Tiamat
Næstved Metalfest - 2024
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
Tiamat was without equal the band we were looking the most forward to at Næstved Metalfest anno 2024, and also the perhaps most surprising booking of the year.
Now, it’s been a good minute since we last saw Tiamat live - actually, it was all the way back in 2019 - and even though they were still doing their mainly Clouds/Wildhoney set, which has been going on since at least 2018, we were still curious what they’d give us.
“Thank you so fucking much! We are Tiamat from Stockholm. Or, well, something like that… Sweden.”
- Johan Edlund (vocals)
One thing that’s always interesting to see is who’s in the band. This night Edlund only did vocals, while Lars Sköld was behind the drums, and filling in on bass was Gustaf Hielm (ex-Pain of Salvation, ex-Meshuggah), filling in on guitar was Simon Johansson (Soilwork, Memory Garden), and filling in on keyboard was Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth); some familiar faces, and also someone new.
When the show kicked off with In A Dream, what really hit me, except for the weird diadem of thorns Edlund was wearing and the new cowboy look of Hielm, was how good the band sounded. Edlund’s vocals were good, the music was tight, and the overall sound was excellent. Keeping in mind that this was a small open air festival gig, and that all adds up to something most impressive.
The setlist as such wasn’t much of a surprise to begin with, a good handful of Clouds songs followed by a smaller handful of Wildhoney songs. It was nice to see, or at least it looked like it to me, that Wildhoney (the song) was actually handled live on stage by the band, and it was nice to hear Vote For Love to get just a taste of the band’s newer material (yes, it’s 22 years old, but still).
The biggest surprise here though, was that Tiamat chose to pad their setlist with a cover. Admittedly, it’s not the first time we’ve seen them do that, but I’ve never before heard them play This Is My Life by Danish rock legends Gasolin’! According to Edlund, this had been a favourite of his father, and it struck gold with the audience at this Danish festival, let me tell you! Edlund excused not having perfectly learned the lyrics for this and had them on his phone, but it didn’t matter in the least - the audience was quick to pick it up, and loudly sang along to all of it, and both Edlund and the audience sounded wonderful doing it.
This wasn’t the only time Edlund had his phone out during the gig, and while this is usually something that is frowned upon (for good reason), I feel he could be excused this time, as he was letting his wife see the place, and had the crowd say hello to her. Kinda sweet to be honest, and it was such a short thing it didn’t disrupt the flow of the show.
Tiamat had, strangely enough to me, not amassed the largest crowd of the festival, but there was a good deal of people anyway, and those who were standing in front of the Slagmarken (=Battlefield) stage were definitely enthusiastic about seeing the band. There was a highly enthusiastic vibe, and the band fed off of it. Especially the three men in front were lively (befitting the style), and liveliest of all was Johansson, who was happily headbanging and posing for the crowd, while also keeping an eye out for them and directly pointing out people once in a while with a smile and a horned hand.
All good things must sadly come to an end though, and Tiamat’s show came to an end much too soon, at least in our opinion. 13, a fitting number I suppose, songs were played, and while I afterwards saw that Do You Dream Of Me? had been on the setlist, it wasn’t played. Cut for time reasons, I suppose, but still sad to see it go.
As you probably can tell, the fact that it had been five years since our last encounter and that the set hadn’t changed all that much in the intervening times, took nothing away from the experience that is Tiamat on a live stage. The magic was undoubtedly there, and there wasn’t a dull moment to be had.
Setlist:
In A Dream
Clouds
Smell Of Incense
A Caress Of Stars
The Sleeping Beauty
Forever Burning Flames
Wildhoney
Whatever That Hurts
The Ar
Visionaire
Vote For Love
This Is My Life (Gasolin’ cover)
Gaia
Now, it’s been a good minute since we last saw Tiamat live - actually, it was all the way back in 2019 - and even though they were still doing their mainly Clouds/Wildhoney set, which has been going on since at least 2018, we were still curious what they’d give us.
“Thank you so fucking much! We are Tiamat from Stockholm. Or, well, something like that… Sweden.”
- Johan Edlund (vocals)
One thing that’s always interesting to see is who’s in the band. This night Edlund only did vocals, while Lars Sköld was behind the drums, and filling in on bass was Gustaf Hielm (ex-Pain of Salvation, ex-Meshuggah), filling in on guitar was Simon Johansson (Soilwork, Memory Garden), and filling in on keyboard was Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth); some familiar faces, and also someone new.
When the show kicked off with In A Dream, what really hit me, except for the weird diadem of thorns Edlund was wearing and the new cowboy look of Hielm, was how good the band sounded. Edlund’s vocals were good, the music was tight, and the overall sound was excellent. Keeping in mind that this was a small open air festival gig, and that all adds up to something most impressive.
The setlist as such wasn’t much of a surprise to begin with, a good handful of Clouds songs followed by a smaller handful of Wildhoney songs. It was nice to see, or at least it looked like it to me, that Wildhoney (the song) was actually handled live on stage by the band, and it was nice to hear Vote For Love to get just a taste of the band’s newer material (yes, it’s 22 years old, but still).
The biggest surprise here though, was that Tiamat chose to pad their setlist with a cover. Admittedly, it’s not the first time we’ve seen them do that, but I’ve never before heard them play This Is My Life by Danish rock legends Gasolin’! According to Edlund, this had been a favourite of his father, and it struck gold with the audience at this Danish festival, let me tell you! Edlund excused not having perfectly learned the lyrics for this and had them on his phone, but it didn’t matter in the least - the audience was quick to pick it up, and loudly sang along to all of it, and both Edlund and the audience sounded wonderful doing it.
This wasn’t the only time Edlund had his phone out during the gig, and while this is usually something that is frowned upon (for good reason), I feel he could be excused this time, as he was letting his wife see the place, and had the crowd say hello to her. Kinda sweet to be honest, and it was such a short thing it didn’t disrupt the flow of the show.
Tiamat had, strangely enough to me, not amassed the largest crowd of the festival, but there was a good deal of people anyway, and those who were standing in front of the Slagmarken (=Battlefield) stage were definitely enthusiastic about seeing the band. There was a highly enthusiastic vibe, and the band fed off of it. Especially the three men in front were lively (befitting the style), and liveliest of all was Johansson, who was happily headbanging and posing for the crowd, while also keeping an eye out for them and directly pointing out people once in a while with a smile and a horned hand.
All good things must sadly come to an end though, and Tiamat’s show came to an end much too soon, at least in our opinion. 13, a fitting number I suppose, songs were played, and while I afterwards saw that Do You Dream Of Me? had been on the setlist, it wasn’t played. Cut for time reasons, I suppose, but still sad to see it go.
As you probably can tell, the fact that it had been five years since our last encounter and that the set hadn’t changed all that much in the intervening times, took nothing away from the experience that is Tiamat on a live stage. The magic was undoubtedly there, and there wasn’t a dull moment to be had.
Setlist:
In A Dream
Clouds
Smell Of Incense
A Caress Of Stars
The Sleeping Beauty
Forever Burning Flames
Wildhoney
Whatever That Hurts
The Ar
Visionaire
Vote For Love
This Is My Life (Gasolin’ cover)
Gaia
