Somnus CD Release Party

The Phantasy Nite Club    

September 14th, 2002

First off, kudos to Somnus and The Phantasy for going the extra mile with  this release party.  Free food, free Vader tickets, giveaways, discount drinks, and a great line-up of bands.  What more could a metal fan ask for?  And all for a reasonable ticket price. 

Manticore started the evening's musical program with a set of old school black metal.  They played an extremely brutal set drawn mostly from a soon to be released CD.  While not my favorite style, the band displayed considerable talent and sounded tight.  If you dig early Bathory or Mayhem you should definitely check this band out.

Next up was Summer's Dying from Lansing, MI.  All I can say is these guys really blew me away.  I loved the vocal interplay between the lead singer, bass player, and rhythm guitarist.  Their sound was something like a cross between In Flames and Amorphis, with melodic passages alternating with all out aggression.  Good songwriting and a killer performance.

Headliners Somnus took the middle slot, hitting the stage around 11 pm.  After an atmospheric intro piece, and a brief pause to correct some keyboard troubles, the band tore through a set of gothic tinged metal.  Drawing mostly from their latest release, 'Through Creation's End', Somnus delivered a solid performance beginning with the college radio favorite "Warlock's Feast".  Their hour long set also included excellent renditions of  "The Gate of Wolves", "Dawn of Spirits", "Forever the Serpent" (from their first album), "Deciever", and a cover of Slayer's "Seasons in the Abyss".

My apologies to Soulless and Nocturnal Solace, who closed out the evening, but I had to hit the road after Somnus was done.  Click here for two pages of pictures.