The favorites of the Greek metalheads and members of the “Church of Ra” collective, Belgian Post Metallers AMENRA visited our country once again for a mysterious ceremony in an almost sold out Floyd Live Music Venue.
I think it is very difficult to describe in words the feelings that the sound of AMENRA awakes in someone’s soul, which is ideally complemented by the impressively simple but absolutely fitting setting. In perfect harmony with the audience. I have really never encountered another case in a Metal live show where someone begins to whisper and the rest hushes him. AMENRA went on stage on time around 21:30 and for the next 80 minutes or so, only the heavy drums, the piercing and dynamic guitars, the imposing bass and of course the heartbreaking screams as well as the emotionally charged clear vocals of Colin van Eeckhout could be heard. The audience literally held its breath and all one could see was a sea of coordinated heads banging up and down to the rhythm of some of the many anthems of their rich discography.
The setting, as I already mentioned, was simple with the video wall and the stage filled with accompanying videos for each song on a black and white background. The impressive part was the fact that the entire stage and the musicians’ bodies themselves were used as projection screens that gave the feeling of a 3D representation on stage. Every professional photographer’s nightmare, surely, as a friend of mine confessed to me. The band’s behavior on stage was absolutely fitting for the whole atmosphere. Eeckhout spent almost the entire set with his back turned to us but with such expressive movements that you thought he was acting in a Greek tragedy. There were no welcomes or farewells at the end. Only the phrase “Their Name Liveth For Evermore” on the video wall. “Veni, vidi, vici”….since AMENRA easily conquered the audience. The setlist is of little importance since whatever they played the result would be the same. Of course, there was a greater enthusiasm with “A Solitary Reign” which is perhaps their most famous song.
Setlist
- Boden
- Razoreater
- Plus pres de toi
- Silver Niddle. Golden Nail
- Salve Mater
- De evenmens
- A Solitary Reign
- .Terziele.tottedood
- Am Kreuz
- Diaken
It goes without saying that music evokes strong emotions and AMENRA is the clear proof of this. The viewer-listener simply has to be left in the mystical magic of a dark ceremony that transports us to a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world.
Live Correspondent – Video: Kostas Boudoukos
