It all began in the hot, red-lit Machine Shop around 7:30 p.m., with Battlecross opening hard, as people trickled into what was to become a very packed venue.

As All Shall Perish took the stage, the excitement heightened to a new level. Fists were thrust into the air, and viewers chanted along to the music laden with screams.

Lead vocalist Hernan Hermida had to encourage a circle pit with an unusually timid crowd of concertgoers,  growling at them to “get the f*** in the middle of that pit and throw down.”

“This is our last song so I better see all you’ve got,” he said at the end of their set.

Demon Hunter followed up with extra heavy bass and a more melodic sound.

Then came the performance the entire audience had been waiting for, excitement grew as everyone began to chant the band’s name over and over. In Flames took what felt like an eternity to hit the stage, but once they did there was not a shred of regret for waiting out the delay. There was no introduction — they got right to the point. Hair was whipping and heads were banging non-stop through the set.

Every band that came before them thanked In Flames for the opportunity to tour with them, they were all handpicked to join the Swedish rock stars. They weren’t the only ones excited to join the band that night, the audience loved every second of the heavy metal artists.

At one point, lead vocalist Anders Fridén (who was sporting a Battlecross tee and a short hair cut as opposed to his signature dreads) grabbed a fan’s camera and took a self shot before graciously returning it to the woman screaming with excitement. The show went off without a hitch with the band bringing a grand stage presence with lots of help from animated guitarist Niclas Engelin. They worked the crowd like professionals and did what all the best ones do — left the audience satisfied but hungry for more.