Presented by Rockfact Music Club & Jaunty Productions

Rockfact Music Club, Münchenstein,  Switzerland – 15.02.2025

I became aware of this Progressive Metal Night by a flyer in the Social Networks Facebook and Instagram. It was crystal clear to me going to Münchenstein because I like to support bands from my country.  Furthermore it’s very important to support organizers of small concerts with ticket purchase in advance and participation in the events. Actually the doors were sceduled to open at 7 p.m.. There was a delay and you could enter 10-15 minutes later. No problem, because the warmth inside the restaurant was the reward for enduring the cold. Nehara started the evening at 8 p.m. I never had heard of this band before and was very excited about their musical presentation. After an intro, the first song “Gods of Desperates” was played. You soon realize the music is based on metal, but with integrated elements from other genres such as progressive, modern metal etc. and a lot of emphasis was placed on melody and variety. It's metal, but different. Singer Roman Frei shone with an impeccable vocal performance and put a lot of emotions into the singing. Guitarrist Urs Friedli came up with amazing guitar solos. Roman introduced the band with  „We’re from the area of Berne“ and stood out with his Eastern Swiss accent. It was interesting to listen to their songs. Here was an experienced team who knew to cast a spell over the audience. Their two released EP's “Lake of Madness” and “Symbiotic” were performed live tonight. The chorus in „Here Comes The Rain“ burnt into my memory. Mostly the music was hard and fast but it became quieter and more melancolic with „Train to Nowhere“. The crowd integrated itself into the appearance and received the praise „you’re great people“ by Roman. „House of Gold“, „Endless Nights“ were announced as the last songs. „Neon Glow“ as encore with a Thrash Metal influence showed another facet of this four-piece. Afterwards, the members left the stage amid applause. 60 minutes of music at a high level was a real pleasure. Setlist Nehara Intro Gods of Desperats As I Died Here Comes the Rain Reflections Agony of Life Train to Nowhere House of Gold Endless Nights Neon Glow There was a brief interruption and the stage was rearranged. This allowed me to hydrate and re-energize. The next band was Green Labyrinth. I only knew their name, but keyboarder Thomas Hiebaum (Deep Sun) was a familiar face. The members entered the stage at 9:20 p.m. “Dreamland” was the first song played and I noticed a female singer and a male singer. That was a surprise for me. A closer look revealed Seraina Schöpfer (Dreams in Fragments) was the singer. Her vocals were based on symphonic metal. Her vocal partner Kevin could sing clearly, but was also allowed to growl. I liked that.  The music was symphonic metal with progressive metal influences. A new album will be released in June 2025 via BOB-Media / Fastball-Music. The polyphonic vocals of Seraina and Kevin din‘t harmonize as hoped, as she drowned him out with her octaves and he stood in her shadow. Unfortunately Stephan Kaufmann's bass was also a little underwhelming.  Another negative point was David Vollenweider's guitar solos coul‘ve been a little louder and Thomas Hiebaum's keyboard a little quieter. Then the musical balance would‘ve been better. After “Don't Look Behind You”, Seraina, David, Tom, Stephan, Kevin and Mättu left the stage. It was a mixed performance. Setlist Green Labyrinth Dreamland Haunted Limited The Art Of Betrayal Trapped Soul Brave The Storm Enemy The End Don’t Look Behind You Another interruption occured and the stage was rearranged again. After a few conversations with acquaintances, I realized they felt the same way about Green Labyrinth. Another Approach as headliner stepped on stage at 10:40 p.m. Their band logo alone aroused my curiosity and the audience was still full of energy. “Scarytale” rang out and guitarist Oliver Kürzi, bassist Claudio Ramsauer and drummer Cyril Hertz started to perform. Then singer Jan Brasser with an undercut joined them on the left side and growled into the microphone. We got a concentrated load of energy. The band from Winterthur plays progressive metal, but also includes elements from metalcore such as breakdowns, growls, clean vocals and quiet instrumental passages. A thrilling ride on a musical rollercoaster with excitement and fun. You could feel the joy, passion and determination of Jan and his musical comrades-in-arms from the very first second and was transmited to the spectators. Their debut album “The Way They Are” was released in 2020 and the EP “+=+” was released in 2022. The gig was used to present these and the songs were well-received. There were many side changes on stage and guitarist Oliver was allowed to shine with solos. Claudio provided the necessary groove and often sought contact with Oliver for guitar duels. He left the stage during “Resurgence” and walked around the room before he returned. There was a short acapella moment during “Intrusive Thoughts” where Claudio was allowed to sing along. Cyril was also allowed to support Jan with vocals in between. Unfortunately, keyboarder and piano player Fabian Graf couldn't be there. Claudio went into the audience again during „Still Alive“ and Jan asked everyone to jump along to this song. “If you don't jump along, Claudio will make you do it,” said Jan. There was no need for coercion because the fire was still burning in the spectators and they jumped along with the band members. This song should’ve ended the performance, but the band decided to play an encore. This was followed by a mash-up of the hits “Incomplete” by Backstreet Boys, “Survivor” by Destinys Child, “Sing Hallelujah” by Dr. Alban and the Pokemon theme song. Then the clock showed 11:40 p.m. and the five-piece left the stage. They received a lot of applause for their great performance. Setlist Another Approach Scarytale Resurgence Anaesthesia Dreams of Silence Intrusive Thoughts Breach in the Sky Electric Love Still Alive Mashup Conclusion: This evening was musically interesting and demonstrated again that Switzerland has great bands with talented musicians. It was very varied and exciting. However, it would be an advantage if more spectators were present at such gigs and showed their support. Many thanks to sound engineer and man of light Stefan Walker for the great, powerful sound and the coordinated light show. Another thanks to Madeleine Fuhrer of Jaunty Productions for organizing the event. Livereport by Dominic Latscha