It is Saturday evening, the day before International Women’s Day, and I am going to bed early. More precisely, I will drive to bed tonight. ‘Das Bett’ – German for ‘bed’ – is the venue where we will be enjoying ourselves instead of getting too much sleep: Manntra from Croatia are on their Titans Tour, supported by German goth-dark metalists Wisborg.
With a capacity of 500–600 visitors, the location is not far from Frankfurt’s exhibition halls and Rebstockpark and is easy to reach by car. When I arrive, just a few minutes after the doors opened, people are queuing up endlessly, so I expect the show to be sold out – and it finally was.
Wisborg
Wisborg enter the stage 15 minutes earlier than announced, at 19:45. There is no pit, but the photographers could shoot the whole show instead of just the first three songs. I therefore have to find my way through the large audience, stopping for a minute to take some pictures before continuing my mission.
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Jule, the Wisborg merch queen, was lovely to offer me space behind her table with a good view and no shoving, giving me a moment to recover. THANK YOU, JULE!
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Even though Wisborg chose a wise setlist of old songs and songs from their newest release, “Phantomschmerz”, and perform a technically brilliant live show, the audience partly behaves in a ‘North German reserved’ manner for no reason. I hope this was an exception, because Wisborg deserves full attention. Personally, I enjoyed their 45 minutes of gothic metal immensely and hope to see them again on their own headline tour in November.
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Wisborg’s setlist:
I Believe in Nothing – Kreatur der Nacht – Perfume & Cigarettes – An Erotic Funeral – Totentanz – Vampyre – Schmerz Vereint – Im Freien Fall – The Bitter End – Spirits That I Called
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Manntra
Changing the stage settings takes some time, so it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some fresh air, a drink at the bar or a cigarette – or all three! Suddenly, the doors close, the lights dim and the headliner is ready to rock.
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I have known Manntra for quite a few years now. It’s amazing how Manntra has progressed since then. The venues have become bigger, and they are far from being just a support act for so-called ‘bigger’ names; they’re a threat to steal the show. Manntra is certainly one of the hardest-working bands in the metal scene. Every success they gain is well deserved, earned through blood, sweat and tears.
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One thing is even more impressive than their success, though. They are still the same nice guys from Croatia who play a crazy mix of folkloristic and industrial metal for their friends, aka the audience, in front of the stage.
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I am surprised that the audience is so diverse: young and old, battle vests and gothic outfits alongside T-shirts and jeans. There are also a lot of women in the audience, which is sadly still an exception sometimes. By the way, HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY the day after the concert.
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The audience is in a much better mood now and helps the Barren King surf over the waves of the crowd. Most people seem to know every word of every song — it’s simply overwhelming to watch and listen. Sadly, even this good time had to end after more than 90 minutes and several encores.
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Manntra’s setlist:
Titans – Morana – Yelena – In the Shadows – Teuta – The Hunter – Barren King – Unholy Water – The Heart of the Storm – So Ist Das Leben – Slave – Higher – Skal – Ori Ori – Invocation – Heathens – Kiša – Domain – Nightmare – Naranča
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I enjoyed a wonderful evening with two great bands. Keep an eye out for the remaining tour dates and pay attention to Wisborg’s headline tour. It was lovely to meet some familiar faces again; the Rhein-Main scene is big, but still like a family…
Online
Please buy merch and physical music or downloads from the bands official sources and don’t stream music for free because it steals your artists’ income.
Photos by Friend.X aka Mr. Deep