November 2005 in moscow and st. petersburg proved extraordinarily rich in concerts by Western bands: JUDAS PRIEST, AMORPHIS, AJATTARA, ONKEL TOM, LORDI — all within a single month. And this report is about yet another concert, given by one of the most unusual bands in the celebrated Swedish tradition: TIAMAT. Though it would be more accurate to say — one celebrated Swede, strictly in the singular. For some years now TIAMAT has been one person: the band's founder, composer, lyricist, vocalist, and guitarist Johan Edlund. Back in 1988 he founded the death metal project TREBLINKA; the name was soon changed to TIAMAT while the genre remained unchanged — the band continued working in what was then the most popular direction in extreme music. The 1990 album Sumerian Cry is a typical example of what Swedish death metal looked like in its early period. The second album The Astral Sleep was released a year later, differing from the first — more melodic, with slow passages beginning to appear — but the truly significant changes came thereafter. The resulting Clouds is considered a classic of doom metal alongside PARADISE LOST's Gothic, KATATONIA's Dance of December Souls, and MY DYING BRIDE's Turn Loose The Swans. Heavy riffs, an abundance of keyboards, very rough but no longer snarling vocals — such was TIAMAT in 1992. The next album Wildhoney became even more melodic; the riffs lightened, and Johan's voice changed further. Many consider this the band's finest work. The magical, extraordinarily beautiful and dreamy composition "Gaia" from it would soon become the standard closer at the band's live performances. The following album, A Deeper Kind Of Slumber, is saturated with electronics; Johan barely sings, favouring a whisper, and the record is unimaginably depressive. On the next release, Skeleton Skeletron from 1999, we again hear Johan's resonant — by then nearly fully clean — voice, and again hear metal music, but of a different kind. TIAMAT had joined the ranks of bands that, after extensive experiments, began working in the sound often called dark metal — or gothic metal, as PARADISE LOST vocalist Nick Holmes terms it, claiming to have founded that musical direction. This marks the beginning of TIAMAT's contemporary sound, followed by two more albums: the quite successful Judas Christ (your humble servant's personal favourite from the band's catalogue), after whose release a tour took place during which the band visited russia for the first time, and Prey, released in 2003, retaining the same sonic character but with even darker music. Johan continues to experiment, never engaging in self-plagiarism — each album is original. News that the band was set to revisit russia appeared well in advance of the concert. Finally, dates were announced for moscow and st. petersburg. And now — the concert itself, which took place at the Gorbusha Palace of Culture on 11 November 2005.
As noted, formally Johan is the band's sole member, but in recent years the same lineup has been touring and recording albums together. Alongside Johan: guitarist Thomas Petersson, bassist Anders Ivers, drummer Lars Sköld — keyboards are recorded by Johan himself, with a session musician invited for live shows.
Unfortunately the concert featured a support act. INSIDE YOU, who had recently released an album, demonstrated once again that playing in the spirit of early CREMATORY is not the most inspired idea. With appalling sound, they performed a set of their songs. To be honest — I may not be objective, but there is nothing interesting in the band, despite the fact that they play very competently. Technically capable, but entirely without originality — I had heard them several times, listened to their album, and retained not a single melody, not a single riff, not a single solo. Toward the end of their set a girl joined them, contributing additional vocals. Personally I was extremely glad that a cover of "Tears of Time" was not performed, as I'm far too fond of that song.
The support band left the stage. At the start of INSIDE YOU's set there were at most 250–300 people in the hall; gradually more arrived, and by the time TIAMAT took the stage around 800 were present. There was no sellout that day, but the hall was decently filled — approximately 1,200 people by the end of the show. It might have been considerably more had it not been for the abundance of concerts that month.
