bits pilani

Swedish melodic death legends Dark Tranquility’s gig was much awaited by many. The gig, held at BITS Pilani in Hyderabad looked to attract a lot of crowd, which it actually did, though most of them comprised of the same college. The gig however was plagued with the usual problems resultant of bad organising, delay in the start, a mediocre stage and lighting, the lighting was an exception for DT of course. And the venue itself was in the middle of a field with the sound echoing off the neighboring buildings. The lighting for the opening bands was quite a disaster, reminding one of a flamboyant wedding reception where the target is to blind the visitors.

Kryptos, the highlight of the opening bands were somewhat of a disappointment. Firstly missing their lead guitarist Rohit, who was replaced by Inner Sanctum’s Rajeev, who did his best to do a good job, but the sound just wasn’t right, the guitar tones not matching. Playing a lot of tracks from Spiral Ascent, they seemed to lack their usual energy and flair. Heck I’ve seen Kryptos at their best, this clearly wasn’t it, despite opening for the legendary DT. But the much awaited headlining band took stage at about ten thirty, and made an impact of epic proportions. Mikael Stanne was greeted by a loud roar as he took the stage. With perfect sound they seemed to unleash all the fury of Gothenburg they carry. They played a good mixture of old and new, which included Dream Oblivion, I am the Void, Misery’s Crown, Damage Done, Wonders At Your Feet, Lost to Apathy, Monochromatic Stains, Therein, Terminus, Icipher, Punish My Heaven and a few more. This along with Stanne speaking his heart out to the crowd, grateful for the lovely reception and expressing their desire to come back and play again, made for a memorable night. Add to this a crowded back stage where fans and others gathered to take pictures and get stuff signed by the band. Stanne was quite a celebrity here, surrounded by cameras and people holding out sheets and markers, whilst Niklas and the others were scattered, giving room for a lucky few to actually engage them in conversation.

A brilliant night on the whole and being a Bangalorean I would sincerely hope they would pay us a visit and make death come alive for us again. But let’s hope that the trend of Swedish bands coming down continues, huh? Can never really get enough of them. Long live Dark Tranquility! Cheers.