Kreator & Vader – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 9th September @ Manning Bar, Sydney NSW

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Paul 'Browny' Brown

Kreator
Manning Bar, Sydney NSW
September 9th, 2017
Supports: Vader and Daemon Pyre

What’s better than a hot and sweaty night watching two of the most killer bands in the heavy music industry battle it out complete with CO2 guns, massive sparklers and enough smoke to make put Willie Nelson to shame. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, local support from Daemon Pyre was a great way to begin festivities playing crowd favourites like ‘Darkened Perceptions‘, ‘The Usurper of Hope‘ and ‘Defeated‘ as well as a dedication to the late, and great Mick Burke of Mortal Sin (a running theme of the night). It was just enough to get the crowd moist with anticipation for what was coming.

7 years has passed since Poland’s Vader last set foot in Australia and you could tell they were missed by the eager amount of metal heads who pushed their way as close to the stage as possible for all the action. In what can only be described as a heavy as fuck set, in almost complete darkness with smoke for days, the Polish lords polished off tracks such as ‘Dark Age‘, ‘Decapitated Saints‘ and ‘Chaos‘ from 1992‘s The Ultimate Incantation, ‘Silent Empire‘ and ‘Sothis‘ off De Profundis (1995) as well as newer, future classics like ‘Tempest‘ and ‘Send Me Back to Hell‘ off last year’s The Empire. But in true Vader fashion, they left the best for last with ‘God is Dead‘ sending the room into a frenzy. The awesome foursome made up for their almost decade long absence, let’s hope they don’t leave it so long next time.

Now for the Main Event, the show was a complete sell out which meant every man and his dog (not literal dog) came in close and the smell of sweat and beer filled the room as punters packed themselves in, leaving no spare space untaken. When Kreator took to the stage there were no photographers in sight (in the photo pit) and for good measure because they got straight into the show complete with large sparkler machines, CO2 cannons and face melting metal in the form of ‘Hordes of Chaos‘ and ‘Phobia‘ before playing fan favourites like ‘Satan is Real‘ and ‘Gods of Violence’. But that was only the start of the show, if you didn’t believe it at first, Manning Bar is a suitable place to break out the good old Wall of Death which fans got amongst like Gold Diggers to jump on a rich bloke’s bank account.

A touching tribute for Mick Burke (Mortal Sin) came in the form of the song ‘Fallen Brother‘, who the band dedicated to their fallen metal brother as his funeral was held yesterday… If the grown men in the building could cry, I can assure you the floor would have been flooded. Further musical highlights include tracks like ‘World War Now‘, ‘Enemy of God‘ and ‘Civilization Collapse‘ but it was the epic finale of ‘Violent Revolution‘ and ‘Pleasure to Kill‘ which really showed the true passion of Kreator fans, giving their last bit of energy to send the Germans off with a smile on their face.

If someone says the show was terrible and the worst they’ve ever been to, or that any of the bands were flat, they deserve to have their band card revoked and never allowed to set foot inside a live music venue ever again. Holy shit make sure you see these blokes at least once in your life.

Setlist

Hordes of Chaos
Phobia
Satan Is Real
Gods of Violence
People of the Lie
Total Death
Phantom Antichrist
Fallen Brother
Army of Storms
Enemy of God
From Flood into Fire
War World Now
Hail to the Hordes
Entreme Aggression
Civilization Collapse
Violent Revolution

Revisit our interview with Vader frontman Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek here
and Kreator‘s Mille Petrozza here

Photo Gallery courtesy of the legendary Mick Goddard (MickG Photography)
Please credit Wall of Sound and Mick Goddard if you repost.

Daemon Pyre