Warkings, Follow the Cipher and Amaranthe, Doornroosje Nijmegen

Sometimes you’re really looking forward to something. And for me one of those things was the concert of Warkings, Follow the Cipher and Amaranthe in Nijmegen. And for me it was the first time to do a review and make pictures of such a great band as Amaranthe. I was even a bit nervous.

So, on Thursday January 31 I went to Nijmegen. But first I went to Grave to meet concert photographer Anrico van der Linden. I promised to pick him up so we can go together. It’s always nice when you not have to go alone. And my youngest daughter was already in Nijmegen and she would join us also.

So, I picked up Anrico, after he had shown me his working space. And I must say it’s something I want to have for me also. Yes, I’m a little bit jealous. But I have my own music room in my house so I can’t complain.

Cold outside

After half an hour we arrived at Doornroosje. Much to early, but when you want to make nice pictures you have to be early so you can stand front row. But waiting one and a half hour is long when temperatures are just above zero. Hot coffee was more than welcome (thanks Anrico).

At seven they opened the doors and yes, front row. Anrico against the stage, front row, and my daughter and I just 1,5 meters backwards (so little people have also the opportunity to see the bands).

Warkings

The first band this evening is Warkings. And we can already see that they have somethings with war and stuff. On stage we see several skulls covered with blood. Even a bit scary. And if you look at the names of the band members you can imagine what kind of songs they will sing. We have:

 

Viking – bass

Spartan – drums

Crusader – guitars

Tribune – vocals

And with songs as “The last battle”, “Never Surrender” and “Hephaisis” they try to scare us a bit. But they didn’t succeed. They sound just great. The songs from the album “Reborn” are as fire for the audience. They like it very much and a lot of them were even singing along with the band.

The outfits and names of the bandmembers made it almost impossible to see who they really are. But Tribune has a very familiar voice. The voice which belongs to Georg Neuhauser (Serenity). And as Melissa Bonny (Rage of Light) joins the band we are sure. This must be George.

The band played very well. For me it was the first time I heard them but I’m sure it won’t be the last time.

Follow the Cipher

It’s not a secret that I love this band very much. It must have been two years ago that I heard them for the first time. I found the song ‘Winterfall’ on YouTube. Just a picture with some music, nothing special. But I liked the song very much. So, I decided to find out some more about this band. And so, it started.

 

I think 2018 was a great year for them. They released their first album ‘Follow the Cipher’. The whole metal world was impressed, and the album got very high rankings. I already saw them one’s, it was at Graspop Metal Meeting last year.

But now it’s the first time they are in our country. So, let’s get ready for ‘Follow the Cipher’. But it wasn’t what we hoped for. It had nothing to do with the music. But unfortunately, singer Linda Toni Grahn had serious voice problems, a very bad cold. And as one thing is just important for this band, it’s the voice of Linda.

But the band did very well. They are all great musicians and it sounds really great. The start, ‘Enter the Cipher’ is one of the best ways to start a performance. It’s shows you exactly how they sound.

And a few songs went well for Linda. But when a high voice was necessary it was very difficult. And songs as ‘Winterfall’ and ‘I revive’ needs her high voice. But the audience like it and supported the band as much as possible.

And the whole show was great. The band has learned a lot last year. And I’m sure they are just at the beginning of their career and have a great future ahead of them.

Follow the Cipher:

Linda Toni Grahn – vocals

Ken Kangstrom – guitar

Karl Lofgren – drums

Viktor Karlsson – guitar, backing vocals

Jonas Asplind – bass, backing vocals

Amaranthe

Headliner Amaranthe has just released their fifth full length album, ‘Helix’. And the banners on the stage are also telling us this performance is about the new album. But it goes not always the way we think it will go. After the ‘Helix intro’ the band starts with ‘Maximize’. Is there a reason to start just with this song? I don’t know for sure but when I take a look at the audience, I think I know when they just started with this song. Everyone knows it and the people are singing along with the band. And so, the band has interaction with their fans from the beginning (and till the end).

And of course, there are songs from the ‘Helix’ album. Songs as ‘Helix’, ‘GG6’ and ‘365’ are brand new and they sound great. But the band has a nice mixture of tracks from all their albums.

I am a big fan of metal bands who play with three guitars. Amaranthe doesn’t have three guitars, but they have three singers, three voices. And that’s also great to hear. Clear vocals and growling, so a great diversity in songs. And of course, singers Niels Molin and Henrik Englund Wilhelmson are great performers, it’s again Elize Ryd who is the most remarkable person on stage. Using the whole stage, she’s entertaining the audience. But guitar players Olof Morck and Johan Andreassen are most of the time “front row”. And with a big stage as at Doornroosje I felt a bit sorry for drummer Morten Lowe Sorensen. He was a bit lonely on stage. But he got his moment. When the other band members went backstage, he showed us his talent.

When Morten was ready the band returned and Elize had even time to change her outfit. And the show goes on. But after one hour they went backstage again. The audience shouted for more and see, Johan came back on stage and het wanted to play some games with the audience. Clapping hands, waving hands and sometimes making jokes. The audience loved it, but why he did it? I don’t know.

After ten minutes the rest of the band came back on stage for the encore. But after ‘ The Nexis’ it’s over and done. A very big applause for the band is the reward they deserve. It was great. Even my youngest daughter enjoyed the show. And she is not a big metal fan.

Time to go home again. First to Grave to bring Anrico back to his lovely home on the borders of the river Maas. It was very nice to travel with him and see the three bands. Thanks, Anrico!

We have again some nice memories and I hope to see the bands again soon. But first we have to go to Eindhoven, to see MaYaN. And that will be fun again.