Amorphis and Dark Tranquility at Baltimore Soundstage
Photography By Leia Cunningham
The city of Baltimore has held a reputation for being a hub for fans of Death Metal, with events such as Maryland DeathFest annually. That reputation was upheld on Saturday October 5th at Baltimore Soundstage with an absolutely packed house for a Melodic Death Metal tour package that was nothing short of spectacular from start to finish with Amorphis and Dark Tranquility.
Starting off the night was Connecticut-based band Fires in the Distance whose melodic death/doom sound was heavy, melancholic and absolutely phenomenal. The only issue was their set was much too short for my liking, because it left me wanting more and had me wondering how this band had not been put on my radar sooner – to the point I spent the changeover adding their album Air Not Meant for Us to my regular rotation playlist.
Fires in the Distance: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | X | Spotify | Youtube
Amorphis wasted no time, opening with “Northwards”, “On Dark Waters” and “The Moon” off of their 2022 album Halo. The Finnish band solidified the reason they are considered a shining jewel to the genre, as their sound was absolutely tight, polished, and energetic - keeping their foot on the gas the whole time; the energy was infectious, delivering an adrenaline-high as they delivered songs in a delightful blend of older and newer, from “The Castaway” and “My Kantele” “Black Winter Day” and “Silver Bride” before capping the night off with “The Bee”.
Amorphis: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | Spotify | Youtube
From the first few notes of “Shivers and Voida” Dark Tranquility continued to build the energy and had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. The background projections really added to the set, each song having its own unique imagery to highlight the depth of the soundscape created by their melodies. By the middle of the “Forward Momentum”-- the third song of the set, pits were open and crowd surfers were up. It's truly great to see when musicians still love every second of what they do, especially in a band that has been around since 1989 and has each member visibly grinning and having an absolute blast– their crowd engagement was top-tier, and there was a point where frontman Mikael Stanne grinned to the crown and said “Baltimore, you understand us!”. While the set was heavily loaded with songs off their most recent release Endtime Signals, there were plenty of older songs sprinkled in to the delight of new and old fans alike. They commanded the room from the very start of the set to the very last notes of “Misery’s Crown” to deliver an altogether enthralling performance.
