I think it's safe to say that Ghost are pretty fucking huge these days. The Forum is rammed to the rafters on a Sunday ready to bear witness to delirious melodic odes to the horned one. I guess it's fitting that the gig falls on a Sunday as well hehe.
I had a seat upstairs for this one but I got to the venue rather late and there was barely even a seat left in the house as I walked in and tried to find a spot. Eventually I managed to find a spot with a decent view. There was a support band called Zombi, but it seems Ghost don't really do support bands. Last time at the Palladium there was a weird instrumental band and guess what - Zombi were a weird instrumental band. Yeah whatever quite boring really. Might be ok if you like incidental music to an 80s horror soundtrack. Not my thing.
The start of a Ghost gig is funny. It's like you're about to part in a mass seance/ritual to raise the dead/devil! It really has that weird vibe but then again once the music starts it's all dispelled as the gloom is lifted by somewhat happyish sounding odes. So it's kind of funny how goofy some parts of the show are and how sinister others. Well actually I wouldn't say any part of the show is actually sinister. It's like raising the devil with a smirk on your face and singing hymns like in a normal church!
The band sounds very good. The new Papa is a righteous fellow, with his dramatic gesticulations and grand like projections. Helps that his vocals are super smooth and spot on. Of course I like the tracks from Meliora best which everyone knows by now. The absolute fave being the mesmeric He Is which everybody likes to sing along to. It's so funny to hear grown men and women singing a song in praise of Satan. By the way a Ghost crowd is very diverse. Not everyone there is a hardcore, dyed in the wool metaller that's for sure. Of course this leads to accusations of Ghost having a hipster following but who cares when they can win fans over with actual tunes.
The band is good, though of course faceless, so you can't connect with them as characters but Papa always keeps the crowd entertained with some Swedish Satan banter etc. Musically I felt some of the wonder that I felt from the Palladium performance was missing tonight. the crowd still laps it all up with a devil horned spoon but maybe the novelty and magic of the last time wasn't quite there. Anyway it was still fucking great and no doubt I'll be there again come another tour and album but I wouldn't go again for another Meliora/Popestar based tour.
Miserere Mei, Deus
(Gregorio Allegri song)
Masked Ball
(Jocelyn Pook song)
Square Hammer
From the Pinnacle to the Pit
Secular Haze
Con Clavi Con Dio
Per Aspera ad Inferi
Body and Blood
Devil Church
Cirice
Year Zero
Spöksonat
He Is
Absolution
Mummy Dust
Ghuleh/Zombie Queen
Ritual
Encore:
Monstrance Clock
Showing posts with label forum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forum. Show all posts
Saturday, 1 April 2017
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Kreator/Sepultura Live Report
A big four band line up for this tour. Dutch brutalisers Aborted up first, Melodeath monsters Soilwork after, Messiahs of Brazillian metal Sepultura as main support followed by the legendary teutonic thrash warriors Kreator. A pretty diverse and interesting bill.
I was half thinking that I would miss Aborted. I was planning on getting something to eat before the show and I checked Aborted's stage times and it was listed as 5.45pm so pretty early but in fact as I walked in the venue at around 6.15 they hadn't even started yet. I had a seat in the balcony for this show as I wanted a good view of the stage and I found a nice spot to view the brutality on offer.
Aborted strode on a few minutes later and the reasonably sized downstairs crowd started up a decent pit straight away as Aborted blasted away as you do in brutal death metal circles. I enjoyed the drummers blast beats quite a bit. The baldy singer does a good job of getting everyone pumped. The sound was actually pretty clean for a band first up. I've really gone off recent Aborted material and I'm an old school fan of theirs. They started incorporating deathcore or modern elements in to their brutality and that turned me right off. They were pretty solid live I must admit. You can't tell one song from the next but that's brutal death for you. The kids just want something to pump the up ready for what's to come.
Next up were Soilwork, perhaps the most melodic band on the bill. Well not perhaps definitely the most melodic on wax at least. I have seen them before but I don't recall when but they sounded much better then now I'm sad to report. I think they were trying to hard to sound brutal and stripped away all the big melodic aspects of their sound. I don't think they should try to compete with heavier bands just 'cause they're on a bill with some heavyweights. Speed Strid's melodic vocals which are normally pretty cool were hard to make out as the guitarist bashed away. I guess they don't really play the ultra melodic Depeche Mode era Soilwork tunes anymore either. They still have nice solos though. They went down ok with the crowd but I personally was a bit disappointed in them. Maybe they are just not used to being third on the bill.
