Concert Review: Meshuggah with Openers In Flames & Whitechapel

First and foremost, Oakdale Theater in CT was a great venue to hold this metal mayhem show! The atmosphere was big and friendly, it felt safe and the sound and lighting were on point for all bands playing. Each band went on a little later than anticipated but that didn’t stop anyone’s good time! 

Shot by Angela Dimock for Melodía Magazine

The night began with heavy hitters Whitechapel, who graced us all with their energetic presence and heavy sound. Singer Phill Bozeman delivered his brutal screams with such vigor and energy opening up with the lyrics “The mouth of hell is open wide tonight” from ‘Let Me Burn’. The general admission floor was pretty full but theater seats were still filling up as they started the show. They played for a half hour with a setlist consisting of:

Let Me Burn

Forgiveness Is Weakness

Brimstone

I Will Find You

A Bloodsoaked Symphony

The Saw Is the Law

Shot by Angela Dimock for Melodía Magazine

Next up…. The mighty In Flames bringing the heaviness straight from Sweden! You could hear the crowd chanting their name even before I got down to the shooting area. I was excited for this one! They delivered a phenomenal performance and much more! The theater was starting to fill up at this point. Singer, Anders Friden, interacted so spectacularly with the crowd through their whole set. They were even taking a moment to grab a fan’s cell phone who was directly behind me, recording himself singing into it. Anders mentioned at one point he was happy to not have a ‘regular’ job but made sure he told the crowd to “stay in school kids!”. They played old and new tunes the setlist included:

The Beginning of All Things That Will End

Foregone Pt. 1

Deliver Us

Darker Times

Everything's Gone

All for Me

Behind space

Cloud Connected

State of Slow Decay

The Mirror's Truth

I Am Above

Take This Life

Shot by Angela Dimock for Melodía Magazine

Surprisingly it was not a sold-out show but now the theater had packed seats and more on the floor and was ready for the Swedish extreme headlining metal band of the night, Meshuggah. They certainly proved to be the biggest crowd pleaser, delivering brutal vocals, heavy drum beats, and a spectacular light show. Speaking of lights, I would say, for myself, It was one of the most challenging to photograph but… it was mesmerizing to watch and I was up for the challenge! Playing ‘Careless Whisper’ by the late George Michael right before coming out. You could hear one fan say “You know when this plays, they are coming out soon”! Soon after, the stage went dark and screams and metal horns filled the air. Meshuggah came out standing in front of red flashing screens with the drummer on a high riser lit up directly in between the other members. It was intense and a very unique way to start their set. Frontman Jens Kidman delivered on his vocals and stage presence. All the members were in sync with each other, performing everything in time and exactly how they wanted. Meshuggah, a Yiddish word meaning ‘crazy’, they delivered that and more! 

They started their 90-minute set with ‘Broken Cog” and ended with encore songs BLEED and Demiurge. Fans went nuts during these two songs. People even rushed back into the theater from a bathroom break to show their support and love. The set list consisted of:

Broken Cog

Rational Gaze

Perpetual 

Born in Dissonance

Ligature Marks

The Abysmal Eye

Catch

Humiliative

Future Breed Machine 

Encore:

Bleed

Demiurge

To catch Messhugah on the rest of their tour click here. Stream his music here.