Reuniting With an Old Friend IN FLAMES Returns to Istanbul

The first of IN FLAMES’ opening acts was EMPLOYED TO SERVE, a band whose name I had heard for the first time on this occasion. I can say that the British metalcore outfit did everything they could to warm up the crowd. Their vocalist Justine, in particular, delivered a performance that filled the stage quite effectively and tried to capture the pulse of the audience. The British band opened their set with “Atonement,” a track that gained attention through their collaboration with Will Ramos, and left the stage after performing a total of nine songs. It is clear that this young band is one of the rising stars of the genre. I was just not entirely sure whether they were the right choice for this particular three-band lineup. Still, I can say that they delivered what is expected from an opening act.

The iconic British punk grindcore legends NAPALM DEATH, on the other hand, completely owned the stage. From their opening song “Instinct of Survival,” they had the entire audience in the palm of their hands. By both commanding the stage and doing justice to their style, they once again proved why they are considered legends. Barney, in particular, fired up the crowd with his stage energy. He did not stand still for a single second. The band delivered a 20-song setlist — although, considering the brevity of some of their tracks, it was not actually as long as it sounds — with a performance lasting slightly over an hour. Here, I would like to repeat the concern I mentioned regarding the first band. For fans of the genre, NAPALM DEATH are already a huge name. Were they the right choice as the band performing before IN FLAMES, or should they have been considered for a separate headline show of their own? This remained somewhat of a question mark for me. However, I am sure that seeing them under any circumstances was a great pleasure for their fans. They literally made the genre’s followers feel rewarded throughout a packed hour-plus performance. The world’s shortest metal song, “You Suffer,” was of course also included in the setlist and brought a smile, as always. In short, NAPALM DEATH absolutely delivered what was expected of them, and both the band and Turkish fans enjoyed their reunion.

EYLEM

And there we go, folks… the final day of this concert run. This will be a joint review, and I will briefly touch on the NAPALM DEATH side of things before stepping aside. As Eylem said, EMPLOYED TO SERVE are not a bad band at all, but I am not sure whether they were the right choice. I think a local band could have been chosen instead, just like the previous day. Anyway, that is the organizer’s decision, and it is not really our place to complain. :)

Now, let’s get to NAPALM DEATH. Before that, though, I need to mention something. On Sunday, I attended the wedding of a mutual friend with Tanju Can. After the wedding, we went to Sanayi 1-A and spent some time there. Why am I mentioning this? Because they were the ones who brought NAPALM DEATH to Turkey for the first time. They had built up great momentum with RIOT, and thanks to them, we had the privilege of witnessing concerts by bands we perhaps never thought we would see in Turkey. I believe Tanju Baba holds a very important place in the history of our country’s scene.

After catching up at Sanayi 1-A and finishing a conversation that could never truly be enough, I had to leave. Thankfully, Tanju Abi was not going to miss this concert either. As I said, he is someone very important to me, and you cannot imagine how much I enjoyed experiencing this concert shoulder to shoulder with him. Later, Erdem Onan Abi joined us as well. Who is Erdem Onan? Keep it quiet, folks, keep it quiet! No questions, no problems… I am watching NAPALM DEATH with two of my favorite people from the Turkish grind scene… There is no way I can properly explain this…

Alright, back to the concert. :) Barney is a true frontman and never stops moving. He also never holds back when there is something that needs to be called out. We will upload his speech before “Narcissus” to YouTube. You will understand what I mean then. :) They opened with “Instinct of Survival,” and at that exact moment, I disappeared… I had a hard time stopping myself from going completely wild and running into people. I recorded a few songs, but honestly, I have no idea how I managed to do it. They stayed on stage for more than an hour, yet I have no idea how the time passed. It just flew by. :(

After the concert ended, the best surprise of the day arrived. From whom? Of course, from Amir Abi. He did it again and managed to get me backstage. I am grateful to him for giving me the chance to meet NAPALM DEATH and take photos with them. While waiting for NAPALM DEATH, the second bombshell of the day dropped. Cevdet Abi and the NEKROPSI guys were apparently backstage waiting for the members as well. After a brief moment of eye contact, we found ourselves deep in conversation. We talked about everything from the SPEED LESSON ONE days to Erem Abi’s memories and the excavation work in Antalya. I also want to thank him for the ITU invitation.

I never imagined I would meet the people I call my “idols” at the same concert. Tanju Baba, Barney, Cevdet Abi, Cenk Abi… What kind of good deeds must I have done for so many beautiful things to happen one after another? :) Of course, all of this happened thanks to Amir Abi. Good to have you, crazy man. Never lose your energy; you will always have a special place with me.

