Author: Sebastijan Videc
Photos: Sebastijan Videc
Location: Orpheum, Graz, Austria
Concert date: 02.04.2017
Attendance: 2,000
The tireless Swedish Vikings Amon Amarth recently set off on the second leg of the Jomsviking tour, the first part of which they played last fall. The closest stop to us was Graz, Austria, at the legendary Orpheum hall, which has hosted plenty of legendary shows over the past few decades. The main change from the first leg of the tour was two new support acts, who rounded out the evening nicely with plenty of melodic death metal.
First up were the Finnish sextet Omnium Gatherum. Sadly, between the roads clogged with weekend-trippers heading home, the lack of parking, and the fact that the sets started ten minutes ahead of the officially announced schedule, the two of us made it into the hall just as the last notes of their set were ringing out of the PA. The band has been around since 1996, but the Finns only really took off in the 2000s, when they started releasing albums and signed with labels like Nuclear Blast and others. They play progressive melodic death metal with a mix of clean and growled vocals, and their style was heavily shaped by the Gothenburg scene. Sadly, we’ll have to wait a while for their next show here or nearby.
The band that followed was the highlight of the night for me personally. Dark Tranquillity are part of the big three of the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene, and I first saw them live at the Orpheum back in 1999, when they opened for In Flames (alongside Arch Enemy and Children of Bodom) on the World Colonization Tour. Fast-forward 18 years – DT have released seven studio albums since then, the latest, ‘Atoma’, at the end of last year. And Atoma was the red thread of this set, with songs from the new album taking up half the setlist. The band, led by the charismatic Stanne, did an excellent job despite sound problems that plagued practically all 50 minutes of their set. Watching Stanne grin from ear to ear as he soaked up the crowd’s reaction, while behind him, in quite a contrast, the rest of the band played their rather melancholic brand of melodic death metal, was a lot of fun – but never mind, we all had a blast. Dark Tranquillity are known for bringing a guest guitarist along on tour, and this time there were two. With guitarist Niklas Sundin taking some dad »leave« for this tour, the band recruited Johan Reinholdz, who started his career as a young teenager in the first half of the ’90s and has played with plenty of bands, and he was joined by Christopher Amott, a founding member of Arch Enemy and Armaggedon and the brother of the more famous Michael Amott, who remains Arch Enemy’s lead guitarist. And speaking of famous brothers – since 2015, the low end has been handled by bassist Anders Iwers, brother of Peter Iwers, who recently left In Flames. You’d never have guessed the two guitarists were only temporary members, while Iwers, with his height and long gray hair and beard, dominated the front line of the stage alongside Stanne. A measly 50 minutes is absolutely not enough for a band of Dark Tranquility’s caliber. I just hope they’ll treat us to a headlining tour in the near future.
As mentioned, Amon Amarth kicked off the second leg of the Jomsviking tour, so what’s new to report compared to the Zagreb show (review HERE)? Very little, honestly. If Dark Tranquillity were wrestling with sound problems, there was no trace of them with the Vikings. A flawless stage setup, a flawless performance, no two ways about it. This time they also put the roadies to work, who popped up at the side of the stage in Viking gear with banners (Tattered Banners), axes (Guardians), bows (One Thousand Burning Arrows), and finally, during ‘Father of the Wolf’, none other than the god Loki himself paid us a visit. Hegg’s vocals thundered convincingly through the entire show this time. The packed, sold-out Orpheum didn’t let us breathe – literally. The ventilation in the hall turned out to be completely inadequate, and with every last corner filled, the temperature shot well past 30°C. As a result, a few people fainted, and security guards handed them off to medical care in the hall’s lobby. All’s well that ends well – we survived another Viking raid on our neighborhood, and next time we’ll fight them in July in Tolmin at the Metaldays festival. TIL VALHAL!!!
Setlist
Dark Tranquillity
1. Force of Hand
2. The Treason Wall
3. Atoma
4. The Science of Noise
5. Forward Momentum
6. Terminus
7. The Silence in Between
8. Clearing Skies
9. The Pitiless
10. Misery’s Crown
Amon Amarth
1. The Pursuit of Vikings
2. As Loke Falls
3. First Kill
4. The Way of the Vikings
5. At Dawn’s First Light
6. Cry of the Black Birds
7. Deceiver of the Gods
8. Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags
9. Destroyer of the Universe
10. Death in Fire
11. One Thousand Burning Arrows
12. Father of the Wolf
13. Runes to my Memory
14. War of the Gods
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15. Raise Your Horns
16. Guardians of Asgard
17. Twilight of the Thunder God
Photo Gallery
