The Interbeing

support Bersærk
author LF date 04/04/14 venue Radar, Århus, DEN

At Radar tonight I am met by those of my friends who primarily like their metal technical and heavy; in other words, most of them seem to be here for The Interbeing. Understandable perhaps, as Bersærk was added very recently as Diamond Drive had to cancel due to illness. On a Friday night in Aarhus, I can't but feel a little disappointed that a show like this only pulls enough people to semi-fill the small venue, but fortunately this doesn't seem to have a negative effect on either of the two acts on the bill tonight.

All pictures by Hasan Jensen

Bersærk

This marks the third time I'm seeing Bersærk live and my expectations are high as they have so far been amazing. As the four band-members enter the stage and start playing their groovy stoner rock, the outward energy of vocalist Casper Roland Popp bangs through as usual. He stomps wildly all over the stage in his characteristic manner, swinging his long, dreamy hair, while his powerful voice rings clear with the strong Danish lyrics that separate Bersærk from many others in the Danish hard rock scene. The other members of the band don't move around too much but are obviously into the groove in each their own way, and they serve to really ground both the visual and musical expression of the band. Especially the somewhat nerdy demeanor of bassist Bastian Popp with his instrument strapped up high contrasts with the vocalist throwing himself across the stage, drinking and spilling beer throughout the show. The intense "Cyklus" makes for a sturdy highlight tonight and has a few people jumping up front, and everybody else nodding their heads in approval. As Bersærk end their set impressively with the immense "Trældom", I'm becoming increasingly convinced that these guys are just not capable of playing a bad show.

8

The Interbeing

When The Interbeing finish putting up banners on each side of the stage, things get bigger and more elaborate as they drone their way into their heavy blend of tech metal and industrial. The lighting pierces my eyes during almost the entire set, and as the band is majestically bathed in light, it makes them appear mostly as silhouettes, which fits well with vocalist Dara Toibin's power-poses as he growls, sings, whispers and raps his way through the set. The musicians are wearing matching clothes tonight in the form of baggy pants and black shirts, and they look as well-coordinated as they sound, every one of them except the drummer often banging their entire upper torsos violently in tandem.

The crowd centers in front of the stage to a more concentrated mass than before on the appeal of Toibin, and there's definitely more engaged movement in the crowd than during Bersærk. The Interbeing play two new songs for us tonight. Both "Consuming All Perils" and "Spiral Out of Orbit" has pre-programmed samples as key parts of their sound, but are otherwise as heavy and technical as the older songs, and they bode well for the upcoming album, albeit without really standing out. The sound is good, but while the strong beats of the music that resonate in every part of my body make it impossible to stand still, the more delicate parts with clean singing could definitely come across stronger than they do tonight. Overall this is a solid performance by The Interbeing but never more than that.

Setlist:

  • 1. Pulse Within the Paradox
  • 2. Celestial Flames
  • 3. Shadow Drift
  • 4. Consuming All Perils
  • 5. Fields of Grey
  • 6. Swallowing White Light
  • 7. Face Deletion
  • 8. Spiral Out of Orbit
  • 9. Tongue of the Soiled
  • 10. Rhesus Artificial
  • 11. Ledge of Oblivion

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