While DE LIRIUM’S ORDER has been around for ages, they only popped up on our radar recently, when we went to the “Singularity” pre-listening session at Bar Base. The album was released on April 26th, 2019, and the band returned to Bar Base for an acoustic release show on the same night. We weren’t even remotely sure how technical death metal would translate acoustically, so we made sure to show up for what could be a very unique experience. Check out our interview with Juha, Kari, and Mikael.
As we arrived at Base, we found a pleasantly large crowd already inside and noticed that the bar was selling a special Singularity drink for the event made out of (I’m guessing) blue curacao, vodka, and Sprite. It must have been popular because I saw a fair few people with blue teeth throughout the bar.
First of all, I was surprised to see Marko Salonen – who did the guest vocals on “Piazzolla” on the album – in Kari Olli‘s place, as Olli hadn’t been able to make it to the show that night. Salonen‘s vocals were deeper and very clear. We were able to hear the lyrics quite clearly in spite of the fact that he was growling. He really sounded like some sort of artificial intelligence and with the acoustic music backing him up, the story really popped up to the surface and got me intrigued. I may have even preferred his vocals to that of the album.
The guitars were the real sellers of the night though, capturing everyone’s attention from the first moment. There was a very clear flamenco vibe that was pure excellence. I don’t want to discredit the rest of the band by saying the guitars were the stars of the night, but man were they great! Credit where credit is due though – Mikael Salo was his usual delightful self – charismatic and goofy and claiming the stage whenever it was his time to sing and getting the crowd clapping the rest of the time. And the bass was still present enough to give the music the depth it needed, especially without bass in the drums. It was even given its own place in the spotlight after an intro from Salonen. Frankly, I was very impressed by everything. I even heard tambourines, though I couldn’t see who was playing them through the crowd.
While the full set of eight songs was mostly showcasing the new album, they did play two of their older tracks, “The Art of Butchering” and “Autistic Savant” from their earlier albums, before ending with the very appropriate “The End of Time.” Overall, the night seemed to be a rousing success and the crowd seemed very pleased, as were we.
So how did technical death metal hold up acoustically? Shockingly well! Everything sounded amazing, the flamenco style of the guitars was surprising and wonderful, the vocals were great, and the atmosphere on the whole was absolutely fantastic. This was definitely one of the most unique experiences I’ve had in an acoustic show and I’d definitely recommend keeping an eye open for this band in the future!
Setlist
1. I Have Awakened (intro)
2. Singularity
3. Orion’s Cry
4. Acoustic Medley
5. Piazzolla
6. The Art of Butchering
7. Autistic Savant
8. The End of Time
Written by Bear Wiseman
Musicalypse, 2019
OV: 2374
