Date - 6 April 2022
Place - Dublin Academy
It’s lashing rain, it’s cold and the sun is out; welcome to Dublin in April. So, we take shelter in the Academy to watch the first metal show at the ‘Academy’ since the pandemic started all those years ago.
Due to being caught up at our day jobs, we miss the opening act Brunhilde. However, there is a big enough queue at their merch stand to assume they went down very well.
Next on the bill is Nailed to Obscurity (7), the melodic death metal band from Germany. Opening with ‘Black Frost’, the title track from their 2019 album lures the crowd in with the slow drum lead intro. It’s a bold move for a band that most people in the venue haven’t heard of, to open with a near eight-minute track but, with a glance around the room, there are plenty of people slowly bopping their heads along. Technical issues Marr the penultimate song when one of the guitars fails to produce any sound. That however doesn’t stop the rest of the band from carrying on and delivering a set that is quite frankly deserving more people to witness.
The room noticeably fills in anticipation for Ensiferum (9). Having never witnessed the band live before it was with great interest to see what all the fuss was about for their live shows. The house lights dim and the intro tape for ‘Seafarer’s Dream’, from their 2020 album Thalassic starts rolling. There is the familiar feeling of people pushing past to get closer to the stage, spilling half my pint in the process. It’s great to be back at gigs.
The intro tape fades and on come the boys like greyhounds let out of the trap. They launch onto the stage in full battle attire kicking off with ‘Rum, Women, Victory’. The place erupts, people are singing, dancing and falling over. Ensiferum, from the very first note have the crowd in the palm of their hands. This band know how to put on a show, with limited stage production bar a video screen behind them, they need little else than the instruments on their back and their high energy levels to put on a great show.
Petri Lindroos leads the troops from the front of the stage but it’s the constant smiling of guitarist Markus Toivonen that most people are fixated on. Literally from the moment, he steps on stage until the last note drowns out he is smiling; during solos, even idle chat in between songs, this is a man who loves his job and it rubs off on the crowd.
Ten songs on the setlist include, ‘Into Battle’, ‘Andromeda’ and of course, ‘In my Sword I trust’ at which point the crowd goes mental. A small technical issue arises towards the end of the set with keyboardist Pekka wandering off stage for a few minutes but, this does nothing to impact the overall performance tonight. Catch these guys if you get the chance.
After seeing Ensiferum, with their explosive performance, it was a nervous wait to see if Dark Tranquillity (8) could match them. At this point, the crowd is a lot thinner compared to the people watching Ensiferum. They open with ‘Phantom Days’ from their 2020 album ‘Moment’ which has everyone in the crowd singing along; they then follow up with ‘Transient’. There was no need to worry if they could match the boys before them, they take the challenge in their stride.
Michael Stanne is smiling from the moment he steps on stage. He then explains that Chris Amott (lead guitarist) is not here as he is expecting the birth of his child. So, with a man down and a backing track of his parts, it remains to be seen if the songs will still have the same impact for the rest of the show. Of course, the band sound incredible. Rhythm guitarist Johan Reinholdz does a sterling job of covering Chris’ guitar parts.
With a sixteen song setlist, the band treat the crowd to a mix of songs from their back catalogue. The lads throw in classics such as ‘Final Resistance’ and ‘Treason Wall’ from Damage Done which hit the spot for the millennial fans. They also throw in ‘Focus Shift’, ‘Character’ and finish the set with ‘Misery’s Crown’ from 2007’s Fiction.
Blessed, blessed to have a band like Dark Tranquillity still going after all these years. Dark Tranquillity has never been to Dublin before, as referenced by Michael himself. Let’s hope this isn’t the first and last time they grace these shores.
Comments