DARK TRANQUILLITY
La Locomotive - Paris, France
October 6, 2008

	I missed the two previous Dark Tranquillity shows in town, so there was no way I was going to miss that one. I had to work late so I missed the two opening bands. A short time after I got in, the lights went down and Dark Tranquillity's intro song began to air. Instead of a classic backdrop, the band had a giant screen on the back of the stage, displaying Dark Tranquillity’s logo as well as different images and films during the songs.
	They started the show with The Treason Wall, which is definitely a great opening song and one of my favourites. The first thing to notice was the sound. It was loud, powerful and very clear and well balanced; every instrument could be heard. From the beginning everybody in the hall was enjoying the show, given the amazing ovation that the audience gave to the band after the first two songs.
	Mikael Stanne should win the award of the most smiley singer in metal music! He’s always pulling faces, getting his tongue out and smiling at the audience and the photographers. That’s a nice attitude; he seems to love to be on stage. He is also very close to the audience: he gets on his knees just in front of the first rows and signs while shaking hands with some fans. And when fans go up on the stage to do some crowdsurfing, he doesn’t hesitate to headbang by their side for a few seconds. Mikael Stanne also goes crowdsurfing himself, and it’s quite impressive to see him singing as he goes from side to side of the pit over the audience.
	Martin Henriksson and Niklas Sundin are an amazing duo of guitarists. Their solos could be heard clearly. They have a great sense of melody. This is very well completed by Martin Brändström’s keyboards. All together with Anders Jivers on drums, they have a truly unique sound.
	Daniel Antonsson is the new bass player of the band. He is currently the guitarist of Dimension Zero and former guitarrist of Soilwork. I don’t know if he is an official member of Dark Tranquillity or a tourisng bass player for the tour. He is great on stage and I think the audience accepted him. But of course I miss Michael Nicklasson, the band’s historic bass player.
	The band played seven out of ten songs from their new album Fiction, and they really sound great in concert. During The Mundane and the Magic samples were used to hear the voice of Nell Sigland of Theatre of Tragedy.
	Classics weren’t forgotten: the setlist included songs like Punish My Heaven, The Wonders At Your Feet and The New Build. Surprisingly, they didn’t play Thereln, one of the most well-known tunes.
	By the end of the show, many people were getting on stage, to headbang with the band and jump into the pit. A guy tried to show his bottom, but he was quickly stopped by a roadie. Also a beautiful girl wanted to thank Mikael and hold him for a few seconds in her arms. She even almost kissed him. It’s not bad to be a Rockstar when you think about it ;-) There was no encore, which is something quite rare for any band. They played all their set without going backstage before the last songs. It was a great Death Metal night, and when I think about it, it was maybe the best Dark Tranquillity show I’ve seen.
	Setlist Dark Tranquillity – La Locomotive - Paris, France – October 28, 2008 01. The Treason Wall 02. The New Build 03. Focus Shift 04. The Lesser Faith 05. The Wonders At Your Feet 06. Lost To Apathy 07. Inside The Particle Storms 08. Nothing To No One 09. Edenspring 10. Insanity’s Crescendo 11. Dreamlore Denegate 12. My Negation 13. Misery's Crown 14. Freecard 15. Yesterworld 16. Punish My Heaven 17. The Mundane And The Magic 18. Final Resistance 19. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)
	Dark Tranquillity Line-up Mikael Stanne - Vocals Martin Henriksson - Guitar Niklas Sundin - Guitar Daniel Antonsson - Bass Anders Jivarp - drums Martin Brändström - Keyboards Links: Dark Tranquillity Website Dark Tranquillity My Space