This is the first time I have seen Sepultura since 96. In fact that was the last ever show with Max when everything went pear shaped after. I lost interest in Seps slowly as they drifted further and further away from the Arise and Chaos AD sound even. The new album Machine Messiah is probably their best ever with Derrick Green but I still don't really like it but it has it's moments that's for sure. I was looking forward to seeing how they sound live with Green. To my honest surprised I thought they sounded very good indeed. Green stomps around the stage like a super heavyweight lumbering from side to side doing hand movements with the beats. The band of course played a lot of songs from Machine Messiah. They sounded ok and more brutal live. In fact that band makes an almighty racket considering they are a one guitar band now.
I've never liked Green's recorded vocals, I think he sounds annoying but live he sounds a bit different. His voice sounds more brutal and almost death metal. He loses the character that Max had when singing the old Seps songs especially. Also the way he pronounces loses that famous Max twang and makes the old classics sound much more brutal. Still it was amazing to hear savage versions of Desperate Cry and Inner Self. Chaos AD classics like Refuse/Resist saw monster pits starting. I think the fans showed so mcuh respect to the current Seps as they ever have. DG has fully been accepted in the sepultribe that's for sure. I am still not a fan of their musical output since Max left but their hour long set was pretty excellent and saw the crowd going ape all over the place down below. Special mention to the sinewy and lean drummer Eloy Casagrande. That guy was a rapid fire drum duty. He never stopped to catch breath even once and prepelled the band's percussive sections like the old days of Igor. I didn't think it would happen but Sepultura were better than Soilwork.
I Am the Enemy
Phantom Self
Choke
Desperate Cry
Alethea
Sworn Oath
Inner Self
Resistant Parasites
Refuse/Resist
Arise
Ratamahatta
Roots Bloody Roots
Finally at just before 9.30 the German Titans took their places and the tension reached fever pitch. With a monster new album under their collective bullets, these hairy old warriors looked in mean and inspired form as they tore through opener Hordes of Chaos. The band sounded mean with a crystal clear sound mix and Mille's penetrating rasp cutting through the slashing riffs superbly well. I was mainly looking forward to the new material and see how it would sit next to the older material. I'm happy to report it sits very well indeed. Of course the album is much more melodic than the old days and this suits me fine. Mille sounds immense and his band mates are on sonic fire so to speak. Gods of Violence was fantastic with it's soothing intro before cutting loose with jabbing riffs everywhere. A few older classics like Phantom Antichrist and Enemy of God were great and fitted well with the new material. I must admit I am not a Kreator aficionado so their old material doesn't really mean that much to me. Sacrilege maybe to some old school thrashers but I always found Kreator to be quite an abrasive and overly brutal thrash incarnation and I prefer their more polished albums. Extreme Aggression is always good though for getting the blood pumping and the floor was a sea of bodies on that one!
These guys were worthy headliners of this four band bill and performed fantastically well and Mille led his troops like the great front man that he is. Kreator are as strong as they have ever been in my eyes and probably as big as they've ever been. I'd argue that Sepultura were by the far the bigger band world wide in their heyday with Max but maybe things have changed and Kreator are arguably bigger and better than the Seps now and musically they've been punching way harder than they get credit for. A Good gig overall and good to see Seps fighting hard after all these years. Meanwhile Kreator were a machine of molten thrash metal. Soilwork will have better days. Aborted is just brutal destruction haha and nothing more.
Choir Of The Damned
Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
Phobia
Satan Is Real
Gods of Violence
People of the Lie
Total Death
Mars Mantra
Phantom Antichrist
Fallen Brother
Enemy of God
From Flood into Fire
Apocalypticon
World War Now
Hail to the Hordes
Extreme Aggression
Civilization Collapse
Encore:
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Flag of Hate / Under the Guillotine
Pleasure to Kill
I was half thinking that I would miss Aborted. I was planning on getting something to eat before the show and I checked Aborted's stage times and it was listed as 5.45pm so pretty early but in fact as I walked in the venue at around 6.15 they hadn't even started yet. I had a seat in the balcony for this show as I wanted a good view of the stage and I found a nice spot to view the brutality on offer.
Aborted strode on a few minutes later and the reasonably sized downstairs crowd started up a decent pit straight away as Aborted blasted away as you do in brutal death metal circles. I enjoyed the drummers blast beats quite a bit. The baldy singer does a good job of getting everyone pumped. The sound was actually pretty clean for a band first up. I've really gone off recent Aborted material and I'm an old school fan of theirs. They started incorporating deathcore or modern elements in to their brutality and that turned me right off. They were pretty solid live I must admit. You can't tell one song from the next but that's brutal death for you. The kids just want something to pump the up ready for what's to come.
