Live-Metal.Net - Concert Reports - In Flames - 9:30 Club

October 5, 2009
9:30 Club
Washington D.C.

By JEFF MAKI

As the touring cycle for In Flames' latest album, A Sense of Purpose, winds down, the influential Swedes—after a 2008 tour with All That Remains and a slot on Gigantour 2008—are on their third U.S. run in support of the album. Having seen the band live numerous times, this is the first time I've seen them as loose and fan-friendly as they were tonight.

The 9:30 Club was short of a sell-out but tightly packed nonetheless. After the opening acts successfully warmed up the audience, the synths of “Cloud Connected” began a best-of set, including “Delight and Angers,” “Disconnected,” “Alias” and “The Mirror's Truth” from A Sense of Purpose. As has been the case in recent years, pre-Clayman material was omitted from the set save for “Embody the Invisible” (Colony) and “The Hive” (Whoracle). Vocalist Anders Fridén even told the crowd that if we wanted to hear anything from The Jester Race we'd have to go with them to Europe. The new material transitioned well live and, as is often the case, sounded much heavier and more aggressive, especially “The Mirror's Truth.” The crowd was into it big time, despite criticism from media and fans regarding the band's ever-expanding and more accessible sound of recent albums. My main gripe with the set list was the inclusion of only two songs from my favorite In Flames album, Reroute to Remain—”Drifter” and “Cloud Connected.” I, along with the rest of the crowd, would have loved to have heard “Trigger,” “System” and others, but after all, this isn't a tour in support of Reroute to Remain, now is it?

Now 32 years old and a veteran of several dozen vicious mosh pits, including Pantera, Sepultura, Megadeth and others, I'm at the point in my life where I'm at a show to enjoy myself. Call me a pussy, but I wouldn't dare brave the flailing elbows and other flying appendages of today's mosh pits for more than a song or two. Broken teeth, bloody face—not for me, man. No, I'm there to take it all in and enjoy myself—I have a genuine appreciation for the live music of my favorite bands and I want to cherish each and every minute of the shows I attend. Between this Web site and everything else I'm involved in, you might say I've found my sense of purpose in music, more specifically, metal. And this can also be said for In Flames in 2009. They're not a death metal band. They're not the heaviest band—not even close. Those days are long gone. Having been a part of this now for two decades, In Flames is at the point in its career where they are just recording and releasing metal on their own terms and having the time of their life playing live.

This was evident here. I've seen Fridén loose before on stage but never like this. He was like a standup comedian at times, interacting with the crowd and his bandmates (including touring guitarist Niclas Engelin filling in for Jesper Strömblad, who checked into rehab), cracking jokes and getting a constant positive reaction from the crowd. He pulled a nice-looking female up on stage for “The Mirror's Truth,” allowing her to rock out with the band and take pictures and video during the song. Prior to “Square Nothing,” he asked a fan if he knew the song, and after replying with an enthusiastic "yes," Fridén pulled the lucky fan onstage, allowing him to perform the song with the band in its entirety while Fridén watched. After the song concluded, Fridén gave the long-haired metalhead a “we're not worthy” Wayne's World gesture, saying he now had to retire. He actually did a good job. These are just a few examples of the looseness and good-time vibe flowing from the band all night long. Hell, they even broke into a quick diddy of Journey's “Don't Stop Believin'.”

In Flames truly have found their “sense of purpose”—enjoying life, enjoying their music and fans, and living each moment the way life was meant to be spent—having fun.

3 Inches of Blood's music is over-the-top, for sure. So much so that it could even be passed on as a gimmick. Lead vocalist Cam Pipes has the highest screeching metal voice since Rob Halford, and their songs are of the Dungeons & Dragons variety, with titles like “Battles and Brotherhood,” “Swordmaster” and “Silent Killer," all of which appeared in their set. The crowd was dormant at the beginning of their set, but as the headbanging, jean-jacket-clad band picked up steam song after song with their classic metal/thrash attack, so did the crowd, ending with astounding approval. It's not for everyone, but whether you deem 3 Inches of Blood serious or not, it's good old fashioned fun.

By RYAN MAVITY

I’ve been a big fan of Between the Buried and Me since I first heard “Foam Born A & B” from their last album Colors on Liquid Metal. When you first hear this band, you wonder, “What the hell is this?” but when you keep listening, they blow you away. So it was great excitement to see their set alongside In Flames and maybe hear some stuff from their upcoming release, The Great Misdirect.

The band led off with “All Bodies” from the Alaska album. The crowd didn’t seem quite ready for them at that point, although I did hear the crowd faintly sing along with frontman Tommy Rogers when he hit the “We are just mortal souls/left to die” part. Rogers apologized for his voice, claiming he had just gotten over a bout of bronchitis. The band got its first big response of the night when Rogers announced “Selkies: The Endless Obsession,”—also from the Alaska album—as the next song. Even the slam dancers in the pit had to stop when lead axeman Paul Waggoner played his solo on this song. Next up was the first single, and the only song from the new record, “Obfuscation.” That got the crowd moshing again, but business really picked up with the two-sided “Foam Born A: The Backtrack” and “Foam Born B: The Decade of Statues.” Rogers let the crowd sing the slow, piano intro to “Foam Born A,” and the pit exploded for the scream-heavy “Foam Born B.” The band closed with the 14-minute “White Walls,” the closing track from Colors. The crowd seemed disappointed when Rogers announced it as their last song, but then promised, “It’s a long song.” He also mentioned how honored he was to be playing at the 9:30 Club, where Bad Brains once played. Maybe he wouldn’t feel that way if H.R. ever invaded his stage. The crowd was amped up for “White Walls,” clapping along with Waggoner’s intro and losing their shit with every breakdown, especially the one after the first guitar solo.

The band put on a solid show, the only problems being they couldn’t play enough songs due to time constraints —that and many of their songs are eight minutes long—and only one song from the new album.

Set list: All Bodies, Selkies: The Endless Obsession, Obfuscation, Foam Born (a): The Backtrack, Foam Born (b): The Decade of Statues, White Walls

The evening started with technical/grind band The Faceless, which hails from Southern California’s beautiful San Fernando Valley (Encino). I didn’t know much about them going in, although I have heard the second song they played, “An Autopsy.”

The crowd seemed to be into them, some even coming specifically for them, judging by the T-shirts and early arrivals. The highlights of the band are the technical virtuosity of guitarist Michael “The Machine” Keene and the vocal stylings of singer Derek “Demon Carcass” Rydquist. Besides trying to avoid some muscle-bound meathead slam dancer in a wifebeater, I spent most of the set wondering just how the hell Demon Carcass manages to scream and growl like that without his voice getting shot. His Cannibal Corpse “Tomb of the Mutilated” T-shirt was also a nice touch.

The band also announced they would be back in the area soon, playing Sonar in Baltimore with Dying Fetus. It’s an appropriate pairing, because while The Faceless seemed to me to have more of a Napalm Death-style grind element, they both play an ultra-chaotic brand of technical metal.