In Flames And Sepultura Live
Live at the Kentish Town Forum, London, 22/03/2006
By James Willcock
When I first saw this gig was happening, I decided to go along more because it was a gig with some big bands, rather than wanting to see it badly. I’ve never really gotten into In Flames (although at the same time I have never had any objections to their work) and as such don’t know a great amount of their back catalogue. As for Sepultura, I love everything up until Chaos A.D., am not so bothered about Roots (well it’s like Chaos A.D., just slower, and I always prefer metal fast) and have not been at all bothered with their post Roots/Max Cavalera efforts.
This changed, however, when I heard a few songs off of Dante XXI, Sepultura’s brand spanking new album (read the review here). Having heard this, my anticipation grew considerably because basically, Sepultura are good again. Andreas Kisser is using double palm mutes so it sounds thrashy again, and Derrick Green is steadily improving as a vocalist (and, although I think he’s a good vocalist, I still don’t believe he’s as good as Max Cavalera. There, I said it, and the comparison is always there to be drawn).
Anyway, bar the minor queuing trauma thanks to the security guards vague grunt leading me to believe the guest list queue was one and the same as the main line to get in (which was sizeable, and I got there as doors were scheduled to open). I soon got in and was in plenty of time before Sepultura opened the show (as it was a true double header, Sepultura and In Flames were the only bands playing, allowing both to play for longer). Although they were minus Igor Cavalera behind the drum kit, who has decided to spend time with his new born son instead of committing to the tour, former Soulfly drummer Ray Mayorga has stepped in to cover for the duration of the tour. Credit where credit’s due, he did a fine job as well.
Sepultura played for nearly an hour, and I was more than pleased with the balance of new and old material- Dark Wood Of Error and a couple of other tracks taken from the new album were played, along with older classics including Beneath The Remains, Arise, Dead Embryonic Cells, Refuse/Resist before finishing on the crowd favourite, Roots Bloody Roots. I don’t remember any songs from Against, Nation or Roorback, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t played. The band did all this perfectly, with an energy that belies the fact that the youngest member of the band is 35; with Derrick Green using is well seasoned bug eyed look to maximum effect, while Andreas Kisser and Paulo Jr. thrashed away like it was the good old days, all of which seem to go down very well with the crowd, myself included, with plenty of good moshing going on, especially as a significant portion of the crowd seemed to be there specifically to see Sepultura, and weren’t just taking them in as a support band. This was important as it is very telling of Sepultura’s success over the last 10 years since Roots , as well as recent trends, that they were chosen to play first, rather than In Flames.
After that came In Flames, also touring off of the release of their new album, Come Clarity. As they took the stage, their emergence was signalled by columns of flames and other pyrotechnics being set off, which continued throughout the set during key points in songs, amounting to the biggest indoor pyrotechnic show I think I’ve ever witnessed, barring Iron Maiden at Earl's Court. In Flames played an impressive length set, staying on stage for over an hour. Much of the material they played was more recent, with a heavy skew towards songs from the new album, although a couple were taken from further back in their career. Once again, the band was as energetic as the crowd, parading around on stage while Anders Friden screamed, growled and sung through his impressive vocal range. In Flames also get the award for funniest moment of the night, when mid-set Anders Friden announced that “Although we love the guys, there are just too many Trivium shirts here tonight”, before handing an In Flames T-shirt to a member of the crowd and telling him to put it on to cover up the Trivium top he was wearing. Although funny, I think this is quite telling of the nature of the fan base In Flames has built up recently in the wake of Metalcore, which they have clearly been a significant influence on.
In Flames finished with a shower of golden ticker tape falling from the ceiling (maybe just a little bit gay), leaving me to make my way home, impressed by the quality of the gig I had just seen. And although In Flames were good and all, this show was always going to be about Sepultura for me personally. Regardless of which of the bands you like, or maybe (somehow) you are not familiar with either of the bands, I can recommend this show as a worthwhile event.