Next up were Soilwork, perhaps the most melodic band on the bill. Well not perhaps definitely the most melodic on wax at least. I have seen them before but I don't recall when but they sounded much better then now I'm sad to report. I think they were trying to hard to sound brutal and stripped away all the big melodic aspects of their sound. I don't think they should try to compete with heavier bands just 'cause they're on a bill with some heavyweights. Speed Strid's melodic vocals which are normally pretty cool were hard to make out as the guitarist bashed away. I guess they don't really play the ultra melodic Depeche Mode era Soilwork tunes anymore either. They still have nice solos though. They went down ok with the crowd but I personally was a bit disappointed in them. Maybe they are just not used to being third on the bill.
This is the first time I have seen Sepultura since 96. In fact that was the last ever show with Max when everything went pear shaped after. I lost interest in Seps slowly as they drifted further and further away from the Arise and Chaos AD sound even. The new album Machine Messiah is probably their best ever with Derrick Green but I still don't really like it but it has it's moments that's for sure. I was looking forward to seeing how they sound live with Green. To my honest surprised I thought they sounded very good indeed. Green stomps around the stage like a super heavyweight lumbering from side to side doing hand movements with the beats. The band of course played a lot of songs from Machine Messiah. They sounded ok and more brutal live. In fact that band makes an almighty racket considering they are a one guitar band now.
I've never liked Green's recorded vocals, I think he sounds annoying but live he sounds a bit different. His voice sounds more brutal and almost death metal. He loses the character that Max had when singing the old Seps songs especially. Also the way he pronounces loses that famous Max twang and makes the old classics sound much more brutal. Still it was amazing to hear savage versions of Desperate Cry and Inner Self. Chaos AD classics like Refuse/Resist saw monster pits starting. I think the fans showed so mcuh respect to the current Seps as they ever have. DG has fully been accepted in the sepultribe that's for sure. I am still not a fan of their musical output since Max left but their hour long set was pretty excellent and saw the crowd going ape all over the place down below. Special mention to the sinewy and lean drummer Eloy Casagrande. That guy was a rapid fire drum duty. He never stopped to catch breath even once and prepelled the band's percussive sections like the old days of Igor. I didn't think it would happen but Sepultura were better than Soilwork.
I Am the Enemy
Phantom Self
Choke
Desperate Cry
Alethea
Sworn Oath
Inner Self
Resistant Parasites
Refuse/Resist
Arise
Ratamahatta
Roots Bloody Roots
Finally at just before 9.30 the German Titans took their places and the tension reached fever pitch. With a monster new album under their collective bullets, these hairy old warriors looked in mean and inspired form as they tore through opener Hordes of Chaos. The band sounded mean with a crystal clear sound mix and Mille's penetrating rasp cutting through the slashing riffs superbly well. I was mainly looking forward to the new material and see how it would sit next to the older material. I'm happy to report it sits very well indeed. Of course the album is much more melodic than the old days and this suits me fine. Mille sounds immense and his band mates are on sonic fire so to speak. Gods of Violence was fantastic with it's soothing intro before cutting loose with jabbing riffs everywhere. A few older classics like Phantom Antichrist and Enemy of God were great and fitted well with the new material. I must admit I am not a Kreator aficionado so their old material doesn't really mean that much to me. Sacrilege maybe to some old school thrashers but I always found Kreator to be quite an abrasive and overly brutal thrash incarnation and I prefer their more polished albums. Extreme Aggression is always good though for getting the blood pumping and the floor was a sea of bodies on that one!
These guys were worthy headliners of this four band bill and performed fantastically well and Mille led his troops like the great front man that he is. Kreator are as strong as they have ever been in my eyes and probably as big as they've ever been. I'd argue that Sepultura were by the far the bigger band world wide in their heyday with Max but maybe things have changed and Kreator are arguably bigger and better than the Seps now and musically they've been punching way harder than they get credit for. A Good gig overall and good to see Seps fighting hard after all these years. Meanwhile Kreator were a machine of molten thrash metal. Soilwork will have better days. Aborted is just brutal destruction haha and nothing more.
Choir Of The Damned
Hordes of Chaos (A Necrologue for the Elite)
Phobia
Satan Is Real
Gods of Violence
People of the Lie
Total Death
Mars Mantra
Phantom Antichrist
Fallen Brother
Enemy of God
From Flood into Fire
Apocalypticon
World War Now
Hail to the Hordes
Extreme Aggression
Civilization Collapse
Encore:
The Patriarch
Violent Revolution
Flag of Hate / Under the Guillotine
Pleasure to Kill
Saturday, 25 June 2016
King Diamond Live Report
King Diamond has been touring round Europe doing the festivals and select dates showcasing the whole of the seminal Abigail album and finally it was London's to bare witness to the glorious dark tales of Mr Diamond and co. To say I have been looking forward to this gig would be the understatement of the year. I have had my ticket for no less than six months!
