Review: Beyond The Black/Butcher Babies/AD INFINITUM – The Ritz, Manchester

With closing act and co-headliners Amaranthe having to pull out of the first of two UK dates on this almost-mini indoors festival, the three remaining acts were all given extended sets which meant additional time to wow the sold-out crowd snaking its way around the legendary venue, just a stone’s throw away from another iconic Manc venue: The Haçienda….sadly nowadays a block of apartments. Would be interesting to discover though just how many of the sold-out crowd noticed the group of people wrapped up in the Manchester chill (all in black of course) walking past the line, and whether or not they gave the group a second look. For if they did, then they might just have noticed it was tonight’s headliners: Jennifer Haben and some of the guys in Beyond The Black.

Opening the show, and making their long-awaited UK debut: AD INFINITUM. Led by one of the rising stars on today’s metal scene; Melissa Bonny (do also check out her work outside of AD INFINITUM – in particular her work with Warkings, Feuerschwanz, and the new collaborative effort known as Dark Side of The Moon), the Swiss/German symphonic metallers are set to deliver new album ‘Chapter III – Downfall’ in March 2023 and have a tough act to follow, for 2021’s ‘Chapter II – Legacy’ was indeed something special. Thanks to some immense hooks, and strong emotions, the songs struck a chord with many and it’s no surprise that the lion’s share of tonight’s extended set is made up of tracks from the album. It’s especially heartwarming to see just how many in attendance seem to know every word to every song, and are more than happy to bellow them out at full volume. The magical ‘Unstoppable’ gets a surprisingly early airing and thanks to Adrian Thessenvitz’s singing guitar riffs, the melodic hooks reverberate around the room. ‘Afterlife’ has everyone straining to see if Amaranthe’s Nils Molin has escaped the bug that struck the Swedes down and will put in an appearance alongside Bonny as he does on the album. But alas, it was not to be, never mind though for Bonny more than makes up for it.

Packing one of the best voices in metal – and a smile that could power a small country for a month – Melissa Bonny is a revelation. Her clean vocals are some of the purest that you will hear today, and her guttural growls (especially on ‘Your Enemy’ and ‘Animals’) seem to come from a deep, dark place within. With a powerful rhythm section that seems joined at the hip – bassist Korbinian Benedict, and Niklas Müller on drums – AD INFINITUM have pretty much got the entire package; heavy enough to give the neck muscles a workout, but also light and melodic enough to not scare away anyone afraid to dip their toes in the murkier waters of harsh vocals. With the brand new single ‘Upside Down’ scoring high on the bounce-ability factor, album number three from this young outfit is shaping up to be unmissable.

Providing the US beef in tonight’s European sandwich are Butcher Babies. Making a swift return to the UK after battering Bloodstock in the freak August heatwave, Butcher Babies do not hang around. No settling-in period, no breaking the crowd in gently, it’s carnage from the first fucking note. And if you missed the giant backdrop with the name of the band emblazoned across it, then co-vocalists and founding members Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd are on hand to declare on ‘Monster’s Ball’…“We are Butcher Babies…and we are here to FUCK SHIT UP”, and fuck shit up they indeed do.

Like a pair of Tasmanian Devils finally unleashed after an enforced period of hibernation, Harvey and Shepherd are a constant blur as they cover every inch of the stage, leaping from the raised platforms, making trips to the front barriers through the photo pit, windmilling and headbanging like their lives depended on it, all the while spitting out some pretty hardcore vocals. But even on full-on moments such as ‘Korova’ the Babies drop some infectious melodies that linger on long after the fact. With guitarist Henry Flury, and bassist Ricky Bonazza flanking them on either side and drummer Chase Brickenden at their backs, Carla and Heidi set out to ensure that every person in the audience has an up close and personal experience with Butcher Babies regardless of where they are in the room. Setlist-wise, the hour or so that Butcher Babies are onstage flies past in the blink of an eye, but ‘The Butcher’ is still the aural equivalent of a pummelling from an MMA fighter jacked up on blue Smarties, and the move up in gears to a more thrashy sound is still a buzz when it lands; ‘Bottom of A Bottle’ is groovy as fuck; and ‘Yorktown’ is an all-out assault on the senses and gives the knees and calves a proper seeing to. The only surprise is that neither Carla nor Heidi attempted to swing from the balcony to the stage, but there is always next time.

With the last strains of ‘Paint It Black’ by The Rolling Stones fading into the background, the houselights dip and the shadowy figures of Beyond The Black take to the stage. As the intro music begins to swell, the futuristic stage production comes to life in an explosion of warm (very warm) red lights, and the assembled throng of photographers in the pit quickly readjust their settings to deal with the wall of red. As the band launches into its opening track (a brand new one) ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ the red alternates with white strobes and fluorescent striplights that dart around the stage at speed – think Blade Runner neon with Cyberdyne at the helm. Vocalist and founding member Jennifer Haben takes her place on the middle riser and illuminates herself with two long fluorescent lights that she is holding. Very visual, and with the red lights – consider your retinas blitzed. The new song (lifted from the forthcoming self-titled album) is a perfect intro that gets the crowd involved from the off, and with Kai Tschierschky’s thumping drum sound, the Terminator connection continues in what could be a homage to Brad Fiedel’s iconic ‘Terminator Theme’.

What follows over the next 70 minutes or so is a masterclass in building a setlist around the legacy of a band that have been bubbling under for some time now, and are set to boil over into the big leagues. There is something for everyone in the setlist; stops off at 2016’s sophomore effort ‘Lost In Forever’ includes the title track which sees guitarist Chris Hermsdörfer joining in with some guttural growls throughout; ‘Songs of Love and Death’ features early on and rewards fans who have been there from the early days; new tracks such as ‘Reincarnation’ and the new single ‘Winter Is Coming’ would suggest a return to what might be considered the classic Beyond The Black sound and it seems that the band are onto a winner with the album; 2020’s ‘Hørizøns’ album saw a bit of a departure from that classic sound and split the faithful (personally, it’s a fantastic album) and tonight tracks aired from it are quite sparse but ‘Human’ is a special moment that forms quite a partnership with another brand new one ‘Dancing In The Dark’ and provides a visual treat as a large drum is wheeled out on a raised stand for Jennifer to batter the living daylights of in time with Kai Tschierschky behind her (think the drum sound of Bon Jovi’s ‘Lay Your Hands On Me’, but better); an extended ‘Heart of The Hurricane’ is a standout moment and time and time again Chris Hermsdörfer proves why he is so highly regarded as a player of some standing; ending on the pairing of ‘Wounded Healer’ and ‘Hallelujah’ this was very special indeed. And perhaps the tour that will finally see the incredible Jennifer Haben regarded as one of the greats of the symphonic metal scene? A vocalist who has more than paid her dues and truly deserves her place alongside artists such as Tarja, Floor Jansen, Simone Simons, Charlotte Wessels, and Sharon Den Adel.

All remaining live dates on this incredible value-for-money tour can be found below.

Review – Dave

Images – Ritchie Birnie Metalplanet Music