I’m always intrigued by Central Florida music lovers as to what will or will not decide to get them to go to a show. Some shows I expect to be packed aren’t and others I expect to be light are packed. When Meshuggah was announced to be playing at Hard Rock Live with In Flames and Torche I was thrilled to see an excellent lineup. But, would the Central Florida fans feel the same? Both Swedish metal bands have huge followings in Europe and the U.S., but was that following also here in Central Florida? The answer to that question was a resounding “YES!”.
I arrived to pick up my photo pass to find on the ticket window a sign stating the show was sold-out. I was elated to see the fans drawn to these bands as I already sensed it would be an enjoyable show. I was fairly certain the fans were going to agree. Before the doors opened, the line was running nearly down to the entrance to Universal Studios. And before the show even started, the floor of the venue was filled with fans ready to cheer, scream, and a large group ready to mosh the night away.
Torche opened up the show for the fans. They’re a heavy metal band out of Miami, FL that formed in 2004. The band has released five studio albums and four EPs. Their most recent release was titled Admission from 2019. Torche consists of Steve Brooks (vocals, guitar), Jonathan Nunez (guitar), Eric Hernandez (bass), and Rick Smith (drums).
I hadn’t heard of Torche until this night and I was quite impressed. The immediate heavy sounds, melodic vocals, and just a great rhythm had me liking them right away. Steve’s vocals are quite clear and he is a bustle of energy on the stage, constantly moving if he’s not behind the mic singing. Jonathan is more subdued in his onstage motions, but his guitar playing is large with awesome metal notes. Eric strums out deep bass beats loud enough you could feel it from halfway across the venue (I’m not joking). Rick ripped out drumbeats so fast on his kit. It was definitely a sight to behold.
Musically they were also very impressive. They lined up a nice lineup of heavy metal songs. “Pirana” had the head banging and mosh pits running early with the bass continually heavy and a great mix of guitar riffs. “In Pieces” from their 2012 album Harmonicraft has a wonderful instrumental mixed with the vocals. They even included a cover of Floor’s “Charge of the Brown Recluse”. Overall, Torche entertained the fans with great music that evening. You can find their music and merch over at https://www.torchemusic.com/. Their setlist that night was:
- From Here
- Pirana
- Sandstorm
- Slide
- In Pieces
- Minions
- Reverse Inverted
- Charge of the Brown Recluse
- It Never Began
- Undone
- Annihilation Affair
- Harmonslaught
- What Was
- Infierno
In Flames was next to perform. The Swedish metal band has been rocking stages since 1990. Over 32 years the band released thirteen studio albums with their latest being I, the Mask in 2019. The band will be releasing their fourteenth album on February 10, 2023 titled Foregone. In Flames consists of Anders Friden (vocals), Bjorn Geloette (lead guitar), Chris Broderick (rhythm guitar), Bryce Paul (bass), and Tanner Wayne (drums).
I can’t say enough good things about In Flames, especially their live performances. Anders is a fantastic vocalist who can go from unclean to clean effortlessly. Bjorn’s guitar skills are smooth and slick as he moves his way through his riffs and newly added Chris blends his notes in well through songs that it feels like he’s been with them for years. Bryce’s bass work is great and he kept those bass vibrations moving through the venue even harder than before. And Tanner is a great drummer who received a huge ovation from the crowd when he first stepped onto the drumkit.
In Flames was ready to rock that night pulling out all the stops. They treated fans to three songs from the upcoming album Foregone with “The Great Deceiver”, “State of Slow Decay”, and “Foregone Pt 1”. “The Great Deceiver” is such a fantastic song bringing the hard and heavy from the beginning of the song. A lot of fans feel this is bringing In Flames back to their older heavier songs and I agree. They pulled out a true old school song with “Behind Space” from their first album Lunar Strain from 1994. Personally, my favorite was getting to hear them perform “I Am Above” from I, the Mask. It’s such a killer song with great rhythm and lyrics and it’s heavy.
And In Flame was so gracious to perform in front of a sold-out show. Anders stated how much the band loved everyone who chose to come out and spend the evening with them. He even joked with the media photographers asking us if we had enough photos yet and when one of us said “No” he laughed and said, “I get it.” And the rest of the night the band played up to the fans with smiles, finger points, and just overall saying how appreciative they were getting to play to the Orlando crowd. It was a flawless performance from In Flames that night and the fans couldn’t have asked for a better evening. You can find their music and merch over at https://www.inflames.com/. Their setlist that night was:
- The Great Deceiver
- Cloud Connected
- Behind Space
- Graveland
- Only for the Weak
- Leeches
- Foregone Pt. 1
- State of Slow Decay
- The Mirror’s Truth
- I Am Above
- Take This Life
And now it was time for the headliners, Meshuggah. The Swedish metal band has been around since 1987 and in that time released nine studio albums and six EPs. This performance at Hard Rock Live was part of their tour supporting their album Immutable released on April 1, 2022. Meshuggah consists of Jens Kidman (vocals), Fredrik Thordendal (guitar), Marten Hagstrom (guitar), Dick Lovgren (bass), and Tomas Haake (drums).
I’ve been enamored with them ever since seeing them perform at Welcome To Rockville in 2018. They were on a small stage with this massive crowd and I completely understood why. Their sound is unique for metal using complex rhythms in their music and rarely repeating these rhythms in any of their songs. The guitar work between Fredrik, Marten, and Dick is beautifully exquisite. Tomas’ drumwork is just as complex and exquisite. Add in Jens’ powerful vocals into the mix and this band is a complete package.
Meshuggah knows how to bring the crowd for a ride and have them loving every minute. They opened up the show performing “Broken Cog” from Immutable. Each of the band members, except Tomas, stood in front of a shadow box that lit up one per band member, following the rhythm of the song. It provided a great atmosphere to a great song. The band played a few songs from the new album including “Ligature Marks”, “Light the Short Fuse”, and “The Abysmal Eye”. I enjoyed getting to hear “Born in Dissonance” from the 2016 album The Violent Sleep of Reason. The heavy riffs and drumbeats gets your blood pumping and your head banging. They did go as far back as their 1995 album Destroy Erase Improve performing “Future Breed Machine”. Meshuggah brought a performance that kept the crowd moshing, headbanging, crowd surfing, and entertained all night. It was an awesome performance to wrap up the night.
You can find Meshuggah’s music and merch over at https://www.meshuggah.net/. Their setlist that night was:
- Broken Cog
- Light the Shortening Fuse
- Rational Gaze
- Pravus
- The Hurt That Finds You First
- Ligature Marks
- Born in Dissonance
- In Death – Is Life
- In Death – Is Death
- The Abysmal Eye
- Straws Pulled at Random
Encore:
- Demiurge
- Future Breed Machine
Overall, this was a phenomenal night of heavy metal. All three bands performed spectacularly well, they were entertaining and had the crowd constantly engaged all through the night. If the tour is coming your way, I highly recommend seeing it.
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