LIVE REVIEW: TURBOKILL + SINTAGE ON “NEW WAVE OF GERMAN METAL” TOUR @ BACKSTAGE (MUNICH)

I am lucky enough to enjoy a long and fulfilling metal concerts experience for more than a decade now, seeing hundreds of bands and checking the boxes of my favorite acts list. However, there are certain bands that are either too fresh or not so actively touring, which made me generate a target inventory and hunting down their shows, whenever faith presents with a proper opportunity. Such is the case with the New Wave Of German Metal mini-tour, delivering the Leipzig heroes of SINTAGE, paired with the powerhouse TURBOKILL. While my first encounter with SINTAGE was couple of years ago in Czech Republic “Heavy Metal Thunder” festival, where the gang was celebrating the release of their debut EP “The Sign,” TURBOKILL with their masterpiece breakthrough “Vice World”, released in 2019, was constantly haunting my mind, wondering how cool those anthems would sound on live stage.

And here I am, on the last weekend of January, in the cold and rainy capital of Bavaria province (Germany) – the cosmopolite city of Munich, penultimate stop of the New Wave Of German Metal tour, which for the sake of clarity was headlined by another local band called FIREBORN, a fine formation, yet quite distant from the traditional metal definition. Now is the time to share few words about the venue hosting the event – a club or better said, a party center called “Backstage” situated in an urban area along the city train tracks and visible from quite a distance. It was pretty easy to find it, visible from a long distance by a huge banner on a tower and upon arrival, the place turned to be kind of “all in one” establishment. Combining big beer garden, food corner, games area, concert hall…and disco club. The latter provoked quite a confusion and being Friday night out, it was quite bizarre seeing a huge queue presenting a strange mixture of headbangers and dance maniacs, both groups confused which way they must really go to reach the venue of interest. On top, there were some controversial messages in social media about the kick-off time of the show and when each band starts, and despite rushing in the heavy cold rain, locating the place and passing through the security, I ended up inside, in the middle of the opening act, delivered by the local heroes REVEREND HOUND. Frankly, rushing between the overcrowded cloakroom and the stage bar, could not pay any consistent attention to those folks, besides taking couple of shots and enjoying moments of their solid thrashy sound. Sorry, guys. Maybe next time.

Next stop and a natural point of interest was the merch stand, where I had to quench my obsession for metal memorabilia and boy was this a piece of paradise! Well, still kind of pesky for not getting my hands on a favorite SINTAGE patch, but you know what they say – you can’t have it all and I am perfectly grateful for the bounty collected. All sold by the band members themselves, in the good old fashion way, providing me the chance to deliver my special liquid gifts to them, to commemorate our encounter. In the meantime, stage changeover was going at full speed, done with the famous German precision and efficiency, executed by the experienced crew and band members. It was a delight observing that clockwork mechanism operates and as more people were pouring in, securing beer resources became a matter of life and death. Luckily, the bartenders were equally skillful as the stage team and reaching front stage position with beverage in hand was a mission well accomplished.

All is set, the band backdrop is blazing on the background and exactly on time SINTAGE kick-off their show, cheered by an enthusiastic crowd of hundred plus eager headbangers. You immediately sense the energy bursting from the stage and get into party mood right from the get-go. The boys get directly to business and smash our faces with “Midnight Evil,” a popular banger and frequent opener, setting the tone of uncompromised old-school metal mastery and engaging the front row of fans into a frantic headbanging. Already feeling lucky to be one of the chosen ones to indulge this feast of music fascination, the familiar goosebumps all over my body, a way my mind is signaling that something exciting is going on. Track after track the atmosphere is heating on, more fists and horn signs are in the air, and with a good reason – the boys a lords of their craft, magnificently transmitting their spirit from podium to the floor. Its strikingly obvious how the stage presence and audience interaction of SINTAGE have improved in the couple of years since I saw them for the first time, proving once more the fact that a real band name and reputation are built on the road.

 By the moment “Rock City” (one of my Top 3 favorites) kicks in, SINTAGE have conquered the place completely and the metal party goes at full force. And what is a real gig without some stage diving!? By design, the stage of Backstage Club is a bit weird, triangle by shape and stuck in the corner – not the best prerequisites for metalhead extremities. Passion though, knows no limitations and after few eye-to-eye looks and heads-up for what’s coming next, a dude is already up, giving his shades to Randy (the band lead singer), before jumping into the pool of maniacs. Crowd surfing follows next and all this ritual, beautifully played out ends with tons of smiles and no bruises. Mentioning Randy, he is wild and crazy as always, igniting the sparks of enthusiastic headbanging and channelizing the mood of all his bandmates into a striking stream of radiance.

