IMMINENCE Astounds NYC with an Infectious Debut Performance

On December 3rd, 2023, Imminence brought their first ever North American headlining tour, From Sweden With Love, to a close at Irving Plaza in New York City with New York natives; Until I Wake as special guests.

Kicking the night off was Until I Wake. Until I Wake is a metalcore band from Buffalo, NY consisting of Niko Karras (guitars), August Lee Geitner (guitars), Ryan Ridley (bass) and Alex Curtin (drums). The band was formed in 2019 and is currently signed to Fearless Records. For this tour, solo artist Jaali Cypher filled in on vocal duties.

They kicked things off hard and fast with “For The Record” taken off their debut album Inside My Head which was released on September 9th, 2022. At the start of the set, Cypher ran to the front and hyped the crowd up, asking New York City how they were feeling to which the crowd cheered in response. In the middle of the song, Cypher got up to the barricade and demanded the crowd to open up the pit and the crowd obliged by opening it up wide. Once the breakdown hit, New York did what it does best and unleashed chaos from side to side. The next song they played was “Sinking Under” taken off their 2021 self-titled EP Until I Wake. Cypher once again went up to the barricade and sang the song with the fans at the front. Another mosh pit broke out and it was just as intense as the previous one.

For the third song “Cold”, Cypher and Karras ordered the crowd to put their cellphones lights up and the whole room lit up instantly, setting the moody tone while Cypher sang up front at the barricade again. Reaching the halfway point they get to the fourth track off Inside My Head, “Forsaken”. But before they got into it, Cypher asked the crowd if they had enough energy in them to make a circle pit and then asked them how big they could make one. The pit proceeded to run in circles as fast as they could while Karras sprayed water into the crowd to wake them up. It was the fastest I've ever seen a circle pit formed and even though I don't really go in them, I was very tempted to join in.

Wrapping up their set, they reached “Legacy” and for this song, Cypher wanted everyone who knew the words to get up to the front. It was at this moment where crowd surfing came into full effect and Cypher was up at the barricade again but stood on the sides so security could have room to catch them. The last song they played was their album’s title track “Inside My Head” and Cypher wanted the crowd to help him sing the chorus by singing back the three words “One By One”. He put the crowd to the test by going back up to the barricade one last time and held the mic out to the audience and without hesitation, the crowd sang into it “one by one” and proceeded to sing the rest of the chorus with Cypher. The boys were not done yet, reaching the song’s climax they wanted a wall of death and commanded the crowd to split the room in half. Right down the middle, the crowd split from side to side, ready to clash into each other and as soon as the song’s breakdown dropped, both sides ran into each other at full force, turning the whole floor into a warzone.

Until I Wake got the blood pumping for the crowd tonight. Cypher loved getting up close and personal with the audience while Ridley and Gietner were doing twirls on stage and swinging their instruments around their bodies. It was an energetic performance from the Buffalo boys and I can’t wait to see them again.

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After a half hour intermission, Imminence finally takes the stage. Imminence is an alternative metalcore band from Trelleborg, Sweden formed in 2009. The band is currently signed to Arising Empire and its members are Eddie Berg (vocals/violin), Herald Barrett (guitar), Alex Arnoldsson (guitar), Christian Höijer (bass), and Peter Hanström (drums). The band has separated themselves from the status quo of metalcore, creating their distinctive sound by combining metal with classical music arrangements and Scandinavian music. This is a monumental tour for the Swedish quintet as this marks their first time ever performing in the US and Canada. This show was initially meant to be at Saint Vitus, a small 250 cap bar in Brooklyn. However with the show selling out in less than an hour and demand being so high, it got upgraded to Irving Plaza within a few days.

As the lights went down, the crowd was cheering and chanting “IMMINENCE! IMMINENCE!”. The fans were beyond hyped for what was about to come as they were finally getting to witness one of Sweden's most distinctive metalcore bands play on US soil for the first time. Before the band made their appearance, the house speakers began playing audio of war drums to get the crowd hyped and ready for what was about to be, a memorable night. They wasted no time and got right into it with “Paralyzed” taken from their third album Turn The Light On which was released in 2019. This song was a perfect way to start the set, with a crushing riff, panoramic chorus, melodic violin lead and an overall ambient sound, it set the atmosphere for how the rest of the night was gonna be. At the top of their lungs fans screamed the chorus out loud and proud and those who weren't singing; were crowd surfing all the way to the front. Reaching the fifth song, Imminence pleased any old school fans in attendance by playing a deep cut called “This Is Goodbye” from their second album This Is Goodbye. Berg dedicated the song to anyone in the audience that had been listening to them since the beginning.

Before the tour commenced, Imminence released a new song called “Death By A Thousand Cuts” which was released on November 17th. This tour marked the song’s live debut and for a song that had only been out for almost three weeks now, the fans got familiar with it very quickly, singing along to every single word that Berg sang. Berg praised the crowd, telling them they were “bringing the heat tonight” and thanked them for coming out. He also pointed out how great the crowd was at singing and I heard someone shout back “WE TRY” which got a good laugh out of Berg and the crowd. He then asked the crowd if they could slow it down for a bit and proceeded to play a reimagined piano version of their song “Alleviate” which is off their 2021 album Heaven In Hiding. To help keep the mood of the song going, the whole room lit up with everyone’s cellphones while Berg serenaded the crowd with Barrett on piano. At Berg’s request, the crowd sang the song back to him as loud as they could and they sang their hearts out. It was a beautiful and emotional moment for everyone to witness an exclusive reimagined performance of what is actually, an anthemic song.

Closing out this unforgettable night, Berg thanked the crowd once again for coming out and gave a shout out to the Until I Wake boys and told the fans they can't wait to come back to the US next spring. The last song they played was their most streamed song, “Temptation” off of Heaven In Hiding. Imminence gave everything they had left in this performance and the crowd matches that energy too. The pit opened up far and wide with moshing and two stepping happening. Reaching the end of the song, Berg played a mini violin piece that signaled the song was about to end. Just when I thought it was over, I was wrong. Almost immediately after, one last breakdown dropped and the pit went absolutely mental. Both moshing and dancing were happening at the same time and security was experiencing a record amount of crowd surfing. I even saw one of them get up at the barricade and raise his hands up to encourage more of it to happen. Berg then let out one last deep “TEMPTATION” scream and proceeded to hold it well after the music stopped. The scream lasted about 30 seconds and I was absolutely amazed at the breath control he had to keep it up for that long.

Imminence made a standing first impression on their US debut. Their performance was so immersive and out of this world that you can’t help but get addicted to it. I see a great future in these Swedish boys and I will definitely catch them again the next time they come around.