Last month DIMMA released the fourth album entitled Vélráð that contains hard-rock dark and dim but melodic material. It is arguable that this team presents itself on stage as one of the most powerful Icelandic bands and pays a lot of attention to visual elements during gigs.
DIMMA regaled us this time at Gaukurinn in Reykjavík downtown on Saturday night, the 28th June. An electronic alternative rock sound of supporting Different Turns showed a disparity between stage appearance of both bands and confirmed once again that DIMMA live is pretty spectacular.
Playing brand new songs like Ég Brenn, Vélráð, Ljósbra, Lokaorð or Um Dimman Dal with such a furious powerful intensity DIMMA proved that the new album works out well and the musicians can be really ferocious on stage even if rather middle-aged audience didn’t react with a teenage vigour. The frontman Stefán Jakobsson that owns a spine-tingling voice that sometimes reminds of Axl Rose especially when Stefán presents some final vibrato (like in Djúpið), introduced the band: We are DIMMA, we come from the darkness. Indeed, the darkness literally as it is exactly a meaning of the band’s name. But their show was a quite good play of the light and colours as much as the gloominess that adds more charm to their spectacle. The guitarist Ingó Geirdal showed off his captivating skills as he played splendid guitar solos with much panache emphasised by his facial expression. A rhytm section guaranteed a heavy progressive rock sound.
What is said, DIMMA is truly a rock-metal beast. Additionally, they still perform their songs in Icelandic what makes them even more valuable and let listeners find some specific kind of beauty in it. Although the gig at Gaukirinn was impressive I still deeply believe that they are able to show something more than this. The band offered a long set divided in two parts although earlier that day they gave a show for an audience with no age limit. An interval during the performance seemed to somehow impoverish attention of the audience so sadly the band finished the gig with a company of the dramatically decreased amount of listeners at Gaukurinn. But definitely DIMMA is a band worth seeing live.
Justyna
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