Following on from the release of their album
"CO2" last year, German band
STAHLMANN launched on an extended tour. I had the pleasure of catching them at their show in Ingolstadt, Germany, at the end of April, along with
AMANDAS NADEL as support. Dreary weather sadly resulted in a relatively empty venue, especially considering it was a Saturday night. Nevertheless, despite the slightly disappointing turnout, it was still great to see such a varied crowd, with some fans even having come from cities up to 100km away just for the show.
Starting off the evening was AMANDAS NADEL, a Neue Deutsche Härte/Gothic Rock band with its roots in Austria. With an eclectic assortment of musicians, their appearance falls into the more monstrous facet of the Gothic world, which fits perfectly into their lyrics which revolve around themes such as wolves, full moons, and vampires. One could perhaps argue that the clichéd overuse of such imagery would get stale very quickly, but AMANDAS NADEL manage to pull it off remarkably well.
What really stood out about this performance was the absolute enthusiasm with which they played, obviously getting as much fun out of being on stage as the audience was getting from watching them. With the unveiling of their sophomore album "Sticht" last year, the majority of their setlist stemmed from this release, with just a few songs coming from their début. Whilst perhaps not being the personification of extraordinariness or uniqueness, AMANDAS NADEL nevertheless put on an up-beat, catchy, and entertaining show, with their lively songs being brought to life by comical facial expressions and the horseplay of the band. Indeed, almost a week down the line, I still have the tune to "Hej, danke!" stuck in my ears.
Setlist:
1. Göttin
2. Der schwarze Mann
3. Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit
4. Mein Herz sagt
5. Sehnsucht
6. Grinsekatze
7. Hej, danke!
8. Vampir
9. Wie die Wölfe
Following on from this was STAHLMANN, a band notorious for their silvery stage performance. With their name translating to "steel man", STAHLMANN are renown for donning on their silver war-paint each time before they take to the stage, giving them an almost metallic sheen. Often critiqued (by the international community in particular) of being RAMMSTEIN wannabes, STAHLMANN are often underestimated in my opinion. Their sound is one encapsulated in the Neue Deutsche Härte genre, and as such does obviously have similarities with other bands in the genre; however, they do have their own idiosyncrasies, not least of which is their appearance.
In contrast to AMANDAS NADEL's enthusiasm and passionate show, STAHLMANN delivered their performance with professional precision, coolly playing the crowd. It was fantastic to see such a completely mixed audience responded to this with unbridled enjoyment, with some in the front row dancing throughout the entire set. Choosing just the right time to play a faster-paced song or to throw in a slower more ballad-like song, STAHLMANN flawlessly held the audience captivated throughout, culminating in resounding applause at the end. One fan even went as far as to pass forward a massive bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, spray painted silver, with the name being changed to read Stahl Mann's whiskey.
STAHLMANN are quite possibly the only band that I've ever seen perform a double encore (at least that I can recall). Following the cries for more at the end of their setlist, the band came back, along with a more macabre appearance, thanks to expressionless masks, unleashing "Spiegelbild" and "Süchtig" on the audience before leaving the stage once more. Only to return a minute later for their final encore, "Asche", much to the crowd's delight.
Setlist:
1. Feindflug
2. Adrenalin
3. Stahlmann
4. Wenn Engel tanzen
5. Hass mich
6. Der Schmied
7. Teufel
8. Sadist
9. Stahlwittchen
10. Engel der Dunkelheit
11. Spring
12. Schwarz
13. Plasma
14. Tanzmaschine
15. Spiegelbild
16. Süchtig
17. Asche
