hey guys! i'm new here, but i've been readint the forums for about a year now. I just decided to join. Sorry this is a few days late but heres my review of the Show at the key club on the 16th, plus some pics! hope you enjoy!
Saturday April 16th, 2005 will go down as one of the best nights in my life. After 8 months of anticipation and excitement, the day had come. 3 of my favorite bands plus an up and coming band all on the same bill, just spelled out bliss. And just as I thought, it was the most amazing an intense show I have ever attended.
I arrived at the Key Club about 6 hours before the doors opened, and so happened to be the first one there oddly enough. Not too long afterward some people arrived. We shook hands and met and talked for quite a while. Nice guys, Joe, Will and the two others (forgot names, sorry). After a couple hours of talking metal and what not, Mikael Stanne and Anders Jivarp of Dark Tranquillity walk our way. So being the good fans we are, stopped them and talked for a little while. Got my stuff signed and pics as well. I must say, Mikael is THE MOST down to earth musician I have ever met in my life. he was all smiles and so appreciative and happy to talk to me, and even gave me a hug. He gave me some good news. He told me that the reponse for them was HUGE so far and the chances of a headlining Dark Tranquillity show in the near future is pretty big. So that was very enlightening.
Soon after that, Peter Tagtgren (Hypocrisy) and Andreas Holma were hanging outside, had a few words with them, pretty cool guys as well got more stuff signed, and went back in line. I've heard stories of Ola Flink of Soilwork and how much of a wierd and crazy guy he is, but really payed no attention to it, till now that i've met him. The guy is a really odd guy but so damn cool. He hung out with us for almost 2 hours just talking music, and ALOT of nonsense and rambling which just made me laugh. He was saying how deathly afraid of flying he is, and goes on to say how it would be intersting to see how a plane crash would be. Very odd but funny thing to say, but he's such a cool guy. I really felt at home talking to him like i've known the guy for a long time. We got him in trouble though by the club, since he was really late for the souncheck, so i feel bad for that. But that turned out fine. So after about 6 hours in line the doors finally opened.
On to the show........
First up was Mnemic. I have both their albums, mechanical spin phenomenon and the audio injected soul. They are gonna be a great band, really on the rise. It sucked that alot of people didn't really like them or didn't know who they were, but they really deserve some recognition. It was their first time in America, so it was even more special for them. For the 20 minutes they were on, they played very well with alot of energy and great stage presence. By the end of their set I think they made some new fans
Setlist:
1. Liquid
2. Door 2.12
3. Jack Vegas
4. Ghost
5. Deathbox
Next up was Hypocrisy. The second the lights went out and they went on stage, the place just exploded! Plenty of Hypocrisy fans (as well there should be) Peter Tagtgren is a Huge force on stage. I was right in front mesmerized by his performance. The man is full of passion, every lyric screamed with such feeling and emotion. They played for 45 minutes, and had the place fired up. This was my second time seeing them, the first time was in 03 when they opened for Dimmu Borgir at the house of blues. They had more time this time around and took advantage of that, just balls out death metal at its best!
Setlist:
1. Roswell 47
2. Pleasure of Molestation
3. Buried
4. Fire in the Sky
5. Inferior Devoties
6. The Abyss
7. Turn the Page
8. God is a Lie
9. Eraser
Now, the highlight of the fucking night! Dark Tranquillity!! I've been itching to see these guys live for 5 years and I missed them the last time they toured the states with Nile. So I just couldnt let this pass me up again. This was the best performance I have EVER witnessed, surpassing In Flames and Arch Enemy easily. The lights turned off and already I could feel the power consume me. The band came on and opened with the treason wall. When the vocals finally kicked in. Mikael came storming out from back stage and got in our faces with such extreme power and intensity. Mikael is THE best front man in music. There is no doubt in my mind. He is just all in your face (literally) interacting with the fans through the whole set, always smiling when given the chance. The crowd fed off his energy. I'd have to agree with Mikael when he said "This is the best place to be in the world right now" no objections to that. They played a 45 minute set which to me seemed like 5 minutes. They performed flawlessly just like the professionals they are. The highlight was definatly "Punish My Heaven" as well as "My Negation" I also thought it was cool that Mikael remembered me from earlier. As a whole, it was a PERFECT performance, and I just wished they were the headliners. This is alot for me to say since I am a huge Soilwork fan as well. But Dark Tranquillity just stole the show and left everyone with their jaws on the floor and aching for more. I can't say enough good things about them, true showmen! Thank you so much Dark Tranquillity, here's to a headlining gig in the near future! you deserve it!
Setlist:
1. The Treason Wall
2. Lost to Apathy
3. Through Smudged Lenses
4. The New Build
5. The Wonders at Your Feet
6. Punish My Heaven
7. Monochromatic Stains
8. My Negation
9. Final Resistance
Finally the headliners Soilwork hit the stage. I am a pretty damn big Soilwork fan, and been aching for them to headline for a few years now. And now finally they got their chance, and took adavantage of this opportunity. I saw them in 03 with In Flames, and they had such shitty sound, but still tore the place apart nonetheless. This time the sound was great! and Bjorn has greatly improved his clean vocals in live settings, they sounded perfect. They had a cool little light show during the intro, then they rushed out and Stabbing the Drama was the first track they played. I must say it's a great track to open a show with. The crowd intensity wasn't as good as it was for Dark Tranquillity (but I think thats impossible to pass up) but we were nuts for em. They played tracks from all their albums, such a diverse setlist. I think they know now that we want to hear it all and not just from the last 3 records. They had great stage presence as well, 2nd best of the night. Bjorn got us all fired up, and did a great job considering he had food poisoning from a couple nights before and still recovering. He was a trooper and didnt want to let the fans down. It looked like they were just having a great time and just enjoying what they do. I love to see that, some bands just go up and play quickly so they can just get off. But Soilwork just looked like they were having a great time, which rubbed off on us as well. Dirk from Scarve is their new drummer and I hope he stays because is a monster on the drums. He really is worthy of replacing the great Henry Ranta. Hopefully they decide on him as a permanent member. They closed out with "Follow The Hollow" and ended the night as it began, full of raw power and intensity. Thank you very much Soilwork!!
Setlist:
1. Stabbing the Drama
2. Bastard Chain
3. Flameout
4. One With the Flies
5. The Chainheart Machine
6. Overload
7. Needlefeast
8. The Bringer
9. Nerve
10. Figure Number Five
11. Room Number 99
12. Rejection Role
13. Blind Eye Halo
Encore:
14. As We Speak
15. Follow the Hollow
And thus concludes an Amazing night of music and fun times. I don't know if there can be anything that can top this, I sure hope so though, cause the bar is set very high!
They look so happy. Not many Deathmetal bands would put pictures of themselves posing at disneyland on their front page 
