Imminence stuns in a tariff free night in Charlotte, NC
Crowds funneled into the Filmore in Charlotte, North Carolina with heads bent to avoid the rain. Those who braved the rain were rewarded with such a stunning night from start to finish by bands from abroad who made sure to make it worth the trip. With Jiluka, from Japan, Landmvrks, from France, and Imminence, from Sweden, all bands giving and receiving all the love Charlotte had to give.
Opening the night was Jiluka and I'm not sure anyone could have prepared for the insane show they put on. I'm not sure if they were taking lessons from the dramatics of Imminence, but they showed up and put on a performance that will hard to forget. With a The Plot In You sound, mixed a bit with beats you'd find in J-pop, and Final Fantasy style appearance, Jiluka was truly otherworldly. I have a theory- any band from Japan, or Australia, will never disappoint and will always throw down. Jiluka proved that theory true from the very second they stepped on stage.
Landmvrks came on stage with a roar. Opening with wildly a fast French rap, or so I like to believe- I'll admit my French is rusty at best- lead vocalist Florent Salfati silenced the crowd immediately with awe. It wasn't long into their set that the crowd surfers started up with such intensity more than one security guard fell while handling them (shout out to the Charlotte Filmore security team for being real ones). The intensity stayed through their entire set with deafening and impressive energy from everyone on stage. I had heard such amazing things about Landmvrks from the UK 2470mag staff members and they absolutely lived up to all of the stories I had heard and then some.
Charlotte was just one of many sold out shows for Imminence on this tour. Even 3 months into 2025 they're already making waves, and less than a year after their 2024 release of 'Into the Black' at that. So far this year, they've released two hard hitting singles: "Death Shall Have No Dominion" and "God Fearing Man," as well as an extended release of 'Into the Black.' They might have had a great year in 2024, but it's only just the beginning of the story for them.
With an increase of stage production for this tour, their impressive set up mimicking a church, including incense, the production aligned perfectly with their etherial energy. Plus, with the addition of a keyboardist and a shrouded female vocalist added on this tour, they undoubtedly leveled up since their last North American tour. Even with the last tour leaving me genuinely speechless and with goosebumps, the performance they put on was nothing short of astounding.
They hit the ground running with Eddie Berg, vocals, interacting with the crowd up through the first song, 'Paralyzed.' Lead guitarist, Alex Arnoldsson, and bassist, Christian Höijer, started off strong with constant head banging from the start and flaunting unfairly long hair perfect for emphasizing their head bangs.
I'd be remiss to leave out any comment of Harald Barrett, seemingly fan favorite if the crowd chants were to be trusted. Throughout their set Barrett gave glimpses of his Witch King persona; I'm not even sure how to begin describing this which furthers my later point of how you should definitely go see them live. It's my suspicion that Barrett had to have been in theater as a youth and found a way to combine a previous passion with his current job, props to him. Much akin Barrett's Witch King persona, Berg's performance while playing the violin adds to their ethereal performance. Berg somehow was able to make playing the violin look just as intense as head banging, if not more. The addition of violin is one of their iconic features and is what drew me in as a fan. It's also, in my opinion, one of the mainstream acts that have inspired others to add more classical instruments to their metal music.
Continuing their brilliant performance throughout their 90 minute set, Imminence delivered all the crowd favorites in addition to their new singles and left no one wanting more. I had the joy of talking to another photographer during the night; it was their first time seeing Imminence that night and had all the more pleasure of being told I was right at how seeing them for the first time was fully moving experience. They closed out the night with all of their brilliant energy, including Harald Barrett performing the iconic scene of him playing his guitar with a string bow. I've said this since seeing them in May of 2024, but their performance was genuinely akin to a religious experience for me- in a good way, not a disconcerting way. And the second time was no different, I have no doubt they're going to be selling out much larger venues in the future and if you get the chance to see them in a smaller venue, do not pass up the opportunity. Grab those tickets and enjoy the show.
