November saw the European leg of the Uniformity Tour taking place, with
DARK TRANQUILLITY on a much anticipated tour through 10 countries, with their Munich show being one of the last of the tour. When I first arrived at the venue, it was rather deserted. This was largely due to some confusion about the starting time, with printed presale tickets having the start of the show bookmarked for 8pm, whilst the starting time displayed online was an hour earlier.
Because of this, things were very quiet as the first band took to the stage. Starting off the night was THE LEHMANN PROJECT, an Italian Heavy Metal project led by Max Lehmann. With their debut album "Lehmanized" having been released earlier this year, much of the setlist revolved around this release. Rocking on stage with sunglasses on, their music was catchy and infectious, combining a chunky bass with groovy riffage, thundering drums, and a mesmerising voice; this undoubtedly earned them a number of new fans. Unfortunately the crowd was still very small at this point, with the majority of the audience arriving just after THE LEHMANN PROJECT's set, thereby missing this band.
Next up was ACYL, a Paris based band who label themselves as performing Ethnic Experimental Metal. With some of the band originally being from Algeria, their heavy sound was tempered by very traditional Middle Eastern melodies and instruments. Starting off with vocalist Amine strumming out a spell-binding melody on a gumbri (an Algerian mandolin), the rest of the band soon joined in with traditional karkabous that soon melded into a heavy guitar-driven Metal melody. This very unique performance was absolutely captivating, with the entire audience soon being completely enthralled, especially with the rhythmic percussion provided by the bendirs and derboukas. With just one full-length album, "Algebra", to date the majority of the setlist stemmed from this opus. This band was definitely very well received, and it was a fascinating experience to see such an exceptional band live.
Taking the penultimate spot was AMORAL, a Finnish Power Metal tinged band that has undergone a vast shift in sound since their inception 18 years ago. AMORAL had the unfortunate spot between a highly riveting band like ACYL, and the headliners of the night, DARK TRANQUILLITY, whom everyone was eagerly anticipating. Mainly because of this, AMORAL lost some of the audience's enthusiasm in the beginning, but did manage to rekindle some of this over the course of their performance. With the release of their sixth full-length album "Fallen Leaves and Dead Sparrows" earlier this year, this was their opportunity to showcase their new album, and the majority of the setlist was taken from this release. Their music was fast-paced and catchy, with a swirl of technical riffs countered by clean vocals cascading from the stage, earning them a smattering of calls for an encore at the end of their set.
Set list:1. No Familiar Faces
2. Prolong a Stay
3. Beneath
4. If Not Here, Where?
5. On the Other Side, Part I
6. On the Other Side, Part II
7. Wound Creations Medley
8. Leave You Dead Behind
And finally it was the moment everyone had been waiting for: DARK TRANQUILLITY, Swedish masters of Melodic Death Metal. With an overhead projector displaying a count-down to the start of the show, anticipation palpably increased as the numbers inched closer and closer to 0.00. With an ever-changing backdrop of patterns and flowers and music videos being projected behind the band, and a fantastic light display taking place on the stage, the visual elements of the show were really good, and added a whole different dimension to DARK TRANQUILLITY's performance. The key words of songs beamed onto the back of the stage also really drove home the music, ensuring that the whole show, and "Therein" in particular, was etched into my mind and ear for days to come. Despite the fact that keyboardist Martin looked as if he was suffering from a bad cold, with a jar of cough drops balanced on the edge of his keyboard, each of the band members put on an excellent show, with Martin even managing to head bang between sneezes. This just added fuel to the blazing atmosphere, and the crowd responded in kind, giving all they had, fiercely chanting along. By the third song, the atmosphere was electric, and by the end of the night, vocalist Mikael could only shake his head in wonder as the crowd ravenously devoured every song. Based on the overall energy and waves of ecstatic joy that rolled off the crowd throughout the performance, this was probably the best concert I have been to this year: absolutely phenomenal!
Set list:1. The Science of Noise
2. Damage Done
3. The Silence in Between
4. The Lesser Faith
5. The Wonders at Your Feet
6. The Mundane and the Magic
7. The Treason Wall
8. Through Smudged Lenses
9. State of Trust
10. Therein
11. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)
12. Focus Shift
13. Uniformity
14. Final Resistance
15. Endtime Hearts
16. Misery's Crown
