After seeing In Flames deliver a short but pretty kick ass set earlier this year as part of Gigantour, I knew that when they returned to the Bay Area on their own headlining tour that I would not be missing them. And when I saw that one of my favorite new bands, Gojira, was on board the tour as a support act, I was all over it.
Up first was 36 Crazyfists, a "metalcore" band hailing from Portland, Oregon. As I have previously stated in a few of my reviews, I am not a huge metalcore fan, but I did find the tunes of 36 Crazyfists somewhat infectious,and by the end of their brief set they had kind of won me over with both their thrash-like guitar sound and the vocals of Brock Lindow. I would definitely like to hear of this band, and will have to go check them out when they return to San Francisco.
Up next this evening was Gojira, a band that I had been hearing great things about all year and had unfortunately missed the last time they played here in San Francisco. Hailing from Bayonne, France, Gorjira is the perfect combination of Thrash Metal and Death Metal, with just a hint of Progressive Metal thrown in. Supporting there latest album, They Way Of All Flesh, the band ripped threw song after song of brutal French-accented metal. The guitars of Joe Duplantier (who also handles vocal duites) and Christian Andreu had a nice clean tone while still providing plenty of "crunch," while the rhythm section of Jean-Michel Labadie on bass and Mario Duplantier on drums, made every song as heavy as it could possibly get. Unfortunately their time on stage was far to brief, and before I knew it their set was over. Can't wait to check them out again, though.
After a long break—which seemed to suck some of the energy out of an almost sold-out crowd—Sweden's In Flames finally hit the stage, re-energized the kids, and had them headbanging and pumping fists within minutes. Supporting their latest release, A Sense Of Purpose, In Flames put on one of the most energetic sets I have witnessed all year. Vocalist Anders Fridén whipped his dreadlocks into a frenzy while belting out "Alias," "I am The Highway" and "Disconnected." Guitarists Jesper Strömblad and Björn Gelotte both had a melodic but brutal tone to their guitars, and made "The Hive" "Come Clarity" and "The Quiet Place" sound heavier than ever. The sea of people in front of the stage only seemed to fuel the bands energy, and by mid-set they were locked into a death metal groove like no other. As I stood there watching, I was truly amazed that a band could sound so melodic, yet so heavy at the same time. As the bands set came to a close I could without a doubt see why they are the kings of the melodic Death Metal throne, and I will no doubt return to see them the next time they are in town.
Artists:
In Flames:www.inflames.com
Gojira:www.gojira-music.com
36 Crazyfists:www.36crazyfists.com
Download:
In Flames – "I'm the Highway" – [mp3]
In Flames – "The Mirror's Truth" – [mp3]
Gojira – "Vacuity" – [mp3]
36 Crazyfists – "I'll Go Until My Heart Stops" – [mp3]
Album:
In Flames – Sense of Purpose is out now. Buy it on Amazon.