I guess I have gone on for too long again, so I will now leave the stage to Tahir. Take care, everyone. See you at the concerts…

HÜS

relationship with? Over time, you sometimes love them, sometimes get angry with them, and sometimes they surprise you. These are all perfectly normal emotions to experience. Defending something blindly without allowing yourself to feel these things is not a healthy approach.

That is exactly what IN FLAMES means to me. They are the band I have listened to since my youth and the group I have valued the most musically throughout my life. I have followed them for approximately 25 years, and I own their complete discography on vinyl. Since 1999, we have experienced their changes, their development, their right decisions, their mistakes — everything — together as time has passed. So having expectations was only natural.

I attended the 2024 concert with my wife. That show had a very special place for me. When a new Istanbul concert was announced shortly afterward, the feeling we all had was basically: “Wait, didn’t IN FLAMES just come here?” Our perception of time has changed so much that we now experience a memory from 2–3 years ago as if it happened only 2–3 months ago.

Especially during the previous concert, the lack of energy from the audience combined with the band’s lack of energy resulted in a show that felt close to “let’s just finish this and go.” For us fans who love the old IN FLAMES, the 2024 setlist actually included many classic tracks such as “Food For The Gods,” “Graveland,” and “Coerced Coexistence,” but we went through the concert without giving much of a reaction as an audience. Honestly, I did not think IN FLAMES would return to Istanbul for a long time, but I was wrong. (I wish I was always wrong like this.)

Since the concert announcement, the only thing on my mind was how the setlist would be shaped. The songs chosen for the American tour before this European run did not look particularly exciting, but I was one of those who believed the European tour would always feature different songs and could turn out better. And to some extent, that happened as I expected. Tracks such as “Colony,” “Artifacts Of The Black Rain,” and “The Chosen Pessimist” had been added to the setlist.

“Colony,” in particular, has always been a song with some of my favorite riffs and one that always gets me fired up. That is why knowing it would be played live made me extremely happy, but unfortunately, after hearing it on stage, I did not feel the same way. I could not fully hear the riffs; it felt almost like a simplified version of the song. If I did not know the lyrics by heart, I might have asked, “What song was this?” It felt like there were only bass and drum patterns carrying it. While writing this review, I listened to the video I recorded again and realized once more that I was not mistaken. When we upload the full song to our YouTube channel, please share your thoughts as well. I had similar concerns about “Artifacts Of The Black Rain,” but thankfully they played that song somewhat better.

I especially think they have now reduced the older songs to the easiest possible versions to perform live. I can say this after attending enough IN FLAMES concerts to have a basis for comparison. This is what I have seen across many setlists both in Turkey and abroad. That is why, at this point, I would rather hear the newer songs that the band actually wants to play on stage instead of the older tracks during IN FLAMES concerts.

Looking back at the concert as a whole, this time the audience responded to Anders’ reactions, and it was a much better show compared to 2024. Especially Anders calling the older songs “old shit” before playing them, and then clarifying that he meant “good old shit” so it would not be misunderstood or create unnecessary controversy, did not go unnoticed. Likewise, before “Artifacts Of The Black Rain,” his statement that they would not play the song again if people did not enjoy it showed how the expectations of the band and the audience could meet somewhere in the middle.

After all, audiences expect certain things from a concert, and bands also expect certain things from their audiences. Seeing people enjoy themselves, jump around, headbang, and sing along are things that elevate a band’s performance. I also know that because those things did not happen in 2024, the band left with a major disappointment. Thankfully, we did not experience that this time.

We heard a total of 18 songs. I especially loved Anders’ harsh vocals on “The Chosen Pessimist.” The flawless drum solo performance during “The Quiet Place” was another great detail. However, when it comes to “Only For The Weak,” a song that has been the backbone of their live shows for years, you naturally want that solo to be performed even more perfectly. There are people on YouTube who can play this song flawlessly in a single take.

In conclusion, I am now convinced that fans enjoy and participate much more during songs from IN FLAMES’ albums released after “Sound Of A Playground Fading.” The crowd who says, “We want the old IN FLAMES,” tends to watch concerts in a very static way. The band prepares their setlists accordingly. So, judging by what I read on social media, everyone who loves the band seemed to have had a very satisfying night at yesterday’s concert.

Maybe at the next show, we will experience a completely different IN FLAMES with even more incredible songs from the new album.

As for me, thanks to my dear friend Burak Gülgüler, I had the opportunity to meet Anders Fridén and Björn Gelotte and have my albums signed. For me, this was the highest level of happiness I could possibly reach, and I want to thank Burak once again here for making it happen.

The “Moonshield” notes I heard under a cherry tree in 1999 evolved, 27 years later, into having that very album signed by the band. That is why I am grateful this music exists, and everyone who loves this music turns it into something magical.

TAHIR