03.11.2018 Saltatio Mortis

Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen (Germany)

(Pentax K-5 with Tamron SP AF 17-50mm 2.8 XR Di II LD Asp IF)

Originally the concert of Saltatio Mortis should take place at the Turbinenhalle 2. But the popularity was that big, that without further ado the gig was moved to the large Turbinenhalle 1 which was immediately sold out. Due to that there was a long queue at the entrance that went all the way across the whole parking lot and which I have never experienced like that before. At a certain point in time they seemed to have told the security to speed up controls as otherwise the last ones would have entered the venue not before 23:00.
By that the beginning of the support act was delayed by 15 minutes which gave enough time that at least whilst the support act was playing everybody was able to be inside the hall. That was jam-packed also that I have never experienced like that before. All the balconies and the gallery were filled and the venue until the back wall. That resulted in many people experiencing the concert only acoustically as they were not able to see the stage. Insofar the promoters should consider whether to continue to sell that much tickets or, which might be an alternative, to raise the stage a little bit. Besides that, already during the support act the venue was boiling and, which I also never experienced like that: during the break to prepare the stage setting before Saltatio Mortis the whole audience was loudly singing along songs played from tape like "Schrei Nach Liebe" of the Ärzte or "Sternhagelvoll" of In Extremo. Again and again "Saltatio Mortis" was chanted and at 21:30 it finally was the time. Lights went down and with the opener of their new album "Brot Und Spiele" "Ein Stück Unsterblichkeit" they directly kicked into the high gear. The band went from zero to sixty in no time flat and the audience fully went along. Especially singer Alea der Bescheidene was that enthusiastic, you could not help but sing along loudly and clap along.
The start was fast and impulsive just like the new album which was nearly played completely. Not less than 15 songs found their way into the setlist which was perfectly balanced. Energetic parts were alternating with softer ones like the beautiful ballad "Spur Des Lebens" or the medieval "Raghs-E-Pari". The new album is split into a more rock part and on the second CD a medieval part. The rock songs were predominating at that evening. Very nice was also Lasterbalk der Lästerliche's stories by which the brakes between two songs were bridged. It is really astonishing how someone could stay that serious whilst telling witty anecdotes about band members or the songs (at least he tried to sell it very trustworthy). When it came to the song "Rattenfänger" of the album "Zirkus Zeitgeist" which is meanwhile honored with gold Alea was not able to stay on stage anymore and sang that song whilst the audience was carrying him manually above their heads. Really impressive to keep such a body tension and sing in parallel but during the encore he let everybody see why this was possible to him.
It was an unbelievable concert and you could really see that it was a very special evening for everybody of the band. During the speech of thanks at the end it was mentioned in parallel that this was the biggest single tour concert that Saltatio Mortis ever played. No matter who it was, whether it were the two bagpipe players Luzi das L and El Silbador, the musical multi talent Der Tambour, guitarist Till Promill, bassist Bruder Frank or the impressive man on the hurdy-gurdy Falk Irmenfried von Hasenmümmelstein, not to forget Lasterbalk on drums and singer Alea. All of them really gave one's all that evening and thrilled the crowd. Sometimes also great supported by fire and fireworks there was not only acoustically but also optically a show put on. Not to talk about the terrific songs. By what, in my point of view, they stand out of the mass of medieval bands is their lyrics providing frequently clear statements to political and social issues. But that not with moral pointing finger but musically additionally nicely packed so that one is able to memorize easily the message. I was completely enthused in each case. It was my second Saltatio Mortis concert after a gig on Wacken 2014 and I have to say that from atmosphere point of view this was way more awesome and is one of the best concerts that I have watched in my not very short history! Only drop of bitterness: My lens befell directly when Firkin began a bearing failure in the lens barrel which made photographing heavy-duty but that was worth it! In December they can be heard two times on the medieval Christmas market at Dortmund with a probably medieval dominated set (I am still thinking of visiting that gig) and also otherwise their current Brot und Spiele tour will continue. Who is having them as guest nearby should in each case try to join one of their concerts. Absolutely worth it!