April 29, 2005
Hailing from Stafford, VA - the Circle of Nero guys got things kicked off right with a progressive mix of melodic death metal with both clean and death vox. Tight band with some great keyboard work, I know they were thrilled to play in front of what was already a packed house. For a Circle Of Nero song - check out "Time is The Killer"
Mnemic, from Denmark, were making their Jaxx debut and we were happy to have them. They blend a style of melodic death with metalcore elements that is more seen on this side of the Atlantic, but do it very well. Their latest album, The Audio Injected Soul, is excellent and they played several cuts from it, including one of my favorites, "Door 2.12".
Mnemic frontman Michael Bøgballe, has the rare combination of a great voice, good looks and charismatic stage presence. You will hear more from this band in the future! Click for a sample of Door 2.12
Jaxx patron Edgar Ortiz took this shot of Michael at the show. To check out Edgar's other pictures from this show, go to his pictures page here. Thanks Edgar!
Hypocrisy kicked off the Swedish assault with the classic "Roswell 47" from 1996's Abducted album. They also played "The Abyss" and the incredible "Eraser" from 2004's The Arrival. This was head banging melodic death at it's best and the crowd, now swelling the building to capacity, was loving every note.
Legendary Hypocrisy frontman, Peter Tägtgren , seemingly never gets tired. He is also involved with Swedish bands Pain and Bloodbath, as well as his many duties mixing and producing albums for other bands at his Abyss Studio located on the site of a former mental hospital in Pärlby outside Ludvika in the north of Sweden.
Hypocrisy had many fans come just to see them. That's the beauty of the all star line up such as this tour featured, there was something for everyone.
Josh drove all the way up from Richmond, VA for the show. His highly reflective license plate symbolizes his metal allegiance.
These great Hypocrisy pictures courtesy of Alejandro "Nogz" Nogales. Nogz is a long time Jaxx patron and extremely knowledgeable on the Euro Metal scene.
Check out more of Nogz's pics at his own site: http://nogz.info and be sure to say Hi when you see him at Jaxx.
I must confess that Dark Tranquillity are my favorite metal band so I am somewhat biased in any and all glowing praise of them at this show. That being said, they were still spectacular, and Jaxx's new soundboard didn't hurt one bit since their last appearance here two and a half years ago. Mikael was overwhelmed by the fan response he received at Jaxx and hopes to be back very soon. The band was blown away by the fact that this show has been sold out for almost two months and this reinforces the fact that the Wash DC area and Jaxx fans in particular always come out and support quality European Metal bands. Much more so than other parts of the country and this helps us get special Euro shows that other venues can only dream of getting. Thanks go to all the fans for making Jaxx "DC's Euro Metal Home" and we promise to keep bringing shows that you want to see. Coupled with Jay Nedry's planned facility improvements, Jaxx will only get better and stronger.
The lads shortly before show time. Genuinely humble and friendly guys, not to mention awesomely talented.
Dark Tranquillity fans were out in droves and some new ones were made this night.
Mikael Stanne is, in my opinion. the best vocalist in the melodic death metal genre. Great growls (and still understandable!) and charisma to burn make him a crowd pleasing showman.
DT's new CD, Character featured prominently in their set list. Naturally, it's my album of the year so far for 2005. If you don't have it, get it. Mandatory metal and no one does it better.
Tracks played from Character included Lost to Apathy, One Thought and My Negation.
The Wonders at Your Feet from 2000's Haven album was intense.
2002's Damage Done album brought tracks Monochromatic Stains and The Final Resistance.
Niklas Sundin with brand new J. Nunis custom guitar received two days earlier in
Atlanta. Their site is here:
J. Nunis
It was elbow to elbow and no one seemed to mind.
All the bands had great shirts. I dropped $60.
Dark Tranquillity fan JW and Mikael Stanne share a laugh after the show. JW drove up from Roanoke, VA to see the show.
The hallway group shot pre-show. Along with In Flames and Killswitch Engage, these fast rising Swedes are my sons favorite band. An appearance at Ozzfest this year will not hurt their popularity.
Stabbing The Drama indeed. Soilwork open the show with the title track from their brand new release of the same name. Crushing !
Bjorn "Speed" Strid of Soilwork. The perfect voice for their hardcore influenced metal, especially since 2002's Natural Born Chaos release. They started life as a melodic death metal band and gradually the vocal harmonies replaced the guitar ones. With what they now do and have become, they have no peer.
Some of the tracks played included Figure Number Five, Follow The Hollow, As We Speak and Nerve. From 2001's A Predators Portrait came the classic Like The Average Stalker. Sadistic Lullabye came from their debut album, 1998's Steelbath Suicide.
Their own lights coupled with the fog machine made for some nice effects.
Great stuff and Soilwork completed one of the strongest top to bottom lineups seen at Jaxx in a long time.
The most amazing thing about this crowd was that no one left! Even for Soilwork's encore, the place was still packed.
As with all sellouts, many people were not able to get a ticket that wanted one. We plan on having all these bands back again so stay tuned !
Pre Show Press & Pics from The Jay Page
The Gods of Swedish Metal return to America!
Soilwork
here's one of the first reviews of Soilwork's forthcoming release "Stabbing The Drama" courtesy of Metal Coven
Just a few years ago, Soilwork was relatively unheard of, last year Alternative Press Magazine proclaimed them to be "One Of The 25 Most Important Bands In Metal". Well, this year Metal Coven Webzine is proclaiming them to be "One Of THE Most Important Bands In Metal". In my humble opinion, Soilwork deserve the title of "THE Most Productive Band In Metal". Check out their discography: In 1997 they debuted with a 5 track demo, "In Dreams We Fall Into The Eternal Lake" (good luck finding this one) it is a must have for all you dedicated fans out there, in 1998 they gave us "Steel Bath Suicide", in 1999 they followed up with the masterfully provocative CD, "The Chainheart Machine", then "A Predators Portrait" in 2001, "Natural Born Chaos" in 2002 and two releases in 2003: "Figure Number Five" and "The Early Chapters". Now their newest morsel of audio nutrition, "Stabbing The Drama" hits the shelves of music stores in March, and I highly recommend getting it. This Swedish Metal band may be creating a new genre of Metal all together as they quickly ascend to another level, giving out ear candy like it is...well, candy. Their unique blend of rhythmic complexity, melody, aggression, harmony and prolific song writing is exquisite. There is something in their sound for everyone. Soilwork's new release reaffirms their natural ability and talent to break barriers, and they do it so well. I don't even have a favorite song on "Stabbing The Drama", they ALL fucking rock! (can I say that?) Their entire mix is mind blowing and the dual guitars, bass and percussion's, shift time and rhythm in perfectly unexpected spots, as for the vocals, you just have to hear them to appreciate them. This stuff is sweet, first rate jams and we all need to watch just where these guys are headed. Expect to hear a lot more from Soilwork in the future and keep your eyes and ears open to catch their headlining tour this coming Spring with legendary Swedish bands, Hypocrisy, Dark Tranquillity, and Denmark's Mnemic....now THAT should be one hell of a show!
Rating: 9/10 Release Date: 2005 Length: 38:76 Review By: Mikki Runningfox
Dark Tranquillity
check out a review of Dark Tranquillity's latest masterpiece at The Metal Observer:
Dark Tranquillity - Character (9,5/10) - Sweden - 2005
Hypocrisy
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