Starting it off was the L.A. band Society 1. Having just released their second album on Earache Records, The Sound That Ends Creation, touring with old-timers Paradise Lost was a big opportunity for these four guys. Looking quite scary with black makeup and a mean attitude on stage, they all still were surprisingly friendly off stage. It’s not often (at least not in Oslo) that you see supporting bands mingling with fans and hanging out at their merchandise stand, but these guys did.
Even though the concert hall wasn’t even half full, Society 1, led by Matt “The Lord” Zane, gave it all. It’s great to see a band sweat so hard for a handful of hardcore fans. Hopefully this tour will give them many more. The first song at the concert was their album opener “It Isn’t Me,” a hard-hitting and fast song with raw vocals and strings. They also played “I Love Her” and “No Father,” which are killer tracks from the album, along with a few earlier songs.
Society 1 did a great performance in warming up for the evening, and their energy on stage was amazing.
Orphaned Land came on next, and was probably the first Israeli band ever to play this kind of music in Norway. Singer Kobi Farhi came on stage wearing a long, bright robe making him look a lot like Jesus Christ. Orphaned Land was quite the contrast to Society 1.
Being a six man band with a lot of hair, the stage almost seemed a bit crowded, but musically they impressed with songs from their third album El Norra Alila, and with guitar arrangements rarely heard in this part of the world. Very inspired by their own culture and musical heritage, of course, and very exciting if you’re searching for something different.
Then finally Paradise Lost came on stage (Top picture). The band is promoting their tenth album, the self titled Paradise Lost. Even though they have an extremely long list of tracks to pick from, Paradise Lost chose to play five of their new songs. They all worked fine. Their heydays have passed, and it was clear that most people came to hear old favourites like “One Second,” “True Belief,” and “The Last Time.” What they delivered was dark, industrial, Goth Metal -– exactly what people had come to see. It was clean, it sounded good, and there were no big surprises … and when the P.A. system shut the concert down in the middle of the gig, you just knew that this wasn’t Paradise Lost’s biggest night out.
Back after just minutes, the gig continued on at the same paste. Paradise Lost has a long resume of fantastic songs, and, no doubt, they play them well … but the energy lacked both on stage and among the audience.
Paradise Lost’s Setlist
- Don’t Belong
- Grey
- True Belief
- Erased
- Redshift
- Mystify
- So Much Is Lost
- Symbol Of Life
- Accept The Pain
- No Celebration
- For All You Leave Behind
- As I Die
- Shine
- Hallowed Land
- Close Your Eyes
- One Second
Extras: - Forever After
- Over the Madness
- Say Just Words
- The Last Time
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