That’s how it was with BLUTENGEL

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April 05, 2025, Hamburg, Grünspan
Support: Dunkelsucht

Gothic electro at the highest level
When shadows dance, synthesizers pound like heartbeats and a sound that is both soft as velvet and hard as steel – that’s pure Blutengel! The name alone has sounded like a promise for over two decades: sweet and dangerous, melancholic and majestically regal. With the new album “Dämonen:Sturm”, Chris Pohl and his dark companion Ulrike Goldmann now deliver the soundtrack for the dark night and a simultaneous call to all fans of the black scene: show your shadows, dance with your demons and let yourself be carried away by this storm. The tour of the same name takes you live on this dark odyssey. We were there live at Hamburg’s Grünspan!

Dunkelsucht – a Swiss flamethrower
Before the main performers took to the stage, Dunkelsucht set off like a thunderstorm of booming kicks and ice-cold synth lines. The Swiss duo know how to immediately captivate the audience: with atmospheric EBM beats and a voice that oscillates between longing and aggressive, their energy burned into every fiber of the venerable Grünspan. With their powerful sound – including three new songs “Pyramid”, “Verdingking” and “In Control” from the new album “Unabated”, but also old classics such as “Tanznacht”, “Trinity Style” and “This Is Fucking Mainstream” – it felt like you were digging with your feet while the synthesizers crunched like metal claws scratching the night. On this evening at Grünspan, Dunkelsucht proved that they are no stopgaps. They prepared the ground for Blutengel by getting the Grünspan up to operating temperature. And that was just the beginning of an unforgettable night.

Kings full of dark romance
As the last pulse of Dunkelsucht faded, a red curtain of fog fell over the stage and the first notes of the opener “Rememberence” from the new album and namesake of the tour “Dämonen:Sturm” rang out – and the storm awoke! The second song “The War Between Us” swept the dust from every corner of your soul with driving synths and crunching beats. Here, cool electronics met painful lyricism: Ulrike’s clear voice rose up like a bright ray of light, while Chris laid a dark foundation with his striking vocals.

With “She Wears Black” and “When Darkness Falls”, two more driving new songs from the current longplayer followed, before the first classics “Fliegen” and “Engelsblut” led the crowd into a collective ecstasy and made the darkness tremble. The new track “Reunited” then took the audience into softer realms: Ulrike painted delicate soundscapes with her voice and created an intimate atmosphere that enveloped the entire hall like a fluffy veil of mist. The tempo was then ramped up for “Black Roses”. Ulrike’s crystal-clear voice glided over Chris’ driving synths, while a red beam of light electrified the crowd, before two more classics, “Tief” and “Into the Void”, got the Grünspan sweating. But Blutengel wouldn’t be Blutengel if they didn’t immediately fire off another electronic firework. “Lucifer” thundered away like a jet, dazzling us with bright light and allowing us to experience the darkness anew. And of course, “Bloody Pleasures” was not to be missed. – The title hit the mark – a sea of raised arms and pulsating wrists.

Immediately afterwards, Blutengel ignited a three-pack that plunged the night even deeper: “Tausend Leben”, “Angst” and “Weitergehen” from the new album transformed the hall into a bubbling mix of thoughtfulness and communal ecstasy. This was followed by the powerful “Dein Gott” – a pompous spectacle of dance, shadows and longing – before the new and highly dance-inducing “My Creation” introduced another highlight of the evening: “Reich mir die Hand” rang out and a choir of hundreds of voices rose up in the Grünspan – goosebumps guaranteed. This marked the end of the official concert evening and Blutengel bid farewell into the darkness of the night.

The heated Hamburg audience took a completely different view. A thunderous reverberation, loud calls for more – and Blutengel didn’t have to be asked twice: For the encore, they put the pedal to the metal once again with the eternally timeless anthem “Seelenschmerz” – Ulrike’s crystal-clear voice floated like a gossamer thread over Chris’ driving synths and both offered a song with the lightness of a silk ribbon, while the beats hit the feet harder than a storm on the high seas. As a crowning finale, Chris and Ulrike catapulted us once again into the depths of their latest album “Damonen:Sturm”: “Wir”, “False Gods” and “The Right Path” unfolded a blazing spectacle of dark veils of sound and bittersweet longing. A storm that made hearts and senses freeze and glow at the same time. Blutengel then said goodbye a second time. – But the people of Hamburg had only just warmed up. A thunderous applause broke out, rippled through the Grünspan and demanded more – because who didn’t sense that something was still missing? Chris and Ulrike grinned, grabbed the microphone again and, with the ultimate Blutengel anthem“You Walk Away”, ignited a finale that swept over the Hamburg crowd like a storm: hands shot into the air, feet literally exploded with movement and voices united in a single, ecstatic battle cry. That was the moment when nights like this become legendary.

Conclusion: Illuminating the darkness again
Blutengel did it again: they whisked their audience away into a night in which dark romance reigned and electronic sounds sparkled like dazzling diamonds. They offered an interplay of velvet veils and steel souls that swept the people of Hamburg into a maelstrom of longing and passion. It was pure magic, paired with powerful electronics and emotionality. Those who were there took away more than just a concert – they carried a piece of eternity in their hearts.

Setlist Dunkelsucht:
“Die Sterne sehen” – “TSYBLF” – “Pyramid” – Verdingkind” – “Trinity Site” – “In Control” – “Wenn Liebe das Herz erwärmt” – “Dance Night” – “Inhuman” – “Let Your Darkness Out” – “This Is Fucking Mainstream”

Setlist Blutengel_
” Rememberence” – “The War Between Us” – ” She Wears Black” – “Fliegen” – “Engelsblut” – “Reunited” – “Black Roses” – “Tief” – “Into the Void” – “Lucifer” – “Bloody Pleasures” – “Tausend Leben” – “Fear” – “Move On” – “Dein Gott” – “My Creation” – “Reich Mir Die Hand” — Seelenschmerz” – “We” – “Fals Gods” – “The Right Path” — “Black” – “You Walk Away” – “Outro (After the Storm)”

Text & Photos: Thomas Friedel Fuhrmann