Burning Witches burn down:
Kammgarn, Kaiserlautern February 3rd 2024
It was a good tradition in medieval times to burn a witch on a pyre from time to time. Thank The Highest Being, times have changed so tonight, the witches will burn down the Cotton Club of Kammgarn in Kaiserslautern. Welcome to Burning Witches!
Bad News
Bad news right at the beginning, tonight’s support band, Swiss Judge Minos have been cancelled at short notice due to sudden illness of their drummer and there was no chance of finding a substitute. Here is their message from a few hours before the show: “Dear fans, unfortunately we have to cancel our show in Kaiserslautern tonight! Our drummer is sick and he‘s not able to play. We feel really sad and we are sorry, but sadly there‘s nothing we can do about it. We wish the Witches an amazing show and hope we can make it next time. See you soon!”
Good news
Good news at arrival, Burning Witches are not affected by it, but will start playing half an hour earlier. Guitarist Courtney Cox still has time to stand in the middle of the audience, have a chat here and there before she needs to warm up for the show. Courtney tells, that she now resides in Germany for a while, Bochum in particular. Tonight is the last show of the tour and she feels very sorry for Judge Minos, but every possibility they tried did not work out. The very next day, Burning Witches are going to travel to Nuremburg to take a video before they finally go home.
Burning Witches
Burning Witches “Unleash the Beast” at 20:30 for 95 minutes of excellent heavy metal. Romana and Courtney fly and shred on their guitars as if they have “Wings of Steel”. They fly higher than Icarus in the sky without a limit over the “Sea of Lies”.
Drummer destiny
Other than Icarus they don’t melt their wings but make a perfect precision landing to meet with Jay on bass and Laura on vocals for a “Dance With the Devil”. Only drummer Lala still remains seated, well, that’s the usual drummer destiny. They are the backbone of the band, in the background of the show but without them, nothing works, just ask Judge Minos. Due to the fog on stages it is even very difficult to catch a good pic of her.
Rough ‘n’ Tough
The sound is rough; the speed is neck breaking. Our witches have become much heavier over the past years. Call it experience, or touring with the right band, or even finding the right new members, whatever, but “We Stand as One” together with them. Otherwise we would maybe not survive the “Lucid Nightmare” coming up next.
Facial impressions
Decide for yourself, who of the five Burning Witches is the “Evil Witch”. At least, Laura tries very hard for mean facial expressions and Courtney is always good for a funny face as we can see here. Let’s have a look at Romana, Lala and Jay too, who is your favourite evil witch?
Lighters and Sparklers
Impressive “The Dark Tower”, title track of the recent album, follows as if there is no “Tomorrow”. Thus, now it is time for lighters and smart phone torches, it is not bed time, but ballad-time now. Nowadays it is difficult to handle lighters in closed rooms, a lot of rules and bans limit their use. During my youth, we could even use sparklers and no one was hurt, no building burned down…
Which book, which hammer?
A little intro for the next song follows, a very old, ugly witch enters the stage, she holds a book in her hands. Can you guess, which book? It is not the (un)holy bible, of course it is the “Hexenhammer”. This classic smash hit of Burning Witches is celebrated in length until they set the whole “World on Fire”. Flames of emotions get higher and higher until we are all ready to spread our wings again. We are ready for the “Flight of the Valkyries” which also is the last song before the encores.
The Encores
It is hot in the dungeons of the Cotton Club, it is even hotter on stage, it is hotter than hell when “The Witch of the North” returns. She brings a good old mate with her, Dio’s classic hit “Holy Diver” sung in an excellent performance by Laura. And because there is always a last, a really last song, “Burning Witches” closes the set. It also closes the tour. And it opens the doors for the short waiting time until Burning Witches return.
Rendezvous at the merch
They meet the audience at the merch. Sure, they need some time for themselves, have a refreshment, change clothes but afterwards they spend an endless time with their fans to take pics, sign set lists, CDs and other memorabilia. Burning Witches are patient and settled enough to talk with everybody. There is no rush, no time schedule in the back which pushes them to hurry up. Next station Nuremburg is not too far anyway, slightly more than just 300 km.
What is left to say?
It was a real pity that Judge Minos had to cancel their part of the show. Nevertheless, it was an excellent show tonight. It is impressive how much better Burning Witches become from album to album. The evolution of the band is amazing. Laura’s vocals were about perfect, rough and to the point, the result of endless practicing, experience, training and discipline. Every time a member left the band, no matter if for good or bad reasons, the next one made the band even better. Especially Courtney is such a gem in this case, a real jewel of a guitarist, precise to the point. I believe, she was the last brick, Burning Witches needed for the next couple of years. She fits perfectly. And I wonder, how even more powerful the Burning Witches will sound with three guitars, once Larissa returns from her baby-break.
Save The Dates
To look into the nearer future, keep in mind, that after playing India, they are going to be on North American tour soon. Check the dates, it is worth it:
And Burning Witches will headline Rock & Metal Day’z at Oschersleben, Germany, June 27th to 29th 2024:
Online:
Burning Witches – deutsche Übersetzung
Please buy merch and physical music or downloads from the bands official sources and don’t stream it for free because it steals your artists’ income.
Proofreading by DerminBoad