The show was indeed sold out with more than 2000 packed into the Kentish Town Forum. This was the hot ticket in town this week as far as metal fans were concerned. A warm Tuesday night greeted us and thankfully no rain although nothing could really put a dampener on things as far as I was concerned anyway. By all accounts and viewing recent clips on youtube, King Diamond the man and band, were on tip top form and everyone was gonna be in for a treat.
First up were Angel Witch. Of course I know their namesake song, who doesn't, but I don't know a lot else although I've heard their albums. I just wasn't compelled to listen more. They seemed to be reasonably well tolerated by the hordes downstairs. Personally I couldn't see the real appeal. They are a pretty solid galloping NWOBHM band with cult status and an anthem of a song which they'll always be associated with but I wasn't won over by the rest, but plenty were and almost everyone sang the chorus to Angel Witch of course.
At just gone 9pm the intro Out from the Asylum was played and the band took their positions and dove headlong into Welcome Home whilst King strode on with the old and haggard looking grandma sitting in her rocking chair and King ready to act out the song lyrics to her. I tell you something, Welcome Home never fails as an opener. The opening "Grandmaaaaa!" makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up! King himself sounded great, hitting the falsetto notes effortlessly and even sounding quite aggressive during the lower pitched parts which was rather cool to see and hear.
The stage was very cool as well with a two sided staircase which allowed King and the actors to walk up and down as the song called for. Abigail was played in it's entirety of course but not before a selection of KD and Fate hits were played. Sleepless Nights was absolutely bloody amazing. The band sounded so tight and the sound was perfect for once and it sometimes isn't in the Forum being far too loud and echoey.
Six songs were played from the hits era and I would possibly liked a couple more but I guess King tires a little and they have fixed the setlist pretty much to what it is and don't want to over burden his vocals. Not that he was in any way strained. The guy was pretty amazing all night. He really seemed to be enjoying himself and thanked the crowd a lot for their amazing response as people downstairs were going ape.
The Abigail portion of the show soon arrived and the theatrics went into overdrive with a girl playing the Abigail character very well and also an older gentleman playing the priest. King Diamond himself prowls around the stage pulling shapes and always air guitaring the riffs and solos. I always like to see a frontman engaging with the music and KD definitely does that and then some. It's been years since I played Abigail so I don't know the album back to front but I absolutely love the famous songs from the album, Like Arrival and The Family Ghost which was just perfection and played with total precision.
The rest of the night flew by and soon the last notes of the album were played and everyone in the house was cheering KD and the band to the rafters. I hope KD the band soon returns and this time plays a normal show with different newer songs from the KD back catalogue. They need to capitalise on KD's god health. KD the man was the last to leave the stage and kept tapping his chest and giving the horns to the crowd as he left to tremendous applause. Metal needs characters like KD and he's so well loved by the metal crowd that's for sure and it was good to see him in such amazing and fine form. The best gig I have seen so far this year!
Set List:
Welcome Home
Sleepless Nights
Halloween
Eye of the Witch
Melissa
Come to the Sabbath
Funeral
Arrival
A Mansion in Darkness
The Family Ghost
The 7th day of July 1777
Omens
The Possession
Abigail
Black Horsemen
Insanity
The show was indeed sold out with more than 2000 packed into the Kentish Town Forum. This was the hot ticket in town this week as far as metal fans were concerned. A warm Tuesday night greeted us and thankfully no rain although nothing could really put a dampener on things as far as I was concerned anyway. By all accounts and viewing recent clips on youtube, King Diamond the man and band, were on tip top form and everyone was gonna be in for a treat.
First up were Angel Witch. Of course I know their namesake song, who doesn't, but I don't know a lot else although I've heard their albums. I just wasn't compelled to listen more. They seemed to be reasonably well tolerated by the hordes downstairs. Personally I couldn't see the real appeal. They are a pretty solid galloping NWOBHM band with cult status and an anthem of a song which they'll always be associated with but I wasn't won over by the rest, but plenty were and almost everyone sang the chorus to Angel Witch of course.
