Live experience: 11 years of Black Night – DAS ICH, RABIA SORDA and much more.

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

November 29, 2025, Mönchengladbach, Project 42

Schwarze Nacht in Mönchengladbach celebrated its 11th birthday on the last Saturday in November, just before Advent, with a festival featuring five well-known bands. However, not as usual in the Kultube, but for space reasons in Projekt 42, just a few hundred meters away. However, the typical winter cold wave had no mercy here either and Sea of Sin unfortunately had to cancel due to illness. Not only sad for their fans, they had also been looking forward to playing newly released songs there for the first time. Casi from Rroyce, who was supposed to host the event, also had to stay at home. A solution was quickly found by the hard-working team: Super Dragon Punch! from Belgium as a replacement for Sea of Sin, and teammate and DJane of the Black Night Isa as host. As a little treat, Erk Aicrag from Rabia Sorda was to give a short reading at the beginning before his performance with her. Problem recognized – problem solved.

Shortly after the slightly delayed entrance, the native Mexican, who lives in Germany but had traveled down to earth by train, as you could see from social media, took to the stage. Wearing a denim jacket, T-shirt and jeans, his appearance was still a far cry from that of Hocico or Rabia Sorda, but after all, reading has to be comfortable and not distract the listeners. Full of fervor, he read selected texts and poems such as “Sometimes I Believe in God” and “If I Die today” from his latest book “Pingo”, the title of which is based on his childhood nickname. A mixture of personal confessions and emotional prose. Not without giving the hint that you could give the book as a Christmas present to someone you love or hate. Unfortunately, the book is not available to buy in combination with it, so that Erk can read it out in person under the Christmas tree. What a shame, though.

Now came the musical part of the evening, led by Super Dragon Punch! who knew nothing of their good fortune just a few hours before the event began. The saviors in times of need. With a dynamic sound and impressive stage energy, singer Jérémie Venganza, who has Mexican roots on his mother’s side, and partner Sabrina Zen brought the room to the boil. They sang songs like “Rise” and “Split” while lying down and, in true rock star style, drank beer instead of water to soothe their dry throats. Enraptured noises rang out from the audience when Sabrina briefly disappeared and reappeared with huge crow-like wings to dance around Jérémie to “Sutura”. This was another visual highlight, although it wouldn’t have been necessary in her skin-tight black PVC outfit. Whether it was her presence or the fact that frontman Venganza took off his vest from the heat of “Core” remains uncertain. What is certain is that it was a successful performance.

Next, All the Ashes took to the stage – old acquaintances from the Black Night, but this time there were two of them. Drummer Carsten had to take a break with an injured shoulder, but didn’t miss the chance to follow the action from the edge of the stage. Despite the reduced line-up, the duo kicked off with their usual vigor and even presented a brand new song from the album announced for next year, “Inkompatibel” – a small highlight for fans of the first hour. “Let’s move on to an almost classic”, singer Klaus then introduced “From the Ashes”, followed by an energetic “Stahl bricht Stein”, during which he asked the audience with a broad grin to “step on the gas” and throw their hands up in the air. Between songs, he charmingly sought contact with the people in front of the stage, winked, held out the microphone and was visibly pleased with the response: “Very nice – ey, it’s really fun here!” By the song “Schwarz macht schlank”, announced with the words “everyone will probably know the next song”, no one could stand still any more. At the end, the duo brought their injured comrade-in-arms on stage to take a bow together – a well-rounded moment full of sympathy and solidarity.

System Noire then took over – experienced stage performers who have already toured with scene giants such as [:SITD:]. Their mix of powerful beats and catchy melodies immediately got the crowd going. Right from the start, there was a lot of chanting, especially during “Dead Inside”, where the chorus echoed the demanded “inside” loudly from many throats. After a long absence, “Killing Game” returned to the live program, commented by frontman Björn with an ironic “Then we won’t have to play it for the next ten years.” During “Lost Control”, everyone got involved in a little game, went down on their knees to the call “Hey world!”, only to reappear shortly afterwards with a many-voiced “what the fuck!” – a rousing scene that made even the musicians beam. At the end, the band surprised the audience with a change of roles: guitarist Gaia took his place on the drums, while the drummer stepped to the front of the stage and, together with the singer, brought the evening to an energetic close. A powerful ending that was bursting with enthusiasm.

