Live Report and Photos by: Zenae Zukowski
While countless of tired metalheads battled their way to head off the ship to enjoy the Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands as well as participating in a few excursions, there were many who decided to use that extra time to sleep and enjoy the essence of silence. That was what we decided to do, and the first half of the day was spent relaxing and walking around in the sun carrying a few cocktails. Although the break felt as though it lasted for only five minutes, it was time for bands to resume at the early evening.
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter launched the night on the Pool Deck at 5 PM. The German metal outfit’s ferocious set surprised the audience as they promoted their latest effort 2017’s Der Rote Reiter. Moving forward, it was Battle Beast’s turn to hit the Alhambra Theater. The group continued to wow the crowd as they brought a similar setlist from the night before with songs from 2017’s Bringer of Pain. The night moved with lots of momentum as it was time to race to the Studio B Ice Rink theater to see Wolfheart’s performance as they went into songs such as “The Hunt,” “Strength and Valor,” “Abyss,” “Aeon of Cold,” and “Veri.”
The evening rush continued with Exodus’ tenacious set on the Pool Deck at 6:30 PM. It was a much different experience than the prior night, as this time it had fog to accompany their thrashing riffs. Things cooled down with Evergrey’s bleak performance in the Alhambra Theater as their set was different from the night before. Songs included “When The Walls Go Down,” “Recreation Day,” “Solitude Within,” “Mark of the Triangle,” “Still in the Water,” “Black Undertow,” “Missing You,” “Distance,” “A New Dawn,” and “The Grand Collapse.” These Swedish metallers seemed to have embraced this intimate setting, more-so than the massive Pool Deck. The endurance resumed at 9:15 PM with some Finnish folk metal amusement in the Alhambra Theater as Korpiklaani executed another engaging performance.
Battle Beast
Following Meshuggah’s performance from the night before, it was impossible to miss their appearance on the Pool Deck at 10:15 PM. Once again, they crushed their set as the moshing and crowd surfing didn’t end. Death metal continued with Cannibal Corpse’s set at 11:30 PM in the Alhambra Theater. Unfortunately, we were only there for a few songs but they are always a pleasure to see live. This time around, they brought 2017’s Red Before Black with them. After two back to back death metal acts, the evening shifted by catching Sirenia’s second set at the Studio B – Ice Rink theater. The setlist seemed similar to the night prior yet, performance wise, their execution was just as stunning.
However, when the German power metal act Freedom Call took the Alhambra Theater at 1:30 am, we were blown away by their impressive performance. The group brought 2016’s Master of Light to life as the crowd wouldn’t stop singing. The evening under the Caribbean stars turned into a cold chill in the air as Insomnium led the Pool Deck playing 2016’s Winter’s Gate in its entirety. Between the blue lights and their shattering performance, it was the ultimate highlight of the evening.
At this point, it was 3 AM and we had no idea how we were still awake, but we managed to force ourselves to see Triosphere’s performance in the Alhambra Theater. Bassist/vocalist Ida Haukland unfortunately, caught a flu-like illness as she lost most of her voice. At this time, no one was fully aware that there was the case of the flu running around, which did affect Goatwhore’s second performance due to vocalist Ben Falgoust’s was too sick to perform. With that said, Haukland didn’t stop her appearance as the group changed most of the set to include instrumental tracks. The crowd was beyond thankful for their devotion as it was one of the most commendable sets of the evening.
Sirenia
Blackened death metallers Belphegor ended the night for us at MyGlobalMind as they took the Pool Deck stage at 3:45 AM. The group continued to haunt and provoke the audience as they immersed themselves in a set filled with demonical riffs. Finally, it was time to collapse for a few hours before the final day kicked off.
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