The club is packed—the crowd pumped. The lights go down. Blade bolts to the front of the stage, gripping his mike stand, perched upon knife blades. Tossing his mane of blond hair, he screams, “Freak out!” The ride begins.

On April 8, 2008, Stockholm, Sweden’s Fatal Smile was the show opener for Doro at the Whisky a Go-Go. On this night, the new Fatal Smile CD, World Domination saw its US release. The set opener, the title song from the CD Neo Natural Freaks, got the audience moving and singing along. “Common People”, off the same CD, got the crowd pumped. Another highlight was “Hip Mother-Fucker”, which invites audience participation. The new single, the highly addictive “S.O.B.”, is a fist-pumping tune that grabs the audience from the opening riffs and practically forces one to sing along. The set closer, “Stranger”, was a fitting energetic end.

This made my seventh Fatal Smile show; I discovered them as openers for W.A.S.P. By far, this show was the best showcase of Fatal Smile’s talent and high energy. As I scanned the crowd, I saw everyone—from musicians, like former Warlock members, and older fans to the younger crowd—singing along, and all were rocking. The guys—Y on guitar, Blade on vocals, Alx on bass, and Zteff on drums—set the stage for Doro by pumping the audience with their amazing intensity. As they worked, they were clearly having a blast, and so were we.

Barb Knott