It couldn’t be going any better for BATTLE BEAST. After they won the Wacken Open Air Newcomer Competition they joined no less than NIGHTWISH on their “Imaginaerum”-tour as their support act in Europe and Russia in 2012. On March 22^nd of this year, the band released their brand new album “No More Hollywood Endings” which reached No 1 in the official Finnish Album Charts and No 11 in Germany. One more reason to go see them live on their “No More Hollywood Endings” tour in Bochum.

Finnish Band ARION opened the evening with an energetic show.

The whole evening started with ARION, another Finnish band, which was formed in 2011. They play a mix of Symphonic and Power Metal that harmonized pretty well. Especially Power Metal is known for its powerful performances, so it was no wonder ARION could get the attention of the audience pretty fast with their music. This band knows quite well how to rock on stage and how to get more and more fans. I’m pretty sure, they went home with a lot of new fans because you just have to love a band with such charismatic band members, great music and a powerful live show!

ARION opened the evening with an energetic show that the concertgoers won’t forget. After the show, the band came out to the merch stands to greet the fans. They took a lot of time to speak with the fans and tak photos with them.

When BATTLE BEAST hit the stage the sound of the keyboard died.  

There is nothing more terrible for a band than the sound dying during a song. But that’s live music and it can happen, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. If it happens after the band just hit the stage and played for three seconds, however, it’s not the best start into the evening. So this is what happened to BATTLE BEAST in Bochum. The audience took it lightly and also the band made some jokes about it like “It’s gonna be a long evening today”. They fixed the problem after a few seconds and then finally the evening could start. The situation made the band nervous, for sure, but BATTLE BEAST managed it very professionally and after that, the band had the best sound I’ve ever heard in this venue!

The audience went crazy for BATTLE BEATS-frontwoman Noora Louhimo.

When frontwoman Noora appeared, the audience went crazy. This woman has power! And she knows how to show it. Her power was projected to the audience as well and one can’t explain how powerful her voice is live and the powerful effect her whole appearance has on the people in the audience – you just can’t find the right words.

Forget the CD’s, this is a band you must see and listen live! You can imagine from listening to the CD’s that this BATTLE BEAST must be a powerful one, but live it exceeds all expectations! It’s not only Noora – the whole band is a great example of how live music should sound. The bands worked together pretty amazing on stage and next to this perfection they also had a lot of fun.

Push ups during the BATTLE BEAST show and a lot of fun on stage.

The BATTLE BEAST show was not only full of perfection but also full of fun. Can you imagine a guitar player doing push-ups during a gig? When have you seen a band using electronic drums and making fun about MODERN TALKING with it? And all on the same evening? But Noora also said that they have the funniest bass player in this world. And she is probably right.

BATTLE BEAST’s setlist focused on “No More Hollywood Endings”.

BATTLE BEAST played a mix of old and new songs with the focus on the new album “No More Hollywood Endings”. During this show, power-woman Noora showed that she is more than just a singer. Surely, her voice was extremely powerful through all the songs, but she also showed us that she is a great actress, entertainer, and dancer! The songs performed were accompanied with a unique performance by Noora and a lot of fog. Everything fit together very well and made the evening remarkable.

ARION and BATTLE BEAST made this evening unique.

ARION and BATTLE BEAST made this evening unique. Both bands did an amazing job on stage and had a lot of fun.

The audience went home divided. Many agreed that the show was breathtaking, but there were also opinions that the “new” BATTLE BEAST sound has nothing to do with the “old” one. The influence of former member Anton was huge, which you can clearly notice when you listen to BEAST IN BLACK. Yes, the band is open for new things, but is that bad?

Bands and audience had a great connection during the concert. This was a powerful evening combined with great music, a lot of fun and amazing performances. This was an evening, the concertgoers won’t forget.

If you want to see all the photos, please visit my Flickr.

Have you been at one of the past BATTLE BEAST-shows? Did you like it? Tell us in the comments!

BATTLE BEAST Setlist Bochum:

• Unbroken (Intro had to be restarted)
• Familiar Hell
• Straight to the Heart
• Unfairy Tales
• Black Ninja
• Endless Summer
• Guitar and Keyboard Solo
• I Wish
• Raise Your Fists
• The Golden Horde
• Out of Control
• Touch in the Night
• Bastard Son of Odin
• The Hero
• Eden

Encore:

• No More Hollywood Endings
• King for a Day
• Beyond the Burning Skies