At just gone 9pm the intro Out from the Asylum was played and the band took their positions and dove headlong into Welcome Home whilst King strode on with the old and haggard looking grandma sitting in her rocking chair and King ready to act out the song lyrics to her. I tell you something, Welcome Home never fails as an opener. The opening "Grandmaaaaa!" makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up! King himself sounded great, hitting the falsetto notes effortlessly and even sounding quite aggressive during the lower pitched parts which was rather cool to see and hear.
The stage was very cool as well with a two sided staircase which allowed King and the actors to walk up and down as the song called for. Abigail was played in it's entirety of course but not before a selection of KD and Fate hits were played. Sleepless Nights was absolutely bloody amazing. The band sounded so tight and the sound was perfect for once and it sometimes isn't in the Forum being far too loud and echoey.
Six songs were played from the hits era and I would possibly liked a couple more but I guess King tires a little and they have fixed the setlist pretty much to what it is and don't want to over burden his vocals. Not that he was in any way strained. The guy was pretty amazing all night. He really seemed to be enjoying himself and thanked the crowd a lot for their amazing response as people downstairs were going ape.
The Abigail portion of the show soon arrived and the theatrics went into overdrive with a girl playing the Abigail character very well and also an older gentleman playing the priest. King Diamond himself prowls around the stage pulling shapes and always air guitaring the riffs and solos. I always like to see a frontman engaging with the music and KD definitely does that and then some. It's been years since I played Abigail so I don't know the album back to front but I absolutely love the famous songs from the album, Like Arrival and The Family Ghost which was just perfection and played with total precision.
The rest of the night flew by and soon the last notes of the album were played and everyone in the house was cheering KD and the band to the rafters. I hope KD the band soon returns and this time plays a normal show with different newer songs from the KD back catalogue. They need to capitalise on KD's god health. KD the man was the last to leave the stage and kept tapping his chest and giving the horns to the crowd as he left to tremendous applause. Metal needs characters like KD and he's so well loved by the metal crowd that's for sure and it was good to see him in such amazing and fine form. The best gig I have seen so far this year!
Set List:
Welcome Home
Sleepless Nights
Halloween
Eye of the Witch
Melissa
Come to the Sabbath
Funeral
Arrival
A Mansion in Darkness
The Family Ghost
The 7th day of July 1777
Omens
The Possession
Abigail
Black Horsemen
Insanity
Saturday, 11 June 2016
Rock on the Green fest with Tarja and Amaranthe
This fest was initially billed for the Saturday but was moved to the Sunday. Unfortunately the venue booked was vastly undersold. Booking the 2000+ Forum and then getting barely 500 people in there was obviously not a financially sound move. The problem was the bill was just not up to scratch. You need a bigger draw plus this little fest was set around the time of many other gigs and fests and I'm sure that had a detrimental effect on the turnout.
I didn't even bother turning up for the first three bands. Well I did catch a few songs from Octanic who were boring. I missed the first two bands completely.
I wanted to see Amaranthe most of all as I've never seen them. Their hour long set was pretty enjoyable and the band sounded pretty heavy despite having only one guitarist. The melodies are still very strong and melodic. Elize is the star of the band of course most eyes are on her as she belts out the melodies. I'm sure the band were disappointed at the piss-poor turnout but they didn't let it show and put in a solid hour long performance.
Tarja's band is a bunch of guys I've never actually heard of even though she did introduce them. In any case Tarja's fans were here to see the gal herself do her solo thing. I must admit I'm not a fan of her solo material though I do like her a lot in Nightwish. She actually sang very well and her band sounded pretty heavy too. She played just over and hour before this disappointing one day fest came to an end. Next time book better bands!
I didn't even bother turning up for the first three bands. Well I did catch a few songs from Octanic who were boring. I missed the first two bands completely.
I wanted to see Amaranthe most of all as I've never seen them. Their hour long set was pretty enjoyable and the band sounded pretty heavy despite having only one guitarist. The melodies are still very strong and melodic. Elize is the star of the band of course most eyes are on her as she belts out the melodies. I'm sure the band were disappointed at the piss-poor turnout but they didn't let it show and put in a solid hour long performance.
Tarja's band is a bunch of guys I've never actually heard of even though she did introduce them. In any case Tarja's fans were here to see the gal herself do her solo thing. I must admit I'm not a fan of her solo material though I do like her a lot in Nightwish. She actually sang very well and her band sounded pretty heavy too. She played just over and hour before this disappointing one day fest came to an end. Next time book better bands!
