Dark Tranquillity, Moonspell, Wolfheart & Hiraes – Islington Academy 5/11/24 ⋆ Ave Noctum

First on are German group Hiraes all of the musicians from whom sprung out of Dawn Of Disease after they called it a day back in 2020. With two albums to their name including most recent ‘Dominant’ they may not have had a huge amount of time on their hands to impress us but to say they took to the ground running would not be an understatement.

Forceful and bombastic their brand of melodic death metal is fired out at full force. Guitar sound is choppy and bass nice and thick. We haven’t even got to singer Britta Görtz yet and she is a veritable whirlwind on stage, moving around and utilising all space available roars and growls with the best of them as the band fire out melodic licks getting heads nodding along in appreciation.

We were pretty much ‘Under Fire’ and that’s quite handy as it was the name of one of the songs they had time to play. Belting things out with conviction the heat rises but is tempered down by the time they start playing ‘Undercurrent’ which eases us in gently with a swaying melody.

Rising in force though it’s not long before the dynamo of a vocalist is off the stage and up close and personal with the front-row of a delighted audience. New to me and probably the majority of those present, it’s pretty fair to say Hiraes won over plenty of fans tonight.

It’s Finnish group Wolfheart next and I doubt the irony of them supporting Moonspell was lost on many, indeed Fernando wryly mentioned it later during their set. The stage seems packed with elaborate trimmings including banners, antlers and masked folk-horror clad microphone stands. It’s like a pagan hunt littered with traps and a dark and dangerous game unfolds as the group romp into ‘Strength and Valour’.

Vocals are coarse and like the rough bark of trees as they are delivered from behind the vast horns adorning his stand. Melody is frosty and sounds very much from the heartlands of their home enclave. This is nothing like the peaceful forest frolics of bands such as Korpiklaani though and full of epic melodicism bringing the likes of Omnium Gatherum and Moonsorrow to mind as they blaze angrily through songs such as ‘Burning Sky’ I’m surprised to discover the group have seven albums to their name and also that they have been to London in the past.

They take us back to where it all began with ‘The Hunt’ which aptly concurrent with my first thoughts and get heads banging away. Bang up to date with ‘Evenfall’ from new album ‘Draconian Darkness’ which scored a hefty mark on these pages there are no shortage of flailing solos and some expanded harmonies via clean backing vocals as it gallops forth. This is a band who are telling stories in each and every song and its impossible not to be reeled in by them.

Time is again of the essence and they culminate things with a song described as one of their fastest ‘The Grave.’ No kidding it buries us deeply in the woods and impresses no end.

The stage is stripped to the bones for the next couple of bands giving them lots of space and as far as Moonspell are concerned room to strut their stuff as they get us caught up in the addictive passion of ‘Opium.’ It’s been a while since I last saw the Portuguese masters and I wasn’t sure how they would fare as had found them hit and miss in the past. Tonight though they were nothing short of inflamed and the set is absolutely littered with classic numbers.

There’s loads of atmosphere as they move between sultry dark affairs and full-force stompers. Fernando seems to be lapping up the reaction and holds arms aloft in cruciform pose as he narrates the group’s dark anthems. The biggest surprise here is the fact that unless I’m mistaken nothing was aired from the last couple of albums and the emphasis is on the past. It seems to work too as far as the crowd are concerned and it is obvious that most here know each and every song.

There are no shortage of highlights from the punishing raptures of ‘Finesterra’ which is absolutely brutal to the catchy as hell ‘Everything’s Invaded’ with no shortage of people joining in with the chorus. Vocals seem to hit every nook and cranny of the venue and the sound is crystalline in the mix.

Perhaps it’s due to not hearing them for so long but it also seemed that a couple of numbers had been given a bit of a modern makeover ‘Alma Mater’ coming across as a particularly jolly and rousing affair.

I guess there wasn’t time for the vampires to come and suck blood and Moonspell turn to the werewolves for a lycanthropic finale of ‘Full Moon Madness.’ Complete with the band having time to get a little indulgent and the frontman joining in on the drums this was a memorable set that can only be considered a howling success.

Last stop Sweden but the indefatigable Dark Tranquillity rarely seem to get home for long at all. Having just swept through the USA on tour they are now conquering Europe with nary a pause. Not everyone has been able to keep up with the pace and it’s easy to lose track of comings and goings in the band. The one constant is the ever cheerful Mikael Stanne and needless to say he is in his element here tonight. One thing that is quickly evident is that unlike Moonspell new material is very much on the cards here.

Not a problem as everyone should have had time to soak up recent album ‘Endtime Signals’ by now and it certainly seems that way as cuts such as ‘The Last Imagination’ are aired. The fast strumming guitar work gets the adrenaline pumping as the drumming thunders through the rib-cage. Hooks fly out left right and centre people quickly get into the swing of things.

Naturally there are some older numbers and ‘Unforgivable’ goes down a storm, the fast paced romper seeing drummer Joakim Strandberg-Nilsson seemingly given an adrenaline boost and going off like the clappers. All the band are smiling and work like a well-oiled machine together, there’s a real sense of comradery about their assault.

Watching from above I notice the damage is indeed being done as Stanne growls away on ‘Final Resistance.’ The first brawny bearded body goes over the top and the pit is fired up. Nobody else seems up for crowd surfing and it’s not something welcomed these days but fair play to the original invader who can’t keep himself going over the barrier numerous times during the show.The keyboard leads the way twisting and turning through ‘Atoma’ and shortly after new one ‘Not Nothing’ proves no double negative and the clean vocals come across as particularly soulful.

It’s a whopping show running almost 90-minutes and including 18 songs. There’s no shortage of energy from either band or the pit as ‘Empty Me’ is hammered out but we were no doubt waiting for some of the real classics as the clock started ticking down.

We got them too with Projector number ‘Therein’ getting a rousing sing along, ‘The Wonders At Your Feet’ a hefty trampling and closer ‘Misery’s Crown bringing the house down for a final time. A great night all in all and no doubt as soon as this tour ends Mr Stanne will be hitting the road with The Halo Effect and Cemetery Skyline.