Nevermore/Opeth/Angel Dust
May 18, The Key Club, Hollywood, CA
By Rodrigo
The most anticipated tour of the season finally had made its way towards Los Angeles on a Friday evening. This was without a doubt one of the best bills that has been put together and it also marked the opportunity to see both Opeth and Angel Dust live for the first time. The venue was the Key Club and this show marked the third time I was there. To me it is one of the best clubs in Hollywood. I had the opportunity to see Nevermore here when they came with In Flames last December. Their performance was short but Warrel had promised they would come back and ever since then I couldnt wait until that was going to come true. That day had finally arrived.
God Forbid was scheduled to play that night as well but they werent able to. Apparently, they didnt get to the club on time or something along those lines. So Angel Dust started playing shortly after the club allowed the crowd in. They played for about half an hour and it was great to finally see them play. There were not a lot of people around the stage when they were playing which is a shame because they are such a great band but the ones who were there (including me) were singing along to all the tunes they played. A couple of songs that they played from their new album Enlighten the Darkness were "Let me Live" and "Cross of Hatred" and they were simply amazing. Dirk was in top form singing during their set and new guitarist Ritchie Wilkinson did an excellent job. They also played one of the two songs I was hoping they would play from Bleed. As soon as the piano melody began I went crazy with excitement because I knew they were going to play "Bleed" and being able to see that song played live was simply awesome. I do wish they would have played "Addicted to Serenity" from Bleed but I cant complain too much because they played superbly.
Up next were the mighty Opeth and the entire club was quickly filling up. I quickly got myself a good spot and waited impatiently for Opeth to start playing. After what seemed the longest possible time, which it really wasnt I just couldnt wait to see them play, they finally got on stage. They started out with my favorite song from Blackwater Park "The Drapery Falls" and from that moment on I was just mesmerized by Opeth. While they toured here in the United States, there were a lot of people who complained that Opeth lacked stage presence. I have no clue why some people would say this (maybe because they dont move around, jump, or spit fire at us) but frankly I didnt look at away once because I was simply in awe in being able to see them play. The entire band played excellently. The two Martins and Peter really impressed me with their skills and it really shows that this is not just Mikael and company. They played at least one song from each of their albums. "White Cluster" from Still Life, "Forest of October" from Orchid, "Advent" from Morningrise and "Demon of the Fall" from My Arms, Your Hearse. They played all the songs just as I remembered them from the albums and they simply did not miss a beat. After they had finished, no one moved from their places hoping for Opeth to keep playing, which they did with "Credence". One of the funniest things I saw was that a mini mosh pit developed while they played and frankly I cant understand who would mosh to Opeths music. Simply put Opeth played one of the best shows I have seen and Nevermore was next and I could only imagine that this night would only get better.
The stage was set up for Nevermore and they were a couple of painting to each side of the cover of their latest masterpiece Dead Heart in a Dead World. They soon came on stage and simply blew the roof of the Key Club. The sheer energy and power that Nevermore use for their performance was amazing and the crowd fed of those emotions. The set consisted of mostly songs from the new album and I was very happy about that. Highlights included "Narcosynthesis", "The River Dragon Has Come", "Inside Four Walls", "Engines of Hate" and the title track. They also played some of the slower songs from Dead Heart in a Dead World to mix it up a bit and also probably so everyone could get a rest as well. These songs were "The Heart Collector", "Believe in Nothing" and "Evolution 169". At one point while they were playing bassist Jim Sheppard had to take off because apparently he vomited. Afterwards, Warrel explained to us that they had eaten a very bad brunch after their last show and they were all feeling pretty sick. But Jim kept on playing like a true professional. They did play one song from Dreaming Neon Black and it was the tune I hoped they would play "Beyond Within". I truly remember everyone just going nuts over that song. The Politics of Ecstasy was also represented with the excellent songs "Next in Line" and "The Seven Tongues of God". When it came time to play the final song of the night, we were into the encore by now, I knew exactly what song they were going to play, "The Sound of Silence". This is the cover of a Paul Simon song and to me it is the heaviest song from Dead Heart in a Dead World. Right before they started playing it, Warrel told the crowd to join him on stage, as soon as he did that some security guy told him something but it was too late because a bunch of people started jumping to the stage while they were playing the song. It was the perfect ending to an amazing night of metal.
But actually it wasnt really the end of the night because it was just beginning and I got word that all the bands were going to chill at the Rainbow and me any my friends went to hang out. It was really a surreal moment being there and having the opportunity to talk with all the bands in a more party setting. I met Ritchie from Angel Dust and he told us we were crazy for drinking tequila. I was able to get the scoop from Byron of God Forbid to what happened and all of Nevermore signed one of my booklets. At one point Jeff Loomis sat down at the table we were and hung out with us for some time. It was simply so much fun. Eventually we took off late in the night (or morning) but the memories remain of one of the best nights of metal that I can recall.
