Oporto was the stage for the return of one of gloomiest bands on earth, Swallow the Sun, and with them came another band from the land of thousand lakes, Wolfheart. Added also to the bill was Adimiron from Rome, a band unknown to most of the audience.
Adimiron opened the night, presenting a progressive metal to an audience that in a shy way started responding to the efforts of the band. Songs from the latest album “Timelapse” like “Ayahuasca”, “State of Persistence”, and from the album “K2”, “To Whom It May Concern”, were the highlights of a gig were the band found a crowd still entering the room to catch the later acts.
The first Finnish act of the night, making their debut in Portugal, Wolfheart, was very well received by the crowd. Playing a muscled melodic death metal, the crowd started to get around the stage, contemplating the mastery of Tuomas Saukkonen and company, and finally the headbanging during the stronger parts, and clapping during the melodic / melancholic moments started happening, as the first drops of sweat dripped down in the hot room 2 of Hard Club. From the new album “Shadow World” were played “Aeon of Cold”, “Zero Gravity”, and “Veri”, but the opening of a gig that left the audience very pleased, was with “The Hunt”, and the closing with “Routa pt.2”, songs from the first album “Winterborn”, that filled most of the set. A band that interact very well with the audience, and they responded in a good way as well, hoping that the band could come back to play a bigger set.
The smoke started to rise, hiding the drum kit as the first notes of piano started echoing in a room anxious for the return of Swallow the Sun to Portugal. Along with them came a triple album, “Songs From the North”, with so distinct songs to every taste. Erupting with “10 Silver Bullets”, and “”Rooms and Shadows” from the new album, the band easily caught the audience already rendered to the melodic doom of the Finnish group. The devouring “Hate, Lead the Way” and the passionate tragic “Cathedral Walls” from the previous record were also songs that the crowd received very well, with distinct feelings. At this point it was time forsome old songs, and the band delivered “Hope”, and “Don’t Fall Asleep (Horror Pt.2)”, reserving something more for last. To end the first half of the show, the band played from “Songs from The North III”, after a moment of silence “Empires of Loneliness”. The second half of the show was the introduction the acoustic format of “Songs From The North II”, bringing the acoustic guitars on stage and playing to a crowd that delivered applauses within emotions at every end of each song. “Heart of a Cold White Land”, “Pray For The Winds To Come”, and “Autumn Fire”, were the chosen to mellow the crowd, that still didn’t hesitate on clapping and singing. To end a night full of feelings, two more good n’ oldies: “Descending Winters” and “Swallow (Hollow Pt.1)”.
Words by: Daniel Lemminkainen
Photos by: Rita Limede
Special thanks to: Ritos Nocturnos
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