The anticipation was very high about this gig, as it has been many years back since I saw Långfinger (again in Stockholm) and Eclipse playing live, therefore, as soon as this gig was announced, I did not hesitate at all to book my ticket and make sure to be there for the bands I like so much.
Långfinger kicked off the night and they went straight ahead full throttle. The sound was not coming very well in the first couple of minutes, but it got much better as they were playing more and they band played like there is no tomorrow giving it all! The focus of the setlist was their fantastic latest album ‘Pendulum’ which I wanted so much to listen played live, as I consider it a great album. Kalle, Victor and Jesper is not just another a power trio. They are the REAL thing when playing live, having so much energy and keeping contact with the people making everyone part of their show. Guitars, drums, bass and vocals altogether with high intensity and committed to play a great gig. With their Rush influences, the band left nobody unsatisfied, to the contrary, everybody was pleased with the band’s performance and we all just wished the band could play a longer time with a playlist of more songs.
The next band, The Cruel Intentions, is one I did not know beforehand and had to check their songs and music before the gig, doing my homework. They played really well and loud, with their heavy guitars, melodies and unique vocals, the band presented a noteworthy result at the end. Having influences from Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crüe and a lot of bands from the second part of the 80s glam rock scene, the band delivered what was promised to their core fans who were many at Slaktkyrkan that night. The vocals is a mixture of Alexi Laiho (Childern of Bodom) and Dregen (Backyard Babies) but in a unique way, the spirits of the fans were high all through the gig. Well done guys!
The headliners of the night, Eclipse, started their gig with a mix of samples of songs from different bands (ACDC, Megadeth, Scorpions, and others) as a backdrop, just before they hit the stage with their first track for the night ‘Apocalypse Blues’, which was just released a while ago and is actually a big success. Victor, who played with Långfinger, has joined Eclipse and his brother Philip (what an awesome and special drummer he is!) for some years now and it seems like he has been with the band for ever. Erik is a magnificent performer live, that of course is not news, but every time I see him on stage, he firmly confirms my opinion, as he is such a good singer, both on the more heavy songs but also on the melodic ones, for example, on the ballad ‘Battlegrounds’ where he and Magnus played the acoustic version, simply a brilliant performance! Magnus is a guitar god to me. Simply said that. He can do crazy things with the guitar on leads, solos, rhythm, it is just s great to see him performing live and giving it all every time! He is definitely one of my guitarists out there. By far. Setlist-wise, I believe this has been one of the most rich and fulfilling one for the band, having almost zero complains by the people what to play, etc. My only personal comment would be that I would like them to play ‘Bite for Bullet’ which is a personal favorite for me from the Eclipse catalogue. Other than that, even the hard core fans of the band should be happy. The ending was glorious with ‘Viva la Victoria’, the band has played a fantastic show, with so much energy, good vibes on the crowd and an all star setlist offered to the audience. Could not have asked for a better Saturday night actually!
Cheers till the next time!
