In Flames returned to their roots in Prague
The engagement of melody with death metal was offered on the eve of the national holiday by Prague’s Malá sportovni hala. The legendary In Flames from Sweden brought their teachers with them in the form of cult compatriots At The Gates and colleagues from Imminence and Orbit Culture, and it was a great metal party made in Sweden.
Live: On Fire
support: At The Gates, Imminence, Orbit Culture
place: Small sports hall, Prague
date: November 16, 2022
set list: Big Cheater, Pinball Map, Cloud Connected, Behind Space, Graveland, The Hive, Scorn, Only for the Weak, Leeches, Foregone Pt. 1, Wallflower, State of Slow Decay, Alias, The Mirror’s Truth, I Am Above, Take This Life
The photos in the article are only illustrative, we did not have photographers at the concert.
© Tom Jajo Rozkovec / musicserver.cz
The Swedish melodic death metal legend returned to Prague after several years (the previous, non-festival stop in the Czech Republic was in Brno for a change). The band has the hotly anticipated return-to-the-roots record “Foregone” ahead of its release, and Wednesday’s show was designed in the same vein, both with the setlist and the choice of opening acts. Genre-wise and geographically. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the opening Orbit Culture due to traffic complications, so the evening only started for me with the second support Imminence. Young Swedish blood, as once upon a time in the style of Sonic Syndicate for example, presented contemporary post hardcore in the spirit of such We Came As Romans. Alternating scream and clean vocals, breakdowns and the like. Nothing groundbreaking musically, but a pleasant half hour as part of the event. But what was completely unique was the inclusion of a violin (!). In some moments, the frontman screamed in combination while playing this unusual instrument for the genre. All this accompanied by hard riffs. You won’t just see this and at least you will definitely remember this thing from their performance. The role of co-headliner fell to the forefathers of the entire Gothenburg melodic death metal scene and the musical models of the main stars of the evening, At The Gates. In the mid-90s, they gradually cultivated their originally raw wooden death metal into that unique sound of guitar melodies and beats that are a trademark of the Swedish scene and were an admitted inspiration for the original overseas pioneers of metalcore, led by As I Lay Dying. The band musically pedaled like a well-oiled machine and the lovers of Sweden just grunted. But the impression was spoiled by the experienced singer Tomáš Lindberg, who apparently lost his voice after forty years of intense growling, and his performance was more like barking and declamations, known from older American hardcore groups. Which had a rather disturbing effect on the instrumental. Otherwise, it was an ideal appetizer and sympathetically given space for the teacher.
© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz
In Flames have been struggling with an identity crisis for the last ten years or so – apart from the gradual departure of almost all the original members (and their repeated reunion in the excellent project The Halo Effect), they were mired in excessive pop melodiousness and artistic emptiness. The melody certainly suits them, after all, their nu-metal-seasoned records from the first decade of the millennium are among their best, but the last few lines simply suffered from material fatigue. The band with mostly newcomers in the line-up (from the USA, including ex-Megadeth and Nevermore guitarist Chris Broderick) decided to throw back: all the singles released so far from the expected new releases are a cutting and energetic return to the 90s. The setlist, which referred a lot to the band’s first albums, also corresponded to this mood. In the time-adequate program, however, it did not get to the essential hits such as “My Sweet Shadow”, “Trigger” or “The Quiet Place”. Together with the traditionally unconvincing clean vocals of frontman Anders Fridén, this was the only highlight of the show. Everything was dominated by an absolutely great, friendly atmosphere, thanks to the very good-natured and communicative Fridén. In short, Swedish melodic death metal has numerous and long-standing fans in the Czech Republic, but at the same time, a new generation of fans from the metalcore kids line has also grown up. In the end, the great impression of the performance was completed by the not-so-great, dense sound. The small sports hall has a reputation as one of the acoustically worst spaces for hard music (and this was confirmed to a great extent by the opening bands), but as you can see, if the musicians and their soundcrew care, anything goes when it is wanted. Finally, it is necessary to mention one non-musical pleasure of the evening. With this type of concert, one expects to sell European beer it will fulfill only and only the role of continuous fluid replenisher. But on Wednesday, there was also a de facto mini-brewery festival in the hall, where you could choose from a whole range of honest specials. One unexpectedly got a musical and gastronomic experience in one, and for that, sincere thanks go to the organizers.