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Avantasia Live Report
I saw the Avantasia gig advertised back in the late months of 2015, though I forget when exactly, nevertheless it would be pretty impossible for me not to go and see this touring, metallic jamboree from the mind of Edguy main man Tobias Sammet. They've played at Bloodstock before but this was their first headline UK show in an indoor venue as Tobi said after the opening song. So they were very proud of that and the fact that it was almost a sell out. I would say it was pretty close to a sell out though with more than 2000 people attending. The doors opened at 7 but the intro began a full 55 minutes later so there was a little bit of hanging around to do.
I found a standing spot on a raise part of the floor next to the barrier with a decent view of the stage. The stage itself was sort of like a medieval derelict old castle with the Ghostlights album cover painted on a huge backdrop behind the main stage. The opening number was Mystery of a Blood Red Rose and it saw our man Tobi emerge from the top of the steps and proceed downwards to huge applause as he sang the opening lines. An excellent start indeed to the night's proceedings. After the song Tobi explained that they would be playing for 3 hours more or less and I must admit I did smirk to myself, yeah right!, and in the end well he was right and I was wrong! They came on at close to 8 and left at close to 11. Sure there's quite a bit of talking in between, maybe a full 20 minutes of chit and chat and banter but that still leaves a good two and a half hours of Avantasia classics on show.
I have never ever seen Kiske live and I was looking forward to his caterwauling and boy did he caterwaul! The guy is blessed with a voice that scales heights you won't believe. And it's funny 'cause his speaking voice is actually quite manly and you wonder where it all comes from! He was up second singing the title track from the new album with Tobi on stage as well of course. The sound was almost perfect by the way, with vocals very loud and clear just the way I like it, I hate it when you go to a gig and the music is so loud it drowns out the singers. We've paid our money to hear the singers sing so don't drown them out and thankfully they didn't with perfect sound all night.
The third song saw the entrance of Pretty Maids man Ronnie Atkins and his rougher vocals. He's basically like a slightly smaller version of Jorn both in looks and vocals. Unchain the Night saw both Kiske and Atkins in tandem bellowing out a great chorus.
The English part of the proceedings came to a head next as Bob Catley made a grand entrance at the top of the stairs singing his main tune from Ghostlights. Bob sounded very good but also pretty rough. His voice has gotten much grittier over the years and has lost some of its smoothness. Kudos for being the oldest singer here but I guess the years take their toll in the end. Bob sang two songs in a row before it was finally time for the beast from Norway to make his presence felt from the top of the stairs. I actually forgot to say that Amanda Somerville and Herbie Langans are constantly on stage at pretty much all times providing suitable back vocals to add depth.
Anyway back on point, Mr Lande was at the top of the stairs doing his heaviest vocal on The Scarecrow. A highlight of the night for sure. The other singers have been good but no one can match the power of Viking warrior, Jorn Lande. The guy was burning up the place, whilst doing his best grimaces as he tore through a ground shaking Scarecrow whilst Tobi nailed his parts as well in an incendiary duet. Then followed his creepy take on Lucifer from the new album which starts off with his monstrous vocals in full effect before the whole band chimes in and takes the song in a speedier direction. Jorn was fucking unreal so far!
The Watchmaker's Dream saw the first appearance of Oliver Hartmann and dual lead vocals with Tobi. He was also on guitars of course. His voice sounded a bit smoother than the others and who knew the guy was a shit hot guitarist too. What's Left Of Me followed and saw the first appearance of Eric Martin of Mr. Big. Not a big fan of his voice but he sang with much more grit than in his day job. Maybe he's just trying to keep up with all the power guys on stage hehe. I should point out that Tobi himself was on stage on most songs and sang his parts fantastically and held it altogether very well.
The Wicked Symphony followed and I think it was close to being the best song of the night. A whole host of singers in that song and sung to perfection by all. The song was so heavy as well and induced head banging with it's monstrous rumbling riff.
The Gothic tinged Draconian Love followed with Tobi and Herbie dueting on this very catchy tune with mass sing along by the jubilant crowd. Again a big highlight for me. Farewell followed with a chance for Amanda to showcase her beautiful vocals with Kiske as support but she was the star of that one.
The speedy Shelter from the Rain was again awesome with Kiske and Catley's different styles working perfectly well in tandem. One of the best responses of the night from the crowd for that song.
The Story Ain't Over, saw Bob going solo before one of the best songs of the night in Let The Storm Descend Upon You in all it's 12 minute glory took us closer to the end of the show. That song was totally epic with it's glorious chorus sung brilliantly by all. A truly epic moment!
The main set proressed to its close with a handful of more tunes with Kiske taking full control to showcase his extraordinary high pitched vocals including the fantastically sing along anthem of the band, the track Avantasia with full participation by the whole crowd more or less.
