OBSCURA AT SALA SANTANA 27 IN BILBAO, SPAIN
On the first Spanish stop of the Diluvium Europa Tour Obscura came to Bilbao before Barcelona and Madrid. Bands First Fragment, Allegaeon, and Fallujah were chosen by the German progressive metal masters to join them on this tour.
First Fragment started the night with their technical death metal giving an amazing performance on the short time they had. The drummer, Nicholas Wells, and the bass player, Forest, were particularly impressive on their work. Overall, I don´t think that the show could have had a better start.
After a short break it was Allegaeon's (USA) turn. The front-man, Riley McShane - with his headbanging, roars and little dances - hyped the crowd from the very first minute. A couple of guitar solos and the not too big venue helped to generate a great atmosphere for all the metal fans.
The third band was Fallujah, also from the US, with a new vocalist, Anthony Palermo, and some material of their new album "Undying Light". For me it was really hard to get good images, because of the permanent red lighting, but I suppose that if the band chooses it, there must be a good reason. Apart from that, their performance was at a very high technical level, it is always a pleasure to hear music played with mastery, no matter the genre.
Obscura came out to close the night and presented some of the themes of the new album. In the last 9 years they have released 4 albums, and all of them are a master class of technical death metal. Amazing guitar and bass solos during the concert made the crowd break their necks with continuous headbanging. It is hard to see a better performance and for sure no one went back home disappointed.
Iosu Apraiz is a spanish photographer based in Bilbao. Whether at a live show or hiking in the mountains he always brings his camera with him to capture the moment.