IN FLAMES, TRIVIUM, KYNG Show Reviewed

Out to see some Swedes tonight, woo! I've been wanting to see In Flames for a long while even though they've had a rather bifurcated fan base for about a decade now, after Reroute To Remain began pushing them out of MeloDeath and into what a lot of people consider "alt metal" (at least that's the term I've heard).

My friend and I showed up right around when Kyng was in the middle of their set. I hadn't listened to them much at all but the show was enjoyable so it was a nice way to warm up for the evening.

I took the time to look around at what sort of crowd was to be had. I didn't see as many easily identifiable people as I would have expected, not as many clear-cut metal heads or other scenesters as there were people who were crowd-nondescript. Of course, I'm not judging in any fashion, I just honestly would have expected a different ratio of types. I think that says good things about how In Flames draws a crowd; taking in all types.

Now after Kyng was Veil of Maya, who I cannot give the same accolades; I normally can't stand deathcore acts of any sort, including those with Tech-Death or other influence. Between starting off their set with a breakdown and some fairly needless synthesizer use I could my joy quickly being corroded by the noise. Nothing else of note occurred during their set as I occupied myself with my phone On to Trivium!

Say what you will, haters gonna hate and all that, but I've always been a Trivium fan. Kicking off with In Waves and playing all of their fan favorites, Trivium's ten song set enjoyable from start to finish. I think a good testament to how well a band performs is when the audience starts a decent circle pit without any coercing from the front man. The only major criticism I could gather (aside from having Built to Fall on the setlist, that wasn't something I'd have chosen) was that Paolo's clean vocals were off, like perhaps the key was a bit hard to do while running around on stage but it was still enough for me to notice.

After being in the pit for the majority of Trivium I decided to step to the back of the venue for a while. I overheard a group of people debating whether or not to stay for In Flames...my soul wept slightly. I suppose they aren't quite what they used to be, but I for one wouldn't want to pass up the chance to see some Gothenburg classics (especially after being in the venue already).

When In Flames took the stage I decided to remain where I was and see how things went. After Sounds of a Playground Fading I wasn't sure if their performance would be up to snuff, though I remained somewhat hopeful. The set started off with the first three songs from their new album (Title track, Deliver Us, All for Me); not what I consider great songs but the playing was lively and the technique spot