I'm getting tired of saying this but the next song Twisted Mind was again another huge highlight although Tobi didn't sing that one. It was a wicked tune indeed. The main set closed with a very heavy take of Dying For An Angel with Eric Martin.
The band said their "thank you"s and left but would soon return of course to do the encore. As Tobi explained he was trying to go for a big chart hit when he wrote Lost in Space. Sure it didn't work out but the song is one of his catchiest for sure and there's no denying that. The last song of the night saw the band and all singers on stage for one last hurrah before long slow goodbyes and mass bowing and taking in the plaudits from the packed crowd. Tobi said since this night had been such a success that they would be back in the future which was met with huge applause of course. If you get the chance to see Avantasia live, then don't miss out. Everyone puts on an amazing show and they play for an eternity. A fun night of epic, melodic metal in its grandest form!
set list:
Also sprach Zarathustra
(Richard Strauss song) (Theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey")
Mystery of a Blood Red Rose
Ghostlights
(with Michael Kiske)
Invoke the Machine
(with Ronnie Atkins)
Unchain the Light
(with Ronnie Atkins and Michael Kiske)
A Restless Heart and Obsidian Skies
(with Bob Catley)
The Great Mystery
(with Bob Catley)
The Scarecrow
(with Jørn Lande)
Lucifer
(with Jørn Lande)
The Watchmakers' Dream
(with Oliver Hartmann)
What's Left of Me
(with Eric Martin)
The Wicked Symphony
(with Oliver Hartmann, Jørn Lande, Amanda Somerville, Herbie Langhans, Michael Kiske; without Sammet)
Draconian Love
(with Herbie Langhans)
Farewell
(with Amanda Somerville and Michael Kiske)
Stargazers
(with Michael Kiske, Jørn Lande, Ronnie Atkins, Oliver Hartmann; without Tobias Sammet)
Shelter from the Rain
(with Michael Kiske and Bob Catley)
The Story Ain't Over
(with Bob Catley)
Let the Storm Descend Upon You
(with Jørn Lande and Ronnie Atkins)
Promised Land
(with Jørn Lande)
Prelude
Reach Out for the Light
(with Michael Kiske)
Avantasia
(with Michael Kiske)
Twisted Mind
(with Eric Martin and Ronnie Atkins; without Tobias Sammet)
Dying for an Angel
(with Eric Martin)
Encore:
Lost in Space
(with Amanda Somerville)
Sign of the Cross / The Seven Angels
(with everyone on stage)
I found a standing spot on a raise part of the floor next to the barrier with a decent view of the stage. The stage itself was sort of like a medieval derelict old castle with the Ghostlights album cover painted on a huge backdrop behind the main stage. The opening number was Mystery of a Blood Red Rose and it saw our man Tobi emerge from the top of the steps and proceed downwards to huge applause as he sang the opening lines. An excellent start indeed to the night's proceedings. After the song Tobi explained that they would be playing for 3 hours more or less and I must admit I did smirk to myself, yeah right!, and in the end well he was right and I was wrong! They came on at close to 8 and left at close to 11. Sure there's quite a bit of talking in between, maybe a full 20 minutes of chit and chat and banter but that still leaves a good two and a half hours of Avantasia classics on show.
I have never ever seen Kiske live and I was looking forward to his caterwauling and boy did he caterwaul! The guy is blessed with a voice that scales heights you won't believe. And it's funny 'cause his speaking voice is actually quite manly and you wonder where it all comes from! He was up second singing the title track from the new album with Tobi on stage as well of course. The sound was almost perfect by the way, with vocals very loud and clear just the way I like it, I hate it when you go to a gig and the music is so loud it drowns out the singers. We've paid our money to hear the singers sing so don't drown them out and thankfully they didn't with perfect sound all night.
The third song saw the entrance of Pretty Maids man Ronnie Atkins and his rougher vocals. He's basically like a slightly smaller version of Jorn both in looks and vocals. Unchain the Night saw both Kiske and Atkins in tandem bellowing out a great chorus.
The English part of the proceedings came to a head next as Bob Catley made a grand entrance at the top of the stairs singing his main tune from Ghostlights. Bob sounded very good but also pretty rough. His voice has gotten much grittier over the years and has lost some of its smoothness. Kudos for being the oldest singer here but I guess the years take their toll in the end. Bob sang two songs in a row before it was finally time for the beast from Norway to make his presence felt from the top of the stairs. I actually forgot to say that Amanda Somerville and Herbie Langans are constantly on stage at pretty much all times providing suitable back vocals to add depth.
