DTLondon has gone mad with shows this week. Just after Leeds was hit by Damnation the Rotting Christ tour followed down the M1 and also Paradise Lost were joined by Katatonia. Swallow The Sun, Windhand, Jex Thoth and even Skid Row have had gigs on. It’s not slowing down in the slightest either with Esoteric, Leprous, Soilwork, Lightbearer, Satyricon and Orphaned Land all lined up to play next week. Of course we would have loved to attend all of these but it is simply not possible, silly season is definitely in.

This was one that could not be missed though and it was no surprise to hear late afternoon that the show had sold out, as it did the last time DT visited. A big queue snaked round the venue but we were quickly inside for the first support band here. I personally think if at a show to review, it is rude to ignore opening / buy on bands but sometimes I have to wonder what they are hoping to achieve by being on a line-up. Sworn Amongst are one such example and looking at their name I had a pre-judged opinion of what they were going to be like. Wrong as that perhaps is, in this case it was spot on as the Hull band were a prime example of what I can only term meathead metal. It was an exercise in muscle flexing, chunky riff flailing, slam down dynamics and afraid to say I found it incredibly workmanlike and sterile. Thwacking drums, roaring vocals, chugging bass and the occasional solo burst through the deathly heavy set and I found all the songs merging into each other with little sense of definition.  The good news for them was even this early they were playing in a full house as people were already lining the stairs making my escape all the more difficult after the first 4 numbers or so. Nobody seemed to be particularly reacting off the band though so one has to wonder what everyone, including the band, had to gain from the whole experience.

Last time here we got Insomnium as main support and funnily enough they were here a few days before with the aforementioned Swallow The Sun. This tour it was the turn of Tristiana which was fine by everyone I guess especially after the recent new album ‘Darkest White’ had worked its spell over us. First question was trying to work out their very recognisable intro tape, sounding a lot like it was from an Italian horror film like Dark Waters. That aside it was time for the band to troop on literally filling up all the available space on the stage and firing into new number ‘Number’ (nope I didn’t stutter) the opening cut from that new album. Slightly later in front us but from then on capturing attention were vocalists Kjetil and Mariangela whose on stage chemistry really works well together as they trade parts.

It seems to be a very contentious subject but apparently the barrier at the front of the stage is now permanent and everyone is moaning about it. It does however help those amongst us with photo passes have a much easier task without shooting pictures of the backs of people’s heads. It also allows those at the front to spill beer all over us doh! Back to the show and it came apparent that everything instrumentally seemed turned up to the max, near to the point of distortion. It did make songs like Beyond The Veil seem a lot heavier but it also kind of flattened some of the more subtler elements of the band’s sound which was a bit of a shame. The beauty and beast vocals did however get through in the mix mainly due to the power behind them. Personally I love Mariangela’s voice and along with the bands jagged riffing and fiery solos it was difficult not to be swept off your feet and caught up in the flow. The band looked like they were loving every minute of it too. One of my favourite more recent numbers ‘Year Of The Rat’ was played which gave the ladies vocals real chance to shine although not exactly shimmer in this mix. Still when she left for a breather it gave the rest of the band a chance to get testosterone up and really thrash it out. It was an all too loud and short a set for my liking, although they played some blinding songs ‘Requiem’ which they fittingly closed with being a case in point.

Has anyone ever seen an unhappy Dark Tranquillity? Nope I haven’t despite catching them about 15 times from that excellent World Domination first UK date onwards and they have never been anything but incredibly enthusiastic and genuinely seeming to be happy at what they do. From the second they lay down their ‘Science Of Noise’ lit up by backing projector Mikael Stanne is straight to the front, shit eating grin on his face as he beams down at the audience gripping hands like they are all old friends. The band don’t let up and this enthusiasm doesn’t stop for a second of their close to 90 minute 18 track set. It should be mentioned that the sound is levelled out and no more complaints on that front, my only task is romping through a massive 20 years worth of songs and keeping up with the pace the band fire them out at.  The band also have a new album ‘Construct’ out, their tenth by my counting and naturally they are airing some off it like ‘What Only You Know’ which thankfully I not only knew but recognised after a refresher play this afternoon. Some songs are definite crowd pleasers and it’s left to ‘The Fatalist’ as the first one to  get the crowd really going for it. Stanne did not have a huge amount of time for chitchat but told us they were airing a few that they didn’t do that often. One of these was indeed two decades old ‘A Bolt Of Blazing Gold’ from Skydancer and I think it’s fair to say that one was rather unexpected. This was not all that was surprising as Mariangela was back on to sing along with Stanne too.

It really was a set to please everyone the Damage being Done by ‘Monochromatic Stains’ and the keyboard raptures and sing along delights of ‘Wonders At Your Feet’ It was really difficult to pick a moment that was a highlight here with new songs battling with old. Of the more recent ones though ‘Endtime Hearts’ definitely stood out stomping along like Godzilla and being shot at from all angles before flattening the city. Of the old, well one album I really wasn’t expecting being revisited was ‘Projector’ but the band had ‘Therein’ up the sleeve one of my favourite songs with its riff heavy intro and delirious clean vocals. It almost made it impossible to find a closing number that justified being the one to wrap the night up and for once I wasn’t leaving a gig early to miss the crowd but was staying here right to the end, rewarded by a storming ‘Misery’s Crown’ If that wasn’t a potent closing point then why is the chorus still in my head several days later? To say that the Swedes brought the house down was no exaggeration and I said this last time and shall repeat it now, surely they have outgrown this venue!

Review and photos © Pete Woods