In November-December 2019 folk metal masters Eluveitie embarked on the "Ategnatos tour" alongside Lacuna Coil and Infected Rain. On December 3rd, the tour rolled through Saarbrücken, Germany.
First up was Moldova's own Infected Rain. I'd only recently started getting familiar with the band and their show definitely exceeded my expectations. These guys are excellent performers, with the band on point and vocalist Lena alternating between a charming siren and a punishing fury. On the last song, they started a big circle pit in the crowd, and Lena joined the fans on the barrier until the end of the set.
Lacuna Coil went up next. Boy oh boy. From the very first notes of "Blood, Tears, Dust" and "Our Truth", the Italians swept fans off their feet. Literally. Te band was absolutely restless and fully energetic. I did miss Ryan Folden and his luscious mane on the back of the stage, but I must admit Richard Meiz did a fantastic job behind the drum kit. Lacuna Coil recently released their latest album, "Black Anima", which is one of their most confident creative challenges so far and, judging by the warm reception of th crowd, the choice of songs for the tour proved to be winning. The setlist also included old and fan favorite hits, and the 45' they spent on stage ended with a rhythmic chant of "We. Fear. Nothing!" and "Nothing Stands In Our Way" blasting. Hands down one of the best shows I've seen this year.
Finally, the audience had warmed up enough for Eluveitie. The lights dimmed and the ladies of the band took place behind the microphones waring cloaks, chanting "Catvix", before the rest of the band joined and the set officially began with "Ategnatos". My second encounter with this band was very enjoyable (no pyros this time, to my absolute dismay, however) and I was able to fully observe them up and close in this setting, contrary to the madness of a festival. I was once more impressed with Fabienne Erni who, other than a very talented instrumentalist, has lungs of steel. The way she was belting her notes was magnificent, making songs like "De Ruef Vo De Bärge", the a capella "Artio" and of course "Epona" sound even more majestic.We also saw the first crowd surfers of the evening during that time, which was really cool. One very big asset to the venue was the giant disco ball. It didn't take long for a light to hit it on rotation, creating a beautiful stars-on-the-sky-like reflection in the room. Traditionally, the show ended after approximately 75' with "Inis Mona" and most people in the quite packed venue singing along.
The begining of this adventure was nothing short of amazing.
All pictures courtesy of Dearohwell photography.
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