It has been a little over two months since Borknagar toured Europe together with four other bands, including In Vain. They did not have a concert in the Netherlands unfortunately. They did however perform just across the border in Oberhausen, Germany. When I arrived, it took me a while to get used to club Helvete. It looks like a large English pub that is transformed into a metal café rather than the typical music venues one sees in the Netherlands. The stage is rather small, but that comes with the advantage that you can get so close to the band members that you can almost touch them.

My phone display shows it’s 20 minutes to nine, perfectly acceptable given that I had to have a 2-hour ride (I don’t live that close to the border). Unfortunately though, Shade Empire, the first act of the evening, starts playing their last song just when I enter the venue. Since one song is obviously way too little for me to make a valuable comment about them, I won’t. way too little for me to make a valuable comment about them, I won’t. It’s about 8 o’ clock when  Ereb Altor starts playing. You can’t help but notice that this Swedish band brought their face paint, which makes their appearance somewhat similar to the Dutch band Slechtvalk. Continue reading »