Halo Of Blood Over North America 2014 Review
With Children of Bodom, Týr and Death Angel
February 22nd, 2014
Union Hall
As doors opened on a bitterly cold February evening (something that is not uncommon for any show in Edmonton in the winter), the anticipation was high for what promised to be a stellar line-up of solid bands. As the crowd slowly trickled in, it was apparent that the Union Hall would be close to capacity with fans eager to witness a night of metal from Týr, Death Angel and Children of Bodom.
Hailing from the Faroe Islands, Týr took the stage first. I believe this was their second visit to this city, having previously appeared as part of the Paganfest lineup in the spring of 2013. Týr brought an energy with them that seemed to be slightly lacking on Paganfest, quickly energizing the crowd. The vocals came through clearly on this night and the pace remained fast throughout the set. They played a few crowd favorites, including ‘Hold The Heathen Hammer High’ and ‘Shadow of the Swastika’, with the latter bringing a few confused looks from audience members obviously uninitiated in either Týr’s material, history, or both. Undoubtedly, Týr had several new fans in the crowd following the release of their latest album, Valkyrja. ‘Mare Of My Night’ translated well live, as did ‘Blood of Heroes’. (Personally I think the intro riff to ‘Blood of Heroes’ sounds very similar to the intro riff of Amon Amarth’s ‘Cry Of The Black Birds’, but that could just be my musically un-trained ears). Some of us were hoping for ‘Ragnarok’ to be played, due to the supposed connection to Ragnarok on the same night, but it was not included in the set. With only a handful of songs played, Týr’s setlist seemed rather short and left some fans hungry for a bit more.
Death Angel, a well-respected, if not as well-known as other thrash bands from California, blasted onto the stage next, spreading infectious enthusiasm and contagious energy. The Dream Calls for Blood, Death Angel’s 2013 album release, has been widely hailed as one of the best metal albums of the year by numerous sources, which is a difficult task in a year that saw several fantastic albums released. Needless to say, they were almost as highly anticipated by the crowd as the headliner themselves. Being the first time I’ve witnessed Death Angel live, I was very impressed by the respect and gratefulness that vocalist Mark Osegueda iterated during their set, emphasizing that the band themselves were metal fans, playing for more metal fans. Death Angel was in perfect form, delivering their set in an electric manner, playing mostly new material. ‘Left For Dead’ and ‘The Dream Calls for Blood’ were included in the fairly short set, which is the only complaint arising from their performance. A longer set would have been ideal, as several Death Angel fans attested to. Again, Mark Osegueda made a very favorable impression when he was willing to chat for a moment, take pictures and even made a point of introducing himself by name to myself and my friends when the opportunity arose to speak with him after the show. It was refreshing to see the humbleness and general amicableness he demonstrated. Until the release of The Dream Calls for Blood, I admit that I had not previously listened to very much Death Angel, but after a spectacular live performance, they have definitely created a new fan.
Long before headliners Children of Bodom took their turn on the stage, the crowd was chanting for them. Well, perhaps for their road crew, as every time someone appeared on stage the volume of the chants was significantly raised. This Finnish band is fairly well-known in the metal scene, attracting a considerably wide range of fans. Having a new album, Halo of Blood, released in 2013 is something they share with the previous two artists. The floor looked similar to a pot of boiling water as Bodom took the stage and those in the pit found a renewed energy. The crowd never stopped moving during the set, which included a mix of older and newer material, leaning towards slightly more old material. Children of Bodom played one of the tightest sets I’ve seen from them, and I have seen them many times. Tracks from Halo of Blood were quite well received, with the title track and a few others being played. ‘Dead Man’s Hand On You’ fit surprisingly well into a hard hitting set, providing a bit of mellowness. It would have been nice to hear the vocals more clearly during this song, but it may have been an effect of where I was standing in the venue, as vocals for all bands were difficult to distinguish at times.
Several songs from Are You Dead Yet? manifested during the set, proving that the Finns have a good idea of what their fans enjoy hearing live and were prepared to deliver. A few former staples, such as ‘Angels Don’t Kill’ and ‘Needled 24/7’ were omitted, slightly to my disappointment as I always thoroughly enjoy those two tracks live. ‘Bodom Beach Terror’ was accompanied by projected footage of a police investigation, perhaps leaving some to wonder if it was stock footage of the Lake Bodom murders that took place years ago. A large cheer erupted when vocalist Alexi Laiho asked the audience if they wanted to hear some older material followed quickly by near-dead silence when he asked if anyone like an album titled Hatebreeder. (Apparently few in the crowd know about this album?) This was the intro for ‘Towards Dead End’. As a whole, Children of Bodom’s set was a reasonably well-rounded mixture of well-executed material. It seems that the efforts to save the beverages for until after the show have really paid off for this band, as the last two times I have caught a live show, they have pumped out technically solid sets. There was no encore played, which seemed a little strange, but may have had to due with the set-up of the stage itself.
Again I found myself wanting a longer set. Even for a headliner, Bodom’s set seemed a little on the short side in comparison to some of the other times I have seen them live. While each band had a beautifully executed set, they all seemed a bit short on this night. Whether that was by their own volition or something to do with the venue, I do not know. All together, it was a very solid night of high energy metal, giving many fans something to talk about for the next several days. Oh, and by the way, Canada’s hockey team did manage to beat Sweden in the Olympic gold medal game, just as Alexi had sincerely hoped for.
