Show review: 17/01/’14: Wolf x Down, Benchpress, Giver @ AK47, Düsseldorf

It was the last day of the Wolf x Down /Benchpress euro-tour. There was no pre-sale which made many people nervous, so around 80-100 people were already infront of the venue when I got there. When the doors opened, people rushed in and the really small venue, made for about 150 people, had some problems selling tickets.

After 1 ½ hours of waiting, Giver, from Paderborn/Cologne, finally started playing. Only a few seemed to know them, just like me. But with the first groovy riffs, the crowd got into dancing. Because of the super small room, and being longer than wider, there was barely any space to move. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop anyone at this evening. Giver only played around 5 songs if I remember correctly, each song different in its own style. The third song had a great rhythm guitar that made me fall in love with them – I was able just to close my eyes and really feel their music. Ending with their song “Vibes”, the members dropped their instruments and went into the crowd, shouting “Life means more when we're together. Choking on our pride, we stay forever” along, which was intense and made it a great closing for their small, but pretty cool set.

Next up, Benchpress went on stage. It was their first time playing in the “Ruhrpott”-Area and no one really knew what to expect, except for some heavy hardcore. After playing the first riffs of “Hellbound”, the crowd went totally nuts. Some word-perfect people were around and sing-alongs took their places, just like a tremendous amount of stagedives. With the singer’s shirt getting more bloody from song to song, the set went super wild - even though no one got intentionally hurt. A rare case in this area. Larissa WxD took part in two songs and created an odd but beautiful symmetry.

After Benchpress heated up the crowd (literally, it felt like 40°C in there now), it was time for the long awaited Wolf x Down. With old and new songs, no wishes were unfulfilled. An unbelievable atmosphere was around with everyone singing along and dancing in their own way. Even more people stage dived, causing havoc and fun at the same time. At some points, Larissa made wolf howls that lead to side-to-sides and fired up the last non-moving people. Several different singers from other bands took over the microphone at the feature parts so the songs had a really dynamic effect. A perfect stage presence.


If you weren’t there, you missed one of the best live shows you could imagine. It had everything for a perfect evening with your buddies, having non-violent fun and just being a wonderful hardcore show as it’s supposed to be. You must check all the bands out and give them a try live.

Giver:  https://www.facebook.com/giverhc
Benchpress: https://www.facebook.com/BENCHPRESSAD
WOLFxDOWN:  https://www.facebook.com/WOLFxDOWN

By Marvin Krampe