Imagine a band where none of the original founders are still around, and the current members are the third generation. With each album, their popularity has grown, and In Flames, who are basically a defining force in metal music, took the stage in our country last night after 12 years, in the same venue. Watching them, with only the core duo of Anders Fridén and Björn Gelotte (who’ve been driving the band since 1995) left from the old lineup, filled me with a bittersweet excitement. Even though the newer members are talented, for some reason, I just couldn’t fully embrace them.

Anyway, first I want to talk about the opening band. Temor is a melodic death/black metal band from Greece. Their only real difference from others in the genre is that they have a member who plays an instrument called the Halldorophone, which is kind of like a cello. It adds some depth to their music, but it’s not super prominent, so it doesn’t really give the band a unique style. Their sound reminded me a bit of In Flames’ Whoracle era, but just a bit, don’t get me wrong. The band had a lot of energy on stage, and the vocalist especially couldn’t stay still. They played for about an hour and made good use of the time. The front row crowd seemed to love them. Personally, though, I didn’t think Temor brought anything extra compared to our own bands. I think Murder King or Soul Sacrifice would’ve been a much better opening act.

At 10:08 p.m., the intro music for the band we’d all been waiting for started. The place went wild when they kicked things off with Cloud Connected. We missed them, no doubt – after all, it had been 12 long years since they’d last been here. Thousands of people sang along with the chorus. The sound system was pretty good, but for a concert like this, many of us felt the volume could’ve been higher. The playlist was really well-balanced, in my opinion. Meanwhile, Anders and Björn showed that they’re the bosses of In Flames. For example, Chris Broderick, an amazingly talented American guitarist, didn’t play any solos. Sure, maybe Björn wrote all the solos, but come on, share the spotlight! That said, Chris was easily the most energetic guy on stage – he was all over the place.

I’ve seen them at 2005 Rock Republic, 2011 Gold Fest, and 2012 Sonic Sphere, and even though the lineup keeps changing, somehow In Flames still manages to keep their spirit alive and transfers that energy perfectly to the audience.

Because of their evolving sound, In Flames is now a band that appeals to fans aged anywhere from 15 to 50. I could clearly see this from the variety of ages around me last night. For instance, when they played Food for the Gods, people around my age (40s) went crazy, but during newer songs like In the Dark, we kind of took a breather while the folks in their 20s went wild. But when Only for the Weak came on, we all lost it together. Anders, the vocalist, really likes interacting with the crowd. His talks between songs give the band a chance to catch their breath. Right before Only for the Weak, he promised, “We won’t make you wait another damn 12 years to come back to Turkey, I swear.” We all heard it! He also gave a short speech about the importance of love and respect.

When My Sweet Shadow started, it hit me that the night was coming to an end. After the song finished, I was honestly expecting at least a three-song encore, but In Flames thanked everyone and left the stage. Seriously, man, you make us wait 12 years, apologize for not coming sooner, and can’t play a few more songs to make us happy? But nope, we headed home.

One other thing – there weren’t enough bathrooms, especially for the guys. They had some portable ones set up, but they weren’t well-lit. Also, metalheads are generally mindful of the environment. If you’d put out enough recycling bins, we wouldn’t have had to toss thousands of cups on the ground.

Despite these minor annoyances, the In Flames concert was amazing. We went home happy after a fantastic evening. Looking forward to even better concerts in the future!

Zafer AYAZ