I was frankly surprised by your reactions to the new album. I loved it on first listen, and that feeling hasn’t really changed after repeated listenings. I don’t care much for the ballad, but otherwise, the introduction of death and black metal elements seems to have reinvigorated their sound, even though the album becomes a little more thrashy in some parts. See the rest here
Happy Independence Day 2024! Hope it’s not the last one!
My favorite albums from the classic 1990s version of the band are: Land of the Free, Somewhere Out in Space, and Powerplant. However, you can experience many of the hits from these albums as well as the earlier Ralf Scheepers albums on the Blast from the Past collection, which is a re-recording of 1990s songs with Kai singing on all of them. See the rest here
Gamma Ray/Induction
EX Theater Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan
May 7, 2024
I returned to the same venue where I saw In Flames and Kreator in February to witness Induction and Gamma Ray on a Tuesday night after work in May. Gamma Ray hadn’t played Japan since the 2015 Loud Park festival and I hadn’t seen them since they played a solo club gig in June 2014, so there was quite a bit of pent-up demand in the local market, and it showed: the assigned stand seats were sold out and the floor was very packed (although I could not confirm if the entire gig sold out). See the rest here
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. See the rest here
Candlemass
Club Quattro, Tokyo, Japan
January 26, 2024
After having complained about the layout of this cramped and poorly-designed venue in past reviews, I have to admit it was a sight for sore eyes for me on this night after having been so long away from live music. With no opening act, Candelmass started its 90-minute show on time and moved smoothly through a set list that heavily favored the first two albums, broken up only by a couple songs from Ancient Dreams and one from their new album. See the rest here
Your choices sound great and I like the idea of sophomore shine. How about these possibilities?
Megadeth, Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?
Killswitch Engage, Alive or Just Breathing See the rest here
Cool. Just got a break from the endless childcare/online university education so I could watch it. Damn, we’re all getting old! Lars is starting to look like Harry Dean Stanton.
I really enjoyed catching up with you guys and watching that doc. Can we do it again sometime soon? How about a concert video? See the rest here
I think there are actually two amazing things here:
1) “[Y]ou somehow have managed to avoid the calcification of musical tastes that is a basic biological fact of age. How did you do that?” I agree, this is truly exceptional. In case you want to know what the near opposite of what you have been able to achieve is, here is a list of the ten albums I have most recently purchased:
What a bummer! You’re not wrong about Into the Mirror Black. I bought it a few years ago to prepare for Sanctuary’s Japan tour and was surprised by how much of it I remembered. Such a Carman album! See the rest here
I agree. Wow. Didn’t think they could still thrash like that. Also, isn’t it the perfect song for this crazy election year (and already the hottest year on record)? See the rest here
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