A nice, chilly, winter night was made magical by a sea of dark figures looming over Zagreb’s “Tvornica Kulture”.The return of the legendary American hard-rock superstars Halestorm was greeted by a long and orderly queue of happy faces waiting to get into the warm and beerlicious venue.
The first supporting act was self-made pop star Mothica, who made her fame on social media by making dark and gloomy electro-pop music filled with insipiring messages and importance of self-care. Ever since her firstEP “Mythic” in 2015 she has had a loyal following, which was apparent during her performance, as the audience wasvibing and singing along to her hits. The star of the show was her remastery of the song “All Star” from SmashMouth.
Next on stage was the rock sensation Black Veil Brides who we all know far too well from our highschool days. The opening song “Crimson Skies” from their latest album “The Phantom Tomorrow” waswelcomed with screams and heavy head-banging. The audience’s ecstatic energy and sing-along attitudewas well received by these seasoned veterans of the glam-rock scene. They saved their best two hits”Fallen Angel” and “In the End” for the very end of their show, after which they bowed, thanked everyonefor their support and left the stage.
Soon after it was apparent why there were only plastic cups at the venue when Elizabeth Mae “Lzzy” Hale came on stage and let her glass-shattering voice echo through the crowd. The saying “start off with a bang”was taken literally by tonight’s headliner quartet when they opened their show with the songs “I Miss the Misery”and 2013’s Grammy-winning “Love Bites (So Do I)”. The synergy and rock’n’roll attitude between the band memberswas so flawless, it was obvious why they won so many acclaimed awards. Every instrument solo was seamlesslyincorporated into the performance without overshadowing each other or disturbing their cohesion.At the mid-point of the show after the song “Takes My Life”,the drummer, Lzzy’s little brother Arejay Hale took over the whole stage and with his banging solo. Afterimpressing the crowd with fantastic drumming and a great deal of tricks, he rounded off his performance bypulling out two giant 1-meter-long drum sticks and continued to rock out his drum kit. As the crowd’s roaring ovation reached its climax, this signalled the rest of the band to hit the stage again and launch into the songfrom their latest and eponymous album, “Back from the Dead”. After almost an hour and a half of relentless rocking,the band closed out the show with “The Steeple”, a song that’s dedicated to us, the fans. That night, Tvornica Kulture was indeed Halestorm’s kingdom, cathedral and castle, and we truly were their people.
Gallery:
HALESTORM, Black Veil Brides, Mothica – Tvornica Kulture, Zagreb 22.11.2023
