Hearing that, finally, after all these years a fantastic lineup such as ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES, and MOONSPELL would be playing - I couldn't miss out. Feverishly I looked for some way to get both to the show and a way to ride there. And, thanks to some excellent back and forth from Freeman Promotions - me and my interviewer / photographer / wife were able to finally meet and experience some of our favorite bands live.

All three groups were here on a special mission, to spread their music for the North American audience - which had long been deprived -if not starved- of the likes of solid Death, Symphonic, and Gothic Metal. From the beginning of me and my partner's arrival, we were privy to the painstaking lengths that Alexander Krull of ATROCITY / LEAVES' EYES was going through in order to ensure absolutely top notch sound for this live show. Somehow, some essential cables had gone missing and he'd been working through this along with some glaring issues presented by the venue staff. Two local bands had also been scheduled somehow, not put on the poster or promotional material at all, and as time went along - one had dropped out. However, when it came to the latter situation - the two acts had nothing to do stylistically with anything that ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES, or MOONSPELL had to offer.  We, did, though miss out on what the remaining band had to offer in order to interview the amazing lead singer of LEAVES' EYES: Liv Kristine - who had been a very welcoming person to both me and my wife (as was her husband, Alexander Krull, who'd we'd had the pleasure of interviewing earlier). All in all, when everything came together - the show was no doubt one of the best I, myself had ever experienced on this side of the world.

Known for some bombastic shows, ATROCITY certainly used what little space they had to maximum capacity. I personally had never seen a band go through the trouble of setting up a light-show and especially not fog machines with as small as a venue as Blackwater Music. From the beginning, the stage was covered in a haze of smoke and color - effectively using ATROCITY's newest song from their "Okkult" album "Pandæmonium" as a slow building introduction for the night to come. As soon as the band was on stage, however, the show really began. It wasn't long before the whole audience was enthralled with what ATROCITY had to offer, their live show really reflected their years of intense worldwide touring. Later in the show, Mr. Krull even brought up some audience members to perform with them (though mostly as eye candy in this case). This really brought the audience to level of closeness with the band that I've never quite experienced before. Sadly, ATROCITY's set was a little shorter than the following bands - and though the audience begged for an encore and did not receive one, the set came to a satisfying end.
 

LEAVES' EYES seemed to be the show that the majority of the audience had come to see - which wasn't hard to guess considering the amount of women in dresses flocking to the stages front. Of course, Liv Kristine (along with Alexander Krull's support for harsher vocals) didn't even come close to disappointing. - even visually as she sported a very 'Gothic' dress and even headbanged at some points. LEAVES' EYES set seemed to be the longest, containing a good their newest material from "Symphonies Of The Night" - including the title track as well as "Hell to the Heavens". Thankfully, none of their more popular singles were left out - that means that, yes, "My Destiny" and "Elegy" were played. Strangely, on closing, rather than a mosh-pit start on the infinitely heavier tunes of ATROCITY - the audience had waited until the softest song in order to do so.
 

Finishing the night, MOONSPELL went on stage to just utterly pummel the audience with almost every possible hit they've ever had. Listening to MOONSPELL on CD or VINYL is certainly no comparison to their live performances - which show that the band has a heavier quality than the 'Gothic Metal' they label themselves as. Frontman Fernando Ribeiro and Guitarist / Keyboardist Ricardo Amorim were a constant source of energy for the audience Fernando arriving on stage with some sort of gladiator style helmet, providing a flawless vocal performance, and Ricardo just being all-around talented with his use of both Keyboards and Guitar (which he just switched between as the moment called for it). It would be fruitless to list all of the songs they had played as MOONSPELL literally played everything from their earlier work - such as "Alma Matter", "Full Moon Madness" and "Vampira" as well as a bevy of tracks from "Memorial", "Night Eternal", and "Alpha Noir". My only wish was that they'd had played their song "Luna" which, instead, they'd saved for another date down the road.
 

Personally, this show was one of the best I'd ever seen - especially considering the venue. I only wish that perhaps Albuquerque could have provided a better audience for such a great line-up. Still, all bands had been extremely welcoming and very seasoned. What had been seen by my wife and I was something that needed far more exposure and a little more respect on part of its promoters. I hope that all three acts return again in the future and are met with a more solid group to enjoy their music. All and all, ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES and MOONSPELL put on a nearly flawless show which I hope that, if they come to a city near you, you don't pass off the chance to see them.

Keith "Zirra" Ham

Ok, so, I have been to concerts before in my life. Mostly mainstream music that even though I enjoyed, there wasn't anything ground breaking about them. And the shows they put on lacked any imagination or even crowd participation. Usually, the bands that were mediocre or less than mediocre played first. And by the time the ones you actually came to see came on, they were so wasted that they were barely enjoyable. And the chance you'd meet them, slim to none. I had hopes that seeing ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES and MOONSPELL would be so much more than that. And let me tell you, on February 4, 2014 they didn't disappoint.

