There are certain places and cities around the world where one just loves to visit, stay and enjoy. Just for no reason. The Austrian capital of Vienna is one of those spots for me. Related with nearly two decades of memories from all sort, being there dozens of times and the fact one of my closest friends lives there explains my affection to the city. Long story short – it a nice place to be and moreover when visiting on metal journey makes it a degree more exciting and anticipating. So here I am, middle of September, straight after a week of intense labor, landing in Schwechat Airport, with busy schedule in hand. Combining business and headbanger experience is an usual thing for me and having a productive meeting with a local client I off to the races, changing mu apparel to full metal gear, swapping coffee for beer in preparation for the afternoon to come so me and my buddy can move towards Escape Metalcorner and have a blast.

Live Review

“Escape” is an iconic metal lair, where tons of memories are forged and megatons lost, plus having a hardcore local (shoutout to Larso – you’re the man!) as a wingman comes with certain advantages and perks. Taking you to all the nice bars and places, where you find friendly staff, avoiding overpriced booze and even having some free shots on the house is an integral part of the ritual, equally rewarding as the gig itself. Been texting with the guys from HAUNT all throughout the day and it seemed they were running bit behind schedule, which translated in couple of pints more on my account before moving couple of hundred meters up the street to invade the venue. Needless to say, me and my buddy were practically the first to arrive and occupied a well-positioned table next to the gate, just summoning to us any familiar face that stepped in. Just love this warm-up friendly drinking sessions when you could chat with new acquaintances or rekindle with veterans you see only during festivals or concerts.

The place suddenly jam-packed and to my surprise it got full to the rim. That was a signal to pay the mandatory visit to the merch corner and support the guys, however very few of the purchases I made this night ended up with me, but that’s another story to tell. Some chat here, few photos there and for an utter surprise, at one moment a wave of heavy sounds came from the stage areа, making me realize HELLFIRE were already there at full throttle. A consult with my wristwatch indicated its half of an hour earlier, but who I am to dispute? Hasty rush to the basement and bold charge to the crowd to conquer frontline position were the right actions to perform under the circumstances. “The dungeon” downstairs is a pretty “intimate” place for the lack of better term and the crowd was filling it to almost max, for the pleasure of the boys on stage. Having seen them before, I was assured that same gathering wont regret coming that day, myself also being overwhelmed by the pounding march of “Mania”, second in sequence and one of my top favorites. Fists in the air, heads banging and all other attributes of real live metal mania were present and at full display. The sound was remarkably clear, regardless the position and I’ve changed several of these during the mandatory raid to the bar and back. With each consecutive track the emotion was building up and HELLFIRE leaving no quarter. “Thrill of the Chase” from the beloved “Reckoning” album marked the peak, ripping heads off delivering punch after punch to the evermore eager mass of metalheads. “Warpath” took the torch and set all things ablaze almost to a point of hysteria with this bombarding drumming and razor-sharp solos.  Little we all did know, that’s the last one we hear for the night from HELLFIRE, an abrupt termination of a truly rewarding experience.

SETLIST:
Medieval Cowboys
Mania
Addicted to Violence
On The Loose
Thrill of the Chase
Warpath

Obviously, the whole schedule was under time pressure and being in a Teutonic kind of setting, where they put precision on a pedestal, meant there was little moment to waste and mingle around, given the mighty HAUNT was up next. A rushed biological break and bold charge to front of the stage accomplished the mission for about half an hour or so pause between bands, excitement still up and motivation for the upcoming show massively unquestionable. Smoke, flashing lights and the familiar intro tune herald the stage appearance of Mr. Trevor William Church and his merry gang of metal accomplices under the joyful encouraging shouts of the frantic fandom.

Rock on! The first couple of bangers “Steel Mountains” and “Luminous Eyes” are all I need to be thrown in state of extasy and from that point onwards, things were just destined to get better and better. HAUNT has always been known to supercharge the atmosphere in a raw and unadulterated manner, building genuine connection with the audience, even if it’s their first touch altogether. Vienna made no exception and following with undisputed smash-hits in the likes of “Hearts On Fire” and “Mind Freeze” (this almost made me cry out of joy) felt natural and fulfilling for the couple of hundred heavy souls who joined the venue to witness this triumph of trad metal, strongly flavored with US extravaganza. Small sized stage was not a limitation for these skilled performers and the guys filled every inch of it with remarkable presence and untamed bravado. Needless to say that the persona of Mr.Church is always a focal point of prowess when it comes to a live act and he was the relentless power engine, smoothly supported by his trusted sidekicks.

Waiting time was within the normal and when the lights went down for the third time that day, the air raid sirens of the emblematic “Into The Fire” filled the space announcing the next charge. The opening went profound with two classical punches from the epic debut “Court in the Act” – “Trial by Fire” and “Blades of Steel”, played back-to-back as they are in the original recording, something that ignited the old school fans of the band to jump as high as the sealing, consuming every last sip of fresh air remaining in the venue. A magical moment that maintained momentum, stretched to the tracks to follow, with amazing sustain of energy and drive flowing from the stage. Really amazed by the smoothness and relaxed confidence SATAN demonstrated in their act, as if they were doing something casually mundane, both enjoyable and recharging. For me, this is the uncompromising professionalism and experience built through the decades of being present and having dozens if not hundred shows like these under the belt.

With fresh new album on the account “Songs in Crimson”, officially released the week prior and got amazing critical acclaim thus far, “Sacramental Rites” was the first sample to be delivered, that enjoyed cheerful response by the crowd, thirsty for more оf the latest material. “Turn the Tide” was the other track representing the album and having just two of them fresh items on a tour that was supposed to promote the LP seemed a bit odd in my accounts. In-between there was a mouthwatering stuffing of delicacies, coming from the platters of linchpin records like “Atom by Atom”, “Cruel Magic” and the ubiquitous „Life Sentence”. The finishing triple treat has similar genesis and in the menu box we found “Into the Mouth of Eternity”, “Testimony” and “Alone in the Dock” as the icing on the cake, circling back to debut roots. The default dramatics in the form of encore were something everyone was waiting for and despite the down hearting sensation of a fading gratification, there was no pity in SATAN, throwing at us “Siege Mentality” and their ancient primordial “Kiss of Death”. What else can one desire from such a prolific setlist and judging by all the clapping, shouting and handshakes following the final chords, the crowd that day got the best for their money!

SETLIST:

Trial by Fire

Blades of Steel

Ascendancy

Burning Portrait

Break Free

Sacramental Rites

The Devil’s Infantry

Incantations

Ophidian

Twenty Twenty Five

Turn the Tide

Into the Mouth of Eternity

Testimony

Alone in the Dock

Encore:

Siege Mentality

Kiss of Death