childrenofbodom_2013_09

» Children Of Bodom 2013 09 25

Reviewed by Tobbe
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Special guests: Insomnium, Medeia
City: Stockholm, Sweden
Venue: Tyrol
Date: 25 September 2013
Set length: 84 minutes

Children Of Bodom

Stockholm, Sweden. First stop at the European leg of the Halo Of Blood tour. The Finnish melodic death metal outfit has played this city on many occasions before and even recorded its effort Stockholm Knockout Live there naturally and has always had a solid fanbase that showed up for the band's gigs. However, when the lights went down at a quarter past nine on this Wednesday night at the indoor venue at the amusement park Gröna Lund, just over 500 fans were present and I definitely see a pattern, heading towards smaller crowds.

With this tour leg's first show, I absolutely expected the guys to be armed to the teeth and full of energy. Initially my expectations were met, but after around thirty minutes, the band suddenly stopped to move more or less and somewhat turned into statues cemented to the floor. I don't know if they ran out of fuel or what, because there was an evident change in activity on stage and a few of them looked uninspired almost all the way, until things were back to normal again with the encore and very last song In Your Face.

The band was pretty well rehearsed and consistent nonetheless and most songs were played to completeness. We witnessed a varied set with three more mellow songs placed strategically in the set to slow things down occasionally and keep up interest when returning to speed and heaviness again. All eight studio efforts were represented as well and it was a set filled with COB classics topped by four songs off the latest release.

Still, I have never seen this band in such an awkward situation. What can't be neglected is the lack of massive, potent energy throughout a huge part of the set, making me miss what's most important during a show of heavier music. I've seen this band live thirteen times through the years and the Bodom boys commonly know how to please a crowd and perhaps this midweek show was a one-off incident that will sort itself out as the tour continues. A somewhat decent performance, yet from professionals like this, we are definitely entitled to demand more.

Performance: 4 chalices of 10
Stage sound: 7 chalices of 10
Best: Needled 24/7 and Halo Of Blood
Worst: Are You Dead Yet? and Blooddrunk

Setlist:
Intro
Transference
Needled 24/7
Living Dead Beat
Halo Of Blood
Scream For Silence
Bodom After Midnight
Lake Bodom
Hate Crew Deathroll
Shovel Knockout
Dead Man's Hand On You
Are You Dead Yet?
Blooddrunk
Angels Don't Kill
Towards Dead End
Hate Me!
Downfall
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In Your Face