HYPOCRISY at Parkteatret (Oslo, Norway)
April 22, 2023
by Jorge Patacas
A few months after playing at Tons of Rock festival, Hypocrisy returned to Oslo as headliners on the last date of a Scandinavian mini tour where they also performed in some Swedish cities to continue promoting their latest album “Worship” (2021).
Opening the night was Deception, a band from Stavanger formerly known as Art of Deception who released their third studio album “The Mire” in 2021. The four-piece delivered a dose of death metal with some symphonic elements showcasing their songwriting skills through songs that contain hooks, melodies and aggressiveness at the same time.
About half an hour later, the lights dimmed and AC/DC’s “Rock N’ Roll Train” began playing on the PA serving as the intro for the band led by the legendary Peter Tägtgren to take the stage. They opened with “Worship” and the first thing to notice was the stage decoration and the lights that matched the intensity and energy of the band, especially on songs like “Fire in the Sky” or one of their classics at this point, “Eraser”. Naturally, the (awesome!) singles “Chemical Whore” and “Children of the Gray” were part of the set as the cheering audience was headbanging to each riff and blast.
Towards the middle of the show, we got to hear some more mid-tempos like “Until the End” and “End of Disclosure” with its fantastic guitar melodies.
The first encore consisted of old 90s material including “Fractured Millenium” from their self-titled album (1999), “Impotent God” from their debut “Penetralia” which turns 30 (!) this year, and “Adjusting the Sun” from “The Final Chapter” (1997). Thus they left the stage for the second time to return and conclude with their anthem “Roswell 47”. What a perfect way to end a Saturday night of first-class death metal!
By the way, in case you haven’t listened to it yet, check out the collaboration between Tägtgren and the legendary vocalist Joe Lynn Turner (ex Rainbow, ex Deep Purple) on Turner’s new album “Belly of the Beast”. Great stuff!
