Estimated reading time: 11 minute(s)
Kreator/In Flames
Klash of the Titans
EX Theater Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
February 1, 2024
The Klash of the Titans is a co-headlining package featuring Kreator and alternating partners that began in 2023. The Japan edition features In Flames as the opening co-headliner, and they did not disappoint. I honestly got the same impression from their live performance that I did from their latest album Foregone: This is a revitalized band that, despite having experienced so many line-up changes, still has something worthwhile to say. I was shocked by their energy, varied set list, and crowd reaction (circle pit, anyone?). I also don’t remember Björn soloing so much in the past. Perhaps this new-found energy has something to do with the fact that three-fifths of the band is now made up of younger(ish) Americans: Tanner Wayne on drums, Chris Broderick (ex-Megadeth) and Liam Wilson (ex-The Dillinger Escape Pan) on bass. The new songs sounded great, but it was the walk down memory lane that began midway through the set with “Behind Space” from their first album that really cemented this gig in my memory. This was the best In Flames show I have seen since the 1990s. True return to form!
In Flames Set List
- Intro Instrumental: The Beginning of All Things That Will End (Foregone)
- Foregone Pt. 1 (Foregone)
- Pinball Map (Clayman)
- Deliver Us (Sounds of a Playground Fading)
- Everything’s Gone (Siren Charms)
- Paralyzed (Siren Charms)
- All for Me (Sounds of a Playground Fading)
- Behind Space (Lunar Strain)
- Graveland (The Jester Race)
- The Hive (Whoracle)
- Cloud Connected (Reroute to Remain)
- Delight and Angers (A Sense of Purpose)
- The Quiet Place (Soundtrack to Your Escape)
- State of Slow Decay (Foregone)
- The Mirror’s Truth (A Sense of Purpose)
- I Am Above (I, the Mask)
- Encore:
- Take This Life (Come Clarity)
Band: Björn Gelotte, guitar; Anders Fridén, vocals; Tanner Wayne, drums; Chris Broderick, guitar; Liam Wilson, bass
The Kreator has returned! What can I write about this band that I haven’t already? They are excellent at what they do, and, unlike almost all other bands, the last twenty years of their nearly forty-year career have actually been better than the first twenty. I was singing along to every song while trying (ultimately unsuccessfully) not to get pummeled by the vicious circle pits that erupted constantly. Funny story: Before Kreator took the stage, an announcement in Japanese sternly declared that moshing, stage-diving and crowd-surfing were banned by the venue, but during the very first banter break, Mille called for a “wall of death” (!) and later some “old-school crowd-surfing” as well as endless circle pits, all of which he got!
Although Kreator have always been a great live act, the recent addition of Frédéric (ex-Dragonforce) adds some youth and head-banging energy. One criticism of the show could be that it relied too heavily on what might be called a “title track” set list, as, depending on how you classify “Flag of Hate” (which was both an album track and the title track of an EP), either seven or eight of the thirteen songs played were title tracks. In that respect, it reminded me of AC/DC set lists, but, as these tracks are all bangers, who cares?Finally, as the cherry-on-top for the evening, after the encore, I caught a drum stick from the still mighty Ventor! Should I ever wash my hand again?
Kreator Set List
- Intro Instrumetal; Sergio Corbucci Is Dead (Hate Über Alles)
- Hate Über Alles (Hate Über Alles)
- People of the Lie (Coma of Souls)
- Coma of Souls (Intro only) (Coma of Souls)
- Enemy of God (Enemy of God)
- Betrayer (Extreme Aggression)
- Satan Is Real (Gods of Violence)
- Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite) (Hordes of Chaos)
- 666 – World Divided (single)
- Intro: Mars Mantra/Phantom Antichrist (Phantom Antichrist)
- Strongest of the Strong (Hate Über Alles)
- Flag of Hate (Endless Pain)
- Intro: The Patriarch/Violent Revolution (Violent Revolution)
- Pleasure to Kill (Pleasure to Kill)
- Outro: Apocalypticon (Gods of Violence)
Band: Miland “Mille” Petrozza, guitar; Jürgen “Ventor” Reil, drums; Sami Yli-Sirniö, guitar; Frédéric Leclercq, bass
