off with the I Can’t Breathe suite again - awesome!
Well, the band was anyway. Sadly, it distressingly soon became apparent that the technical equipment wasn’t on the band’s side this night. The sound wasn’t all that impressive in the beginning, the lights weren’t as sharp and distinctive as earlier, and poor old Thilo Schmidt managed to break a guitar string early on in the first song. Next song, new guitar, new problem which required a screwdriver before we could continue - at least Flo Schwarz took the opportunity to steal Schmidt’s wallet, and go through its content out loud for the amusement of the crowd. The guitar issue didn’t matter much though, as it at this point was so low in the mix, we could hardly hear it anyway.
Pyogenesis carried on though, and delivered close to the same setlist as they had done in Hannover a couple of weeks earlier. I say close to, as they at that time hadn’t had a reason to include anything from Twinaleblood in their main set, but here Undead had been shoved in between Flesh And Hair and Fade Away. Oddly enough, the title track of the album was not present, but I guess you can’t have everything.
Later, the crowd got to choose between It’s On Me and Love Nation Sugarhead, with a resounding win to the latter. I don’t remember them giving us this choice in Hannover, but maybe they did. Maybe it was in German, and thus I didn’t understand it. Here it was in German - everything was in German. I need to work on my German.
The sound quality didn’t improve much, or maybe I was just standing in a very unlucky position - either way, I could not hear Schwarz’s guitar at any point during the concert.
On the other hand, I could hear his voice, and it was on point. Crystal clear singing, and lots and lots of jokes in between songs. There was something about Schwarzenbek and IKEA that generated a lot of laughs, but of course I didn’t get any of it. German, learn it!
At one point they even invited a fan up on stage. His name was Matthias, and he was a good guy we’d met at the Hannover gig earlier on. They spoke a bit, Schwarz tried to order beers from the bar (he even waved a bit of money around, so as to get their attention), and finally someone showed up with a crate of Astra, which Matthias subsequently crowdsurfed away with in his arms, handing out beer as he went.
All in all, this was another very good night. Despite the technical shortcomings, the performance was once again riveting, and we had a great time! Zugabe?
Setlist:
I Can’t Breathe (Prologue)
I Can’t Breathe (Monologue)
Every Man For Himself And God Against All
Steam Paves Its Way (The Machine)
Blaze, My Northern Flame
Flesh And Hair
Undead
Fade Away
The Capital (A Silent Soul Screams Loud)
This Won’t Last Forever
Love Nation Sugarhead
Will I Ever Feel The Same
Modern Prometheus
I Have Seen My Soul
Don’t You Say Maybe
“You wanna hear some music? Yeah! Wait, wait! You wanna hear some music from Pyogenesis?! YEAH!”
- Flo Schwarz (vocals/guitar)
Well, the Molotow, with its scenic location on the famous Reeperbahn, was another small club, but luckily the band was playing in the (slightly) larger of the two rooms it held. Pyogenesis was not supporting themselves this time around, and the outside help had changed as well. Tonight they were called Blood Fire Death, and were a semi local Bathory cover band. They did an alright job of it, but there was no question for whom the audience had come.
At Molotow, the entrance from whatever backroom there might have been, was the same entrance as everyone else got in through, so the band walked straight up in the side of the stage in full view, when it was time to begin. A bit of soundchecking, and we were ready to go.
The band was well dressed, they were lit, and they started off with the I Can’t Breathe suite again - awesome!
Well, the band was anyway. Sadly, it distressingly soon became apparent that the technical equipment wasn’t on the band’s side this night. The sound wasn’t all that impressive in the beginning, the lights weren’t as sharp and distinctive as earlier, and poor old Thilo Schmidt managed to break a guitar string early on in the first song. Next song, new guitar, new problem which required a screwdriver before we could continue - at least Flo Schwarz took the opportunity to steal Schmidt’s wallet, and go through its content out loud for the amusement of the crowd. The guitar issue didn’t matter much though, as it at this point was so low in the mix, we could hardly hear it anyway.
Pyogenesis carried on though, and delivered close to the same setlist as they had done in Hannover a couple of weeks earlier. I say close to, as they at that time hadn’t had a reason to include anything from Twinaleblood in their main set, but here Undead had been shoved in between Flesh And Hair and Fade Away. Oddly enough, the title track of the album was not present, but I guess you can’t have everything.
Later, the crowd got to choose between It’s On Me and Love Nation Sugarhead, with a resounding win to the latter. I don’t remember them giving us this choice in Hannover, but maybe they did. Maybe it was in German, and thus I didn’t understand it. Here it was in German - everything was in German. I need to work on my German.
The sound quality didn’t improve much, or maybe I was just standing in a very unlucky position - either way, I could not hear Schwarz’s guitar at any point during the concert.
On the other hand, I could hear his voice, and it was on point. Crystal clear singing, and lots and lots of jokes in between songs. There was something about Schwarzenbek and IKEA that generated a lot of laughs, but of course I didn’t get any of it. German, learn it!
At one point they even invited a fan up on stage. His name was Matthias, and he was a good guy we’d met at the Hannover gig earlier on. They spoke a bit, Schwarz tried to order beers from the bar (he even waved a bit of money around, so as to get their attention), and finally someone showed up with a crate of Astra, which Matthias subsequently crowdsurfed away with in his arms, handing out beer as he went.
All in all, this was another very good night. Despite the technical shortcomings, the performance was once again riveting, and we had a great time! Zugabe?
Setlist:
I Can’t Breathe (Prologue)
I Can’t Breathe (Monologue)
Every Man For Himself And God Against All
Steam Paves Its Way (The Machine)
Blaze, My Northern Flame
Flesh And Hair
Undead
Fade Away
The Capital (A Silent Soul Screams Loud)
This Won’t Last Forever
Love Nation Sugarhead
Will I Ever Feel The Same
Modern Prometheus
I Have Seen My Soul
Don’t You Say Maybe
Pyogenesis
