A powerful combination of bands, Kvelertak and Mantar, came to Hannover and played in the Musikzentrum to a responsive crowd who were energetic throughout. The Norwegians Kvelertak had arrived to present some stuff off their new record ‘Nattesferd’ and were supported by the Germans Mantar, presenting their new album ‘Ode To The Flame’.
The stage was getting darker as the two guys of Mantar came on stage. These guys spread an oppressive atmosphere just from the beginning. That wasn’t surprising as a kind of doom band but they rocked the venue successfully. It was fun to watch the frontman. He went crazy in every sense: he was shaking, like some kind of dancing, and climbed on the drum sets and penetrated his microphone stand. The stand was flexible, so he moved his body right to it and there appeared some situations where he went on his knees to catch the mic. This was a bit creepy in general, but the good version of creepy, as it felt appropriate to their music.
After a short break, the headliner Kvelertak entered the stage and spread their unbelievable energy right from the start. The people went crazy, especially when they played the older, well-known songs from their first debut album ‘Kvelertak’ like “Blodtørst” or “Nekroskop”. Mosh pits and flocks of headbangers moved in the venue. I think the crowd got infected by the dynamic performance of Kvelertak. It seemed everyone at the venue felt the fun the six band members had on stage. They danced and headbanged through the whole performance and the crowd did this too. It was nice to see the crowd and band members celebrating the songs of the brand-new album ‘Nattesferd’. Songs like “Dendrofil for Yggdrasil”,”1985”or ”Nattesferd” e.g. made the people really mad. The guys of Kvelertak delight every time they play with their incredible energy and motivation on stage, and this time I missed nothing. It was gorgeous like expected.
This evening was awesome in many senses. The combination of the bands could be a bit strange from the first view, but it was the right combination of two kinds of awesome music. The sound was surprisingly fine for the venue and it wasn’t overfilled. It was an evening without any complaints. Mantar played first and enchanted the people with their oppressive but groovy music and heated up the mood of the people just right. The headliner Kvelertak followed and enthused with their ultimate energy on stage and so many people in the venue got caught by them!
