Imminence makes their last stop at New York City’s Irving Plaza to conclude 'From Sweden With Love' tour with special guest Until I Wake.
Photography & review written by Emily Agnesini
To kick off the end of this massive North American run, fans are introduced to one of Buffalo’s favorite metalcore band known as Until I Wake. Until I Wake is a post hardcore & metalcore band that is signed under Fearless Records. Until I Wake originated from Buffalo, NY and formed in late 2019 into early 2020. The lineup of the band consists of Niko Karras on rhythm guitar and backup vocals, August Geitner on lead guitars, Ryan Ridley on bass, and finally drummer Alex Curtin. For this tour, the band currently had a fill-in frontman known as Jaali Cypher.
Until I Wake played a variety of songs from throughout their discography. As soon as the red beams began to flash, the band opened the night with their song “For the Record” off of their 2022 album titled “Inside My Head.” Other songs that were played from this release include “Forsaken,” “Octane,” and the title track to the record, “Inside My Head.” The band also played two new singles, “Cold” and “Fool’s Paradise.” Recently this band has put out a brand new Deluxe Edition from their latest album “Inside My Head” which just got released back in November 2023. Click here to stream the deluxe edition!
Although the band played a relatively short nine song set, there was one common theme throughout the set. That theme was the energy coming from the band, and especially from fill-in singer Jaali Cypher. This was Cypher’s first tour with the band, but he had the energy and stage presence that you would expect from a seasoned veteran. It seemed like every song he was up at the barricade engaging the audience. He had such unique energy on stage, and you could tell the crowd was enjoying that energy; whether they were fans of the band or not. The band all kept calling for the crowd to form numerous circle pits and all you were able to see was all of the beer and alcohol spray all over the place, ultimately leaving those in the pit to slip and fall; which was hilarious.
While they were playing their most recent release "Fools Paradise", I took it upon myself to be the first person of the night to crowd surf as the breakdown was about to hit. Not going to lie, I thought I would've collided into Cypher; but luckily he moved out of the away as I was making my way towards the security guards at the barricade. Towards the end of their set, they closed the night off with one of their most streamed songs titled "Inside My Head". Karras, Geitner, Ridley and Curtin all have such amazing talent with their powerful riffs, and insane stage presence. During their whole set, Geitner and Ridley kept doing spins on stage as well as swinging their instruments around their body.
This has to be one of the best performances and crowd interaction I've ever seen from all the times I've caught Until I Wake live. Before the band was about to lead into the breakdown, the band called for those in the pit to split the room in half, side to side in preparation for what we all know as the 'wall of death'. To those to have never been to a metal show in New York City have no idea what they are prepared for. It has to be one of the most insane mosh pits I've ever seen at a New York show for an opening band. To finish the song off, Cypher jumped back to the barricade and made the crowd repeat these words after him "One By One". Ultimately the crowd listened and as Cypher kept screaming "LOUDER!", everybody chanted those same three lyrics as loud as they can. Even I saw some of the security guards repeating the chant. After the show was over, all the members hung out at the merch table taking photos with fans. After seeing this phenomenal performance, I would definitely pay to see them again live.
After a long thirty minute intermission between sets, it’s finally time for Imminence to take the stage at Irving Plaza. Many fans have been waiting countless years for Imminence to make their first appearance in North America. Imminence makes their first ever North American tour. When the New York show was originally announced, it was supposed to originally take place in some small bar venue that can hold out to approximately 250 people max. With such high demand of this band coming to New York, they immediately had to upgrade to Irving Plaza which can hold approximately 1200 people.
Imminence is a Swedish metalcore band from Trelleborg. The band currently consists of Eddie Berg (lead vocals/violin), Harald Barrett (backing vocals/lead guitar), Alex Arnoldsson (rhythm guitar), Christian Höijer (Bass) and Peter Hanström (Drums). The band formed in 2009 in their hometown and are currently signed to German record label Arising Empire. The band released multiple singles in anticipation of this tour.
Irving Plaza was packed to the brim with people and almost deafening the whole venue by chanting “IMM-I-NENCE” over and over until the Swedish quintet stepped onto the stage. Immience is not like every other metalcore. Imminence dresses in formal attire for all of their shows, but what stands out from all the rest is their music is driven by the violin work of Eddie Berg. Berg is the frontman and is one of the greatest talents in the scene. Berg’s screams are some of the best there is and he serenades the crowd while also playing the violin. This unique twist is what makes Imminence so special and why people will travel from multiple states away to see their show. One couple in the crowd traveled from Virginia to see their incredible performance. On fan even brought a Swedish flag to the venue and had as many people as possible sign it.
Imminence opened up their set with “Paralyzed” off of their third studio album “Turn The Light On” which was released in 2019. Throughout the set crowd surfers were aplenty as they bombarded the security guards at the barricade. I was kicked in the head numerous times due to the pure volume of crowd surfers coming over the barricade. Their first New York City show was off to a hot start as Imminence serenaded the crowd as stroble lights flashed the crowd following the beat of Hanström on drums.
Imminence released four songs in anticipation of their first North American tour. These singles are called “Come Hell Or High Water”, “Desolation”, “Heaven Shall Burn” and “Death By A Thousand Cuts”. “Death By A Thousand Cuts” was the most recent release as it was released on November 17th. All four singles were played and the crowd was prepared as they sang the words back at the band as they performed. The crowd formed a wall of death for “Surrender” off of the 2021 album “Heaven In Hiding”. The wall of death formed quickly as I found myself getting caught in the middle of it.
After a few fast and heavy songs, Berg asked the crowd if they could slow it down a bit. The crowd eagerly obliged and Imminence geared up to play “Alleviate”. “Alleviate” is also off “Heaven In Hiding”, but Imminence had a special twist for this track. The stage crew rolled out a keyboard. The keyboard has a flag draped over it that had the band logo and name on it. Barrett and Berg were the only members on stage as Barrett gracefully played the keyboard and Berg serenaded the crowd as everyone put their flashlights up. The crowd gave Berg a break as they took over singing the last chorus in a moment that left Berg in awe. Berg formed a heart with his hands and thanked the crowd for the beautiful moment.
The set came closer to its end as the crowd got more energetic. Loads of crowd surfers poured over the barricade when “Chasing Shadows” was played which is also off of “Heaven In Hiding”. I saw that as a perfect opportunity to join in on the fun and crowd surfed a couple of times myself. Imminence closed out with “Temptation” from “Heaven In Hiding” which also is one of their most streamed songs with over 11.4 million streams on spotify just behind “Infectious” with over 11.7 million streams. The energy was infectious as Niko Karras and Jaali Cypher of Until I Wake came down to the pit to have some fun. The both of them crowd surfed and moshed as they celebrated a successful tour with the fans in the pit. Imminence thanked Until I Wake for being a part of this journey and the crowd chanted Until I Wake’s name with the two members beside them in the crowd. That concluded Imminence’s first North American tour. A tour that had several sell outs and venue upgrades within the first week of the tour announcement. Berg not only thanked New York City, but also all of North America and its fans for a more than successful tour. Berg closed out by yelling that Imminence will return to North America next spring.
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