Imminence: (To Seattle) From Sweden, With Love…FINALLY!

By Mocha Charlie

Sweden’s, Imminence, is a band that has been contrasting brutal melodic heaviness with serene moments within their music for more than a decade; however, they’re a band most of you here in the states have probably never seen live. This is because prior to this tour, they had only played a handful of shows here in the US, and those were on the East coast at the end of last year. In 2024, they finally embarked on their first US, “From Sweden With Love”, tour and made a stop here in Seattle last week at The Neptune.

It took Imminence fourteen years since their formation in 2009 to get to Seattle, and fans here were more than ready to show their love for the band. Starting with seeing the number of fans who were already wearing the band’s t-shirts while waiting to get into the venue, to hearing the crowd chanting the band’s name over and over prior to them taking the stage, it was obvious that this crowd was eager to see what they had been missing out on. It was even more apparent when hundreds of voices from the crowd were singing along word for word, song after song throughout their set. 

The visually dark and eerie atmosphere created from the stage enhanced the band’s lyrically twisted tones and emotions, enveloping the entire room as they played each song throughout the night. The crowd became engulfed within their hopeful, tragic, and intense songs beginning with the long melodic intro prior to them singing their first note, and they remained enamored until the very end of the show when they took their final bow. A circle pit on the floor formed early on, and held strong and steady stopping briefly when lead singer, Eddie Berg, brought his mic to its center to perform toward the end of their set. Throughout the night, he belted out his vocals and played his violin with such intense vigor and precise movements that had fans feeling emotions that dug deep into their core. The diverse crowd even included one of their youngest fans of the night, a seven year old boy, (who was there with his family, whom I spoke with before the show). He listed numerous songs that he couldn’t wait to hear the band play, including his favorite, “The Black”, the longest track off of their recent album of the same name. He donned large protective headphones from the front of the barricade, and rocked out along with the entire crowd until the very end of the show.

There are no other US dates listed beyond their current tour which wraps up on May 17th in Pennsylvania. If you’re willing to travel abroad, they do have multiple European music festivals they’ll be a part of this summer, and then they will round out the year with a fall European tour beginning in October. Will they return to the US again soon? No news yet, but based on the reception they’ve been getting at their shows here so far, fans can’t imagine they’d make us wait another fourteen years.