Concert review: Caliban, In Hearts Wake, Cabal & Assemble the Chariots, Dynamo Eindhoven, 6 May 2025

I bought the tickets for this show with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was super excited to see Caliban again. On the other hand, I was a little worried since the last time I saw them was at Free For All and it wasn’t exactly my favourite gig in 2024. Then again, I got even more excited when they finally released their new album Back From Hell, because this album is amazing. But also I wasn’t super into the idea of four bands in one evening on a week day. The alternative would’ve been buying tickets for their show in Cologne, but a) I don’t really like the Essigfabrik and started avoiding it as best as I can and b) the date was very inconvenient.

So basically I went there with pretty mixed feelings, but still a lot if excitement if I can say one thing in advance, it’s the fact that THE LINE UP WAS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

Intro: Venue

Actually I stopped including venue info in my concert reports, but this was my first show at Dynamo in Eindhoven and once again I am full of praise for a Dutch venue. Dynamo is a great venue. Parking is a little pricy, but even with the parking, we still paid less for the show than we would’ve paid for the show in Cologne. But it’s very close to bars and restaurants if you need a snack before the show, the parking garage is right next to it (it belongs to a shopping mall) and the venue itself is just cool. Great sound, generally nice vibe. The „lobby“ looks really nice, there’s enough room at the merch and the bar, so people don’t stand on each others‘ feet (the merch is in the lobby, not in the actual concert room). There are lockers (I think they’re 2€). Only downside were the toilets, which weren’t super nice, but I could live with that, as everything else was pretty cool there. Also the drinks were a bit pricy if I remember correctly, but it was fine – and, as pretty much everywhere in the Netherlands, you could pay by card and that’s just so convenient. Super nice venue!

Assemble the Chariots

First act that night were Assemble the Chariots from Finland. Their music is classified as Symphonic Death Metal/Deathcore, which really fits. There’s a lot of symphonic/orchestral elements in their music (kinda Lorna Shore-ish, yet VERY different, only talking about the symphonic elements here) that create a really cool atmosphere. Unfortunately we missed the beginning of their set, as we were a little late to the show, which was kinda sad because I really enjoyed them from the moment we walked into the room. I was sucked in right away – unsurprising, here we are again with another fairly melodic Finnish Death Metal band. The pattern strikes again.

I don’t remember much about their setlist, I didn’t really listen to their stuff in advance, but the sound was really good. Their music didn’t quite invite that much to mosh that much, I guess it was a little too melodic/calm, but it was still a very good warm-up and I was really sad when they finished because we hadn’t seen their entire set. For me, they were a very good opener, although there wasn’t much of an audience yet (to be fair, the show started a little early for a Tuesday and it wasn’t sold out either, so even during Caliban the room wasn’t really packed). I’d love to see them again and I already regret not having bought any merch. I even considered buying tickets for the Cologne show mainly to have another chance to see their full set, but I’m too worried that the sound at the Essigfabrik would destroy the experience (it did so with The Halo Effect in January and I haven’t forgiven the venue yet – although, to be fair, their sound system has been stolen, so who knows what’s gonna happen at the upcoming shows there anyway…)

So yes, I can recommend. If you’re a sucker for Melodic/Symphonic Death Metal. Like Me. I definitely am.

CABAL

The break between the bands was fairly short, I think they managed to get everything ready within 15-20 minutes, which was a pleasant surprise for me, as the evening didn’t drag on for super long. So CABAL entered the stage quite soon. They’re a Danish Deathcore band that also uses e.g. electronic elements in their music. I hadn’t listened to them that much before, but they have a feature with Joel Holmqvist of Aviana, which made it into my Spotify Release Radar back then and hence was my first experience with CABAL, and I liked that song enough to add it to my playlist. So that’s that.

This time we moved a bit closer to the stage and hence had a good view on a) what was happening in the stage and b) what was happening in the pit. Their performance was super energetic and they really had a good stage presence and it definitely invited to move. I danced along a little, but also noticed that next to me, there were super intense mosh and circle pits. The overall energy in the room was great, although the audience still wasn’t that big at that point. Really cool.

Musically, they didn’t catch me as much. I vibed along in the beginning and throughout some of their songs, but I also gotta admit that at some point it dragged on a tiny bit, which was then again loosened up by a tiny rave-like part (which definitely wasn’t my jam, but the crowd celebrated it). All in all, they played a very energetic set. I can’t say exactly for how long they played – 30 to 40 minutes I think. It was a good performance, but for me personally my least favourite act that night. Nevertheless they were a really good match for that line-up and kinda cool.

