Entombed

Debaser, Malmö - 2011

Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen

Wait, what? Just how many times can one see Entombed in a given year you ask?
As many as you can afford I’d say! And as the show at Debaser had a free entrance this was one show which was easily affordable.

Entombed actually had a support band with them to this show called Switch Opens (changed from the earlier name Fingerspitzengefuhl), but judging from how interesting I found this band I’ve already spent too much time writing about them so let’s move along shall we?
Now, Entombed on the other hand, now that’s a band that can clearly pick my interest! Why else should I want to travel all the way abroad just to see them a mere 3 weeks after the last time I saw them? Because they’re just that good, that’s why!
At the time the show was about to begin, Debaser was getting pretty darn filled and the temperature was shooting through the roof; I wouldn’t be surprised if you could actually see steam from outside the venue!
Not that a little climate change would stop the band from rocking out with us though, or at least so I hoped… When they finally entered, their positive faces reassured me that this would most likely be yet another night to remember. Last one on stage was of course L.G. Petrov, and this day he was carrying four bottles in his hands, compared to the two bottles he had had at our last meeting. Fairs fair, the heat demanded some fluids to be ingested, and at least one of the four bottles contained simple water. Also, I would imagine the stage was no better off than the floor when it came to sweating, which we would soon learn…

The show kicked of hard and fast with the old Clandestine song Living Dead, and already from the start the headbanging was clearly present in the front row, while the closest half of the audience erupted into a wild mosh. The back half of the room, which was equally if not more filled with people, could be seen taking it in in a much calmer fashion, although I’m pretty sure they enjoyed themselves quite as much as the rest of as they bobbed their heads slowly back and forth with a beer glass in their hand…
But returning to the front, this half of the crowd was insane! I can’t say how many of the persons present here had been with me seeing Entombed’s last visit to this town, but they certainly acted like they were starved for some good old death n’ roll, and they weren’t about to miss a chance to make the most of it.
One very good example of this was the yellow shirted guy who opened up for the stage diving this evening. Others followed, but none would do it quite as often as he did – I counted 8 consecutive dives before giving up (and yes, the shirt eventually came of when he was warm enough (and it was wet enough)).
Another example, and one a bit more odd, was the girl who climb up on stage only to lie on her back between two of the monitors for almost two entire songs while she was staring at the ceiling and smiling… The band smiled as well at first, but eventually it seemed to be a bit of a bother stepping around her every time one of the band members wanted to change position on the already well-filled stage…

“If you’re going to throw beer cups, at least throw filled ones so we get something to drink!”
- L.G. Petrov (vocals)


The band members clearly seemed to enjoy themselves as usual, and smiled a lot when they weren’t too busy headbanging their necks to the breaking point.
Petrov did seem to have it hard though, maybe he was even a little sick. He was sweating immensely, and at several times he blew his nose on the floor. At one point he walked over to the side of the stage I was standing in, but I’m afraid the fans who tried to shake his hand was in for a disappointment; you see, he came over so that he could bury his face in the curtain until he was going to sing again! Most likely to dry of, which was needed…
Luckily, Petrov got a lot of help from the audience with singing the lyrics to the songs; especially Out Of Hand stand out in my recollection where Petrov would scream; ”Jesus Christ” and we would answer back; ”Lord Of Flies”, but there were many, many more songs were the audience played a large, or should I say loud, part in the performance.

There was a short break after Demon, but there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that the band would return, and of course they did, this time starting out equally hard and fast as the first time, and once again with a Clandestine song; this time around we got pulverized by Chaos Breed.
There was no doubt however that the end was drawing near, but the band was as intent on dragging it out as we were it would seem; at least we got a very long version of Left Hand Path where at first Alex Hellid would solo the Phantasm theme on his guitar, but he would later on be joined by first Nico Elgstrand and moments later Victor Brandt as well as they kept on playing the old horror movie theme.
Finally, Petrov and Olle Dahlstedt joined in and it was time for the final song before the show was completely over.
Of course, the band wasn’t ready to leave just because they had no more songs to play, so at first they hung out on the stage saying farewell to everyone, and later, after some chill-time in the backstage room, they came lurking out again to the rest of us. This goes to show what a good atmosphere we had going here this night.

So, could Entombed live up to their recent success, and was it worth going to Sweden so quickly for the same band again?
Yes and yes! I’d say the band outdid itself here, or maybe I was just in a better mood for it, although I’m not completely sure that was possible.
This concert may have been for free, but it sure as hell was worth every penny!

Setlist:

Living Dead
Sinners Bleed
Serpent Speech
Revel In Flesh
To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth
Eyemaster
When In Sodom
Wolverine Blues
Out Of Hand
Just As Sad
Chief Rebel Angel
Demon
Chaos Breed
Damn Deal Done
Like This With The Devil
Left Hand Path
Supposed To Rot

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