From one great Swedish band, right over to another, we moved from the Helvíti stage and Amon Amarth, to the Pandæmonium stage and Entombed A.D.
We had already had a juicy preview, with L. G. Petrov’s guest appearance in the former show, but now it was time for the real deal.

“You guys in the kebab queue, you alright? No? Apparently they’re just hungry.”
- L. G. Petrov (vocals)

As we had already seen at his guest appearance, people were shouting for L. G. Petrov to come on stage, but first we had to build some anticipation, while waiting for the intro music to stop playing. I’m not sure what it was, but it sounded familiar in a way, reminding me of a soundtrack that I’m not able to place right now.
Anyway, after it was done, it was straight into the realm of death, as the band came on, and thundered Midas In Reverse out. Even though the band had released its sophomore album, Dead Dawn, earlier this year, the weight of the set still lay with old Entombed songs, and that seemed to fit the audience just fine.
There were surprisingly few people in the front as the gig started, but I heard that it was more packed in the back, and I didn’t complain, as there now was more place for us to move about in. Now, even though the shouts had been loudly appreciative as the band began playing, it also seemed like everyone needed some time to warm up to the show. Why, I can’t really say.
It did catch on after a while though, and while headbanging increased, so did the number of people crowding up closer to the stage to get a good view. Hell, later still we even got a few god moshpits going!

“Scream for heavy metal!”
- Petrov (vocals)

A crowd and a setlist does not a concert make however. Sure, they are pretty vital parts of it, but where would we be without a band?
Now, the members of Entombed A.D. looked pretty darn enthusiastic as they walked on and began playing, and Victor Brandt even pandered for the local audience by wearing a Warpigs shirt (the Copenhagen bar, not the song). Like the audience though, they too became better and better for every song played.
The action was intense, a lot of headbanging, and reaching out for the audience was going on, and in between songs, for the very short breaks the band made, Petrov was smiling and delivering some choice, funny, comments. Best of all though, he was attentive to what was going on in the crowd, and happily commented on happenings, or answered shouts and requests. This was obviously not another day at the office, so to speak, and we were all happier for it.
The only thing Entombed A.D. really had going against them, was that they didn’t have a very long time to play in. This sped up the set, but it also made it more intense and direct. At first, I had feared having them placed on the Pandæmonium stage, the smallest one at the festival, would hurt the band, but the closeness and intimacy is something they have always benefitted from, both before and after the A.D. part, so it didn’t bother me while they were playing.
Soon enough, they reached the end though, and after finishing big with some heavyweight Entombed classics, the band members gathered to take a bow before leaving for the bar.

“King Diamond tonight, huh? I’m gonna be so drunk I won’t remember anything!”
- Petrov (vocals)

Judging by their behaviour, I believe the band enjoyed themselves just as much, if not more, than we did, and we enjoyed the show a lot! Amon Amarth had them beat on production value, and a larger set and stage, but Entombed A.D. still clicked in on an honourable second place on my list of best show of the day.
Highly addictive, highly entertaining – more please!

Setlist:

Midas In Reverse
Stranger Aeons (Entombed cover)
Second To None
Eyemaster (Entombed cover)
Dead Dawn
Living Dead (Entombed cover)
The Winner Has Lost
Revel In Flesh (Entombed cover)
Wolverine Blues (Entombed cover)
Left Hand Path (Entombed cover)
Supposed To Rot (Entombed cover)