Can I just start with WOW? That is what I said when saw the line-up and time and time again meeting the bands and watching the show.

It was the second time I saw Delain and the first time for Sabaton, but what a time!

The opening acts were good at getting the people started. Battle Beast was a lot better than expected. As I have been staying half a day around the venue, I saw the guys but not the leading lady so I was surprised to see her pop up. Nice energy and voice, very metal. Thumbs up for 80’s music.

But here we go and see Delain. This is where the show really started. I was in front row (unfortunately my ears paid the price and they are still ringing). It’s hard to get a setlist of just 9 songs that sums up who they are, warms up the public and promotes their last album (which is awesome, by the way. Check it out, it’s called „The Human Contradiction”). While I would have wished for a Stardust or Sing To Me, this was an amazing show. Mother Machine, the opener, is one of my favourite songs. They fill so much social and poetic justice in their lyrics. Up next, it’s your destiny to Get The Devil Out Of Me. 

Last time I saw Delain it was 3 years ago in Sibiu. They have two new lovely additions to the band. Ruben on drums and Merel on guitar. She is such a cutie pie (don’t get me wrong, Charlotte is also adorable, but Merel is mini edition). There was a nice energy on and off stage. And the sound, my god. Charlotte’s voice has gotten so much better. She can sing higher and with (apparent) ease. I was really impressed. This was clearer than ever on Pristine.

Fast forward and here comes The Gathering. You know, the hit they had with Marco (the song that angels sing, the spell that calls, the gathering). We sang our lungs out on that one. What a great time to be alive :)) Obviously ending with We Are the Others. Man, what a performance. I just want to see it all again. Maybe I am a bit biased because I already really like them, but the guys sitting next to me who did not know them were really impressed, too. They kept singing along to scraps they would get. 10/10 would recommend. I wish the crowd was screaming just a bit more at the end, but it’s a great dilemma: not wanting Delain to go but wanting Sabaton to come. (I am still expecting them to do something together. secretly hoping. not so secretly right now).

Also, let me mention again how amazing these guys are. Not only in what they sing, but as people. Guess who was waiting at the merch stand after the show? You guessed it right: Delain! I mean, to have the patience and desire to meet hundreds of fans for photos and autographs, they must really be special.

This made so big an impact on me that I decided to start a Romanian Delain Fanclub, so stay tuned because you are coming and we are going to do it in a big way! All my love to Delain!

SABATON! SABATON!

The stage gets emptied and we get the see the tank. I don’t think you got that. There was a motherf**king tank on stage. They start singing and the crowd goes insane. I heard Sabaton was big in Romania but it is actually huge. It’s a shame we don’t have larger venues, because those would be sold out, too.

We knew the setlist to be (give or take some choices we had to make. Still not over Uprising not being chosen to be played). So just when Joakim (aka the lead singer, the one and only) starts to sing he jumps on stage. The man is a nuclear factory of energy and we could all sense that. He said he wanted to have fun out there. We certainly did. In comes Ghost Division, we get the hang of things and up next To Hell and Back. I love that song and so did the rest 1999 people there. It was magical. A magic filled with jumping and screaming and singing. And that’s what Joakim thought too, apparently. Or maybe felt. He could not find words to say thanks for the crowd, saying he got goosebumps. And trust me, he was saying the truth (the perks of being in the front row). That is beyond amazing for me.

It is so nice to see them be grateful. For being here, for how we receive them, for the awesome gifts they received from the fanclub (two WWI and WWII medals, to which Joakim referred to as the greatest gift a band like them could receive. And obviously a book about tanks. Something to inspire more songs,props and obviously all the tank memes).

The whole show just made you forget about who you are and join in on the fun. You did not have to know them beforehand in order to have fun. It would have been such a great show for someone who never heard of them, so imagine how it must have felt for us.

Singing something from each album, we got to hear classics like Gott Mit Uns, Swedish Pagans, A lifetime of War. We are big fans of Swedish it seems. And not only.

But this was truly a show, not just singing. From lights to props to jokes on stage, some playful butt-kicking to Joakim trying out his skill on guitar, with some metallic riffs. Sure, he got his chords cut with a gardening scissor by a pirate-soldier, but it was worth it.

And here comes the encore. Nightwitches, Primo Victoria and Metal Crue. Only the best! We love them, they love us, what could have gone better?

So a big thank you to Sabaton, Delain, Battle Beast, the opening acts and the organizers. I know it’s not easy to bring a tour to Romania, but we hope you had as much fun as we did. This one goes to you. Thank you and see you soon!