Not to be confused with the British Made Luxury Fashion Brand, a Welsh band Florence Black simply destroyed the venue from the very first chord. Guys, I hope you get endorsed! Insanely loud kicks, smoked main vocals, drummer and bassist adding up with backs, - this was an insanely strong warm-up. It was getting better and better with each next song - a very intense 30-minute set-list. And, you know, blues scales are something that could hardly surprise, but every song had a wow-effect. Simple and effective and very-very well-thought parts and nuances.

“It is our first ever gig in Norway”, - said Tristan Thomas when announcing “Look Up”, - but it seems like the audience has totally embraced the band. And, hello, this is Norway, - it is the place where people are supposed to be standing with crossed arms to count the notes and judge you as a performing act. Everyone is jumping. Tristan is out of tune - it is the third string, and he manages to fix the tune while singing. Pad with a sample for breakdowns helps the groove. I note how well-thought the mix is - good guitar, big bass and huge drums. I see that the guitar is Quad Cortex - well, at least, for effects - and it definitely does not sound any plastic - very natural. This was a very convincing discovery of the year for me, check them out. No, I mean it - google “Florence Black band” right now.

Transition, and all the Nu metal superhits are rocking the house. Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park. Intro and Tremonti is onstage. Mark Tremonti has been everywhere from doing insane shreds to recently amazing (me) with fantastic covers of Frank Sinatra. Extra talented guy, and I wanted to pay tribute by checking him out.

It was a bit strange that Tremonti, the solo band, performed in John Dee, which is quite a small venue in Oslo, but (at least) it was sold out. Nerdy checklist: Mike and co do use signature PRS amps that sound absolutely fantastic with gnarly bottom, they also have Kemper (I assume for effects only, since the PRS tones were very recognizable in the mix), and they use the sexiest PRS guitars (I want one, and both Mike and Eric Friedman were changing guitars every song - they win). Wolfgang Van Halen was in the band some time ago, but now, judging by the set, Mark is the main solo powerhouse. It is irritating, how flawlessly he switches from rhythm to extra fast solos and back.

In general, Tremonti plays a more busy music than the opener, and they were noticeably less loud and less punchy. More busy, less groovy than the opener, but more heavy, less loud. 

I think that both bands do not deserve to be playing on such a small stage. Tremonti sounds like a contemporary Nu Metal band enhanced by Mark’s solos. The first band is easier to headbang to, but Tremonti for sure does manage to rock the place. The only thing I would have added would be some effects to vocals that were a bit dry. 

It was interesting to see Oslo embracing Nu Metal, and damn, this gig had to happen in a bigger place.