Live report QUEENSRŸCHE & NIGHT DEMON, Fabrik, Hamburg – February 28th, 2025

Two great bands from the west coast of the United States are currently touring Europe. Queensrÿche, the Seattle-based progressive metal veterans are on the road, sharing a nightliner with Night Demon from Ventura, California. It’s an exciting metal package with an itinerary that includes the Fabrik in Hamburg.

I am lucky enough to have followed both bands from the very beginning of their careers, and it is Night Demon who will start the metal feast tonight at 8:00 pm. Jarvis Leatherby and his bandmates open their metal show with the title track of their latest release “Outsider”. It is a thunderous start that is appreciated by the fans who have come not only to see the main act, but also to enjoy the straightforward heavy metal of Night Demon. Headbanging is the order of the day, on stage and in front of the stage. The trio from California chose a setlist that includes all relevant releases. In addition to the title track, three more songs from the 2023 album delight the headbangers tonight, while the end of this electrifying set is dedicated to some older songs. I remember when I got the very first Night Demon EP back in 2013 and it was a breathtaking moment listening to “The Chalice” and “Night Demon”. Today, 12 years later, the magic of these heavy metal blasts is still present and it is great to enjoy the band playing these monuments of steel live. By the way. The reaper is also part of tonights show and appears during “The Chalice”, but this time with bare midriff and swimiing trunks as it is the final show of the tour. And to enjoy all the excitement in the room, Jarvis and Armand take a short tour through the crowd, still playing “Night Demon”. This what ‘being connected to fans’ really means.

Night Demon is more than just an opening act. The band, which seems to be on the road all the time, delivers great metal that the fans honor with loud applause at the end of the set.

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Queensrÿche‘s music first crossed my path in 1983 when they released their self-titled EP. In a time before the internet, Spotify and YouTube, you had to rely on print magazines and radio shows. Not many radio stations played metal back then, but the Swiss radio station had a metal show in their program and they played “Blinded” and “The Lady Wore Black”. An amazing moment.

Tonight is like a time travel back to the first half of the 80s as Queensrÿche will focus on their first two releases. Already the logo of the EP on the tour posters looks great and the music is supposed to be even better.

The core of tonight’s oldschool set is the EP and the full-length debut “The Warning”. The band will play both releases in their entirety and we start at 21:15 with “Queen of the Reich”. It is crazy to see how the first notes of the song turn the Fabrik into a metal madhouse. It is the starting point of a 90 minute metal blast that feels like a walk down memory lane. After seeing Saxon play the complete “Wheels of Steel” album a few days ago, tonight it is another veteran band that takes the fans back to the heyday of metal.

“Nightrider”, “Blinded” and a stunning version of “The Lady Wore Black” are what fans really appreciate. These songs are timeless anthems in metal that unlock the same magic today as they did in the early 80’s. One of the key factors is frontman Todd LaTorre, whose voice fits so perfectly that all the songs on “The Warning” feel like they were released yesterday.

Also remarkable is the density of quality songs on the album. A debut without any weak points isn’t the norm, but Queensrÿche’s debut belongs to this category.

There isn’t much talk tonight as the focus is on the music. However, La Torre addresses a few words to the fans, thanking them for their support over the all the years. He also asks who is seeing Queensrÿche for the first time tonight and surprisingly many hands go up.

After playing the first two releases in chronological order, the five-piece adds three more highlights to the set. “Walk in the Shadows” is one of them and the title track of the “Empire” release is another. Enthusiastic fans can be seen all over the room, even in the back of the Fabrik also when “Eyes of a Stranger” fills the room.

Queensrÿche have lived up entirely to expectations tonight. The songs are simply brilliant pieces of music. Together with a great sound the evening was a metal feast and at no point during the show did you realize that this was the last show of a four weeks roadtrip. It was an unforgettable moment for young and old.