children of bodom live

"Half past five?!?" I exclaimed incredulously at the rediculously early start time of this evening's metal extravaganza. The local curfew commands that both bands and fans alike are all done by 10pm. So - when I arrived at the venue, the sun was still shining, and opening band Machinae Supremacy had already been and gone. Sorry guys.

With a line up this strong, featuring among the most respected bands the Northern European metal scene, this show was bound to draw a large audience. However, due to the aforementioned early start, by the time Ensiferum took to the stage, the room was still only half full. That said, the roar that greeted them was ecstatic, and by the time they were done with set opener From Afar, the place was packed and rockin'. The band sound amazing this evening - but it is a shame that they only had an allotted time of thirty five minutes. Nevertheless, they used this shortcoming to thier advantage, choosing to play a set mainly comprised of crowd pleasers from their first two albums... it was a joy to hear the likes of Token of Time, from their self titled debut, and Into Battle from Iron, all played perfectly, and enthusiastically greeted by the growing hordes. Finishing all too soon with the title track from the aforementioned Iron, the band leave the stage. A frustratingly short set, but considering the time constraints, they still represented themselves well in a short space of time. Here's to a prompt return!

After a surprisingly brief changeover, it was the turn of the sons of Oden themselves, Amon Amarth. I'm proud to say that these are one of my favourite bands, and I know from experience that few can follow them live. As with Ensiferum, their set is criminally short, clocking in at a mere forty five minutes. So once again, they made every second count, mixing old and new admirably in just three quarters of an hour. Kicking off at a gallop with newie War of the Gods, instantly they are in control. Watching this band live reminds me of standing in the takeoff flightpath of a Lancaster bomber, such is the power of thier live performance. As they thunder through Runes to my Memory, and Guardians of Asgard, both to a rapturous response, one gets the familiar feeling that the show has indeed been stolen. Now - some in attendance here tonight may have been disappointed at the omission of stage favourites such as Death in Fire or Victorious March, but as they blasted through new or more recent tracks such as Destroyer of the Universe or Twilight of the Thundergod'respectively, it's hard to criticise... it's all monolithic stuff, and SO bloody METAL. Finishing with a barnstorming rendition of favourite Pursuit of Vikings, resplendant with full audience participation, it's easy to see why this band are ascending, and deservedly so. The victorious march continues...

Poor old Bodom. Now don't get me wrong - they are a fantastic band with phenomenal chops, but after Amon's incredible set, they just appeared uncharacteristically lumpen, to my ears at least. That's not to say they played badly - far from it - but after the pasting we'd just got, Children of Bodom just felt a little, erm, tame in comparison. However, taken in their own context, they played a well balanced, lightning precise set, which all sounded crystal clear, mixing ripping renditions of brand new songs such as opener Not my Funeral, and Ugly with classics such as Needled 24/7, Angels Don't Kil' and the undeniably awesome Follow the Reaper. There is no denying also that this band are masters of being entertaining visually; they have their show honed down to a fine art - one worthy of much respect.

Finishing with an encore comprising of Was It Worth It and Hate Crew Deathroll the band leave the stage on a high note, and the capacity audience is clearly loving it. But I can't help thinking how great this evening would've been overall if each band had had an equal crack of the whip time wise. (Bloody curfew.) That said, there is no denying that the crowd assembled here this evening got a night of top notch Northern European metal, played by some of that scene's chief exponents. Few can argue with that.

by Rod Boston