Keith and I arrived early for our interviews. As we approached the glass doors of Blackwater Music in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, my heart raced. We entered the first set of doors and automatically I saw Alex Krull of ATROCITY and LEAVES' EYES. My heart raced so hard that I thought for sure I'd have a heart attack. I begged Keith to do the interviews, but no such luck. Krull came over to us, towering over me, but around the same size of Keith. Though his German accent was thick, he was easily understandable. And he was so warm and nice. Things unfortunately were not on schedule as sound check and setting up were being done. There were a lot of issues with cords and the people who worked there.

After a while, he was finally able to have what I figured would be a brief sit down upstairs with us. We talked a bit personally before I shakingly pulled my recorder and questions out for our interview. It was nice, and he gave us his undivided attention. After probably about forty minutes, we were done. He brought us back down to get ready for our interview with his wife and lead singer of LEAVES' EYES's Liv Kristine. Unfortunately, she was busy with helping their son do his homework. It was disappointing that things were not on time, but she earned even more of my respect taking care of her child before worrying about her own business. So we waited patiently. It was kind of amazing to see the "birth" of the upcoming show. They were ready for sound check with ATROCITY and LEAVES' EYES, so Liv came over to us and hugged us, apologizing for the delay. I didn't have any problems with the delay, knowing they couldn't control it, but the people running the place began to rub me the wrong way. They kept asking Krull if he was the tour manager, Francois. They rushed the bands and were quite rude. I was ashamed to say I live here as they were pressing to get local bands the spotlight over the bands that everyone was there to see!

As the local band, who wasn't even on the flyer, went to take the stage, Liv came up to us and asked us to follow her. We made our way to their tour bus, where we were introduced to their son, Leon. We then sat in the back of their bus, where we had an enlightening and even emotional interview, with a woman that I could only one day to aspire to be half as amazing as her. Afterwards, we made our way back to the front of the stage, just in time for ATROCITY to take the stage. Just before hand, Krull  had misplaced his jacket and was quite upset. But you would have never guessed from the energy he went on the stage with! The crowd was putty in his hands. He himself got into the crowd getting everyone riled up. Even Thorsten Bauer and Sander van der Meer were playing up the crowd. Not knowing many songs by the band, I thought it was going to be a hard show to enjoy. But I was dead wrong! Following this high energy band, came LEAVES' EYES.
 

Now LEAVES' EYES I knew every song they played as I am really into their music. Funny thing is, both bands are the same line up, minus one member. But they like to keep their bands separate, because they are two different bands. And they definitely have a different stage presence depending who is on stage! To see this husband and wife is so inspiring as a newlywed myself being as they have made it together even though from different countries and all the adversity in their lives for 20 years (though they have only been married like 10 or 11). I got some amazing pictures of not only the happy couple, but some of the guitarists and drummer. Thorsten is probably the one I got the best pictures of, being as he actually played into my camera. Before I knew it, the show was over, and they invited everyone to come to the back to meet them. I didn't want to fan girl them when I was supposed to be professional and interview them. But this was my moment to fan girl! I asked for autographs and even got pictures with them. They graciously obliged.
 

Then came MOONSPELL! As they are one of my husband's biggest obsessions, I had only an idea of what I was in for. By this time, I was beginning to get crushed by the crowd, as most of them were seemingly there for MOONSPELL. I excused myself and made my way to the back of the pack. Though the place was so small, it thankfully didn't make much of a difference where I was. The howling of the "wolf-pack" filled the place, maybe a little more than the music. Originally we were supposed to get the chance to interview Fernando of MOONSPELL but that unfortunately never happened. Though I was disappointed by this, the show didn't let me stay blue for long. They played some of my favorites like "Lickanthrope" and "Scorpion Flower", which made me even sadder that I didn't get to meet them. After their set was over, though it was a tad longer than the other bands, but still didn't feel long enough, they left the stage, and my husband and I left the building.
 

For never having seen a Metal show, I will say I was pretty glad this was my first. The bands were so caring of their fans and showed passion like I have never seen. Live is so much better than album! I only wish plans had gone better! Oh well, maybe there will be a next time!

-Samantha Ham

Setlist – Atrocity:

1. Pandaemonium
2. Haunted by Demons
3. Fatal Step
4. March of the Undying
5. Satans Braut
6. Death by Metal
7. Reich of Phenomena

Setlist – Leaves' Eyes:

1. Galswintha
2. Take the Devil in Me
3. Farewell Proud Men
4. My Destiny
5. Symphony of the Night
6. Melusine
7. Elegy
8. Hell to the Heavens

Setlist – Moonspell:

1. Axis Mundi
2. Alpha Noir
3. Finisterra
4. Night Eternal
5. Opium
6. Abysmo
7. Nocturna
8. Scorpion Flower
9. Luna
10. Vampiria
11. Alma Mater
12. Full Moon Madness
13. Everything Invaded
14. Atægina