As Swedish metal band M.A.N took the stage at KB in support of Fear Factory, they did so to an almost empty hall; there can’t have been more than 30 people present as they started playing!

This may be because M.A.N is a relatively new band; or at least they were to me. To be fair, they have already released three albums since their debut with Obey, Consume, Reject in 2007.
Anyway, my first impression of the band had come from their MySpace profile a few days prior to the concert, and after a short glance around I didn’t get the feeling it did anything for me. Quite surprising then to show up at the concert and feel them hammer us to the ground with sheer power!
My first bonus point was already handed out when my eye was caught by Robert ‘Rob Guz’ Gustavsson’s very intricately designed guitars, but when the usage of these and the rest of the band jumped into action I got more and more convinced of their will to deliver.

Frontman/vocalist Tony ‘JJ’ Jelencovich stood at the very edge of the stage to get as close and in-your-face as possible with the few gathered before him.
Sadly for the band, the crowd wasn’t close enough for the desired effect; even with the absence of a photopit, there was still a gap between the stage and the crowd counting several meters.
This was not deserved though, as M.A.N delivered a most competent support show, which should have gotten more credit than it did. As things were, the biggest cheer arose when Jelencovich announced that they would bring a friend up on stage for some vocal aid in their song My Own Sickness; in comes no one less than Burton C. Bell himself! (Bell also sings on the album version)
This brought out a very positive response in the crowd; Bell however seemed a bit discouraged, possibly by the small number of people, but played his part well, and after the song was over he stayed on by the edge of the stage and watched the remainder of the show.

M.A.N chose to introduce us to two new songs this night, Logocide and Slave Program, both taken from their upcoming album Massive Audio Nerve; however, as this all was completely new to me it didn’t really make a difference on my part.
Apart from these two, the body of the set was taken from their latest album, Peacenemy, and only two songs were used from the debut.

Even with its short length of eight songs, M.A.N’s concert was definitely a grower for me.
I came in thinking this wouldn’t amount to anything, then when show started I thought it seemed ok but nothing major, and by the end of the show I felt I was witnessing something really, really good!
I’m looking forward to the next time I’ll see them, as I will probably enjoy it more fully then.

Setlist:

Fold And Disgusted
Eyes Bleed, Tears Shed
Hacker Sapiens
Last Injection
Logocide
My Own Sickness
Slave Program
Blood Vanish