How it was at EMPATHY TEST

September 13, 2025, Hamburg Market Hall

Support: Lakeside X

Hamburg, September 13, 2025 – the Markthalle shook, the Markthalle danced – and this time not from guitar riffs or thundering drums, but from a different kind of darkness: the vibrating, flowing blackness of electronic longing. Between cones of blue light and flickering shadows, the black scene gathered like a swarm around a pulsating heart. Empathy Test had called – and the answer was loud, clear, full of devotion, charged with electric tension that flowed through every corner of the hall.

Who needs guitars when longing sounds louder?

Empathy Test have long been more than just an insider tip on the international synth-pop scene. Founded in London, they continue a tradition that has found its home somewhere between melancholic eighties retro and modern dark wave. Frontman Isaac Howlett, whose voice oscillates between fragile vulnerability and anthemic grandeur, carries the songs like confessions – straight from the soul into the heart. In addition, shimmering synth pads and deep, shimmering beats weave a foundation that carries each melody like a sparkling constellation. Live, Empathy Test are not just a listening experience, but a feeling experience: glittering, melancholy, beguiling. Their songs are not just tracks – they are doors that are pushed open to lead us into spaces full of memories, wounds and hope.

Dark elegance in synth-pop

Lakeside X kicked things off – a band that knows how to make a big impact with loud sounds and even more so with quiet ones. Their music ranges between melancholic synth-pop and atmospheric dark wave, carried by soundscapes that drifted through the hall like twilight.

Their songs seemed like mirror images of nocturnal thoughts: vulnerable, haunting, but always with a core of hope. Frontman Janne Marvannen ‘s voice floated above the melodies, sometimes crystal clear, sometimes fragile – like a promise that darkness doesn’t just mean heaviness, but also beauty. It was the perfect introduction: not a loud attack, but a flowing transition into a danceable mood that already enveloped the audience. Lakeside X opened doors to our inner spaces, which Empathy Test would later enter with full force. A support act that didn’t want to be one – but an independent chapter of the evening.

When longing becomes sound

When the lights finally changed and Empathy Test took to the stage, a cheer went up that was more than mere anticipation: it was a reunion, a collective sigh of relief, a moment in which the hall united in one fell swoop. “Kirrilee” began a journey through soundscapes that arranged themselves like constellations in the sky. “Last Night on Earth” pushed this atmosphere further, darker, more urgent, while “Making Worlds” lent the evening a cosmic quality – as if they were diving into a parallel world together.

This was followed by the fragile intensity of “Fear of Disappearing” before the crowd finally exploded with the massive “Monsters”. Hands shot up, voices joined in with the chorus and the Markthalle was transformed into a single, vibrating, sing-along organism. But Empathy Test also know the quiet drama. “Bare My Soul” gave the room pause, only to build up a hypnotic glow again with “Incubation Song”. “Empty Handed” and “A River Loves a Stone” created a melancholy center that was heavy on the stomach and light on the heart.

The three solo songs by Isaac Howlett were a special moment of the evening. His number 1 hit “House of Cards”, the new song “Eggshell” released on October 3, 2025 and “Ghost of the Tsunami”, which was not released until October 31, 2025, unfolded an intimate intensity that plunged the room into a reverent silence. No mere interludes, but small revelations of the soul that lingered in the minds of the audience like drawn shadows. For a moment, it seemed as if you had a key to Isaac’s inner diary in your hands – a direct link to his thoughts, feelings and fears, which spilled over onto the stage in pure sound magic.

With “Holding On” and the dark “Vampire Town”, the show gained momentum again before “Doubts” and “Demons” took the concert to a cathartic climax. By “Losing Touch” at the latest, it was clear that this was no ordinary synth-pop band on stage, but artists who transform sound into pure emotion.

The encores came in two waves and were more than just a bonus. First “Holy Rivers” and “Love Moves”, which poured through the hall like a warm stream, carried by an almost spiritual intensity. But Empathy Test had even more to give. With “Throwing Stones”, they struck one last spark into the night, and “Here Is the Place” finally brought everything to a head: one last rush, one last rebellion before silence remained – a silence that would echo for a long time to come. This was the place, this was the time, this was the feeling that remains.

Conclusion

This evening was more than just a concert. It was an electric ritual that took the black scene in Hamburg into another dimension for hours. Empathy Test showed how to not just play emotions, but live them – every line, every note, every gesture was infused with truth. Those who were there didn’t just go home. They carried something with them that will not fade: the memory of a night in which melancholy became euphoria and the Markthalle became a heart beating to the beat of perfect synth-pop.

Text & Photos: Thomas Fuhrmann – written with a black heartbeat and blue neon tears

Setlist Empathy Test:
“Kirrilee” – “Last Night on Earth” – “Making Worlds” – “Fear of Disappearing” – “Monsters” – “Bare My Soul” – “Incubation Song” – “Empty Handed” – “A River Loves a Stone” – “Eggshell (Isaac Howlett Song)” – “Ghost of the Tsunami (Isaac Howlett Song)” – “Holding On” – “Vampire Town” – “House Of Cards (Isaac Howlett Song)” – “Doubts” – “Demons” – “Losing Touch” — “Holy River” – “Love Moves — “Throwing Stones” – “Here Is the Place”