The stage was bathed in pale pink tones. The drummer appeared and took his position, then the keyboardist (few recognised him immediately as Martin Brändström, a permanent member of DARK TRANQUILLITY) — and Johan, Anders, and Thomas walked out together. Johan (in a black shirt this time rather than shirtless, and without stage makeup) approached the microphone and said in a quiet, calm voice: "Hello moscow." Thomas took his position to Johan's right, Anders to his left; Martin settled to the right of the drummer. The concert opened with "Cain" from the latest album. The album was two years old at that point, so the audience knew its songs as well as any. What struck immediately — first, the excellent sound; and second, Johan's voice, significantly more expressive, resonant, and powerful than on the albums. Second came "Children Of The Underworld," the song from the single "Brighter Than The Sun." And after that — acknowledging screams from the entire hall greeted the opening of the famous "Whatever That Hurts" from the epochal Wildhoney. Johan's piercing whisper — sometimes breaking into near-growling — heavy riffs, and the magnificent solo at the song's close left no one indifferent.
Then, at the opening notes of "I Am In Love With Myself" (the first song from Judas Christ that day), everyone began dancing, and on the chorus enthusiastically joined Johan in singing. Here Anders and Thomas also actively contributed vocally.
The concert continued with the slow, expressive "To Have And Have Not" from the 1999 album. The hall was fairly quiet — quiet, that is, only in preparation for the eruption at the start of the next song, "In A Dream" from the band's third album. Pure doom metal. Edlund's voice became harsh — not as extreme as on the album, of course, but the transformation was striking. The final acceleration and solo — and the hall nearly descended into mayhem. Hardly anyone had expected to hear something so early — this was a genuine surprise.
The following "Cold Seed" was the only song from the 1997 album; it gave way to "As Long As You Are Mine," another track from Skeleton Skeletron. After which Johan announced that today was drummer Lars Sköld's birthday, and dedicated the next song to him. "Wings Of Heaven" from the latest album rang out — a slow and solemn composition — followed by "Brighter Than The Sun," and here again a dedication was offered: Johan dedicated the song to his father.
Then another song from the latest album — "Clovenhoof," perhaps the most lyrical on the record, resembling a lullaby. "Love Is As Good As Soma" from Judas Christ, no less beautiful but with a considerably more dramatic undertone, brought the main portion of the concert to a close. Edlund thanked everyone assembled in the hall, and the band departed for a few minutes.
After a very short interval, the TIAMAT chants in the hall grew, and the musicians returned to the stage. What can I say about this encore? Only that it was one of the most magnificent and luxurious encores I have ever witnessed. Three of the band's hits, each a great song. First, "Vote For Love" — the third song from Judas Christ. I will admit I can barely recall what the hall was doing, as I was occupied singing along to my favourite TIAMAT song without paying too much attention to the crowd — but I distinctly heard that "It's about time we all get out and vote for love" was being sung by everyone. Next came another song from Clouds — "The Sleeping Beauty" — another surprise, but in the circumstances an entirely expected one, and again the entire hall sang along with Johan throughout this dark and solemn composition. It was the penultimate song.
The finale had arrived. Everyone understood this, and everyone knew what this finale would bring. Of course — it could only be one thing: TIAMAT's most famous song, "Gaia." Even listening to the album version, it is difficult to remain unmoved — what happened in the hall defies description in words. People seemed to freeze; a number sang the entire song from beginning to end; a large portion simply stood with closed eyes — eyes that were, for the most part, wet by the time the song concluded. At the opening, Johan laid down his guitar and stepped to the very edge of the stage with only his microphone. A few minutes later he was back with his guitar, and the song's conclusion — and the concert's — rang out. The final, extraordinarily beautiful solo, one last farewell from the band — this time definitive. People in the hall slowly came back to themselves; the concert was over.
What can be said: the concert was simply wonderful. The musicians played brilliantly, an extraordinary atmosphere pervaded the hall — created by this man standing on stage who seemed to live through everything he sang about. And perhaps that's exactly what was happening. Here's to the third visit of Johan and TIAMAT to moscow.
**
Report by Alan
Photo report from the concert (photos by Gunslinger)
Special thanks to SPIKA MERCHANDISING for providing accreditation.
**
Setlist:
- Cain
- Children Of The Underworld
- Whatever That Hurts
- I Am In Love With Myself
- To Have And Have Not
- In A Dream
- Cold Seed
- As Long As You Are Mine
- Wings Of Heaven
- Brighter Than The Sun
- Clovenhoof
- Love Is As Good As Soma Encore:
- Vote For Love
- The Sleeping Beauty
- Gaia