Headbangers Ball Tour – Vega, Copenhagen 2010
The Headbangers Ball Tour had now toured old Denmark a little more than a week since we saw them start of in Roskilde, and now it was time to take on the capitol.
When we arrived at Vega, the venue chosen for the showdown, there was a long line waiting outside, and inside the place was nearly filled. I’m not sure if it was, but if someone had told me it was sold out, it wouldn’t have surprised me the least. The heat was high, and the mood was higher; beer was constantly flowing from the taps, and we were all ready for the crème de la crème of the Danish metal scene to rip the stage to bits, all for our pleasure.
The Burning:
“Go amok, and when I say amok I don’t mean standing around looking all Copenhagen-ish in your faces!” – Johnny Haven (vocals/The Burning)
Once again The Burning began by beating us to pulp with their hard as hell thrash and hardcore hybrid, and in between being beaten senseless (i.e. hearing the songs) we were entertained by Johnny Haven, who once again appeared to have been looking quite deep into his bottle of good inspiration…
Still, the performance was impeccable, and as the audience was larger in both numbers and expression, it all came together in one big bash of near epic proportions.
Again, it was Haven and bassist Thue Møller who stole the show up on the stage, but today both Alex ‘The Kid’ Kjeldsen (guitar) and Tobias Høst (drums) looked really into it and lively as well, and all this played very well against the nice headbanging session that was going on in front of the stage.
The Burning did not stand alone this evening either, and as a special guest, and introduced as a very pleasantly smelling man, Søren Adamsen, who is the vocalist of Danish old school thrash band Artillery, joined the Aarhus’ians on backing vocals for one song. A well-working duet, and a nice variation of the performance.
When their time was up, it was clear for all to see that The Burning was not ready go anywhere, and in his own special way Haven pleaded for more time to play. Alas, it was not to be, and the band quickly said their goodbye and thanks to the Copenhagen crowd.
Intermission…
There wasn’t much of an intermission to speak of in Vega to be honest, as the stage-hands were quick to reset the stage for the next band, but as luck would have it, the bartenders were equally fast in serving and even though the place was as packed as it was, there was almost no line to speak of as we headed for some refreshments.
A drink and a toilet visit later, we were ready to great Raunchy to the stage…
Raunchy:
So far I have had one win and one loss with watching Raunchy live, but as it was the latter which was the latest experience, this was of course what occupied my mind the most. As it turned out however, my fears were turned to naught, as the band proved their worth by setting fire to the audience, figuratively speaking.
It was a much fresher band visiting Copenhagen than had been seen in Roskilde only a week before; now they had apparently had ample time to warm up, and the crowd in Vega were a grand show richer for it, no doubt about that.
Raunchy still held the style of playing their songs in quick succession, but there was just a hint of more conversation added, and this lifted the mood a lot; like the comment from vocalist Kasper Thomsen concerning the Aarhus audience from the day before as being the wildest they had seen so far, but Copenhagen outdoing them by far.
This was not unexpectedly well-received by the crowd, but it was not mere kissing up either; Raunchy had without a doubt the largest audience of the night here in Vega, and they were more than happy to show their love for the band.
Maybe it was this, or maybe it was the extra days on the road which made the difference, I don’t know, but this show far outdid the last show I had seen with them. Did it top my Brutal Assault experience with them? I don’t know, but I do know that it wasn’t necessary, as this was hands down a superior display of showmanship, and there was no need for comparison.
Intermission II…
As I mentioned earlier, there wasn’t much time to speak of between bands, but there was enough time at least to say hi to a couple of friends and acquaintances we had spotted around the hall, and apparently there was also enough time for several of the audience to leave.
Don’t ask me why, but for some reason a great deal of people had left the hall before the main act of the night was to take the place. On one hand, a bit disappointing for Invocator I’m sure, but on the other hand it also left more room on the floor for those of us who stayed on to thrash up the place, and this was an opportunity the Copenhagen crowd did not let go to waste…
Invocator:
This time around there was no shaky start to talk of, both music and vocals were a well-tuned and synched killing machine, ready to let loose a fatal blow over the thrash-heads gathered before the stage.
