Opeth & In Flames
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
December 19, 2014

After each releasing new albums earlier this year, In Flames and Opeth, two of Sweden’s best bands since ABBA and Ace of Base, came to Worcester to finish up the US leg of the Communion of Sirens co-headlining tour.

Red Fang

Red Fang, from Portland, Oregon, falls much more on the rock side of music than the headlining acts. They had a stoner-rock vibe that reminded me of bands such as The Sword, though they had a few songs, particularly their closing track, “Prehistoric Dog,” that I found to be quite catchy.

Setlist
Malverde
Crows in Swine
Blood Like Cream
1516
Wires
No Hope
Prehistoric Dog

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In Flames

In Flames is touring in support of their new album, Siren Charms. The album was well represented in the set, including my favorite track from it, “Through Oblivion.” As they have been for many years, most of the material in the set was from the last 10-12 years. The oldest track was from 2000’s Clayman, my personal favorite In Flames song, “Only for the Weak.”

I’ve been a fan of In Flames for over a decade, however I’ve had bad luck with timing of their tours, and this was only my second time seeing them. The previous show was at the Heavy MTL festival in Montreal. Seeing them in a club like the Palladium is a much different experience than a large outdoor festival. The band had so much energy, and I really enjoyed this show.

Before the show, we had a chance to sit down with In Flames guitar player Niclas Engelin. Be sure to check out that interview here!

Setlist
In Plain View
Everything’s Gone
Trigger
Cloud Connected
Delight and Angers
Paralyzed
Through Oblivion
Only for the Weak
The Chosen Pessimist
Where the Dead Ships Dwell
Rusted Nail
The Quiet Place
The Mirror’s Truth
Deliver Us
Take This Life

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Opeth

It would be tough to find a band whose sound has changed as much over their career as In Flames, but Opeth has equally gone through as much of a shift in sound. They opened with the first two tracks of their new album, Pale Communion, and then made sure to cover a wide spread of their career. As singer Mikael Åkerfeldt stated, “We have fans who don’t like the screaming vocals, and we have fans who only like the screaming vocals. Tonight we’re going to be one big happy family.”

Opeth’s performance is probably one of the most dynamic shows I’ve ever shot. Their songs have such an extreme swell between quiet, acoustic parts, and loud death metal parts. They find a way to blend the two together beautifully, and the shifts often blow people’s minds.

My only disappointment with their set is that while both In Flames and Opeth played for 75 minutes, Opeth’s songs are so long and masterful that they only got 7 songs into it. I would have loved to hear more material off of 2001’s Blackwater Park, but the track we did get, “Drapery Falls’, was fantastic.

Setlist
Eternal Rains Will Come
Cusp of Eternity
The Drapery Falls
The Moor
Windowpane
The Lotus Eater
Deliverance