8/10
Live at the Kentish Town Forum, London, 22/03/2006
By James Willcock
When I first saw this gig was happening, I decided to go along more because it was a gig with some big bands, rather than wanting to see it badly. I’ve never really gotten into In Flames (although at the same time I have never had any objections to their work) and as such don’t know a great amount of their back catalogue. As for Sepultura, I love everything up until Chaos A.D., am not so bothered about Roots (well it’s like Chaos A.D., just slower, and I always prefer metal fast) and have not been at all bothered with their post Roots/Max Cavalera efforts.
This changed, however, when I heard a few songs off of Dante XXI, Sepultura’s brand spanking new album (read the review here). Having heard this, my anticipation grew considerably because basically, Sepultura are good again. Andreas Kisser is using double palm mutes so it sounds thrashy again, and Derrick Green is steadily improving as a vocalist (and, although I think he’s a good vocalist, I still don’t believe he’s as good as Max Cavalera. There, I said it, and the comparison is always there to be drawn).
Anyway, bar the minor queuing trauma thanks to the security guards vague grunt leading me to believe the guest list queue was one and the same as the main line to get in (which was sizeable, and I got there as doors were scheduled to open). I soon got in and was in plenty of time before Sepultura opened the show (as it was a true double header, Sepultura and In Flames were the only bands playing, allowing both to play for longer). Although they were minus Igor Cavalera behind the drum kit, who has decided to spend time with his new born son instead of committing to the tour, former Soulfly drummer Ray Mayorga has stepped in to cover for the duration of the tour. Credit where credit’s due, he did a fine job as well.
Sepultura played for nearly an hour, and I was more than pleased with the balance of new and old material- Dark Wood Of Error and a couple of other tracks taken from the new album were played, along with older classics including Beneath The Remains, Arise, Dead Embryonic Cells, Refuse/Resist before finishing on the crowd favourite, Roots Bloody Roots. I don’t remember any songs from Against, Nation or Roorback, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t played. The band did all this perfectly, with an energy that belies the fact that the youngest member of the band is 35; with Derrick Green using is well seasoned bug eyed look to maximum effect, while Andreas Kisser and Paulo Jr. thrashed away like it was the good old days, all of which seem to go down very well with the crowd, myself included, with plenty of good moshing going on, especially as a significant portion of the crowd seemed to be there specifically to see Sepultura, and weren’t just taking them in as a support band. This was important as it is very telling of Sepultura’s success over the last 10 years since Roots , as well as recent trends, that they were chosen to play first, rather than In Flames.
After that came In Flames, also touring off of the release of their new album, Come Clarity. As they took the stage, their emergence was signalled by columns of flames and other pyrotechnics being set off, which continued throughout the set during key points in songs, amounting to the biggest indoor pyrotechnic show I think I’ve ever witnessed, barring Iron Maiden at Earl's Court. In Flames played an impressive length set, staying on stage for over an hour. Much of the material they played was more recent, with a heavy skew towards songs from the new album, although a couple were taken from further back in their career. Once again, the band was as energetic as the crowd, parading around on stage while Anders Friden screamed, growled and sung through his impressive vocal range. In Flames also get the award for funniest moment of the night, when mid-set Anders Friden announced that “Although we love the guys, there are just too many Trivium shirts here tonight”, before handing an In Flames T-shirt to a member of the crowd and telling him to put it on to cover up the Trivium top he was wearing. Although funny, I think this is quite telling of the nature of the fan base In Flames has built up recently in the wake of Metalcore, which they have clearly been a significant influence on.
In Flames finished with a shower of golden ticker tape falling from the ceiling (maybe just a little bit gay), leaving me to make my way home, impressed by the quality of the gig I had just seen. And although In Flames were good and all, this show was always going to be about Sepultura for me personally. Regardless of which of the bands you like, or maybe (somehow) you are not familiar with either of the bands, I can recommend this show as a worthwhile event.
8/10