After the intro, it only took a split second of Dying To Live to loosen the hair and neck-muscles of the crowd, and a headbanging fest the likes of which had not been seen before on this tour commenced without further ado.
In reality, the show was in many ways similar to what we had seen in Roskilde, as the setlist was the same nice mix of mostly Weave The Apocalypse and Dying To Live material, and the guest appearances of Flemming C. Lund in the Through The Flesh To The Soul songs and Jakob Schultz in Excursion Demise (here Perle Hansen (guitars) took on bass duties and gave Carsten Mikkelsen a short break) were nailed to much appreciation of the crowd. Yet, the overall feeling of just being allowed to get down on the floor and giving it all you had without restraint or thoughts of tomorrow was very present and alive here. It had been in Roskilde as well, but I think the fact so many more seized the opportunity made all the difference, both for the rest of the crowd, and for the band as well. At least, it looked like they were having even more fun this time around, and especially Mikkelsen was more than happy to stand on the edge of the stage to greet the fans who were finally getting what The Burning had asked of them earlier in the evening; now were truly were going amok!
But as all good things, this too came to an end, and even though some of us could have continued on for a while more, at least this was what the cheers suggested, the Headbangers Ball Tour in Copenhagen was now over…
As the creators of the tour had foreseen a wish for more in the crowd, a special afterparty had been set up in Copenhagen’s most visited rock-pub, The Rock, to please those who felt the evening was still young, and there were several who took advantage of this offer, and continued partying till the wee hours of the night…
Invocator setlist:
Dying To Live
Breed Of Sin
Astray
From My Skull It Rains
Desert Sands
Through The Flesh To The Soul
Flick It On
Doomed To Be
Shattered Self
The Afterbirth
Condition Critical
Kristendom
Excursion Demise
Through The Nether To The Sun
Text: Tobias Nilsson
When we arrived at Vega, the venue chosen for the showdown, there was a long line waiting outside, and inside the place was nearly filled. I’m not sure if it was, but if someone had told me it was sold out, it wouldn’t have surprised me the least. The heat was high, and the mood was higher; beer was constantly flowing from the taps, and we were all ready for the crème de la crème of the Danish metal scene to rip the stage to bits, all for our pleasure.
The Burning:
“Go amok, and when I say amok I don’t mean standing around looking all Copenhagen-ish in your faces!” – Johnny Haven (vocals/The Burning)
Once again The Burning began by beating us to pulp with their hard as hell thrash and hardcore hybrid, and in between being beaten senseless (i.e. hearing the songs) we were entertained by Johnny Haven, who once again appeared to have been looking quite deep into his bottle of good inspiration…
Still, the performance was impeccable, and as the audience was larger in both numbers and expression, it all came together in one big bash of near epic proportions.
Again, it was Haven and bassist Thue Møller who stole the show up on the stage, but today both Alex ‘The Kid’ Kjeldsen (guitar) and Tobias Høst (drums) looked really into it and lively as well, and all this played very well against the nice headbanging session that was going on in front of the stage.
The Burning did not stand alone this evening either, and as a special guest, and introduced as a very pleasantly smelling man, Søren Adamsen, who is the vocalist of Danish old school thrash band Artillery, joined the Aarhus’ians on backing vocals for one song. A well-working duet, and a nice variation of the performance.
When their time was up, it was clear for all to see that The Burning was not ready go anywhere, and in his own special way Haven pleaded for more time to play. Alas, it was not to be, and the band quickly said their goodbye and thanks to the Copenhagen crowd.
Intermission…
There wasn’t much of an intermission to speak of in Vega to be honest, as the stage-hands were quick to reset the stage for the next band, but as luck would have it, the bartenders were equally fast in serving and even though the place was as packed as it was, there was almost no line to speak of as we headed for some refreshments.
