12-11-2014
Doornroosje, Nijmegen (NL)
This summer, Icelandic band Sólstafir released their newest cd Ótta, which was received very well. To celebrate and to promote Ótta, the band is on a tour through Europe. As support acts they brought Sahg and Obsidian Kingdom with them. It was the first time we visited the new Doornroosje location, and nothing else can be said than that the new venue is a big improvement and looking really neat!
When we walked in around 20.15, first band Obsidian Kingdom already had started playing and there were quite some people inside watching them. The energy level of this band is insane and they were totally going crazy; what a way to start the evening. They might have been a little bit over-enthusiastic, but that can easily be forgiven because they played a nice and tight set.
‘Where better to keep your pick, than on your forehead?’ is probably what Olav Iversen from Sahg must have thought when he wasn’t using his while singing and not playing his guitar every now and then. It looked a bit silly, but well…
Their show was a nice one, even though it seemed not everyone around me could appreciate their stoner/doomrock sound, the band played a really good show. Iversen his voice is one you like or hate, but looking at some very enthusiastic fans in the venue, I wasn’t the only one liking it.
The band needed a little warming up, but after a few songs they got loosened up and did a good job.
And then it was finally time for the headliner of the evening. Suddenly the venue was a lot more crowded. When the tape started playing and the first tunes of ‘Nattfari’ were to be heard, most Sólstafir fans that have been to one of their shows before knew what time it was. From the beginning on the magic that is Sólstafir was noticeable. This band is capable to play a room filled with a few hundred people in complete silence. The atmosphere was intense and a lot of people were enjoying with their eyes closed, and the one and a half hour during show was totally perfect. Not only the audience, but the band themselves also totally disappeared into the music. Therefore, when singer Aðalbjörn Tryggvason asked the audience what more they could wish for at that moment, and someone screamed ‘more beer’, he responded with ‘do we really look like a band that sings about more beer’.
These days, the band focuses on its atmospheric progrock/post metal sound, and therefore only played songs from the last three albums. The band seems to have definitely cut loose from its previous, more black metal sound. Obviously they played a lot of songs from Ótta, like Lágnætti, Ótta and Náttmál. But ofcourse also the nowadays classics like Köld, Svartir Sandar and Goddess Of the Ages (in the encore) couldn’t be missed.
It was an evening never to forget, like all Sólstafir shows.