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Hans Zimmer @ Barclays Arena

Scritto da JP Molloy il . Pubblicato in English, Germany, Live.

To say that the music of Hans Zimmer has been an ever present and important part of my life would not be really selling it very well. As a film buff and soundtrack aficionado, Hans Zimmer for me is up there with the likes of Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri and the Godfather himself, John Williams. So, I jumped at the chance to go to Hamburg to photograph and review the Next Level tour currently making its way around Europe. 

First things first, I had to get there.

Travelling down from Denmark it felt like the gods were having a laugh that day. Heavy rain delays due to car crashes blocking the road and then crazy traffic getting into Barclays Arena. Honestly, if it started raining frogs or a plague of locust showed up I would have shrugged. I must shout out the team at Barclays Arena. Despite being late, and the show having already started I was ushered in and managed to get a few snaps. Hats off to the kind, professional team there for going above and beyond. 

So, the concert. What can I say? Not too much as I am still reeling. Please do yourself a favor and get a ticket however you can. It was a mix of the popular hits over the years with a few deep cuts like Beyond Rangoon. Performing this with Hans was his Disruptive Collective, an all-star cast of international musicians backed up by a phenomenal choir and orchestra. 

But it was two original performers that really put the icing on the cake. For the Gladiator medley, original vocalist Lisa Gerrard took to the stage for a powerhouse performance that ended with The Wheat. It brought both a chill to my spine and tears to my eyes to hear something live I have listed to so many times on earphones.

The best part of the evening? King of Pride Rock. As original vocalist Lebo M belted out that unmistakable opening the stage bounced to a Lion King medley that was without doubt the highlight of the night for me. Surprising, considering it’s his later work on Interstellar and Inception that gets the most rotation these days for me.

There was so much more, The Dark Knight, Pirates, Dune and even some new stuff like F1. The stage craft, sound production and performances were all fantastic. A special shout out in seeing guitar legend Guthrie Govan shred some solos. I won’t spoil some of the more bespoke performance and visuals, but it all ended with Hans on a piano for the performance of Time from Inception. A perfect end to a perfect night. As I said up top, get your hands on a ticket at any cost. You won’t regret.

Ministry @ Markthalle

Scritto da JP Molloy il . Pubblicato in Germany, Live.

It did not bode well that my journey to photograph and review Ministry during their sold-out night at Markthalle, Hamburg that I was late getting into Hamburg due to traffic. To add insult to injury the heavens opened as I pulled into park, and I arrived to the venue like a waterlogged rat.

I arrived just in time for warm up act Light of Eternity. I can’t say I knew anything about them before hand and despite some interesting wall of noise dynamics and vocal tics I was underwhelmed. The crowd seemed to dig it and that’s the main thing.

The venue was packed. It was warm and steamy, and the crowd was ready with their jeers as the customary startup statement and accompanying pic of Donald Trump stating very clearly that no one in the band voted for this “Imbecile”. As the voice and face of Ministry, Al Jourgensensauntered onto stage with the band the crowd’s energy went up a gear. From there on out it was a crushing barrage of old hits like N.W.O and cuts from latest material like Goddamn White Trash, a personal favorite of mine. Uncle Al,as he is now warmly called by the fans has often stated that he is not a fan of the mosh pits, but that did not stop a good portion of the crowd from cutting loose. 

Al Jourgensenhas stated that their last album will come out before Christmas and then they will do a final world tour before putting to rest this legendary group. That’s a damn shame, as based on what I saw tonight Al has plenty left in the tank to give. Do yourself a favor. Make sure you get tickets to see them before they hang up their boots.

BABYMETAL: four dates in Germany in May

Scritto da Redazione il . Pubblicato in English, Germany, News.

BABYMETAL describe their music as Kawaii Metal, fusing the worlds of J-Pop with metal subgenres such as speed metal, death metal, and black metal. Their debut album, “Babymetal” (2014), made the band known worldwide and featured songs like “Gimme Chocolate!!” (which recently surpassed the 100 million mark on Spotify), “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!”, and “Megitsune,” along with “Karate” (2016) and “PA PA YA!!” (2019), as their biggest hits. Their music videos, featuring elaborate J-Pop choreography, have garnered more than 890 million views on YouTube. Since 2014, BABYMETAL have also won numerous awards, including the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Breakthrough Award, the Kerrang! Spirit of Independence Award (both 2015), the Women of the Year 2015 Award from Vogue Japan, as well as numerous awards under the MTV banner and 5 Loudwire Music Awards (2017). With impressive live shows, dance choreographies, and their uniquely offbeat music, BABYMETAL have long been one of the most successful and unusual Japanese bands of all time. Together with US singer Poppy and Irish artist Bambie Thug, who finished sixth at Eurovision 2024, BABYMETAL will also be performing in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Nuremberg as part of their arena tour in 2025.

BABYMETAL were founded in 2010 by the Japanese talent agency Amuse as a subgroup of the idol group Sakura Gakuin. Following the success of the single “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!” In 2012, the band, consisting of lead singer Suzuka Nakamoto “Su-metal” and singers Moa Kikuchi “Moametal” and Yui Mizuno “Yuimetal” (until 2018), became independent in 2013. With their unique sound, BABYMETAL went viral on YouTube and became known worldwide. The singles “Ijime, Dame Zettai” and “Megitsune” reached sixth and seventh place respectively in the Japanese singles charts in 2013. In 2014, the band released their debut album “Babymetal”, which entered the German album charts at number 95. Following the release of the hit single “Gimme Chocolate!!” in May 2015, their second album “Metal Resistance” was released in 2016. It reached number 2 in the Japanese album charts and showed influences from folk, ska, metalcore and progressive metal. In 2018, “Yuimetal” left the band for health reasons, while BABYMETAL, after releasing the single “Distortion,” played festivals such as Download Festival, Rock am Ring, and Rock im Park on their European tour. In 2019, their third studio album, “Metal Galaxy,” was released, and its single “PA PA YA!!” featuring F.HERO became another hit. As the first Japanese band to perform on one of the main stages at Glastonbury Festival, BABYMETAL replaced “Yuimetal” with the “Avengers” – three additional dancers who performed on a rotating basis but did not sing. Momoko Okazaki “Momometal,” formerly of the “Avengers,” has been a permanent member of the group since 2023. In the same year, the band released their latest album, “The Other One,” via Cooking Vinyl, with “Monochrome” and “Divine Attack – Shingeki -” as its most successful tracks. In 2024, BABYMETAL collaborated with Electric Callboy on their single “Ratatata” and reached number 55 in the German singles charts.

Live Nation Presents
BABYMETAL
UK & Europe Arena Tour 2025
Support: Poppy, Bambie Thug

Mo.       12.05.2025      Hamburg         Barclays Arena
Fr.        16.05.2025      Frankfurt         myTicket Jahrhunderthalle
Sa.       17.05.2025      Berlin               Velodrom
Di.        20.05.2025      Nürnberg         Arena Nürnberger Versicherung

Tickets on sale here

www.ticketmaster.de
www.eventim.de