Haggard, Club Quantic, 26.10.2018

I don't even remember how many times I've seen this amazing band live, I've lost count. But every single time, no exception, it was a magical night and what I do remember is the feeling of absolute happiness at witnessing something so awesome. But first, a few words about the opening bands. 

Artmania 2013, Sibiu, 9-10.08.13

Day 1

Amaranthe

I used to strongly dislike Elize Ryd, she seemed very stuck up and self centered and vain and cold and unable to interact on stage with anyone else but her hair, but I must admit that she is much more tolerable in Amaranthe than she is with Kamelot. They were surprisingly fun! My favourite was the grunting dude, who's like a little troll in the background coming out to spoil the pretty pretty music of pretty pretty people.

Haggard, Silver Church, 08.05.11

So once more I'm lucky enough to see this amazing band live. I don’t think there’s much I could say about them that I haven’t said already, but I have a pressing need to praise them a bit more. They are sooooo awesome!

Haggard, Silver Church, 18.04.10

I saw them again the other night and with half of the members short and with sound problems, they were still incredible. Amazing band! They managed to create such an awesome atmosphere, the crowd cheered for them non-stop. They played more then two hours, a three-songs encore, played Metallica bits during the song breaks just for fun, Fiffy lit Claudio's cigar with a torch then tried to spit fire and burned a bit of his beard in the process (just a bit, nothing serious), Asis loved the crowd and "played" with us all the time... and Su... my God, Su!

Haggard, Romexpo, 09.02.08

This is the part where I brag about seeing them live. No, actually this is the part when I praise this amazing band. They were brilliant, to say the least. No one missed a single note, they sounded as good as on they do on the album and they managed to create a great atmosphere. Hats off in front of Asis who led the whole thing. They all communicated with the audience so good that they set us on fire. And I have to say that Susanne impressed me very much. She was perfect, even though her parts are really hard to sing, and she's a complete sweetheart, very adorable and funny (I just love it when she does that bending on her back thing). She and Asis were the main "attraction" and got the most cheers.

Haggard, Eppur si muove

As it has been and will continue to be made abundantly clear, Haggard is probably my favourite band. There is something really magical about them and their mix between metal and actual classical music (not just symphonic influences here and there). In fact, they were the band that made me get over grunts. I couldn't stand growling a while ago, but I was so intrigued with Haggard's music and so fascinated by the non-grunting parts, that I actually forced myself to go through the growling, then I began to tolerate it and ended up even liking it sometimes. I guess it really is an acquired taste... Anyway, Haggard's Eppur si muove is a masterpiece. Strewn with little classical interludes here and there and dominated by the four epics, it's a concept album about the life of Galileo Galilei (if that wasn't already clear from the title and from knowing Haggard's love for concept albums :P). The lyrics are beautiful, so poetic and they evoke so well the story and the emotions Galileo must have felt and the album is every bit amazing conceptually as it is musically.

All'inizio È La Morte is epic from the first second to the last and I love everything about it. The instrumental, the opera vocals, Asis speaking in German, the choir chanting "shehnkt aus den wein", the chaos of the classical instruments on top of the metal ones that is so typical for Haggard... And the soprano part gives me the chills, it's the only calm and simple moment in the whole song, but it's so effective, I can almost see and hear the burning at the stake.

I love how the main violin theme is present like a red wire all throughout Per aspera ad astra, no matter what form it takes and how prominent it is. And the rhythm is so steady and the music builds on it and grows up to the tenor parts and then ultimately to the joyful medieval instrumentation... Speaking of the tenor parts, I wish they'd use Fiffy more, every time he sings is a joy and sadly it's such a rare treat.

I love that oboe intro from Of a might divine, in fact I love the whole medieval touch from this album (yes I am a sucker for medieval music). And the piano is so pretty and gentle, the whole instrumental in the beginning is beautiful, it fills my heart! I find it fascinating how the rhythm and atmosphere change in a heartbeat and yet the transition doesn't seem forced in anyway (in fact I love that transition they do from the classical parts when all electric instruments come in). Normally I don't like bilingual songs, but for some reason it never bothers me in Haggard. Maybe it's because of the way the verses in another language are separated from the rest of the song. Or maybe it's because I'm a fangirl :P

Herr Mannelig is such a catchy cute medieval song, I like how it doesn't even sound like a cover, it fits in perfectly in Haggard's catalogue like it's their own. They even put their trademark transition from classical to metal in it. And yey, there's Fiffy again. Only I don't get why he's singing the troll's part and then Su sings Herr Mannelig's part. The other thing I don't like about it is the position in the album, it's a bit weird to have the story about one of the greatest scientists of the world interrupted by a song about a troll, it could've been better placed at the end.

The observer is such an underrated gem. It gets a bit lost among the other longer and more symphonic songs of the album, but that intro is one of the best things I've heard in ages! Never mind the "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use" part, which has become some sort of motto of mine in religious debates with people who think Christianity requires you to leave your brain at the door, but oh God, those violins with the powerful bass+drums+guitar punctuations and the piano and that explosion of instruments! The rest of the song is a little less varied then the rest of the album, there are no choirs and very little of the clean voices (that soprano vocalisation on top of the grunts at the end is beautiful, by the way), but the instrumental on the background more than makes up for the relative monotony of the vocals (I told you I'm not such a fan of growling, I think it provides little room for expression when used continuously and is better used as punctuation).

And then comes the masterpiece song of this already masterpiece album, Eppur si muove. I cannot get enough of it, it's just grand. The beginning with the violins and the way it becomes tense and then resolves to that steady instrumental and Su's gentle acapella vocals, then the oh so beautiful piano solo and then the drums coming in so suddenly with that crying cello in the background and the growth of the instrumentals up to Su's high high vocals that are so inspiring both lyrically and musically and the way she and Asis pass the melody from one another and oh God there's an acoustic guitar and a flute and I'm in heaven!