dt_2005_12

» Dark Tranquillity 2005 12 29

Reviewed by Thomas
----------------------------------------
Tourname: Chaos Before New Year
Headliner: Dark Tranquillity
Special guest: Burst, RAM, All Ends
City: Gothenburg, Sweden
Venue: Trädgårn
Date: 29 Dec 2005
Dark Tranquillity set-length: 75 min
Burst set-length: 30 min
RAM set-length: 30 min
All Ends set-length: 25 min

*******************************************************

All Ends

All Ends gave the evening a nice start with their catchy tunes. The songs are written by the In Flames guitarists Strömblad and Gelotte and even if there are some small similarities to find in the music this has a much lighter and more commercial tone. It is more hit oriented so to speak and can roughly be described as a crossover between In Flames and Evanescence.

All Ends' two female vocalists Tinna Karlsdotter and Emma Gelotte give the music a nice and refreshing touch and have the vocal capacity to fill the music. Their voices complete each other very well but they need to gain some more experience on stage. But when they seem to lack of confidence the guys backing them up, including Michael Håkansson from Evergrey on bass, are taking care of that department. A solid performance from a band that have the future in head of them and I would be surprised if they are not widely heard about when they put an album out.

(sorry, no setlist)

5 chalices of 10

*******************************************************

RAM

"Pounding the world like a battering ram…" I don’t know why that text line from Rapid Fire by Judas Priest always pops up in my head when I hear Ram. Maybe it is because their name, or their logo, but more likely it is because Ram has the sound of Judas Priest of that time. Traditional eighties metal with a fresh touch and Mercyful Fate and Iron Maiden are some bands that ought to have been sources of inspiration for Ram as well as Priest.

It was a bit of ups and downs with the performance from these guys. It started nicely but when vocalist Oscar told us that we where about to hear the hardest song in the world they actually lost the small momentum they had built up. One or two of the songs worked great but the thirty minutes was a bit too much for Ram, even if the music was performed splendidly it tended to feel a bit uninspiring to watch.

(sorry, no setlist)

4 chalices of 10

*******************************************************

Burst

Pretentious hardcore that stretches widely in contrast and tempo, but after the first song I got fed up with their introverted music. Perhaps I was too quick to judge them but a vocalist that screams in typical hardcore manor while the other seems to be fully occupied with looking at how they are playing the stage presence is equal to zero, as my interest. Perhaps it was unprofessional and prejudice of me to not give the band a chance so I will not give them any chalices as I left to early to go give a fair judgment.

(sorry, no setlist)

- chalices of 10

*******************************************************

Dark Tranquillity

To open a concert with a song like The Treason Wall is to make me happy as a child in a toy store. I had great expectations on Dark Tranquillity this evening and even if they didn’t perform any of their best concerts I was still amazed. When Dark Tranquillity kicked into action after the other bands, it was ridiculously obvious that these guys play in a much higher division, not only compared with the other bands this evening but in general.

The guys was playing great as always with a high intensity, and that the concert was slowed down several minutes in the middle due to some technical difficulties didn’t seem to bother anyone at all. I had expected the crowd to have been bigger but nevertheless the band got a great response, and why shouldn’t they with the great songs they have in their back catalogue to choose from? Most songs came from the their two latest releases and the oldest one for the evening was Punish My Heaven from The Gallery (1995), and that one is always brilliant live.

I had hoped for a longer and more varied set of songs but I can’t complain on what they served. Dark Tranquillity act with confidence and have a relaxed and professional attitude on stage even if the music is going on full throttle. It took a couple of songs before Mikael Stanne’s voice came to its full right but then it sounded just fine, and even if he is screaming out the words he spreads a good feeling around him.

To end the concert year 2005 with Dark Tranquillity felt just right. They are one of the best Swedish live bands around and to end the year with them at their home (and mine) feels like somewhat to come full circle. 2005 has been a great year of concerts and by the start of 2006 it does look promising, as about two weeks from now we start this year with Gamma Ray.

7 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)