Anyway back on point, Mr Lande was at the top of the stairs doing his heaviest vocal on The Scarecrow. A highlight of the night for sure. The other singers have been good but no one can match the power of Viking warrior, Jorn Lande. The guy was burning up the place, whilst doing his best grimaces as he tore through a ground shaking Scarecrow whilst Tobi nailed his parts as well in an incendiary duet. Then followed his creepy take on Lucifer from the new album which starts off with his monstrous vocals in full effect before the whole band chimes in and takes the song in a speedier direction. Jorn was fucking unreal so far!
The Watchmaker's Dream saw the first appearance of Oliver Hartmann and dual lead vocals with Tobi. He was also on guitars of course. His voice sounded a bit smoother than the others and who knew the guy was a shit hot guitarist too. What's Left Of Me followed and saw the first appearance of Eric Martin of Mr. Big. Not a big fan of his voice but he sang with much more grit than in his day job. Maybe he's just trying to keep up with all the power guys on stage hehe. I should point out that Tobi himself was on stage on most songs and sang his parts fantastically and held it altogether very well.
The Wicked Symphony followed and I think it was close to being the best song of the night. A whole host of singers in that song and sung to perfection by all. The song was so heavy as well and induced head banging with it's monstrous rumbling riff.
The Gothic tinged Draconian Love followed with Tobi and Herbie dueting on this very catchy tune with mass sing along by the jubilant crowd. Again a big highlight for me. Farewell followed with a chance for Amanda to showcase her beautiful vocals with Kiske as support but she was the star of that one.
The speedy Shelter from the Rain was again awesome with Kiske and Catley's different styles working perfectly well in tandem. One of the best responses of the night from the crowd for that song.
The Story Ain't Over, saw Bob going solo before one of the best songs of the night in Let The Storm Descend Upon You in all it's 12 minute glory took us closer to the end of the show. That song was totally epic with it's glorious chorus sung brilliantly by all. A truly epic moment!
The main set proressed to its close with a handful of more tunes with Kiske taking full control to showcase his extraordinary high pitched vocals including the fantastically sing along anthem of the band, the track Avantasia with full participation by the whole crowd more or less.
I'm getting tired of saying this but the next song Twisted Mind was again another huge highlight although Tobi didn't sing that one. It was a wicked tune indeed. The main set closed with a very heavy take of Dying For An Angel with Eric Martin.
The band said their "thank you"s and left but would soon return of course to do the encore. As Tobi explained he was trying to go for a big chart hit when he wrote Lost in Space. Sure it didn't work out but the song is one of his catchiest for sure and there's no denying that. The last song of the night saw the band and all singers on stage for one last hurrah before long slow goodbyes and mass bowing and taking in the plaudits from the packed crowd. Tobi said since this night had been such a success that they would be back in the future which was met with huge applause of course. If you get the chance to see Avantasia live, then don't miss out. Everyone puts on an amazing show and they play for an eternity. A fun night of epic, melodic metal in its grandest form!
set list:
Also sprach Zarathustra
(Richard Strauss song) (Theme from "2001: A Space Odyssey")
Mystery of a Blood Red Rose
Ghostlights
(with Michael Kiske)
Invoke the Machine
(with Ronnie Atkins)
Unchain the Light
(with Ronnie Atkins and Michael Kiske)
A Restless Heart and Obsidian Skies
(with Bob Catley)
The Great Mystery
(with Bob Catley)
The Scarecrow
(with Jørn Lande)
Lucifer
(with Jørn Lande)
The Watchmakers' Dream
(with Oliver Hartmann)
What's Left of Me
(with Eric Martin)
The Wicked Symphony
(with Oliver Hartmann, Jørn Lande, Amanda Somerville, Herbie Langhans, Michael Kiske; without Sammet)
Draconian Love
(with Herbie Langhans)
Farewell
(with Amanda Somerville and Michael Kiske)
Stargazers
(with Michael Kiske, Jørn Lande, Ronnie Atkins, Oliver Hartmann; without Tobias Sammet)
Shelter from the Rain
(with Michael Kiske and Bob Catley)
The Story Ain't Over
(with Bob Catley)
Let the Storm Descend Upon You
(with Jørn Lande and Ronnie Atkins)
Promised Land
(with Jørn Lande)
Prelude
Reach Out for the Light
(with Michael Kiske)
Avantasia
(with Michael Kiske)
Twisted Mind
(with Eric Martin and Ronnie Atkins; without Tobias Sammet)
Dying for an Angel
(with Eric Martin)
Encore:
Lost in Space
(with Amanda Somerville)
Sign of the Cross / The Seven Angels
(with everyone on stage)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)