Event:	End of Darkness - Klubbkväll Ebeneser #3
Written by:	Bad English
Published:	04.04.2017

Event name: End of Darkness - Klubbkväll Ebeneser #3

intro

Event name: Klubbkväll Ebeneser #2
Where: Luleå
Club: Kulturcentrum Ebeneser
When: 31 March
Tickets: SEK 100

There is nothing to say about this venue that I haven't said here; the only thing I can add is that there were more tables to sit at this time. That was good. Ah, yes - two beers at home, two beers there, then Jack Daniels, then one beer and one more, maybe two, who remembers? Beer is good; otherwise, you cannot headbang!

Sex On Legs - hard rock - Luleå

When I was sitting backstage and enjoying some Jack Daniels courtesy of the singer, I told him I would be writing a concert review. He asked why, since Sex On Legs is just a cover band, but I have to add that it's a damn good cover band. Many people have their own stories of why and how they first began to bang their heads, but we all grow up with classic songs, those songs that are so often covered, and each cover band gives some new, unique energy to an old, overplayed song. This band must play. I don't know how many covers they know, but every weekend, somewhere in the open air in Luleå, why not? Plenty of people like classic metal, so if we have a chilly midnight sun evening in the summer time with good rock'n'roll, I'd go. Cheap beer and music; what more do we need? Really, this band ought to play more.

It seems that Sex On Legs has been together a while. They performed very well. Sometimes cover bands can make some errors, especially live, but this band was all professional. "Doctor Doctor" (by UFO) was their best, and served as the intro. The vocals were good; sometimes it's hard to hear the lyrics, but here, everything was at the top level. I'm still amazed. This band should be second, not the opening act! One other good thing I saw was that their sound transmitter was an old-school cable plugged into an amp, as in the old days! It means a lot today that some bands still do it that way.

Set List:
Rosalie ( Thin Lizzy
Shot In The Dark ( Ozzy Osbourne)
Knocking At Your Back Door ( Deep Purple)
Mississippi Queen ( Mountain)
Doctor Doctor ( UFO)
Mr. Crowley ( Ozzy Osbourne)
Minus Celsius ( Backyard Babies)
Cat Scratch Fever (Ted Nugent)
It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock'n'Roll) ( AC/DC)
Perfect Strangers ( Deep Purple)
Killed By Death ( Motörhead)
Rebel Yell (Billy Idol)
T.N.T. ( AC/DC)

Dreamslain - progressive metal - Tromsö

This band had some sound problems. The sound check was like 50 minutes, and there were still issues. It's sad, because the band came all the way from Tromsö, which is in northern Norway, maybe a 15-hour drive from Luleå. If it were some small area in Norway where you only had to drive for an hour, maybe it would be okay, but not this.

If a Norwegian drummer wears an Emperor shirt, you'd naturally assume he was Faust (the drumming one). No, he was not Bård Guldvik Eithun, but still an awesome drummer. The band members were all talented musicians, gifted ones. The first thing I noticed was that they have no bassist, which looks weird, but to judge I need to listen to their studio work; it's the best way to judge a new band. The keyboards were awesome, like the old Nightwish "Angels Fall First" era - when the keyboards were as calm as a river flowing near a bigger river (the guitars), equally flowing with guitars and drums, not a boring Dream Theater-style sound where the keyboardist needs to play some boring tunes because this is what the label dictates to him. Evergrey fans must try this band out.

Maybe this next part will sound negative, but in the end, the last two-to-three songs, I did not hear any vocals at all. Perhaps it was just me. This didn't seem like a head-banging band, but with two beers in me, I thought I could bang my head a bit. It's sad that the band had a few problems, because they spent their own time, spent their own money, had to drive for 15 hours, and didn't get anything. That's a lot! I respect that they came. It's sad that folks went home without listening to the end. Metal is one big family; why don't people learn and understand this? This band needs another chance.

The Duskfall - Friends of the fallen, where the winds of darkness blow.

Now I go into another part of Luleå melodic death meal history. This town delivered Gates Of Ishtar, The Everdawn, and The Moaning, who kick ass even better than the Göteborg scene! Then The Duskfall was born, Luleå local sons (even though from the original line-up there is only Mikael Sandorf). Singer Aki Häkkinen is from Oulu (I think), but the rest are located in Luleå. This band is a bit more modern melodeath, if we compare them to the three other bands I listed. I have listened to all of these bands and love them all.

Where to start? Of course, they were the headliner there, and there was a wild mosh pit and a crazy Greek guy. The sound and performance were awesome. Very well done, although I think the stage was too small. It seems like the band really knows what they are doing, which is why I love live music. Great guitar work; the instruments are never a problem, though vocals sometimes are. If the vocals are growled, then there's no issue, but if the band uses clean singing, there can be audio issues.

The show was like a trance. No long talks between songs; it was there and then the gig was over, and time flies. Sad. I was lucky to hear a new song from the upcoming album, and it was the calmest song in terms of vocals; I could actually hear him singing and not growling, even if it was still sort of growling. The one-hour blast simply faded away so quickly and was gone. I want more! I hope to see the band live again. I like when bands play in their hometowns. It's old school, like Black Sabbath playing their last gig ever in their hometown of Birmingham.

Friends of the fallen? Where The Tree Stands Dead.

Set List:
Trust Is Overrated
Farewell
The Wheel And The Blacklight
The Light
None
Source
Case Closed
Shadows And Cancer
Shoot It In
Break The Pact
Peacemaker

Outro

I had a chat with Mikael Sandorf and he said it was the best crowd he had seen in a long time. I can't deny or confirm that, so I'll have to trust him, but there were a lot of people there specifically for The Duskfall, I must say. I don't have any complaints, except that Sex On Legs should have played second, not as an opening act. The genres didn't fit so much this time.

Thanks to Jacob Björnfot for fixing me up with a set list, and thanks for the beer and Jack.