In Flames/ Gojira/ 36 Crazyfists
Monday, November 25, 2008
Marquee Theatre/ Tempe, AZ

Review by Jim Simmons, Arizona State University

Fans flaunting their favorite metal band tees, long hair, headbands and a few trucker hats, along with facial expressions displaying their desire for death, poured into the sold out Marquee Theatre featuring some of death metal’s finest (36 Crazyfists, Gojira, All That Remains and kings of Swedish death metal In Flames). Unfortunately, fans arrived in disappointment when they read the signs posting that All That Remains would not perform due the fact that singer (screamer) Phil Labonte was too sick. Apparently he didn’t learn the appropriate way to scream so his throat was actually bleeding.

Later fans learned that the truck carrying all the gear for the bands was “held up by the Arizona Department of Transportation as it was believed that the truck was overweight.” Maybe it’s a metal thing, but perhaps the fact that the truck was arriving from the previous night in Las Vegas had something to do with the belated arrival. As a result, the show slated to start at 8 p.m. finally got under way at 9:30 p.m., shortly after fans started chanting profanities at the venue. While 36 Crazyfists got the crowd warmed up and mosh pit moving, members did little to impress a crowd already frustrated by earlier circumstances.

Next up, the Frenchmen of Gojira took their stab at it, bringing the death toll to the next level performing songs from their latest release The Way of All Flesh. Gojira did well to please the crowd and prep the stage for the headlining Scandinavian heroes, In Flames, who quickly took the mood from death to fury.

In Flames took the stage as a slow melodic acoustic guitar expressed the calm before the storm. After thanking fans for their patience and giving the production crew their credit, the players’ proceeded to annihilate the fans with a barrage of double kick drums pounding at rapid pace, along with the massive wall of guitars and gut-wrenching bass.

Anders Fridèn also struggled to maintain his voice that night, keeping his speaking to a minimum so that fans could experience the full 75-minute set the band had in store. The front man carried on as only a metal vocalist could, proceeding on without whining or creating excuses. The fans did their part to help out, singing along to nearly every song, proving that In Flames is one of the fastest growing and most popular melodic death metal bands today.