What better way to close out the 2019 year than to have metal legends In Flames tear up the Tower Theatre with special guests Red and Arrival of Autumn.
The lights went out, some ominous ambiance(say that five times fast) blared over the PA system and Arrival of Autumn broke onto the stage with some full-on powerful metal. Vocalist Jamison Friesen certainly brings the thunder with the vocals and his stage presence while the guitar tempos flowed effortlessly and smoothly, and the rhythm section provided that extra slab of meat on the ol’ kabob. It’s plain to see why Arrival of Autumn is signed to Nuclear Blast Records, they bring the radioactive material to lay us all to waste. Very impressed with this band.
After Arrival of Autumn’s set, I was curious to see how Red was going to fit in on the bill. Out of the three bands on the bill tonight, Red were definitely the most melodic out of the three, which provided for a nice break from the screaming and thrash elements that Arrival of Autumn possessed. I’ve been a Red fan for years so it was a treat seeing them tonight, although they only performed for about 45 minutes. Michael Barnes sounds as good as ever, especially with material off of “The Evening Hate”, and the Armstrongs provided the punch on the guitars and bass, and it was nice to see Dan Johnson return behind the kit. Red held their own and definitely warmed up the crowd for In Flames.
Honestly, I’m going to sound like a total novice, but before tonight, I’ve never heard of In Flames. That said, I kept saying “holy shit” at their live set! They built the anticipation where I knew I was in for something great and they kicked into “Cloud Connected”. The vocalist was incredible and the band has such tight musicianship. They had a sense of humor about them and they said “if you were kidnap and forced into this situation, we are In Flames”, the crowd laughed and the vocalist definitely engaged the audience into “Take This Life”. The musicianship went at breakneck speed and it was so incredible hearing them transition so effortlessly in between tempo changes. A major highlight of the night was that they invited Jamison of Arrival of Autumn on stage to sing “Call My Name”. I’m definitely going to get into In Flames more, I’m late to the party on this band(way late), but at least I arrived to this party to one of the best bands I have ever seen live. In fact, they were so good that words don’t do justice, you have to just experience an In Flames show in person. Here is the setlist:
- Cloud Connected
- Only For The Weak
- Take This Life
- Where The Dead Ships Dwell
- Call My Name (with Jamison of Arrival of Autumn)
- Behind Space
- Graveland
- Monsters in the Ballroom
- All for Me
- (This Is Our) House
- The Hive
- Wallflower
- Burn
- Voices
- Colony
- The Truth
- I Am Above
- The End
In Flames will be on a brief tour of New Zealand and Australia coming up. Check out the dates below:
Sun. 3/15- Powerstation in Auckland, New Zealand
Wed. 3/18- HQ Complex in Adelaide, Australia
Mon. 3/23- Triffid in Newstead, Australia
For tickets and further information, click here.
Fans can find IN FLAMES at the following locations:
