freedom_call_2012_04

» Freedom Call 2012 04 26

Reviewed by Tobbe
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Special guest: The Storyteller
City: Stockholm, Sweden
Venue: Harry B. James
Date: 26 April 2012
The Storyteller set length: 29 minutes
Freedom Call set length: 99 minutes

The Storyteller

Power metal act The Storyteller have reunited after six years absence and was supporting Freedom Call tonight. This band never got that breakthrough and it has been pretty quiet in the talks of their comeback. The venue, which actually is a pub/restaurant with an age limit at 18, has a shitty stage and the band could hardly move at all. The quintet were trying their best and from time to time it worked, even if the response from the crowd was lame in the first ten minutes.

This act debuted when power metal was on everybody lips and they haven't recorded anything in the last seven years and only gets to play five songs tonight, so it's hard to tell if they will be anything to count on in the future. Considering this was their second gig in six years I must say they did okay. Both Guardians Of Kail and Underworld are great songs, but due to the poor sound quality they left no mark tonight.

Performance: 5 chalices of 10
Stage sound: 3 chalices of 10
Best: Guardians Of Kail
Worst: The sound quality and the extremely small stage

Setlist:

Guardians Of Kail
Book Of Mystery
Power Within
Underworld
Crossroad

Freedom Call

German quartet Freedom Call makes a stop Stockholm on their European tour to support their latest, and great, release, Land Of The Crimson Dawn. After seeing The Storyteller, I was afraid that the limited space on stage would ruin this gig, but they had cleared the stage a bit and even if it still was narrow, there were some space. About 250 people showed up tonight and it fascinates me that this quartet don't have a greater audience.

Just past 11 the band walks up on stage and opens with The Eyes Of The World from their 2002 masterpiece Eternity. This was just the beginning of a gig full of older and great songs, as well as five songs from the new album. Lead singer, Chris Bay, was in a fantastic mood tonight after a few beers and stated that this was a restaurant tour, but that was fine because there were plenty of beer and good food served.

As a total surprise for me, former bassist Ilker Ersin was back with the band. Not as a permanent member again though, since he was only filling in for the replacement of the replacement, who was at home taking care of his newborn child. With Ilker back, this felt more like Freedom Call again, even if ordinary bassist Samy Saemann usually does a good job.

Most new songs went down well. Hero On Video and Power & Glory were magnificent, but Rockin' Radio however felt misplaced. I don't know why, but it just didn't seem to work in a live set. Sun In The Dark and Rockstars worked just fine and when looking at people's response during these new songs, a couple of them will probably stay in their live sets for a while. I missed Terra Liberty though, as I think it's the best song on the album.

Surprise, surprise. Late in the show, the fan favorites were played. Warriors with its happy vibes made the crowd up front go nuts and so did Land Of Light. First encore was Freedom Call, but unfortunately the solo was played sloppy by Mr. Bay and that part was anything but good. The last song for tonight was the monster Metal Invasion and a worthy closer to the set.

The gig ended way past midnight and sadly about one third of the crowd left before the show was over, probably because most metal fans have day time jobs and get up early in the morning. The band kept on playing though, as they were playing in front of thousands. I will always be an opponent to these late night bar gigs, Fridays and Saturdays excluded, even if I stayed until the end. This was a great show and I will see Freedom Call every time I get the chance to do so.

Performance: 8 chalices of 10
Stage sound: 6 chalices of 10
Best: We Are One
Worst: Rockin' Radio