In Solitude from Sweden was the third and final support band to grace the stage before the double headliner from hell, Behemoth and Cradle Of Filth, arrived.
The fact that they stood out from the rest of the line-up like a drag-queen doing hand-stands on the Red Square could work both in their favour and prove an Achilles heel. Soon we would know which it was...

In Solitude was another one of those bands this evening that I didn’t know anything about prior to the show, thus I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I suppose I had half expected them to be in the same satanic vein as the rest of the bands playing here, but already during the intro which mostly sounded like some odd trip hop beat with a female vocal line over it, I began to have some doubts.
Shortly after this, five young, slim gentlemen took the stage and began rocking. In Solitude was definitely more a tight pants and jeans vest outfit than one bearing leather and 7” nails on arms and legs, and this was reflected in the music as well – here we had entered a rocking metal mash-up rather than the bleak Satan worshipping we had witnessed so far...

Frankly, this worked out surprisingly well. The music was pumping and the band members had just the right energy for a show of this type – there was a good selection of rock poses, some very wide-spread stances from the string-benders and a clenched fist high in the air from singer Pelle Åhman, incidentally brother of bassist Gottfrid Åhman. I didn’t quite get what the incense sticks and the fox fur that was casually draped over the bass drum was for, but hey, maybe it was artistic?
Yes, In Solitude and their energetic rock was about as far away from the droning black metal extravaganza that Inquisition had delivered as the band before, and for a while the opposite felt uplifting and spirited. Until...

Until it all began sounding the same, to be frank.
In solitude delivered song after song, but it didn’t take me long to lose count and slowly, sadly, interest. Like the ones before them, In Solitude didn’t make much contact with the crowd between songs – an understandable yet regrettable decision probably based on the time they had to perform in. More songs isn’t always for the better though, especially not if you know neither songs nor the band performing them.
Åhman was completely quiet, mind you, he made little remarks in English every now and then, but when speaking he was certainly not using the full power of his voice, and he thus became indistinct and hard to follow.
In Solitude must have made some connection as the cheers and applause in the gaps between songs rang true, but other than that and a small handful of headbangers in the front, not much else was seen.
Before going, In Solitude played a smart card though, and played their most interesting song of the evening, with enough variations in mood to pull my interest back in. I regret I didn’t catch the title of that one (as in fact I didn’t with any of the songs) so that I could have checked it out more thoroughly later at home...

In Solitude didn’t do a bad job per se; as I have already remarked they had a good energy going and they kept it up through the entire show, but for various reasons the interest just didn’t last very long with the exception of that final track they played. More of that the next time around, and I’ll probably find it easier to get why they had the top position of the support bands, even if I still had a hard time figuring out their inclusion on the bill, simply judging on genres.