KARLA TALLAS - REPORTS WITH GOTTHARD IN JAPAN | Page 21

who had the complete collection from the
beginning of his career till today. As one of them
told me: “the music is only good or bad. Michael has
always been making good music in my opinion.”
You could really feel how everybody was enjoying
the fact they just have a chance to see him again
and enjoy his presence. Michael also has his own
way of talking to the audience, with an absolutely
detached view, using his special method of cold
humor and making jokes even about himself. For
the intro UNISONIC choose “Ride of The Valkyries,”
the term for the beginning of Act III of “Die
Walkure,” the second of four operas by the German
composer Richard Wagner. There are no changes
in the setlist which is the same for all 5 shows.
UNISONIC’s main intention is to present their self-
titled debut album “Unisonic” and to satisfy the fans
with a couple of old HELLOWEEN tracks. The setlist
contains all the songs from the album “Unisonic”
with the exception of the European bonus track
“Over The Rainbow” and the Japanese bonus track
“The Morning After.” The show opens with the
2 fast, catchy songs “Unisonic” and “Never Too
Late,” followed by another 2 with a mid-level tempo
called “Renegade” and “King For A Day,” which
is in my opinion one of the highlights on the album.
The show continues with the more personal “I’ve
Tried,” written by Dennis Ward. One more piece
from the debut album called “My Sanctuary.”
Approximately in the middle of the set, the time
has come for the first surprise in the form of the
old HELLOWEEN classic “March Of Time” with an
overwhelming reaction from the audience who
are carried away by the way the original singer
performs the hit after such a long time. Everybody’s
full of emotion, which means it’s the best time
to slow down and have a great moment for the
powerful ballad “No One Ever Sees Me,” which
is a very personal one for Michael Kiske and the only
one on the album he put down the lyrics for. The
Japanese fans are very immersed in the moments
while the band is performing such an emotional
song and properly appreciate the musicians with
a big round of applause before UNISONIC goes on
in the setlist with “Star Rider” and “Souls Alive,” the
first song they ever wrote together. To complete the
album, “We Rise” and “Never Change Me” are still
missing and have a place in the set before the band
leaves the stage for the first time. UNISONIC come
back after a short break and it’s clear they have
to give more of the old classics to the audience.
The last 2 songs, “Future World” and “I Want Out,”
are along with “March Of Time” from the “Keeper Of
The Seven Keys Pt. 1 and 2” from the HELLOWEEN
days. Even if the audience is very disciplined and
concentrating all the time, during the last 2 songs
they’re especially dancing, partying and singing.
The 80 minutes for UNISONIC are over. What else
to say? With the shows in Japan UNISONIC have
just confirmed the borders are open for them from
their very first album and they have a very strong
fan base here as well.
21