Live from New York it’s MOONSPELL, OMINIUM GATHERUM, DARK TRANQUILITY, AND AMORPHUS

Fellow melodic death metal artist Moonspell, Omnium Gatherum, Dark Tranquility, and Amorphis started their North American tour at the sold-out Gramercy Theater.  The tour will run through October 14.
 
The first band to go onstage was Omnium Gatherum. Markus Vanhala has been keeping the band’s momentum since 1996 and is the only original member of the group. With a new album, “The Burning Cold,” hot off the press, the timing is perfect for them to reintroduce themselves to the public. They had a short set, but really honed in with songs like “God’s Go First,”  and “Refining Fire.”  With crowd favorites like “The Unknowing,” the band’s new material has a very retro feel, which the audience was more than happy to show their appreciation for. After their set, Markus Vanhala was hanging around the merch area chatting and drinking with the fans. He seemed very pleased with the results of his work and was taking in the moment, excited to be touring with his baby Omnium Gatherum. 
 
Next on the bill were the Portuguese metal pioneers Moonspell. They are currently promoting the Lisboa Under the Spell DVD and the Deluxe version of this set, which is limited to only 500 units made. They opened with “Em nome do Medo” from the latest album. Following up with “1755″ gave the audience a chill with excitement, and hopes that the album may be played in entirety. Moonspell kept their audience on the edge of their seat by playing the next song from their album, “In Tremor Dei”. This was the last song from the album to be played. The band threw in crowd favorites from their back catalog. Moonspell basically owned the night with dark visuals along with the intense angst of vocals from Fernando Ribeiro. Since 1992  Fernando Ribeiro has released 11 Moonspell records and has been performing in support of the 1755 album. 
 
Next up were the Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Dark Tranquility. Mikael Stanne, ever the social frontman, was spotted near the venue public area talking with the fans with a welcoming attitude. He is the epitome of what a real frontman should be. No gimmick and no pretense. 
 
As the band made their way to the stage you can see the confidence and swagger they possess. They have been on the road for the better part of 2018 in support of the album Atoma. 
 
Seeing Dark Tranquility peaking before our eyes is something that may not happen again. They opened up with “Encircled” from the Atoma record. The mixture of songs from their back catalog displays how vast they are. Playing five songs from the Atoma album this evening put the audience in anticipation as they prepare for pre-production for the new album. Mikael Stanne stated in late July that sometime in January, a recording will commence. 
 
  Amorphis, of Helsinki, Finland, closed out the show. They are currently on the road in support of their recent opus “The Queen of Time.” At this show, half of the songs from the album were performed for the first time on U.S. soil. The audience at the Gramercy Theater ate up the new tracks. Right out of the gate they greeted the crowd with “The Bee,” and just like the record, they segued into “The Golden Elk.” They reminded the audience of their back catalog with the song “Bad Blood” from their album “Under the Red Cloud.” The 14 song performance included material from the earlier period like “Against Windows” from the album “Elegy” and songs like “The Castaway” from the 1994 album “Tales from the Thousand Lakes.” Having a diverse setlist like tonight rounded out what should be the most sought-after shows to go to. The tour will continue throughout North America until October. It will then travel overseas for the remainder of the year.
 
 
Photos by Anya Svirskaya
Words by Sebastian Benedict Bjorn

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