IRON SAW BLADE
Emerald (SWI), Aeonblack (GER), FUSE (SWI)
Presented by Rockfact Music Club & IRON-T21
Rockfact Music Club, Münchenstein, Switzerland – 07.12.2024
An interesting program appeared on the Rockfact Music Club website. The
Swiss metal legend Emerald from Canton Fribourg visited canton
Baselland. Aeonblack from Germany and the local band FUSE became the
support acts. The flyer convinced with his layout and sparked a strong fire
of lust. I went to Münchenstein for satisfaction. This time the doors opened
at 7:30 pm and the lights went out 45 minutes later, an intro sounded, and
the bandmembers came on stage one after another and FUSE started the
evening. This band with a musical amalgam of different styles simply has to
be experienced live. The first song was “10'000 Elements”. The audience
showed a lot of joy and was more active than at other gigs. The guitar riffs
of lead guitarist Paddy Kälin sounded great and bass player Gianluca Botta
had guitar duels with him and rhythm guitarist Stefan Christen. There was
a lot of action on stage and Gianluca, Päddy and Stefan changed positions. Singer Rob did an amazing vocal performance
and you felt a lot of enthusiasm. „Prisoner“ was dedicated to persons who feel trapped in a relationship, work or in
another case. There was a short announcement by Rob after „Snowblind“. A red box was on stage and voice doubling
occured when you stepped on the pedal. There was a Looper mode and the word „Hello“ came out as an echo and
didn’t stop. For this reason, he was forced to do a reboot. Tecnical difficulties but full transparency to the audience. I
found it authentic and wonderful they shared it with us. Anyway, everything worked perfectly again and „Your Philosophy“
got played. „Anywhere“ followed after the survival of the cell phone zombie invasion in „Native Zombie“. In this song,
Gianluca left the stage and walked into the audience. Technically, the appearance would’ve ended. No one liked it and an
encore was played. The iconic „Ace of Spades“ by Motörhead was played and finished the good performance.
Setlist FUSE
10‘000 Elements
Rolling Home
Forgotten
Real Temptation
Prisoner
Snowblind
Your Philosophy
Native Zombie
Anywhere
Ace of Spades - Motörhead
The members of Aeonblack entered the stage after a short break. I saw the five-piece from City of Lörrach with
Re:Loaded in this venue last time. I was looking forward to their show. An intro rang at 9:35 pm and it started with
„Specter in black“. Singer Holger came with full energy, put his heart and soul into singing and sought contact with his
musical comrades-in-arms. Floyd on the lead guitar shined with solos and did a great job under the spotlight. His string
mate Ferdi was allowed to play solos either and both changed sides for a competition in guitar duels. A clear draw,
because both were passionate and had a lot of fun. Holger impressed with an impeccable vocal performance with
nuances of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. He said „you’re awesome“ to the spectators for their commitment. The
question „Do you know the song Phantom of Pain? We shot a video“ emerged after the catchy „Conquistadores“ and the
crowd yelled „Yes !“. This number was eagerly awaited and celebrated. It continued a little hareder with the power metal
song “This is” and “Treason” followed the same way. Then came “The time will come” and Holger said “Here comes the
last song”. The members were about to leave the stage, but the audience fought back loudly and wanted more. For that
reason, they returned and played the classic „The Trooper“ by Iron Maiden as encore. They received a lot of applause for
their great show and left the stage after 60 minutes.
Setlist Aeonblack
Intro
Specter in black
Metal bound
Furious
Aeonblack
Warriors call
Conquistadores
Phantom of pain
This is
Treason
The time will come
The Trooper – Iron Maiden
Another short break occured and the time had come at 11:05 pm. Headliner Emerald was on stage. I saw them at Club
Red Rocks in the city of Basel and they left a very good impression a few years ago. So I was curious to see how they
would present themselves. “My Final Stand” opened the gig. The first thing I noticed was that singer Mace Mitchell was
wearing an ice hockey jersey with the murderer Jason Vorhees and the number 13, which looked really good on him. He
shone with his vocals and loved every second of the show. The guitarists Julien Menth and Michael Vaucher did their job
well and served solos and galloping riffs. Bassist Vania Truttmann provided the groove and drummer Alois Spycher kicked
the pedals in the background. Keyboarder Thomas Vaucher added the melodies to ensure they weren‘t neglected. The
mixture sounded triumphant and made the Rockfact walls vibrate. A great, changing light show was another plus. The
Düdinger have been active since 1995 and were able to make full use of their discography. With “Revenge”, a song from
the album “Hymns of Steel” was played, which was very well received. With “Coming Home”, a new song was played and
Mace announced the band won’t play live for a while after this gig in order to go into the studio and record a new album.
After “Hard To Be True”, things got serious. “Greed” was about greed and money being more important than his
colleagues and his well-being. My highlight „Freakshow“ sounded after an intro and is definitely a hit. This was followed
by “Son of Sam”, a song about the American serial killer David Berkowitz, who bears this nickname and has been in
prison since 1978. Julien sang here partly together with Mace. “One Moment Of Freedom” was dedicated to this evening,
where you felt free at a concert without thinking about everyday life. With the next hits “Only The Reaper Wins” and
“Tears Of A Warrior” the good mood reached its peak when it said “The show is over”. Loud booing followed and changed
the band's mind. That’s why two encores were played. “Horns Up” thrilled with its rhythm. Mace invited Poltergeist singer
André Grieder on stage. It has been a tradition for him to join them on stage and both sing the Iron Maiden classic
“Wasted Years” together. That sounded great. Mace, Vania, Julien, Alois, Thomas and Michael were met with loud
applause. They really deserved it.
Setlist Emerald
My Final Stand
Reckoning Day
Revenge
Coming Home
Hard to Be True
Intro Freakshow
Son of Sam
One Moment Of Freedom
Only The Reaper Wins
Tears Of A Warrior
Horns Up
Wasted Years – Iron Maiden
After these great performances, the spectators left the Rockfact Music Club into the cold winter night. All bands on that
night had Iron Maiden influences and performed on a high musical level. The sound was great thanks to sound engineer
Jerry Thomas Ferrat. Stefan Walker was responsible for the varied light show.
Livereport by Dominic Latscha