In Flames kick off Halloween in Las Vegas with Fire From the Gods and Thrown into Exile for a night of heavy metal.
Monday nights are typically slow, but this is the start of Halloween and with three bands the crowd doesn’t care that it is a weeknight, they are not going to miss this show. These three bands are classic fast heavy metal and they deliver an energetic set. Thrown into Exile from Los Angeles opens the show. Unfortunately due to the early start a lot of the crowd missed this band but they are sure to come back through town soon and hopefully people will catch them then. Fire From the Gods from Austin Texas is next. They played Las Vegas just over a year ago with Of Mice and Men. That show increased their fanbase which has come out tonight to support them. This band is fun live. They are highly energetic jumping and flying all over the stage while delivering a heavy set that gets the crowd dancing. Frontman AJ Channer towers over the crowd and delivers the powerful socially conscious lyrics. The sound is heavy but their lyrics, while being powerful, are also uplifting at times. The crowd has grown during this set which is great because it is sure to help them expand their fanbase further. This band has toured with many big names in heavy metal and that is sure to continue after sets like this.
There is a lengthy set break before Swedish heavy metal powerhouse In Flames take to the stage. It is hard to remember when they played Las Vegas last so the crowd are definitely excited and filled with anticipation. They open with “My Sweet Shadow” and move into “Pinball Map” and “Delight and Angers” and it is clear the crowd are here to party. Their last album, Battles, was released in 2016 but with twelve albums going back to 1994 it is clear they do not need a current album to draw a big crowd. The set spans the course of their career with Anders Friden joking that it shows how old they are but also joking about how good they look and this is true. They are impressive live. The fast music and their stage presence is intense. The crowd is wowed and torn between watching and moshing or “dancing” as instructed. They move through other songs including “Fear is the Weakness,” “Where the Dead Ships Dwell,” and “Paralyzed.” Friden continues to joke with the crowd announcing a ballad before launching into a heavy song and commenting on avoiding drinking bad beer like Bud Light, despite the rest of the band currently drinking it on stage. This fun atmosphere is infectious and is shared by the crowd and the band alike. The two coolers of beer on the stage that the band drink from make this feel like you are just hanging out with friends listening to some amazing music and having a great time. The music is delivered perfectly and it is just what the crowd wanted. This is a long set, seventeen songs and they close out the night with “Deliver Us” and the aptly titled “The End.”
This is a long show and each band delivered an exciting set with the pinnacle being In Flames that leaves you commenting on just how good they are and wishing you had the opportunity to see them more often, but with the European bands we don’t always have that choice. Friden did tell people to go to the Wacken Open Air festival and that is good advise if you want to see more sets like this, but for now the crowd leaves exhausted, excited and awed from this performance.
IN FLAMES
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