I've been working on a new original song for a little while, and it's now finished. It's a little bit of a departure from the stuff I've done to this point. The lyrics are kind of a joke... Kari insisted that I find some use for the phrase "crotch killer." The first thing that came to mind was the Bobbitt insanity, so I ran with it. (lyrics can be found after the jump.) So, after four long years of no full-on originals, I present "P.A.B."

I consider myself lucky to have gotten the chance to see After Forever tonight on their first North American tour, especially considering that I only started listening to them around the holidays last year. In that span of maybe ten months, they've become my second-favorite band.

I arrived at the Funhaus in Toronto (the show had been moved from the larger Opera House) only 20 minutes before doors and was surprised to see only 10 or so people waiting ahead of me. After getting inside, I planted myself against the stage toward stage left, where I knew AF guitarist/grunter Sander Gommans would be stationed.

I was surprised that there was no local opener. Unexpect opened the show with a seriously twisted brand of metal. I can't even describe it...they were just totally whacked. I hadn't heard of them before, but I'll be checking them out after that performance.

After Forever was every bit as good as I had hoped. The early songs were hampered by problems with Sander Gommans's guitar rig: his wireless died only seconds into "Discord." The tech wired him up with a guitar cable, but it took a few songs to get everything straightened out. The performance itself was excellent, though. Everyone was on their game. The set list was strong. They did a rendition of Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with Bas Maas on lead vocals. The selections from the new album were strong. I was especially happy to hear "Lonely," as I'm a sucker for the piano ballads. I wish they had played more than one song from Invisible Circles, but the set was still nice as it was.

After the show, the band came out to meet fans at the merch table. I was impressed by that. I was planning to hang out at the bus and try to meet the band, but it was a really nice gesture that they would come out like that. I met Floor, Bas, Joost van den Broek and Luuk van Gerven. I saw Andre Borgman, but he disappeared before I could get to him. I didn't see Sander, which is kind of a shame because he was the person I most wanted to meet, apart from Floor. Despite that, it was a great way to close out a very memorable evening.

Photos at Flickr.

Setlist:

1. Discord
2. Transitory
3. My Pledge of Allegiance I
4. Monolith of Doubt
5. Energize Me
6. Face Your Demons
7. Digital Deceit
8. Lonely
9. De-Energized
10. Being Everyone
11. For Whom the Bell Tolls
12. Equally Destructive
13. Dreamflight
--encore--
14. Forlorn Hope
15. Follow in the Cry

It's been confirmed by Mike Portnoy, although not officially announced: Opeth will be the opener on Dream Theater's spring North American tour! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll come back to UB or another local venue. Of course, it won't stop me if they don't stop here. That's going to be one heck of a show. It would be awesome to hear Mikael Akerfeldt doing grunts with DT on "The Dark Eternal Night"...wow.