After years of waiting since Orphaned Land's last performance in Portugal in 2019, and two years in a row of the tour being canceled first by the pandemic and then by the war between Israel and Palestine, on December 11 the long-awaited day finally arrived to welcome the Israeli band to Lisbon. And the wait was worth it because they were accompanied by bands that surprised us in a very positive way, we're talking about the Brazilians from Royal Rage, the Icelandic Ring of Gyges, the Romanians Dirty Shirty and the Finns from Strale!
Unfortunately we didn't make it in time to record the first concert of the night, which was given by the Curitiba thrash metal band Royal Rage, but we managed to get to Lisbon live at the start of Ring of Gyges' performance.
RING OF GYGES
I confess that I knew little or nothing about the Icelandic band, I had only listened to the quintet's most recent album Metamorphosis, released in 2023, a few days before the concert and I really liked what I heard.
Live, the band naturally captivates with their progressive metal, reminiscent of bands such as Pain of Salvation or Soen, with bassist Þorsteinn Ýmir Ásgeirsson in particular demonstrating his virtuosity with the instrument at all times and his outstanding stage presence and technical quality.
Ring of Gyges played for about thirty minutes to a small, shy and cold crowd, although for the Icelanders it was certainly great weather as some of them were wearing sleeveless shirts and shorts. Jokes aside, they brought a mix of their first two albums to their set list, which worked and pleased the crowd at Lisboa ao Vivo. It's worth keeping their sound radar close, because we'll certainly be hearing more about them in the future as they have fantastic growth potential.
STRALE
At 20:30 the Finns of Strale entered the Lisboa Live stage with a larger crowd and were able to check out the band's great alternative metal.
Hailing from Helsinki, the band led by charismatic vocalist Alarik managed to captivate everyone present with a modern, intense sound that blended heaviness and melodies very well with precise vocals that perfectly suited the band's proposal. He also offered the beautiful "The Heart You Tore Apart" to his mother who recently died of cancer, a gesture that touched everyone present, and played their recently released version of The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", giving time for a cover of Billy Idol's classic "Rebel Yell", warming up the temperature of Lisbon live for good.
DIRTY SHIRT
Here's the big surprise of the night, at 21:15 the Romanians take to the Lisboa ao Vivo stage with a violinist and two vocalists, two guitarists and a devastating kitchen. Dirty Shirt begin to present their folkcore metal from Transylvania, as they define themselves, with musical influences from traditional Eastern European music.
Right from the first song, "Ciocarlia", the audience, which had already filled a large part of the LAV, was won over by the Romanians' weight and captivating stage presence. The two vocalists Dan ?Rini? Craciun and Robert Ruszse fuse in an incredible way, making the treble and bass coexist in an incredible way, one of the many highlights of the band, as well as the devastating kitchen that manages to insert all the weight and brutality making a bed for the whole folk side to dance and take over the performance.
Singing 100% in Romanian, it's well worth getting to know the whole identity and personality of Dirty Shirt, a band that immediately stands out live. In the last song, there was still time for STRALE to return to the stage to play the saidera "Latcho Drom", setting the band on fire and leaving to the applause of an ecstatic LAV! What a nice surprise, my friends...
ORPHANED LAND
The most awaited moment of the evening arrived at 10:15 p.m.. Orphaned Land They entered the stage shortly after "Grândola Vila Morena", a classic by Zeca Afonso, warmed up the engines in a significant moment for everyone present.
When vocalist Kobi Farhi comes on stage barefoot, with all the energy he carries, and starts playing "The Simple Man", all the waiting time is worth it. It's impressive how Kobi manages to make the role of frontman something liberating, almost like a transformation, always with a positive vibe and pacifist messages, as well as all his technical ability and versatility, which he manages to achieve by mixing clean, smooth vocals with guttural vocals and obvious oriental influences.
With a shorter set list, the band played classics such as "Sapari", "Ocean Land (The Revelation)", "Let the Truce Be Known" and "Norra el Norra (Entering the Ark)", which rocked the crowd, as well as some beautiful acoustic and intimate moments such as "In Thy Never Ending Way (Epilogue)". Orphaned Land is a clearly underrated band that should be on another level, a band that went through some unjust demonstrations during this last tour, as was the case in Barcelona, the band has always taken a stand in favor of music and peace regardless of anything else, becoming fundamental in the times we live in! Long live Orphaned Land and I'm sure they'll always be welcome in Portugal!
Artists: Dirty Shirt, Orphaned Land, Ring of Gyges, Strale
