That was the case with MONO INC.

Automatic translation. Improvements are constantly being worked on.

October 18, 2025, Hamburg, Inselpark Arena

Support: Alienare, Soulbound

On October 18, the NoCut label family hosted a rendezvous at the Inselparkarena in Wilhelmsburg under the patronage of MONO INC. The event kicked off in an already packed hall (with room for around 4,000 people) with the North German synth-pop trio Alienare. With songs like “Glaub an dich” and “#Neon”, singer T. Green and his two comrades-in-arms – all three wearing eye-catching green ties – put everyone in a good mood. At times, however, the performance still seemed a little awkward and inexperienced. Let’s hope that Alienare can gain more agility and confidence on their upcoming “Mea Culpa” mini-tour in spring 2026.

The (self-declared) melodic industrial metal band Soulbound , on the other hand, were by no means lacking in confidence and persuasiveness. The Bielefeld quintet rocked like hell, and singer Johannes “Johnny” Stecker had the audience on his side in no time with his humorous announcements. With songs like the driving “Toxic” or the danceable “Paralyzed”, every fan of hard electric guitars and catchy melodies got their money’s worth. When the guys from Soulbound left the stage after the smash hit “Alive” (reminiscent of Pain), they certainly won over a few new fans thanks to their rousing live show.

Then the time had finally come and MONO INC. opened their entertaining set to loud applause with the gothic anthem “In My Darkness”, with the album “Darkness”, which was released in mid-August, taking center stage. Drummer Katha Mia was enthroned majestically above the rest of the band and the audience like the raven often quoted by the Hamburg band, two black wings spread out behind her. The rest of the band, including newcomer Ilja John Lappin on bass, stood around the large stage in good spirits and relaxed – even if at times it seemed like only yesterday that the band led by brothers Martin and Kalle Engler were playing “Temple of the Torn” at the Logo. With the haunting “Arabia”, the set approached its first climax, the crowd cheered and the band beamed. One MONO INC. hit followed the next and of course the dramatic “Voices of Doom” was not to be missed, with its rapturous chorus hardly a throat in the hall remained still. “Welcome to Hell” from the great album of the same name was followed by “Abendrot”, one of the singles from the current album, which singer Martin performed while still wearing his uniform jacket, which he swapped for the opulent coat from the “Viva Hades” era shortly afterwards.

After the extremely danceable “Revenge” – during which Martin appeared in a priest’s robe including a black hat – a white piano was brought on stage and the band sang the enchanting “Kein Weg zu weit” and then the touching “Dein Anker” to audible cheers. In the following drum solo, Katha Mia whisked us away to the pirates of the Caribbean before the first bars of “Lieb mich” rang out. The audience were in each other’s arms and sang the chorus along at the top of their voices. During the second encore, the light-footed “Heartbeat of the Dead”, confetti suddenly trickled down onto the audience and large black balloons fell down, which were shot back and forth by the audience for the rest of the evening – one enthusiastic fan even grabbed one, which he laboriously transported home on the S-Bahn.

The final encore was of course the (in)official M’era Luna festival and gothic anthem “Children of the Dark”. MONO INC. and the audience gave their all one last time: at the end of the song, the audience repeated the chorus over and over again for several minutes, visibly moving the band. After a short speech of thanks, MONO INC. left the stage to thunderous applause. After this great concert, you could see satisfied faces everywhere and hardly any wishes were left unfulfilled. I would have had one wish, however, and that was to experience the beautiful ballad “Ravenheart” live. But that would probably have been too many ravens in the setlist. Let’s hope that the band will perform the song at the open airs planned for next year. In conclusion, MONO INC. probably touch so many people’s hearts with their music and concerts because they are honest and authentic. And even if it sounds pathetic: For me, they are a part of my personal history, a piece of home – a piece of Hamburg.

Text: Isabell Köster
Photos: Thomas Friedel Fuhrmann

Alienare setlist:
“Perception” – “Emerald” – “Believe in yourself” – “To Whom It May Concern” – “Lies, Lies, Lies” – “#Neon” – “Let This Moment Never End”

Soulbound setlist:
“Toxic” – “Insane” – “Paralyzed” – “Saint Sinner” – “Undone” – “March March” – “Lioness” – “Alive”

Setlist Mono Inc.:
“In My Darkness” – “Louder Than Hell” – “Ravenblack” – “Arabia” – “Lost in Pain” – “Voices of Doom” – “Welcome to Hell” – “Abendrot” – “Together Till the End” – “When the Raven Dies Tonight” – “Revenge” – “Kein Weg zu weit (Acoustic)” – “Dein Anker” – “Schlagzeug Solo” – “Lieb Mich” – “Tag X” – “Heartbeat of the Dead” – “Children of the Dark”