Entering the club rather late I was surprised - and also disappointed - to see that only approx. 25 people came to see Ancient Rites. Talking to Gunther's father at the merchandise I learned that Mystic Circle had to pull out of the tour because of health reasons. Gurkhas who were also planned as a support act for this tour had to cancel their participation even before the tour was started. So a young Australian band named Abortus had the pleasure to go on tour with Ancient Rites.

I've never heard of Abortus before and, observing the reactions in the audience, they were unknown to most Metal heads in the venue. When they entered stage I was still intensily talking to a friend but as soon as they started playing they drew my attention to what was happening on stage. The sound was surprisingly good and the music sort of caught me off guard. This mixture of original Thrash Death Metal with interesting breaks, partly hyperfast drum passages and unique guitar soli was obviously played with joy. These guys love what they do even when there are only 25 people in the audience who didn't seem to dare to go to the front. I can't find another explanation for everybody staying in the back of the club! Apart from their own songs they offered a well performed cover version of Twisted Sister's "Under The Blade" as well as "TNT" by AC/DC which sounded a bit faster than the original and was announced as a piece of Australian Rock 'N' Roll history. Although this is not really my kind of music Gooch (guitar), Jack (vocals), George (bass) and Mike (drums) convinced me with their performance so I was delighted to do a little interview with them after their show.