Show Day 2: Linköping

9:45 was the time when I looked on my phone… missed breakfast and check out was at 10:00 so no time to shower. Checked out and walked to the Circle K gas station to get coffee and a sausage roll. Arrived around 14:00 in a windy Linköping but we couldn’t find a place to park the bus. So some of us got out and walked to the venue and helped Hellbutcher with their load in while waiting for our bus & crew.

While going down the stairs to the venue the reek of parties past stung my nostrils. A good sign if you ask me! And seeing the stage and the room it gave me a feeling of coming home. My kind of place, small and intimate is how I like ‘em best. Once everything was loaded out of the van I had to catch my breath because the lack of sleep and partying of the night before made it all a bit tougher than usual. Then David tried to help Perra to set up his drum kit so that maybe they could do the soundcheck a tad earlier than in Göteborg. But alas, it was no use: it seemed that Perra takes his time and we had no other choice than to wait…

Subsequently parts of the crosses that Hellbutcher use on stage were scattered on the floor. And you had to be careful not to pierce yourself by the sharp edges of their metal cutout logo! Frode and Pelle were discussing how and if the two crosses would fit on the tiny stage. Meanwhile Iron Maiden was blasting through the speakers. I think we heard “Heaven Can Wait” 3 times in eight hours… Don’t get me wrong, I love Maiden but too much can make some people weary. Also Göteborg was the only show that Hellbutcher could use pyro. Too bad but understandable, because it would’ve been dangerous with the low ceiling.

While we waited I used the time to put on some clean socks and shirt and wash myself with moist tissues. The smell of my shoes of not showering two days was almost unbearable! I’d promised myself and the rest to shower in the hotel later that night. I was longing for one! Sorry guys & gals… Luckily I had my perfume with me to mask the odor from my shoes. That somewhat helped.

Linköping is famous because Ghost comes from there and I even saw a poster of Entombed from their Inferno-era behind glass. Also The Haunted played there long time ago. What surprised me most was that apparently Candlemass was booked to play this small venue a week after us. Maybe some warm-up gig? Anyway, the wind was chilling and every time Bram, Yanick and I went for a smoke we’d shake because of the cold. Then inside the venue it was hot as hell again. Oh well, guess autumn in the North is that way. The long wait was filled with some drinking and walking around the town. When it was almost time for doors, we noticed all these venue guards with blue uniforms. They really made their presence known and were utilizing their authority every chance they would get. You could feel their eyes follow you wherever you went. Quite intense and really something we had never experienced before. Apart from that, the night and shows went smoothly. The only downside was that we couldn’t do a soundcheck because Hellbutcher took their time. A line-check would suffice but I didn’t get the impression that the FOH-guy was too experienced doing metal… When we started “Riddles In Devil’s Tongue” I couldn’t hear Niels through my wedge. Before the second song I asked the FOH to turn Niels’ vocals up in my monitor and I could hear a little but still low in the mix. The vibe was great and the 80 to 100 people that showed up seemed to be really into Helleruin.

Because of all the time it took for Hellbutcher to soundcheck and think of a plan to get all their props on the small stage, everything was late. Luckily there was no strict curfew, so when Hellbutcher finally took the stage around midnight after managing to put both 2 meter crosses (without skull) on each side, all hell could break loose! I really enjoyed this night best, because of the dingy venue vibe and Hellbutcher was on fire.Читать далее