KLANG creates calm on stage for Fury In The Slaughterhouse

Legendary German rock band, Fury in the Slaughterhouse, has a long touring history dating back to the band’s inception in 1987. Renowned for its large arena tours, their productions have always involved gear heavy set ups including over 20 wedges for monitor sound. After a decade hiatus, the band has reunited and started touring again, continuing its tradition of big sound, but with the benefit of new technology from German in-ear monitor specialists, KLANG, and its immersive in-ear mixing technology.

“KLANG is the standout technology that has revolutionised the band’s new touring production. It was the means of finally converting the band to IEMs, and eliminating noise bleed on stage,” explains the Fury’s long-standing monitor engineer, Oli Rulfs. “I started working for the band in 1993 when I was commissioned to engineer their set at the Roskilde festival. Since then, I have managed the band’s monitors, and later, production management. In the beginning, the band only used wedges, which multiplied as their success grew and the stages got bigger. With over 20 wedges on stage, the lead singer always struggled with the stage noise and didn’t get the sound he wanted to feel comfortable. On the 1993 tour, we designed an in-ear system for him, involving Walkman headphones and custom moulds, which went some way to easing the situation. We went with this setup until 2002, at which point we decided to try in-ears for the whole band, adding sidefills to the setup to get some air movement on stage.”

Since re-forming, the band has released their first album in 13 years and embarked on a series of large-capacity, open-air concerts across Germany. Initially resurrecting the in-ears and wedges hybrid system, the team decided to switch entirely to in-ears for the latest tour, purchasing a KLANG:fabrik system through German distributor, United Brands.

“We decided to adopt the KLANG:fabrik system because of a recommendation by rockstar Henning Wehland, whose band had collaborated in a side project with two of Fury’s band members. The easy integration with the DiGiCo SD and Quantum series consoles meant we also switched to using an SD9 at FOH and SD8 for monitors. During rehearsals everything went really smoothly, and from the beginning the band was ‘on fire’ using the system. We debuted the new system in May 2020 at a concert in Hannover during an easing of Covid restrictions, and it’s been KLANG all the way ever since!” says Rulfs.

A rack-mount immersive  mixing engine, KLANG:fabrik connects via Madi to the band’s monitor console. The system can cater for up to 16 musicians, sending individual 3D monitoring mixes to radio transmitters or headphone amps via XLR, which can be controlled from the monitor desk, or via an app.

“The integration with the DiGiCo desk, and the instant response of the KLANG processor makes everything very fluent and intuitive. KLANG offers the space to place everything logically without overcomplicating the mix. For instance, we sometimes have four guitars playing at the same time, so it is very helpful to position the two main guitars in a focal point with the other two in the background behind the artists head. Everything fits nicely into the 32-channel capacity; the lead singer likes to have a mix that contains everything plus FX, and there’s room for me to create several submixes for drum parts and additional instruments. Every song has a snapshot that recalls all the settings and levels, and during rehearsals and soundcheck, every bandmember tweaks his mix on an iPad ready for the live show.”

Martin Kuehlechner, Fury’s FOH engineer, who also manages the band’s radio and TV appearances, as well as the musicians’ several side projects, is pleased with the new and improved system.

“At FoH there is significantly less noise from the stage, which also means all the microphones on the 48+ channel list aren’t catching side noise and are delivering clear signals for monitors and FoH,” Kuehlechner explains.

“The band is totally happy with the sound provided by the KLANG system. The big difference for them is that it offers a way more relaxed hearing situation. The mix isn’t simply improved via volume and L-R panning, instead, KLANG’s three-dimensional audio technology brings the mix into a natural sounding environment. They are amazed at how less tired and stressed their ears are after a show,” adds Rulfs.

Having successfully completed the 11-date tour with the new KLANG system, the band plans to tour again next summer with the same format.

“For next year’s tour, we are considering bringing in a DMI-KLANG to FoH for better placement of stereo tracks, keys or samplers in the mix with mic’ed instruments,” Kuehlechner concludes, referring to the higher input channel count of DMI-KLANG, “We also plan to work on a better reproduction of the audience in the mix by adding a 3D binaural head in front of the stage. KLANG has opened up a wealth of new possibilities for us, and we are amazed with the technology’s sonic quality and practicality.”

Fury in the Slaughterhouse

Fury in the Slaughterhouse