Persefone and Alkera were in Ankara for the first time!

As someone who normally lives in Istanbul, here I am, writing about a concert I was really happy to catch during my one-week visit to Ankara. You might be thinking, “Why so excited? They played in Istanbul the night before, you could’ve just gone there.” Fair point. But experiencing a metal gig in Ankara—both as a performer and as an audience member—has always felt a little different. Maybe it’s the intimacy of the relatively smaller venues compared to Istanbul, or maybe it’s the sheer hunger of the crowd for these kinds of shows. Either way, my metal concert experiences in this city have always been solid.

I have to admit, Persefone wasn’t a band I actively followed. I had come across a few songs on various Spotify playlists, but that was about it. Normally, if I’m planning to go to a concert and I don’t know the band well, I at least listen to an album or two beforehand—or if they’re on tour, I check their recent setlists. This time, I did neither. I decided to make the whole concert a surprise for myself.

The night started with Alkera, a local progressive metal band. I had never seen them live before. Had things gone as planned, I would have caught them at the Symphony X concert on August 30, 2024, but fate (and my luck) brought them to me in Ankara with Persefone instead. From the first notes, it was clear—this was a band that knew exactly how to command the stage and their instruments. A perfect example of how tight and in control a prog metal band should be.

And then came Persefone. When they hit the stage, I’m pretty sure everyone in the crowd had the same question in mind: Where’s the bassist? Did he stay behind in Istanbul? Did he not come at all? Or, if you were like me and didn’t know much about the band, you might have even questioned whether they had a bassist in the first place. After the concert, I did some digging and—of course—they do have a bassist. He just didn’t join the tour. I also checked out a few live videos on YouTube and noticed that they’ve actually played other shows without a bassist as well. I would really love to know the reason behind that, because honestly, it bothered me quite a bit.

But was the concert enjoyable despite that? Absolutely. The band had plenty of warm and engaging interactions with the audience between songs, and Ankara definitely got its progressive death metal fix that night. The well-crafted setlist played a big part in that.

Sometimes, bands tweak their setlists slightly from city to city on tour, keeping things fresh and exciting for both the audience and the musicians. But from what I’ve learned, there was no difference between the Istanbul and Ankara setlists this time.

At the end of the night, having experienced such a technically brilliant band live, I can say I went to bed feeling pretty satisfied. One thing’s for sure—after this concert, Persefone is no longer just another band I randomly stumble upon in my playlists.

Click here for reading about the Istanbul gig.