Justin Nuoffer CONCERT REVIEW + PHOTOS
Imminence, Catch Your Breath, Of Virtue
5/6/24 – Majestic Theater, Madison, WI.
Review + Photos © Justin Nuoffer / NuofferMedia
On another absolutely beautiful night in the capital city of Wisconsin, Madison, the Majestic Theater hosted Swedish metalcore outfit Imminence. The Majestic is a jewel that sits just a block down from the capitol building itself. The red and white facade, classic ticket window, and marquee with red lights lining the top and bottom give the historic building a unique look. Once the doors open, the line is filled with people of various ages and different black band shirts. The line moved quickly and the security check was smooth. You had two options. One is going left and heading up to the balcony where booths and seating are open to all. There are also four opera booths off to the right of the balcony. Back on the main level you walk through a doorway and on the right is a merch area and a ramp leading down to the main floor. On the left is a bar that wraps around the back corner to stairs that lead down to the main floor. Straight ahead are three different decks that also lead down to the main floor. The stage is visible from all around the room. Blue lighting is pointed straight down over the drum kits that line the back of the stage. Below the gold proscenium arch that wraps around the front of the stage the hardwood stage glistened, ready for the performance to come.
The main floor filled quickly. 600 fans packed into the venue and most headed onto the main floor. Catch Your Breath came out and performed an 8-song set. Noticeably, the band was missing their lead vocalist Josh who was on a medical vocal rest. The band forged on without him, but through the speakers, his vocal tracks were pumped through. Catch Your Breath still gave it a full effort despite the situation. The crowd, though, didn’t seem to care much. They still moshed and crowd-surfed like it was a normal show. It would be unfair to make a judgment on this performance, but it was rather great as is.
Since Catch Your Breath swapped spots on the bill, Of Virtue brought their brand of party metalcore to the direct support spot. Guitarist and vocalist Damon Tate alternated vocals with Tyler Ennis who primarily was the screamer. The two engaged the rowdy GA floor. Every song they pumped out was from their most recent release Omen…Bangers such as “Cold Blooded”, “A.N.X.I.E.T.Y.”, and “Sinner”. They pulled out all of the tricks of the trade like high-fiving fans during the set, jumping into the circle pit themselves, and a cell phone light wave during “Sober”. They had it all and it was extremely fun. You couldn’t ask any more from a band who was picking up some of the slack for their billed brothers before them.
The definition of Imminence is the state or fact of being about to happen. Is there a more perfect band name based on definition alone? Maybe, but not tonight. Imminence brought their unique brand of metalcore to Madison for the first time. The sold-out Majestic was beyond packed. A dense fog from body heat filled the lower half of the room. On stage, the setup looked bare and pitch black. Four light stands with strobes attached sat two on each side of the drum riser in the middle. Imminence wasted no time jumping into the heavy grooves of “Paralyzed” from their 2019 album Turn The Light On. Strobes popped and a solo light held the middle over top of vocalist Eddie Berg. The simple imagery was breathtaking when he unleashed his screams. This was a common theme throughout the show.
Whether Berg was screaming or playing his violin the stage lit a flood light overhead. The impact was immediate. An enormous surge of people pushed towards the stage and a mosh pit opened up wide in the middle of the floor. Until the final note of the night ran out, the floor moved with relentless fury from this point on.
The hour-and-twenty-minute set featured mostly songs from The Black. The brand new album was released less than a month ago, so the nine songs from it were completely fresh to the adoring audience. “Continuum” set the tone. The deep and brutal bass lines by Christian Höijer, who hung off the edge of the stage most of the performance, rattled the venue’s vintage veneer and the soft choruses didn’t slow down the ferocity of every breakdown that followed them. The vibrations in the air flowed and hit at a molecular level. You sensed the dense lyrical content of that alone. This was a common theme all through the performance.
Their current single “Come Hell or High Water” earnestly won over the theater quickly. The dual vocals echoed over the space. Harald Barrett sang his heart out in concert with Berg. His guitar playing with rhythm guitarist Alex Arnoldsson performed a delicate dance. They toyed with each other despite being on opposite ends of each other. This show was a masterclass in modern metalcore, everything worked. With lighting in green, blue, and white the stage kept an emotional response continuous. The crowd ate up the breakdowns throughout it all. Crowd surfers in the smaller room flew towards the stage at a high rate. Security had their hands full at every turn. The beauty of Berg’s violin playing over heavy riffs was such an incredible layer of art to add to the arsenal. During “Heaven Shall Burn” the violin itself was almost its own vocal part. The instrument spoke to you. The song itself was a new take on traditional Scandinavian black metal. This mixture was pure excellence.
On a refreshing note, Imminence refused to have an encore and closed out the evening with “The Black”, which was a wild selection. The dark and moody orchestral overtones and gutteral-type screams were absolutely haunting and a chill filled the atmosphere. A feeling of awe and goosebumps ran up the arms due to the dark beauty on display. If they wanted to leave you with an impactful memory, they succeded. Imminence wasn’t one to talk much in between songs either. They acknowledged the fans and really that was it. It was all business to them. With the workman-like attitude displayed, the quality of the performance was the main focus and they accomplished the goal. Once the orchestral backtracks stopped playing they simply walked off into the darkened corners of the stage and the overhead lights turned on. That was it.
Overall, Imminence’s Live In The United States 2024 tour was a thing of precision and brilliance. Walking away from the venue into the Madison evening, one couldn’t have been happier and more fulfilled with the entire bill. The area was buzzing. For their first time taking a stage in Madison, and as a headliner, they absolutely crushed it. The sky is the limit for their brand of music and near-perfect live performance.
Check out the Imminence concert photo gallery here:
Check out the Catch Your Breath concert photo gallery here:
Check out the Of Virtue concert photo gallery here:
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