Today is the day – To Kill A King honour Hamburg with their presence after about a year again. Last time I was able to enjoy the five Brits on the Hurricane Festival. Since then, a lot has been going on. A member of the band changed: the bass is now no longer plucked from Josh Platman, but by the sympathetic Finn Peter Hakola.

The EP ‚Exit, Pursued By A Bear‘ and the new album ‚To Kill A King‘ are published. Many stuff to make today’s concert particularly interesting. But beforehand I dodder to Michelle Records, where To Kill A King play a little acoustic gig in the shop window after our interview. Stopped by Hamburg’s traffic, unfortunately only two-fifths of the setting rush into the tiny shop, still visibly harassed by the previous night in Amsterdam. There might be problems at soundcheck, so the rest must hold the fort. Well, well, that shouldn’t do harm to the mood. With tired eyes, but in a good mood vocalist Ralph Pelleymounter and guitarist Grant McNeill position theirselves on the mini-stage and delight us with a small selection of their best songs, accompanying theirselves only on their guitars. The crowd is mixed. From some connoisseurs up to random stranded pedestrians. Despite the still very early day, it’s just quarter past six, a good atmosphere arises in the tranquil shop quickly and latest when the well-known song ‚Choices‘ is played everybody’s dreamy humming along. Also the two protagonists on the stage can’t resist to joke around and it’s becoming a well-made foretaste of the approaching concert.

After the autograph session I rush back to the Nochtspeicher where the admission is already in full swing. Accordingly, I have to be content with a place in fourth row, but in this relatively small club it’s still close enough.

The opening act Dancing Years enters the stage and puts the audience in a pleasant melancholy trance within a few minutes. Their sound is a wistful sigh on a November evening. They fit so perfectly to the current winter mood that it almost hurts. In particular, the combination of piano and violin literally pulls you into another world, a lonely, sad, bittersweet world. Only the singer, who smashes the songs with uncompromising fervour, rips you out of the gently swaying from time to time. Particularily I fall for the songs ‚We Danced Last Night‘ and ‚Places We’ve Roamed‘ and I decide to immediately buy the CD afterwards. (Review follows soon.) Musically Dancing Years rank among the best support acts I was ever allowed to see and my anticipation for To Kill A King grows through the generated atmosphere with each heartbreaking tone.

Yet I see the setting on stage switch, five Brits are being replaced by four Brits and a Finn and the audience is already completely thrilled at the first song. Everyone’s joyfully bouncing to the beat and sings along the familiar songs like ‚Funeral‘ or ‚Howling‘. But also the new pieces are rewarded with much applause. Often, the magnificence of the compositions convey only now, when listening live. To Kill A King himself also seem to enjoy the concert, cause they give their all, smile at the audience, joking around. My special centrepiece of the new LP ‚Compare Scars‘, which is coincidently presented as the new single, harmonises the proper mixed crowd. As hoped, it is a highlight and everyone who is still quiet has to blame himself. Of course it is almost mandatory that to ‚Choices‘ the audience and the opening act gets involved. And so the air vibrates soon from the ‚ooooh‘ of the masses and goose bumps crawl up your back up to the neck and tingle on your arms. No other song knows to enchant like that, to create such a warmth in everyone’s belly. Simply a masterpiece. However, the following ‚Oh My Love‘ is in no way inferior to it. The high backing vocals of keyboardist Ben Jackson simply invite you to warble along and tempt you to inanities. The five gentlemen leave the small stage happily waving. Oh, already? I just was in. But already they scurry back to the stage, delay the approaching end, grant a small reprieve. Thankfully, I enjoy the last songs. ‚Fictional State‘ stretches us to the limit again. Both, the dancing audience, as well as the completely overspending Josh Taffel on drums. With the up-tempo number ‚Love Is Not Control‘ we literally get danced out the door. That quickly ends an evening that could hardly have been more wonderful. They promise to come back as soon as possible, these nice guys with the unmistakable sound. I hope so, I think by myself, a year is far too long. With a smile I leave the stuffy locality and step into the typical filthy weather of Hamburg. See you soon, mates! It was amazing again.