War Of The Heathens Tour 2024
Welcome to the tour kick-off at the Kesselhaus in Wiesbaden on 14th March 2024. As already mentioned in my preview, the Kesselhaus is a part and smaller venue of the legendary Schlachthof. Today it is almost too small for what we will experience tonight.
Good news – bad news
That’s the good news, the start of Manntra’s War Of The Heavens Tour presented by NoCut-Entertainment is completely sold out. But where there is good news, there is also bad news. The bad news is that Soulbound won’t participate. Guitarist Felix had an accident the day before and suffered a concussion. Loud music, flashing lights, jumping around on stage doesn’t go well with a concussion. Let’s hope he recovers quickly and Soulbound can join the tour. But here is a little video from a previous show.
Florian Grey
This means that Florian Grey will be the only support band tonight. Florian Grey enter the stage half an hour later than scheduled, but they play a quite long set. I have no idea if it was extended because of the circumstances, but I am almost sure that it was their regular playing time. Drums, guitar, bass and the eponymous singer complete the live band and Florian Grey don’t hesitate to enchant the audience right from the start.
Enchanting sound
The charismatic vocalist pulls all the strings to wrap the audience around his finger. Catchy melodies and lyrics do their part. Hard and dark riffs combined with driving drums complete the sound. All of this blends together with the baritone vocals of singer Florian Grey to form impressive soundscapes.
Haze, less haze!
At one point he has to ask the technical crew to turn off the flamethrower because it is too hot. No, not the flamethrower, but the fog machine. Not only is most of the venue slightly fogged up, but it also irritates his vocal cords and he feels a bit pungent due to the mist on stage. As a side effect, we have a clearer view, so it is kind of a win-win situation..
Celebration
Because everything has to come to an end, Florian Grey’s set comes to an end after almost an hour, which is a good length anyway, and of course an encore is obligatory. The audience demands it, the band delivers it, together they celebrate the party.
.Short break
Today marks not only the start of the War Of The Heavens tour, but also the release of Manntra’s first live album. Officially scheduled for 15th March, it is already available at the merch stand. I think it is a good idea to buy it there and listen to it on the way home after the show. At least that is what I did.
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Dobrodošli na početak turneje, Manntra
There is barely time to smoke a cigarette outside and go to the toilet before Manntra are ready to drive us crazy tonight. One by one drummer Andrea, “Dodo” on guitar, Zoltan on bass, the Barren King and finally Marko on lead vocals enter the stage. The opener is of course “War Of The Heavens” and the direction of their music is clear from the beginning.
Right between the eyes
The sound is much heavier than on the studio album. It still keeps its catchiness. But the live songs are a different and wild animal than the studio versions. Well, tigers and domestic cats are both lovely, but one roars and the other purrs….
Standing ovations
It doesn’t take long until Manntra are surprised and overwhelmed for the first time. Already after the “Tanz” of the third (!!!) song they get a standing ovation. Guys, that’s crazy! Crazy and so well deserved!
Indivisible
It will not be the only time… Manntra may be one of the hardest working metal bands, used to play many shows, but what they experience together with this audience tonight is pure magic. Pure metal magic, the connection between audience, band, fans, friends is unique, indivisible. This is a woven band made of Croatian metal.
Not a folk-metal band
With all the heavy metal riffs and hooks, we should not forget the strong and undeniable folkloristic influence in Manntra’s musical style. Manntra are not a folk metal band, that is a completely different genre. Manntra combine their traditional Croatian melodies and lyrics with dark, industrial and even gothic riffs to catchy perfection.
More and more
Like Florian Grey’s slot, Manntra’s show has to come to an end. Well, maybe… After the Barren King surfing through the crowd, several “show interruptions” due to standing ovations and about 20 songs, it was time to say goodbye. What follows is unexpected. Manntra have to come back on stage for another encore, and another encore, and another encore.
Flashing
It is obvious that the five musicians are completely overwhelmed by the audience. Manntra were already happy with a sold out start of the tour, but this is more, much more than I can describe and nobody could have expected it.
At the merch
Although quite exhausted, Manntra meet their fans at the merch to take a picture, or for a short chat. The queue is quite long. Kai and Christian at the merch stand are as busy selling merch as Manntra are taking pictures. Remember, the live album recorded during the release party of War Of The Heavens in Leipzig on 22nd September 2023 is available there. Again, it is a good option to enjoy the Manntra live feeling on the way home or at home anyway.
Is there anything else?
No, there is nothing more to say. The show was a blast. I can only recommend to check the dates, get a ticket while they are available and go to the show. It is well worth your time and money. I personally believe that next time I will see Manntra in a bigger venue, they are rising and rising and they deserve all their success because it is the result of hard work. Oh, and by the way, no set list here, because I don’t want to spoil your experience on a tour that has just started.
Oh yes, and one more little thing, huge people who are 2 metres tall and 1 metre wide, please don’t stand in the middle of the front row. You can still see just as well 2 metres further back and you won’t obstruct the view of the shorter people. Thank you!
Čestitke na ovom sjajnom početku, Manntra! Bio si sjajan.
Check the dates and get your ticket here!
Online:
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 DeepL