May 18, The Key Club, Hollywood, CA
By Rodrigo
The most anticipated tour of the season finally had made its way towards Los Angeles on a Friday evening. This was without a doubt one of the best bills that has been put together and it also marked the opportunity to see both Opeth and Angel Dust live for the first time. The venue was the Key Club and this show marked the third time I was there. To me it is one of the best clubs in Hollywood. I had the opportunity to see Nevermore here when they came with In Flames last December. Their performance was short but Warrel had promised they would come back and ever since then I couldnt wait until that was going to come true. That day had finally arrived.
God Forbid was scheduled to play that night as well but they werent able to. Apparently, they didnt get to the club on time or something along those lines. So Angel Dust started playing shortly after the club allowed the crowd in. They played for about half an hour and it was great to finally see them play. There were not a lot of people around the stage when they were playing which is a shame because they are such a great band but the ones who were there (including me) were singing along to all the tunes they played. A couple of songs that they played from their new album Enlighten the Darkness were "Let me Live" and "Cross of Hatred" and they were simply amazing. Dirk was in top form singing during their set and new guitarist Ritchie Wilkinson did an excellent job. They also played one of the two songs I was hoping they would play from Bleed. As soon as the piano melody began I went crazy with excitement because I knew they were going to play "Bleed" and being able to see that song played live was simply awesome. I do wish they would have played "Addicted to Serenity" from Bleed but I cant complain too much because they played superbly.
Up next were the mighty Opeth and the entire club was quickly filling up. I quickly got myself a good spot and waited impatiently for Opeth to start playing. After what seemed the longest possible time, which it really wasnt I just couldnt wait to see them play, they finally got on stage. They started out with my favorite song from Blackwater Park "The Drapery Falls" and from that moment on I was just mesmerized by Opeth. While they toured here in the United States, there were a lot of people who complained that Opeth lacked stage presence. I have no clue why some people would say this (maybe because they dont move around, jump, or spit fire at us) but frankly I didnt look at away once because I was simply in awe in being able to see them play. The entire band played excellently. The two Martins and Peter really impressed me with their skills and it really shows that this is not just Mikael and company. They played at least one song from each of their albums. "White Cluster" from Still Life, "Forest of October" from Orchid, "Advent" from Morningrise and "Demon of the Fall" from My Arms, Your Hearse. They played all the songs just as I remembered them from the albums and they simply did not miss a beat. After they had finished, no one moved from their places hoping for Opeth to keep playing, which they did with "Credence". One of the funniest things I saw was that a mini mosh pit developed while they played and frankly I cant understand who would mosh to Opeths music. Simply put Opeth played one of the best shows I have seen and Nevermore was next and I could only imagine that this night would only get better.
The stage was set up for Nevermore and they were a couple of painting to each side of the cover of their latest masterpiece Dead Heart in a Dead World. They soon came on stage and simply blew the roof of the Key Club. The sheer energy and power that Nevermore use for their performance was amazing and the crowd fed of those emotions. The set consisted of mostly songs from the new album and I was very happy about that. Highlights included "Narcosynthesis", "The River Dragon Has Come", "Inside Four Walls", "Engines of Hate" and the title track. They also played some of the slower songs from Dead Heart in a Dead World to mix it up a bit and also probably so everyone could get a rest as well. These songs were "The Heart Collector", "Believe in Nothing" and "Evolution 169". At one point while they were playing bassist Jim Sheppard had to take off because apparently he vomited. Afterwards, Warrel explained to us that they had eaten a very bad brunch after their last show and they were all feeling pretty sick. But Jim kept on playing like a true professional. They did play one song from Dreaming Neon Black and it was the tune I hoped they would play "Beyond Within". I truly remember everyone just going nuts over that song. The Politics of Ecstasy was also represented with the excellent songs "Next in Line" and "The Seven Tongues of God". When it came time to play the final song of the night, we were into the encore by now, I knew exactly what song they were going to play, "The Sound of Silence". This is the cover of a Paul Simon song and to me it is the heaviest song from Dead Heart in a Dead World. Right before they started playing it, Warrel told the crowd to join him on stage, as soon as he did that some security guy told him something but it was too late because a bunch of people started jumping to the stage while they were playing the song. It was the perfect ending to an amazing night of metal.
But actually it wasnt really the end of the night because it was just beginning and I got word that all the bands were going to chill at the Rainbow and me any my friends went to hang out. It was really a surreal moment being there and having the opportunity to talk with all the bands in a more party setting. I met Ritchie from Angel Dust and he told us we were crazy for drinking tequila. I was able to get the scoop from Byron of God Forbid to what happened and all of Nevermore signed one of my booklets. At one point Jeff Loomis sat down at the table we were and hung out with us for some time. It was simply so much fun. Eventually we took off late in the night (or morning) but the memories remain of one of the best nights of metal that I can recall.
