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So, we headed to the old SO36, which wasn't necessarily packed, but over the course of the evening, especially for a weekday, it would achieve a respectable audience density. Joining us, freshly flown in via time machine: metal hipsters, who styled themselves in 80s fashion with trashy thrash shirts, tight skinny jeans, long hair, and (white) sneakers. Traditional rebels? In any case, a good backdrop for the musical experience that was about to unfold. RANGER from Finland provided the expected visual portrait. Long-haired heroes, including a fan right in front of a guitarist, so that the mane could flow theatrically. The sound program lay somewhere at the intersection between classic, melodic egg-squeezer metal and the tempo of thrash classics. So, this is what they call speed metal. Good stuff. Learned something new.
The set had a nice structure that gradually showcased the musicians' skills more and more. While the drums kept the band moving in a rather unspectacular way at the beginning, around the third song, a barrage erupted on the two bass drums, which delighted me. The singer skillfully employed his falsetto without overdoing it. By the way, this also applied to the announcements, if you're going to do it, do it right. The rest of the time featured aggressive shouting. Constantly fast riffs alternated with spectacular solos. During highly melodic twin guitar solos, there was also plenty of posing, guitars raised in the air, everything as it should be. There was even a double bass solo with stick twirling. In between, there were longer instrumental sections, then the band rode through their songs on 6/8 rhythms, all skillfully and driving. By the finale, when all registers were pulled once again, the entire audience was headbanging and swaying along. My only critique might be that the sound sometimes had too much reverb, making it difficult to distinctly hear the individual instruments. Aside from that, a very good start for RANGER's first trip to Germany.
Next up were the Berlin-based REACTORY. This was the concert for their latest release "High on Radiation". In the background, a tasteful banner featuring a radioactive zombie Nazi soldier (the current album cover), in the foreground, a band that knows no brakes. The sound was significantly harder and louder; when the guitars sound like a chainsaw and the bass alone buzzes like that, you know as a listener that it’s about to get brutal. What followed was an estimated hour of beautiful thrash, always pushing forward, little playfulness, no experiments. If your hamster dies, this is the soundtrack to vent your frustrations. Melodies: none to be found, instead, it was full throttle all the way, screaming, shredding. I didn't see any of the musicians stand still or even relax for a second; the guitar runs were played tirelessly up and down, rapid fills pressed into the drums, ensuring that no moment of calm arose, but rather a powerful inferno. The crowd clearly enjoyed it, the band was in good spirits, and I too could enjoy the spectacle.
At some point, a slight weariness of the basic recipe became noticeable; always pushing the gas pedal is quite an achievement, but after half an hour, you no longer really notice the difference between the songs. A bit more variety would at least keep me engaged a little longer, while I also switched off a bit in between. But hey, I once went to a Slayer concert in flip-flops; I know no pain anymore. Nevertheless: I would gladly see REACTORY again, especially when I feel an excess of aggression. All in all, I got my money's worth that evening and am pleased that some talented musicians are jolting the old corpse of 80s metal back to life with electric shocks.
Both bands have something to listen to or download on their respective websites.
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