Event:	Kreator: Chaos Over Europe Tour 2009
Written by:	Darkside Momo
Published:	14.02.2009
Galleries:	Kreator & co destroy Bordeaux by Darkside Momo (38)

The Chaos over Europe tour stopped at Bordeaux on this rainy wednesday. We're in for a good long evening, with four bands, four different styles, with of course Kreator as the main attraction. But we'll see that varied styles means varied audience, too...

Emergency Gate
Emergency Gate is a band hailing from Germany that plays some nice Gothenburg-style metal.
They put on a good show, the musicians know how to play, and are quite active too, but there's some kind of identity problem here: In Flames definitively IS a huge influence for them. And, I must add, their singer, while good, was a bit boring in the long run.
All this may seem harsh, but it wasn't unpleasant at all, really. They just should develop their own identity... And maybe find another name, too...



Eluveitie
Eluveitie is maybe one of the most hyped bands in 2008, thanks to a huge promotion effort from Nuclear Blast, but also because the band toured a lot to promote their latest album Slania.
So, for those who haven't seen them live yet (like me before this very evening I'm rambling about), do they deliver? Hell yeah they did! Their set saw the first moshs starting. Yes, the audience was happy, the tunes are catchy, and there was a contagious good spirit in their show. This, even if there weren't any bagpipes tonight. Fact is, their bagpipes player is missing the whole tour.
It's sure Eluveitie have some roots in melodeath, and there's definitely no doubt when you see their singer onstage, because he acts really like Mikael Stanne from Dark Tranquillity. One has seen worst references anyway? The band has also seen it's share of line-up chances, as the new guitarist seemingly hails from Leafblade (an English band featuring Danny Cavanagh).
Some people in the audience, most of the youngest ones it seems, came only to see Eluveitie, and left just after their set? Too bad for them, they miss the most important. But whatever.
Anyway, be sure not to miss them next time they play near you, because when they are there it's party time!



Caliban
Powerful, crushing rhythmics and riffs are what awaited us with Caliban, one of the big names in the metalcore scene. And while I don't really like the style, I was blown away by the intensity of it all. It was very tight and precise, with the musicians being really concentrated on their craft. But I must say that Andy Dörner, the singer has really no charisma at all. Really. However, Denis Schmidt, one of the guitarists, who also does the backing and clean vocals, has really an impressive voice, powerful and quite beautiful.
Theirs was a different audience too. Clearly there were metalheads enjoying their set, but most of their fans were clearly of hardcore roots. The most-pit was not as densely populated as during Eluveitie, there were enough people to do a nice and gleeful 'wall of death'.
However, for a non-fan, it was boring in the long run. So, I'm sorry if there are not that many pics of Caliban, but their set was 'watering time' for the Metalstorm team... Oh, at the end the singer spoke a bit to promote their new album called Say Hello To Tragedy. to be issued sometime around april or may. So you got the message too.



Kreator
Complete dark. Then, a video is launched, starting with the cover of Hordes Of Chaos. Reds lights turn on, and the four musicians start the offensive with the eponymous track.
And of course, the audience goes nuts. The Kreator mosh-pit starts, and it won't really stop before the end of the show.

During all the show there were videos, sometimes brand new ones, sometimes videoclips (Violent Revolution, Enemy Of God) and sometimes a real time blurry caption of the crowd. The lights were quite often monochrome, with an obvious preference for red. I said monochrome, not monotonous, because they were appropriately used, changing when needed, and globally just being in tune with the music.

Mille spoke a bit to announce some songs. There was the classical screaming session for Flag Of Hate (a good example can be heard on Live Kreation), but the funniest was the rant before Pleasure To Kill. Mille told the audience about those normal people who sometimes asked him about his lyrics, saying 'but, do you really want your fans to kill themselves during your shows?'. Of course, he would respond 'no, no, it's metaphorical, you know?' But then, he added, speaking to us with his evil voice (he KNOWS how to do that one): 'But you know better! Of course I want you to kill each other!' And then starting Pleasure to Kill. That was good! Of course, it would be spoiling the mystique to say that a guy fell to the floor during that particular song, and that everyone around helped him get up, looking worried?

What else to say? They sure know how to captivate a crowd during a bit than 1 hour and a half, played flawlessly and aggressively? Mille is a great frontman, and Sami an excellent, if shy, guitarist.
Of course, I could complaint about specific songs, like 'you didn't play my favourite' (matter of fact, they didn't, but who cares anyway), but the setlist was great, showcasing many classics and four new songs. No surprise, they sounded great live!

Setlist
Intro / Choir Of The Damned
Hordes Of Chaos
Warcurse
Extreme Agression
Phobia
Voices Of The Dead
Enemy Of God
Destroy What Destroys You
Pleasure To Kill
People Of The Lie
Coma Of Souls
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Terrible Certainty
Betrayer
Encore:
Amok Run
Riot Of Violence (Ventor sang on that one)
Flag Of Hate
Tormentor



To conclude: For those who missed this tour, always remember: Thrash is a simple pleasure, best experienced live. So, next time, go see Kreator and partake in good friendly violent fun in the mosh-pit.

Special thanks are due to Roger and Philippe for the accreditations.