For legendary Florida death metallers Obituary this is an important year as they celebrate the 30th year anniversary of the groundbreaking debut album “Slowly We Rot” embarking on a massive North American tour. At the show at The Forge in Joliet the ferocious setlist obviously included many tracks from “Slowly We Rot” such as the title track, “Internal Bleeding”, “Deadly Intentions” and “Suffocation” which constantly triggered moshing, headbanging, and stage diving.
Cleveland blackened thrash punks Midnight are currently on a North American tour supporting Obituary and Abbath while waiting for the upcoming full-length “Rebirth By Blasphemy” set for an early 2020 release via Metal Blade Records. At The Forge in Joliet Midnight impressed the crowd with a thrilling performance full of unrestrained raw energy and a quite distinct sound, don’t miss this awesome tour!
To celebrate the latest crushing release “Outstrider”, available via Season Of Mist, Norwegian icon Abbath returns to North America accompanied by an excellent band and armed with a blackened energy well known to those who have been following him since his days with the mighty Immortal. A shroud of frost surrounded The Forge in Joliet as Abbath took the stage with his towering presence wearing an armor and ready to conquer the audience with the expected black metal fury and alluring icy melodies. The intense setlist included some of the finest offerings from the new album such as “Bridge Of Spasms”, “The Artifex”, “Harvest Pyre” and “Hecate”, but also Immortal’s classic “One By One” ensuring an unforgettable diabolical live experience.
Eluveitie has been at the forefront of the folk metal scene since the band’s inception in 2002. After the success of their eighth studio album, “Ategnatos” earlier this year, the band is once again on tour in the U.S. Despite several lineup changes in recent years, Eluveitie remains a force to be reckoned with, utilizing multiple folk instruments to create a sound that combines elements of folk, melodic death metal, and traditional Celtic music. Their setlist focused heavily on songs from their most recent release, with songs from earlier albums balancing out the performance. Fans will not want to miss this incredible show.
Finnish folk metal pioneers Korpiklaani are currently on tour alongside Eluveitie. Their show at Concord Music Hall in Chicago highlighted some of the most unique aspects of the band’s sound and performance. Their setlist flowed from high-energy drinking songs, to heavier arrangements, to violin/accordion led instrumentals; all providing the band with countless opportunities to show the crowd their personalities as they danced and played new hits and old favorites alike. The chemistry, stage presence, and sheer fun of Korpiklaani’s performance shows just why they’ve been so successful for over 25 years.
After many years Anneke van Giersbergen returns to North America on an extensive stellar tour with Amorphis and Delain. We all know Anneke’s prolific work as vocalist of The Gathering and as a solo artist she also collaborated with several amazing bands and musicians, but this time she brings a very intimate live experience with an acoustic set that simply delighted the crowd at The Forge in Joliet. It was a pleasure to see that Anneke’s passionate performance included the famous The Gathering song “Saturnine”, “Ih-Ah!” from her collaboration with Devin Townsend Project, the melancholic “Circles” from her solo album “Everything Is Changing” and to end the show Anneke delivered a stunning cover of the classic Iron Maiden song “Wasted Years”. It was a truly unique acoustic concert and we hope to see Anneke back on the road in North America in the near future!
Following the great success of the new album “Queen Of Time”, available via Nuclear Blast, the mighty Amorphis are back on tour across North America. The show at The Forge in Joliet proved once again that Amorphis have garnered a truly loyal fanbase in North America and everybody appreciates that they are playing live here more often. The stellar setlist covered a lot of Amorphis extensive discography including “Into Hiding” and “Black Winter Day” from the breakthrough album “Tales From The Thousand Lakes” and the iconic “My Kantele”. Amorphis also played many songs from “Queen Of Time” including the popular “The Bee” and “Wrong Direction” while one of the memorable highlights was certainly “Amongst Stars” featuring a lovely duet with beloved guest vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen who joined them as special opening act on this tour.
Dutch symphonic metal band Delain have built a solid reputation in the last few years and are currently co-headlining with Amorphis on tour across North America. Earlier this year Delain have released the successful EP “Hunter’s Moon” via Napalm Records and few days ago the video for the brand new single “Burning Bridges” which they are performing for the first time live on this tour. As expected the show at The forge in Joliet was packed as the North American fanbase keeps on growing exponentially every time Delain are back on tour and the crowd was quite impressed with the new single “Burning Bridges” and clearly in love with favorite songs such as “Fire With Fire”, “Hands Of Gold” and the melancholic ballad “We Are The Others”. Vocalist Charlotte Wessels delivered bright vocals with great confidence and interacted with the fans throughout the show while despite the absence of drummer Joey De Boer due to visa delays, substituted for now by Jan Rechberger of Amorphis, the band’s chemistry was evident from beginning to end.
Hard rock quintet Kobra And The Lotus is currently touring across U.S. supporting the legendary Sebastian Bach and also celebrating the release of the brand new full-length “Evolution”, available via Napalm Records. At the sold out show at Brauer House in Lombard, Illinois, frontwoman Kobra Paige welcomed the crowd with a warm smile and a charismatic stage presence as Kobra And The Lotus definitely conquered new fans with a highly energetic live performance that also included the new tracks “Burn!”, “Liar” and “Get The Fuck Out Of Here”.
