Dark Tranquillity
Pumpehuset, Copenhagen - 2024
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Yes, just like with Moonspell, we had just been in Germany the day before and seen Dark Tranquillity at the Metal Hammer Paradise, and just like with Moonspell, that show had been underwhelming to say the least. For some reason, that show didn’t appear on the band’s tour shirt either, making me think it must have been a last minute decision to participate.
Now the boys were in Copenhagen however, back on their regularly scheduled tour, and we were hoping to see the Dark Tranquillity we’ve gotten to know and revere over the years. Would they be able to pull it off?
“God damn it’s good to be back in Scandinavia! Thank you so fucking much for showing up, Copenhagen!”
- Mikael Stanne (vocals)
The band entered quickly without any ado, going straight into The Last Imagination without so much as a “how do you do?”
This didn’t stop the huge crowd from offering up a deafening greeting to the band, which Mikael Stanne responded to in type as soon as there was a moment’s break in the music. The good thing was, he not only expressed, in Swedish which he spoke the entire evening, how happy he was to be here, but he also acted in a manner which made it seem believable, and that in itself was already a huge step up from the day before. This was definitely not the last time Stanne addressed the crowd either, as he turned out to be quite talkative this evening - he introduced the band (not a bad idea since they were still using stand-in guitarist Peter Lyse Karmark (HateSphere), or had he become a full-fledged member at this point?), spoke of fond memories from Copenhagen, and a lot of other good stuff.
It wasn’t just Stanne however, it was the entire band that showed signs of re-energising. Karmark was not surprisingly all smiles from beginning to end, just as we remembered him from Weissenhäuser Strand, but Christian Jansson and Johan Reinholdz had really stepped up their game as well, and not just rocking out at the edge of the stage, but really taking the audience in, making contact with several of the fans in front of them, and the entire and was seen smiling, looking like they were having the time of their lives.
All of this was of course reflected by the many Danish fans gathered, as they shouted, applauded, headbanged, and everything else they could think of to live the music, going as far as shouting requests at the band.
“What are you thinking, we’re not some goddamned request band where you can just shout out song titles! Well, except for tonight then.”
- Stanne (vocals)
The above text is only a poor attempt at telling you just how much better Dark Tranquillity was this evening than the night before. It defies being put into words, and with the risk of coping out with the oldest excuse in the book - you just had to have been there.
I will say that this was exactly the type of Dark Tranquillity show we were hoping for. What a way to redeem themselves!
Setlist:
The Last Imagination
Nothing To No One
Wayward Eyes
Unforgivable
Hours Passed In Exile
The Dark Unbroken
Final Resistance
Cathode Ray Sunshine
Atoma
Shivers And Voids
Not Nothing
Empty Me
Our Disconnect
Phantom Days
ThereIn
The Wonders At Your Feet
Lost To Apathy
Misery’s Crown
Now the boys were in Copenhagen however, back on their regularly scheduled tour, and we were hoping to see the Dark Tranquillity we’ve gotten to know and revere over the years. Would they be able to pull it off?
“God damn it’s good to be back in Scandinavia! Thank you so fucking much for showing up, Copenhagen!”
- Mikael Stanne (vocals)
The band entered quickly without any ado, going straight into The Last Imagination without so much as a “how do you do?”
This didn’t stop the huge crowd from offering up a deafening greeting to the band, which Mikael Stanne responded to in type as soon as there was a moment’s break in the music. The good thing was, he not only expressed, in Swedish which he spoke the entire evening, how happy he was to be here, but he also acted in a manner which made it seem believable, and that in itself was already a huge step up from the day before. This was definitely not the last time Stanne addressed the crowd either, as he turned out to be quite talkative this evening - he introduced the band (not a bad idea since they were still using stand-in guitarist Peter Lyse Karmark (HateSphere), or had he become a full-fledged member at this point?), spoke of fond memories from Copenhagen, and a lot of other good stuff.
It wasn’t just Stanne however, it was the entire band that showed signs of re-energising. Karmark was not surprisingly all smiles from beginning to end, just as we remembered him from Weissenhäuser Strand, but Christian Jansson and Johan Reinholdz had really stepped up their game as well, and not just rocking out at the edge of the stage, but really taking the audience in, making contact with several of the fans in front of them, and the entire and was seen smiling, looking like they were having the time of their lives.
All of this was of course reflected by the many Danish fans gathered, as they shouted, applauded, headbanged, and everything else they could think of to live the music, going as far as shouting requests at the band.
“What are you thinking, we’re not some goddamned request band where you can just shout out song titles! Well, except for tonight then.”
- Stanne (vocals)
The above text is only a poor attempt at telling you just how much better Dark Tranquillity was this evening than the night before. It defies being put into words, and with the risk of coping out with the oldest excuse in the book - you just had to have been there.
I will say that this was exactly the type of Dark Tranquillity show we were hoping for. What a way to redeem themselves!
Setlist:
The Last Imagination
Nothing To No One
Wayward Eyes
Unforgivable
Hours Passed In Exile
The Dark Unbroken
Final Resistance
Cathode Ray Sunshine
Atoma
Shivers And Voids
Not Nothing
Empty Me
Our Disconnect
Phantom Days
ThereIn
The Wonders At Your Feet
Lost To Apathy
Misery’s Crown
Dark Tranquillity
