On September 17th, 2023, a powerhouse of a tour hit the city of Hamburg on a Sunday evening. Despite the time and day of the week, Swedish hard rock bands ECLIPSE and H.E.A.T packed the concert hall Gruenspan close to what seemed to be a sold-out show. Deep in the corners of the Reeperbahn, Gruenspan stages a unique antique architecture of a former movie theatre that charms the senses from the first moment one ventures into the location.
ECLIPSE opened the evening with their most recent super-hit “The Hardest Part Is Losing You” from their latest and 10th album “Megalomanium,” which was released on September 1st this year. This band has been offering a Swedish rendition of solid melodic hard rock since 1999, outlined by their catchy hook lines. Songs like “Roses On Your Grave,” “Runaways,” and “Viva La Victoria” are perfect examples of those mentioned above and they encouraged the audience to sing along throughout their performance.
Next up on the schedule was the main course of the evening: the Swedish hard rock act H.E.A.T. One of the things that struck me the most about their performance is the cinematic feel of their production —enhanced by a black backdrop with neon elements that provided the spectator with a scenery that could very well be taken out of an ’80s movie set. The quintet made an energetic entrance with “Demon Eyes,” from their 2022 release “Force Majeure” and they, indeed, immediately turned the heat on!
As a person who isn’t the most avid ’80s hard rock listener and having discovered H.E.A.T merely by accident, I quickly got hooked on the uplifting spirit of their music. When their guest drummer played a solo towards their set, followed by the Back to the Future movie theme that then transformed into a short cover of “Hit the Road Jack,” it hit me just how skilled they are as musicians as the transitions were so smooth. The intimate interaction between the band and the audience was ultimately crowned with their hit “Back to the Rhythm.” The band rounded out the show with the trio of “Dangerous Grounds,” “Living on the Run,” and “A Shot at Redemption,” leaving the crowd with a smile on their faces. Check out our photo gallery of ECLIPSE and H.E.A.T here…
ECLIPSE
H.e.a.t
Photos by Michelle Rosales
