Norfolk, Virginia – The rescheduled IMMUTABLE USA tour makes a stop at The NorVA with djent metallers Meshuggah and support from Miami, Florida’s sludge metal band Torche and the Salem, Massachusetts hardcore band Converge.
The last time I saw Torche live was April 20, 2009 when they were supporting Napalm Death at the long gone Peppermint Beach Club. What amazes me about Torche is that they have survived since their founding in 2004 with all of their original members. The crowd was more than ready for them to perform and headbanged in unison as they played a set consisting mostly of songs from their most recent efforts Admission and Restarter. They sounded really good and was a sound choice for an opening band.
Torche SETLIST
From Here
Piraña
Sandstorm
Slide
In Pieces
Reverse Inverted
Charge of the Brown Recluse
Undone
Annihilation Affair
Harmonslaught
What Was
Infierno
Tarpit Carnivore
Converge is another band I haven’t seen live since 2009, in this case when they played The NorVA supporting Dethklok and Mastodon. I have never been able to get into their music, but that did not stop the faithful from throwing down with them. The majority of their set was songs from their last three efforts All We Love We Leave Behind, Axe to Fall and The Dusk in Us. Because of the amount of equipment Meshuggah had for their stage setup, this limited the amount of space on stage for the support bands. This didn’t bother lead singer Jacob Bannon who gave a menacing performing despite the limited space. There was a decent amount of pit activity, although I thought there should have been more considering what some of my friends were saying about the show. What I found interesting is that once Converge finished playing, a number of people left for the night.
Converge SETLIST
Dark Horse
Aimless Arrow
Under Duress
Trespasses
All We Love We Leave Behind
Predatory Glow
Reap What You Sow
Cutter
Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast
Empty on the Inside
Arkhipov Calm
Heartless
For those who stuck around their moment finally arrived when Meshuggah took the stage and started their set with “Broken Cog” from Immutable. The audience loved their stage setup and light show which fit the music. In addition to three additional songs from Immutable, they played older material from Catch Thirtythree, Koloss and Nothing which I thought was unusual. Most bands try to mix up newer and older material to give the audience the best live experience. If you are a fan of older Meshuggah, you will love portions of their set. This was my first time experiencing them live and I liked what I heard and saw and would definitely want to see them live again.
This show had something for everyone and was a unique night of music, if you can catch the tour I would recommend it.
The Meshuggah IMMUTABLE USA 2022 tour runs through October 16th with its last stop in Atlanta, Georgia. Ticket information can be found HERE.
Meshuggah SETLIST
Broken Cog
Light the Shortening Fuse
Rational Gaze
Pravus
The Hurt that Finds You First
Ligature Marks
Born in Dissonance
Mind’s Mirrors
In Death – Is Life
In Death – Is Death
The Abysmal Eye
Straws Pulled at Random
Show Date: September 21, 2022