 SINTAGE show beyond doubt they are a well-oiled metal machine and full respect to everybody from the formation for delivering such an unforgettable experience. Moving on with the show, a new unfamiliar set of riffs conquers the speakers, provoking few puzzled faces of disbelief. What we witnessed was a new song experimented by the band, a nameless creation that probably will form part of their next album release, an occurrence you don’t get very often. As the tracks change one after another, without slowing the tempo or dropping down the mood, inevitably culmination time came, yet no one wanted to see SINTAGE go. Despite fixed short time, Randy and the gang were generous enough to present not one, but to encores, going with “Burnin‘ up the Night” first and nailing down everything with “The Sign” – a signature song for the band and the one that really got me in their fandom.

SINTAGE setlist:

• Midnight Evil
• Street Law
• Escape the Scythe
• Rock City
• Venom
• Wild Dogs
• New Song (no name actually)
• The Devil’s Race
• Flames of Sin
• Burnin‘ up the Night
• The Sign

Intermission between to bands playing is time that dictates other priorities – biological brake, beer refill and revisiting the merch stand, in case you missed something in the initial haste when entering the arena for the first time. All three boxes checked and while doing so, observing how the guys from TURBOKILL have already changes in their slick stage apparel and gearing up to hit the stage. In the meantime, more fans joined in and the place starts to feel pretty packed. You can easily sense that by the time it takes to get a grip on another cold sweaty pint, the one that is supposed to keep you smiling and hydrated during the upcoming performance.

And here we go! True to their timing, four dark leather figures and a white metal knight invade the stage, lights go down and speakers get silent for a second before exploding with the mesmerizing intro riffage of the title track of the masterpiece debut “Vice World”. Could not think of a better opener, the sound is great, clear and hitting you from all ends, the vibe of the band is simply encaptivating and from the first verse and choir, there is no doubt that the lead singer Stephan Dietrich is a true vox monster. Second slap is “War Thunder”, my most liked power-speed banger that throws me in extasy, along with the rest of the eager crowd. Managed to occupy direct frontstage position, it was amazing to discover how close in feeling and quality TURBOKILL come in their live act when set side by side to the studio album recording. A sign of prowess and professional approach, which doesn’t strip away the fun from the experience. Speaking of which, for a moment I compared how different both bands I came for are, in terms of styling, mood, attitude, and stage posture, however such variety and uniqueness make heavy metal the best music genre in the Universe! After the initial punch, show carries on a fast pace, delivering hit by hit from the setlist portfolio. The band as a whole and especially their frontman keeps great contact with the audience during the breaks between songs, although it’s mostly in German and I kind of regret being left out of context, not understanding a single word from what has been spilled on stage. By the reactions of people all along the gig, I assume it was a first encounter with TURBOKILL for part of them and in the beginning their response was bit reserved, before breaking the ice and identifying themselves with the magic that has been created in that very moment.

Having only a debut album and couple of recently released singles, means getting them to the test of live gig trial and so was the case here, moving to the middle of the concert, dominated by well-known bangers and hits. Genuinely enjoyed the clear sound of both musicians and singer, something that happens to be a big compromise at a times, when you are in front of the stage, on hand distance from the performing act. “Tear It Down” blows up the speakers, followed by the emblematic eponymous anthem “Turbokill”, signaling to my senses that time has come for my top favorite track of them all – “Sail With Pirates”. Life is filled with amazement and so are metal shows, and I don’t remember the last time experiencing such humongous shaking astonishment, when instead of the treasured tunes, the stinging buzzing intro of “Black Wind, Fire and Steel” by MANOWAR shattered the place. A blazing shockwave went through the entire audience and in a second the venue turned into a melting pot of lava. Got couple of people on my back, everyone was headbanging and pushing toward the stage, fists in the air and chanting along every single word of that timeless battle hymn. One word can describe the situation – mental! The lead singer of SINTAGE – Randy, true to his party nature, pulled from somewhere a MANOWAR flag and suddenly popped up on stage to further intensify the already top level of metal madness. Could it get better!? I don’t think so an all respect to the TURBOKILL guys for closing their show in a such glorious manner.

TURBOKILL setlist:

Unfortunately, there was no chance for encore or more songs to get done, since the headliner of the night was pushing to start, so it was farewell time. No sadness and sorrow when shaking and hugging the guys from SINTAGE and TURBOKILL for goodbye. Another metal mission accomplished, and I promise we will see each other soon. Very soon!

And till we meet again – STAY HEAVY AND TRUE!