A drink and a toilet visit later, we were ready to great Raunchy to the stage…
Raunchy:
So far I have had one win and one loss with watching Raunchy live, but as it was the latter which was the latest experience, this was of course what occupied my mind the most. As it turned out however, my fears were turned to naught, as the band proved their worth by setting fire to the audience, figuratively speaking.
It was a much fresher band visiting Copenhagen than had been seen in Roskilde only a week before; now they had apparently had ample time to warm up, and the crowd in Vega were a grand show richer for it, no doubt about that.
Raunchy still held the style of playing their songs in quick succession, but there was just a hint of more conversation added, and this lifted the mood a lot; like the comment from vocalist Kasper Thomsen concerning the Aarhus audience from the day before as being the wildest they had seen so far, but Copenhagen outdoing them by far.
This was not unexpectedly well-received by the crowd, but it was not mere kissing up either; Raunchy had without a doubt the largest audience of the night here in Vega, and they were more than happy to show their love for the band.
Maybe it was this, or maybe it was the extra days on the road which made the difference, I don’t know, but this show far outdid the last show I had seen with them. Did it top my Brutal Assault experience with them? I don’t know, but I do know that it wasn’t necessary, as this was hands down a superior display of showmanship, and there was no need for comparison.
Intermission II…
As I mentioned earlier, there wasn’t much time to speak of between bands, but there was enough time at least to say hi to a couple of friends and acquaintances we had spotted around the hall, and apparently there was also enough time for several of the audience to leave.
Don’t ask me why, but for some reason a great deal of people had left the hall before the main act of the night was to take the place. On one hand, a bit disappointing for Invocator I’m sure, but on the other hand it also left more room on the floor for those of us who stayed on to thrash up the place, and this was an opportunity the Copenhagen crowd did not let go to waste…
Invocator:
This time around there was no shaky start to talk of, both music and vocals were a well-tuned and synched killing machine, ready to let loose a fatal blow over the thrash-heads gathered before the stage.
After the intro, it only took a split second of Dying To Live to loosen the hair and neck-muscles of the crowd, and a headbanging fest the likes of which had not been seen before on this tour commenced without further ado.
In reality, the show was in many ways similar to what we had seen in Roskilde, as the setlist was the same nice mix of mostly Weave The Apocalypse and Dying To Live material, and the guest appearances of Flemming C. Lund in the Through The Flesh To The Soul songs and Jakob Schultz in Excursion Demise (here Perle Hansen (guitars) took on bass duties and gave Carsten Mikkelsen a short break) were nailed to much appreciation of the crowd. Yet, the overall feeling of just being allowed to get down on the floor and giving it all you had without restraint or thoughts of tomorrow was very present and alive here. It had been in Roskilde as well, but I think the fact so many more seized the opportunity made all the difference, both for the rest of the crowd, and for the band as well. At least, it looked like they were having even more fun this time around, and especially Mikkelsen was more than happy to stand on the edge of the stage to greet the fans who were finally getting what The Burning had asked of them earlier in the evening; now were truly were going amok!
But as all good things, this too came to an end, and even though some of us could have continued on for a while more, at least this was what the cheers suggested, the Headbangers Ball Tour in Copenhagen was now over…
As the creators of the tour had foreseen a wish for more in the crowd, a special afterparty had been set up in Copenhagen’s most visited rock-pub, The Rock, to please those who felt the evening was still young, and there were several who took advantage of this offer, and continued partying till the wee hours of the night…
Invocator setlist:
Dying To Live
Breed Of Sin
Astray
From My Skull It Rains
Desert Sands
Through The Flesh To The Soul
Flick It On
Doomed To Be
Shattered Self
The Afterbirth
Condition Critical
Kristendom
Excursion Demise
Through The Nether To The Sun
Text: Tobias Nilsson
