TNT – 21.02.2025 – Bergen, Norway
- Posted on 23-02-2025
– VENUE: Grieghallen
– DATE: 21.02.2025
– ORGANIZER: Stageway
The legendary Norwegian hard rockers TNT embarked on their Out from Under the Black Cloud tour roughly a week ago, and last night we had the great pleasure of witnessing the majestic event at one of Bergen’s best-sounding venues, namely the renowned Grieghallen. With very few available seats left in the house and heaps of excitement and anticipation hovering in the air, the lights went down a few minutes past eight and the band walked on stage to great applause. The seven-piece ensemble looked and sounded fabulous, and as is usually the case whenever the talk revolves around Grieghallen, the acoustics were splendid and brought out all the right nuances and textures for us to enjoy.
Morten “Diesel” Dahl was unable to make last night’s show due to health-related issues, but Tarjei Strøm stepped in and played with much vigor and passion, and his muscular style of drumming provided a solid backbone to the otherwise potent and dynamic set of songs. Ronnie Le Tekrø’s characteristic way of weaving strong riffs and melodic solos together to great effect was a beautiful thing to behold, and the group (including the two talented backing singers) played superbly and sounded like a well-oiled machine that was right in the pocket at all times. Having said all of that, the man of the hour from the perspective of this scribe was undoubtedly Tony Harnell who sang his ass off and added heaps of soul and emotional flavor to the proceedings. With a sixteen-song set containing some of the band’s best and most beloved tunes, there was plenty of juicy stuff to keep the fans and listeners entertained and engaged throughout, but although “Angels Ride,” “Downhill Racer,” “Intuition,” “Forever Shine On,” and the inevitable “10000 Lovers (in One)” were excellent and delivered in style, the real highlight of the show was the as yet unreleased “Out From Under the Black Cloud” – a towering and hypnotic piece that recalled Zeppelin’s immortal “Kashmir” without sounding even remotely derivative. Fucking hell, that one gave me the chills and even now I am still humming its main riff, so look out for that one as it is easily a match for the outfit’s early classics (and I dare say even better than the majority of them).
Ninety minutes of quality rock music from one of Norway’s most cherished bands and on a Friday night in great company no less – a hard thing to beat, right? TNT proved that there is still a lot of mileage left in the tank and that they not only possess the ability to stage a powerful show but also that their creative juices are still flowing as the aforementioned “Out from Under the Black Cloud” quite prominently displayed. A wonderful and uplifting evening.