As Friends Rust
Live - Wild at Heart Berlino - 13.08.2002

LA RECENSIONE

The other evening, the As Friends Rust concert was an unforgettable event. The Wild at Heart in Berlin was sold out, great post-hardcore atmosphere, the usual unbearable heat, and 50 minutes of absolute chaos. Maybe it's because Berlin's most intense scene used to be the Punk scene, but today, certain "wild and exciting" nights can almost only be experienced in the hardcore-emo scene, which boasts a very loyal, multi-ethnic, and now mature audience (average age 20-25). And As Friends Rust did not miss the call and did not disappoint the great anticipation. Ten superb tracks that impressively combine tradition with modern elements, old-school speed with the emotion and atmosphere of emocore, rage with joy. An explosive mix of the radical style of Ignite and Civ with Indie-rock elements from bands like Rival Schools, Hot Water Music, or Hundred Reason. The three guys on the instruments were very good, a bit less so the new singer, partly due to the lack of backing vocals and partly because he fails to best interpret the fantastic vocal changes of “Won,” the latest and first album (after numerous Splits, 7" and 8"). From the first to the last track, the crowd accompanied AFR’s rhythms with endless moshing and stage diving, so frantic that it took me a while to take photos, also because the high general perspiration level thoroughly fogged my Kodak lenses. The final assessment is up to you, but don't be fooled by appearances, in these cases the motto stands: Blurred photo, concert to remember! Not by chance, after sweating liters of water with us in Berlin, fate’s madness due to the opposite drama of high water will force them to skip the highly anticipated concert in Prague. A concert like the one in Berlin has its price, in short, to do one like this you have to give up at least the next two. djd