We have a sort of unofficial metalfest going on next week here in London. In a matter of seven days we have four big gigs. On Monday 5th we have Nightwish and Pain. Two days later Kamelot plays with Xandria, Triosphere and Blackguard. Two days after Sabaton plays with Eluveitie and Wisdom and then two days later still we get Luca's Rhapsody with support from Freedom Call, Orden Ogan and Vexillum. What a bunch eh! It's like an extended powerweek! At the time of writing I have a ticket for Sabaton and Rhapsody and i'm working on the other two. We'll see how it goes but it's gonna be an amazing week for melodic metal fans here.
Unofficial London powerfest next week!
- Thread starter Fire breath
- Start date
Ok its on! I'll be at all four gigs. Ebay is your friend at times like this. It will be a blast but my poor ears and tired body might conk out when its all over!?
GoRillaBoy76
you can call me RRrrr!!
- Aug 22, 2008
- 664
- 3
- 18
2 down 2 to go.
Halfway through my gig marathon for the week and I've seen two gigs so far with 2 remaining. Nightwish started it all off and were very good to be honest. Floor is the perfect fit for the band make no mistake. I didn't completely love the gig cause I missed material from the Oceanborn/Wishmaster era but that's cause that's my favourite Nightwish era and I'm not really a fan of post Tarja Nightwish. However the band was on great form and in Floor they have the frontwoman of their dreams. I personally don't really care if she gets the job full time or not but they'd be mad to at least not offer it to her. Pain, the support band, were a bit boring. I Couldn't get really good pictures cause I was pretty far from the stage but here are a few.
Halfway through my gig marathon for the week and I've seen two gigs so far with 2 remaining. Nightwish started it all off and were very good to be honest. Floor is the perfect fit for the band make no mistake. I didn't completely love the gig cause I missed material from the Oceanborn/Wishmaster era but that's cause that's my favourite Nightwish era and I'm not really a fan of post Tarja Nightwish. However the band was on great form and in Floor they have the frontwoman of their dreams. I personally don't really care if she gets the job full time or not but they'd be mad to at least not offer it to her. Pain, the support band, were a bit boring. I Couldn't get really good pictures cause I was pretty far from the stage but here are a few.
Last night was Kamelot's turn to shine which they semi-did to be honest. First we had Blackguard. The sound was atrocious and they sounded a mess. I can sort of stand them on record but live they were just a chore to listen to. Good enthusiasm though. Next up were Triosphere who were pretty good. The sound was again a little dodgy but they were better than Blackguard. The front lady has nice headbanging moves though her voice sounded a touch strained. I enjoyed them anyway. Next up were Nightwish wannabes Xandria and their new singer. They did their best but their performance was a touch muted. I liked them a lot though and the new lady did a sterling job with her operatic vocals. They sound more spectacular on record than live though but once again there were a lot of sound issues with rough sounding guitars and vocals cutting in and out.
Finally at a slighly late 9.45pm Kamelot came on. The sound was ok but not perfect by any means. It was often a touch mushy and the guitars didn't sound crisp. However most were here to see how new singer Tommy would fare and to be honest it was completely seamless between him and Khan. So much that if you shut your eyes you could have sworn it was Khan up there singing. I'm not sure that's such a good thing though but Tommy easily won the crowd over with his performance by the end. The new songs sound very good live and the band are hardened pros at the power metal game that's for sure. One thing to note is that the venue was far undersold. The attendance wasn't small at around 350-400 but the promoters must have got their sums completely wrong to book this 1000+ venue when it was only half full. However to end positively Kamelot were far better than the last time I saw them with Khan which was a rather boring gig as I recall. This was by far better than that gig and the band sounds refreshed and energised with the addition of Tommy Karevik that's for sure.
Finally at a slighly late 9.45pm Kamelot came on. The sound was ok but not perfect by any means. It was often a touch mushy and the guitars didn't sound crisp. However most were here to see how new singer Tommy would fare and to be honest it was completely seamless between him and Khan. So much that if you shut your eyes you could have sworn it was Khan up there singing. I'm not sure that's such a good thing though but Tommy easily won the crowd over with his performance by the end. The new songs sound very good live and the band are hardened pros at the power metal game that's for sure. One thing to note is that the venue was far undersold. The attendance wasn't small at around 350-400 but the promoters must have got their sums completely wrong to book this 1000+ venue when it was only half full. However to end positively Kamelot were far better than the last time I saw them with Khan which was a rather boring gig as I recall. This was by far better than that gig and the band sounds refreshed and energised with the addition of Tommy Karevik that's for sure.
I've completed my marathon gigging week at last. God my poor ears! It was worth it though as I enjoyed each and everyone of the gigs and finally got to see Rhapsody or at least Luca's version of the band which personally speaking I call the real Rhapsody.
On Friday however I saw the Sabaton war machine again. They just don't know how to disappoint live do they! They are a complete riot. The new songs sound amazing. They sang plenty of new tunes from Carolus Rex and loads of old ones too to keep everyone happy. Thet are getting very popular and whilst Kamelot's attendance at the same venue was very lacklustre. Sabaton damn near sold the place out so easily more than a 1000 punters. It seems just about every metalhead loves Sabaton be they powerheads or thrash and death metallers and even some black metallers. They are united under the Sabaton flag of true metal. First up on the night were Hungarians Wisdom. They were awesome let me tell you. The singer has an amazing live voice too. Great cover of Maiden's wasted years too.
Eluveitie are a good band with a whole lot of members on stage but their folky melodic death went down really well with the fans. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. I liked the bouncy folky flute playing and the lady violinist's head banging style. Its funny head-banging with a violin in your hand!
