I got really into Raubtier only last year when seeing them support Pain in Lund and completely loving it! Even though Metalmoments have been present at three more shows from the band since, I personally have not had the pleasure since however, and when The Tivoli offered up the chance, where Raubtier was headlining no less, I of course jumped at the opportunity, in hope of reliving that same superb feeling from the last time.

”Helsingborg, are you ready for some disco?!”
- Pär Hulkoff (vocals/guitar)

Raubtier was out promoting their new album, Från Norrland Till Helvetets Port, and they were picking up more or less local acts at the various places to act as their support bands; in Helsingborg they had Faithful Darkness (which we sadly missed due to a late arrival), and Engel who had just finished an amazing but short set. The place was beginning to boil now that we were getting closer to the main act of the evening, and The Tivoli was close to being filled with enthusiastic Scanians.
As soon as the trio took the stage, we knew we were in for a wild ride as they started out with Det Finns Bara Krig, the opening track of their first album of the same title. The tempo was fast and the band lively, but sadly the sound was all shot to hell! I have no idea what was going on, but the keyboard sounds were almost completely drowned out, as was the guitar. Ok, so the sound was heavy as a tiger tank parked on your toes, but all the details were gone and that didn’t exactly work in the bands favour.

Shame to those who give up though, the band fought on and no matter what the sound was like, the crowd was on their side!
Hulkoff himself, dressed in a new, black army outfit (the whole band was wearing identical uniforms) swung his ever growing hair and was quick to move between the three microphones set up on the stage. His eyes were staring wildly into the dim of the room as he barked out one song after the other, leaving only little time between tracks for talking; this was an excellent way of keeping the energy running, and we in the audience were pummelled by the pumping music. Somehow though, I only rarely felt a true connection between him and the sweating fans in front of him. A lot of hands were stretched out and words of appreciation were shouted, but it didn’t seem like he noticed any of it, keeping his focus completely on the set.
What Hulkoff may have lacked in crowd-connection, his colleague on the four strings made up for in plenitude though! Jonas Kjellgren, this massive man, was all over the place, throwing poses and joy wherever he went – more than once he leaned as far out over the narrow fence as he could, shoving his face right up into ours. Still, he looked a bit surprised when a girl began fidgeting around with his beard, but he took it in good spirits and cracked a big smile as he pulled back onto the stage.
Mattias ‘Buffeln’ Lind was not to be forgotten either; even though he couldn’t move about and get close to the audience in quite the same way as his two colleagues could, he could still be seen working his skins actively on his place on the podium, and he did what he could to reach out as well. In the beginning of Lennart he stood up and tried to lead the crowd into doing the Raubtier hands, although people where a bit too preoccupied with headbanging and moshing to notice. Lind was also the one who took the mic as the band entered the stage for the encore, giving thanks to all who had shown up and supported the band and all that.

To answer Hulkoff’s question from earlier on in the evening; yes, Helsingborg was ready to disco!
The Scanian crowd left no doubt in anybody’s mind which band they had paid to get in and see; the floor was ten times as wild or more now compared to when the support bands had played earlier on.
People were shouting, throwing the well-known devil-horns and tightly clenched fists in the air, as well as loudly grumbling along to the war-tunes.
Lebensgefahr was one of the first with an absolutely roof-off-blowing (what the heck was that?) sing/shout along, but it was definitely not the last – classics like Achtung Panzer, Dobermann and Världsherravälde all got their fair share, as did the new Låt Napalmen Regna, which is already a classic in its own right.
Hulkoff also led us to make waves with our arms at a few points, the first time in Vittring, and even though this was definitely a fun addition to the activities we were all partaking in, it wasn’t what impressed me the most though.
No, what was most impressive was the frenzy of the moshing; for the support bands people had been standing completely still, but now we had an everlasting throng of people going at it, taking up as much as two thirds of the floor! If it wasn’t for the fact that there was a fence and a heightened floor in front of the bar, I’m sure it would have stretched out even wider than it did.
In gratitude of the effort people had put in, and the sweat and beer that had been spilt, the band stayed on the stage for a while as the sound of Brad Fiedel’s Terminator theme rang out the concert, and they all shook as many hands as they could, and handed out plectrums and drum sticks for the wanting fans.

Yes, Helsingborg was definitely taken with Raubtier, and so was I.
In part.
Don’t get me wrong, this was a fantastic show, and I had lots of fun, but especially the incredibly shitty sound took away much of the atmosphere that could have been, and in the end this concert sadly did not live up to the high standard that the band has put on themselves from past concerts. Still, I will not hesitate to see them again, because they do kick ass, keyboards or no keyboards!

Setlist:

Det Finns Bara Krig
Sveriges Elit
Lebensgefahr
Hulkovius Rex
Hjärteblod
Vittring
Achtung Panzer
Dieseldöd
Legoknekt
Lennart
Besten I Mig
Änglar
Polarvargen
Dobermann
Världsherravälde
Kamphund
Låt Napalmen Regna