Rabia Sorda took to the stage as the penultimate act of the festival and kicked things up a notch with their powerful mix of industrial and punk energy. Frontman Erk was his usual spirited self, tirelessly jumping back and forth so that his trousers slipped further and further – perhaps intentionally, perhaps not – and his blue underwear briefly became visible. After “We Are Not Machines”, someone had to come in at short notice to clean up the leaking water – obviously a slippery memory of drummer Marco almost falling during the set-up beforehand. Things remained lively later on too: A cymbal wanted to be readjusted after “So Slow It Hurts”, while Erk was grinning wet with sweat after “Perfect Black” and shouted several times: “It’s getting hot!” “Out of Control” was initially followed by a small slip-up, which he charmingly intercepted with a self-deprecating “Sorry, I fucked it up – now we’re doing it right!” charmingly intercepted. Unrestrained, he then even used the narrow area in front of the speakers, where a bottle was broken as he whirled around wildly. Despite a few moments of chaos, Rabia Sorda gave a passionate, rousing performance that got the audience perfectly in the mood for the upcoming headliner.

To round off the concert program, Das Ich took to the stage – true veterans of the black scene who have stood for expressive sound art and theatrical performances for over three decades. Singer Stefan Ackermann, in red pluder trousers, black shirt and gym shoes, whirled across the stage with unmistakable gestures and passion – somewhere between expressive theater and dark circus. Right from the start with “Lazarus” and the following “Kannibale”, he shouted “Move it!” several times, and hardly anyone could stand still. Small dance interludes followed before “Schwarzer Stern” and “Was bin ich?”. The tempo of the songs, which Bruno Kramm had prompted, drove him on tirelessly until he finally admitted with a laugh: “I’ve already told my best friend – I’m too old for this! But you think it’s funny … see you in hell!” Shortly afterwards, he sought proximity to the audience, handed an enthusiastic visitor a lyric sheet, knelt down in front of it and sang directly in her direction with intense devotion. During “Kain und Abel”, the audience clapped along, shouted and smiled – a palpably familiar atmosphere. Meanwhile, Bruno and Sven Hegewald delivered a gripping interplay on their rollable keyboards, constantly changing positions and filling the stage with energy. In between, Bruno addressed a few honest words to the room: “Support subculture festivals like this – that’s what our scene thrives on!” Before the encore, Sven mischievously asked: “Can you still do it?”, to which Stefan jokingly replied: “He’s asking because he’s so young!” This was followed by a brilliant finale with “Gottes Tod” and the club version of “Lazarus”, which got the room moving one last time.

But the evening didn’t really end there: anyone who still had reserves after all the concerts found themselves at the after-show party on two floors. The dancing continued into the early hours of the morning to dark eighties sounds and driving beats – an exuberant end to a Black Night that lived up to its name.

Text: Fabienne Wiedmann
Photos: blende666

Setlist Super Dragon Punch!:
“Rise” – “Split” – “Scar” – “Sutura” – “Core” – “Select” – “Haste”

Setlist All the Ashes:
“Bewegungsapparat” – “Untertan” – “Inkompatibel” – “From the Ashes” – “Break Out” – “Loss of Control” – “Steel Breaks Stone” – “Implant” – “Heart of Steel” – “Black makes you slim” – “Sternenreiter”

Setlist System Noire:
“Into the Ether” – “Days of Destruction” – “Voices” – “Throw the Dice” – “Catharsis” – “Dead Inside” – “Worlds Collide” – “Fade Away” – “New Dark Nation” – “Killing Game” – “Lost Control” – “On the Other Side”

Setlist Rabia Sorda:
“King of the Wasteland” – “Violent Love Song” – “We’re Not Machines” – “So Slow It Hurts” – “Shut Up and Dance” – “No Hay Dolor” – “Radio Paranoia” – “Perfect Black” – “Destruye” – “Out of Control” – “Deaf” – “Decadence” – “Walking on Nails”

Setlist Das Ich:
“Lazarus” – “Kannibale” – “Schwarzer Stern” – “Was bin ich?” – “Brutus” -” Uterus” – “Angel” – “Prometheus” – “Reanimat” – “Dante’s Hell” – “Child God” – “Cain and Abel” – “Distillate” — “God’s Death” – “Lazarus Club Version”