On October 8th the RCA Club in Lisbon received a true Norwegian night. The 3 bands that played all shared more than their nationality… they shared intricate and highly technical music too.
Rendezvous Point opened up the series of concerts. This band seemed a bit unknown to most of the people, so maybe it felt strange to see Baard Kolstad, the drummer of Leprous sitting behind the drumset of the opening act. It seems that Rendezvous Point share 2 members with Leprous: Baard on drums, and Petter Hallaråker on guitars, replacing Øystein Landsverk. Musically they also drink a lot from the Leprous fountain, so to speak, but with a little bit more djenty approach. The performance of songs like “Para” or “Through The Solar Storm” from the band’s debut album “Solar Storm” showed that this is a band to keep in mind, in the future, as their songs were very well composed and they presented the on stage flawlessly. Their show was a very good opening.
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
- Rendezvous Point
The second act to take the stage was another Norwegian group: Sphere. This time a more modern sounding band, with clear influences of Meshuggah and other Djent bands. The band started with their hit “Hardliner” and immediately got a response from the audience. The audience for sure expecting to listen to technical metal, and Sphere rouse the stakes with “Vestiges” and “Erratic”. Very technical and unpredictable music that sometimes was difficult to keep up with, whether it was for its polyrhythms or for some sound issues happening on the stage. “Origin” kept the show going and allowed some communication with the public. These guys were extremely tight and cohesive, musically speaking. We could notice that everyone had done their homework, for sure. Even though they seemed a bit shy on stage, they did not get boring at any time. The best parts were when they actually sped up a bit. “Puncture” ended a show that left a good impression on us.
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
- Sphere
Finally, the most awaited moment of the night arrived when Leprous came upon stage. With four flat screens on the background showing a video where sometimes the images would move following the beat of the songs, the band played the first few chords of “The Flood”, a song taken from their latest record, “The Congregation” that gave us a shiver down the spine. The mood was set for a great musical moment. The show went on and, despite the almost nonexistent interaction with the audience, the intensity and deliverance from the band made the room feel small. The setlist focused mostly on their latest release however, it also had a few of songs from “Coal”, “Foe”, “Chronic” and “The Cloak”, and “Acquired Taste” from their opus “Bilateral”.
After the song “Red” the band went off stage for a few moments, after which returning with the single “The Price”. The tracks that followed were “Moon”, “Down” and “The Valley” that echoed with the voices in the audience in the end. The people wanted more, way more, so after a standing ovation and clamour, they returned one last time to perform “Forced Entry” in a way that touched perfection. Despite the show being far from selling out, the enormity of their gig made time fly and the room feel crowed. A magical night that will be remembered for years to come.
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
- Leprous
Words: Filipe Gomes / Rita Limede
Photos: FG Photo ( www.fgphoto.eu )
Special thanks to Prime Artists.
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