In Hearts Wake

For the third band of the night, we moved further to the back again because we needed a little break (and I actually needed to get rid of my shoe for a moment because I had somehow managed to tie it in a way that blocked the blood flow). In Hearts Wake were the only band I listened to a little more intensely in advance and I was super excited to see them because I really liked what I heard. They’re an Australian metalcore band and that was kinda wild between the German-and-nordic-bands that night.

But damn, their set was SO cool?! I loved their sound and their live performance. Amazing energy. I think somewhen throughout the middle/towards the end of the set, they had two dancers join on stage, who first came out in full body suits with their faces covered and that created an extra cool atmosphere. Really, their performance was amazing. I loved every second of their set. And I was kinda happy to be standing a bit further to the back, as the moshing got even more intense and I wasn’t exactly in shape that night. The crowd really got into it, joined the initiated circle pits and wall of death.

Setlist In Hearts Wake:
Spitting Nails (ǝunʇɹoɟ ɟo lǝǝɥʍ)
Tyrant (ɹoɹǝdɯǝ ǝɥʇ)
Hellbringer
Force of Life
The Flood (ǝɔᴉʇsnɾ)
The Unknown (Strength)
Gen Doom (ʇuɐɥdoɹǝᴉɥ ǝɥʇ)
Shishigami (ssəıdwə əył)
Crisis
Worldwide Suicide
Orphan (lᴉʌǝp ǝɥʇ)

Truly, their performance already felt a bit like they were a headliner. It was indeed topped by Caliban later, but it was just really damn awesome. 10/10, I’m waiting for another chance to see them again.

Caliban

Finally, the headliner of the night. Now since people were a bit „shy“ in the beginning of the evening I decided it was time to move to the front row because why not. Downside: I had a spotlight right in front of my face 😩 I still enjoyed it.

Their set started with an intro and the song Guilt Trip from their new album Back From Hell. And let me start right from the start with tons of priase for Iain Duncan’s vocals. I had already noticed at Free For All that his man is a true gem. That impression only grew with every new single they released (and finally their new album), but once again seeing them live and hearing his vocals was BAM. Incredible. I’m a big fan of his voice, which is super powerful. The point was proven especially when, towards the end of their set, they played Insomnia and started the song with an acoustic performance of basically only him singing the chorus of the song. It literally sent chills down my spine. Loved it.

The majority of the songs that night were obviously from their latest album Back From Hell, but other than that, Caliban made full use of their over 25 year-long band history with the oldest song that night being (once again) Nothing Is Forever, which was the final song of their set. A true classic. Doesn’t it give you the chills when you hear the entire room sing along to an old banger and you just feel how music connects everyone in that room tonight?

Also, I do not only want to praise Iain Duncan’s vocals. We also got a lot of clear vocals in a lot of the older songs from their guitarist Denis. It was quite a bit of a contrast to Iain’s vocals. Denis‘ voice seemed kinda … softer, calmer, yet it also has a very nice tone and it was just an overall round performance.

Setlist Caliban:
Guilt Trip
I Was a Happy Kid Once
Paralyzed
Davey Jones
I Will Never Let You Down
The Beloved and the Hatred
Ich blute für Dich
VirUS
Dear Suffering
Insomnia
Back From Hell
Memorial
Devil’s Night
Nothing Is Forever

 

For me personally, another big highlight was (once again) Ich blute für dich. When I started listening to Caliban, I wasn’t quite used to German metalcore songs, but through this band I grew so damn fond of it that I was almost sad that this was the only German song in their set (and I’m happy that it’s also so much of a classic that it usually makes it into their setlist). Great song with great vibe and great breakdown. I mean… starting a big moshpit yelling „Was ist dein Problem?“ is my personal form of anger management.

Speaking of moshpits, there was A LOT going on. Full on throughout the entire set. Moshing, circle pits, we had a wall of death and we had both crowdsurfing and stage divers. Which was a bit of a struggle, as there was no pit between crowd and stage and not really security present. Thankfully Andy pointed out which part of the stage was safe for crowdsurfers to arrive and he helped people get up on stage whenever necessary. Speaking of getting people on stage: Sweetest part of the set was when he invited a woman on stage to have a little ballroom dance with her. Big highlight.

As I have pointed out in my little intro, after my last show I was a little bit worried about their set, but damn, this show was great. Caliban delivered again and I remembered why I fell in love with them when I saw them live for the first time. Because they are a damn good live band. It was overall an incredible experience. Yeah, no regrets. But also no regrets that I decided to go see them in Eindhoven instead of Cologne. It was basically a 12/10 show.