Sabaton as I already said slayed. Joakim is just a ball of energy going here there and everywhere as well as the ever smiling bassman Per. The new members made a seamless contribution and did not hinder the concert in any way shape or form although they were unfamiliar faces of course, but musically they were on a par with the departed members. I don't think this was the best Sabaton gig I have ever seen but since it included the Carolus Rex tunes then it was well worth attending and I will continue to attend their shows. Only low point of the night was quite a few drunk foreigners being a bit stupid down the front. There was a lot of pushing and shoving which made viewing rather difficult but hey I'll get over it. One guy actualy lost his camera very near me and I tried to help him find it to no avail. Was probbaly smashed to bits when it did surface! Unlucky mate! Sabaton is a popular band these days that attracts young, old and the crazy inbetween! A great way to spend a Friday night that's for sure.
On Friday however I saw the Sabaton war machine again. They just don't know how to disappoint live do they! They are a complete riot. The new songs sound amazing. They sang plenty of new tunes from Carolus Rex and loads of old ones too to keep everyone happy. Thet are getting very popular and whilst Kamelot's attendance at the same venue was very lacklustre. Sabaton damn near sold the place out so easily more than a 1000 punters. It seems just about every metalhead loves Sabaton be they powerheads or thrash and death metallers and even some black metallers. They are united under the Sabaton flag of true metal. First up on the night were Hungarians Wisdom. They were awesome let me tell you. The singer has an amazing live voice too. Great cover of Maiden's wasted years too.
Eluveitie are a good band with a whole lot of members on stage but their folky melodic death went down really well with the fans. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. I liked the bouncy folky flute playing and the lady violinist's head banging style. Its funny head-banging with a violin in your hand!
Sabaton as I already said slayed. Joakim is just a ball of energy going here there and everywhere as well as the ever smiling bassman Per. The new members made a seamless contribution and did not hinder the concert in any way shape or form although they were unfamiliar faces of course, but musically they were on a par with the departed members. I don't think this was the best Sabaton gig I have ever seen but since it included the Carolus Rex tunes then it was well worth attending and I will continue to attend their shows. Only low point of the night was quite a few drunk foreigners being a bit stupid down the front. There was a lot of pushing and shoving which made viewing rather difficult but hey I'll get over it. One guy actualy lost his camera very near me and I tried to help him find it to no avail. Was probbaly smashed to bits when it did surface! Unlucky mate! Sabaton is a popular band these days that attracts young, old and the crazy inbetween! A great way to spend a Friday night that's for sure.
Finally the last night of my week long metal party saw the debut London headline show of the newly established Luca Turilli's version of Rhapsody with support from three Euro power metal bands.
First up were fellow Italians Vexillum. Their album is ok but I'm not a fan of the singer as he's a bit too whiny. Their songs are not all that catchy for me either though they do have their moments. They actually performed pretty well in their allotted 30 minutes and warmed up the early 50-60 diehards before the full 350 or so crowd turned up later on which is not too bad for a Monday night and with so many other gigs around as well.
Next up were Orden Ogan and they sure as hell went down a treat. Their new album smokes and live they really brought some great powerful melodic metal to the slowly filling out crowd. The singer had a lower register voice and sounded in fine form. They played a very enjoyable set including plenty of new tunes and also memorable tunes like We Are Pirates from the previous album. Really enjoyable set from these guys.
Next we had veteran German happy metallers Freedom Call. The sound was absolutely fantastic for their set. The guitars were thick and crisp with Chris Bay's happy high vocals ringing out loud and clear. Their latest album Land of the Crimson Dawn is a mixed affair for me but has enough good songs to be an enjoyable album overall. I must admit I am not a big enough fan to know their songs instantly but they are so easy to latch on to in any case whether you remember them instantly or not. They went down very well but I far preferred Orden Ogan to FC in the end.
Finally it was the turn for Luca's incarnation of Rhapsody to bowl us over with their symphonic power metal. I had been looking forward to this show since I got the ticket back in the summer and to be honest it was a long time coming. They took to the stage at 9.20pm and took their final bow at 11pm although this did include solo spots and time spent for a couple of encores. They also had some tech issues with the tape playback at one point but it was a minor thing. New vocalist Alessandro Conti was pretty damn amazing and he was helped along with the female singer whose operatic vocals were perfect. They played most of the new album and they were played at breakneck speed.
I was pleasantly surprised that they played two songs from Luca's solo albums namely Demonheart and Village of Dwarves which both went down a storm with the crowd. Later on an acoustic song was played which was a nice change of pace from the frenetic stuff before they soon returned to the classic fast songs such as Emerald Sword. Overall I can have little room for complaint apart from the usual set list type complaints that everyone has. I'm just glad that I managed to see this version of Rhapsody at least and if possible I'd like to see Rhapsody of Fire one day to see how they compare with Luca's version. A very enjoyable night of cheesy power metal shenanegins indeed!
Vexillum
Orden Ogan
Freedom Call
First up were fellow Italians Vexillum. Their album is ok but I'm not a fan of the singer as he's a bit too whiny. Their songs are not all that catchy for me either though they do have their moments. They actually performed pretty well in their allotted 30 minutes and warmed up the early 50-60 diehards before the full 350 or so crowd turned up later on which is not too bad for a Monday night and with so many other gigs around as well.
Next up were Orden Ogan and they sure as hell went down a treat. Their new album smokes and live they really brought some great powerful melodic metal to the slowly filling out crowd. The singer had a lower register voice and sounded in fine form. They played a very enjoyable set including plenty of new tunes and also memorable tunes like We Are Pirates from the previous album. Really enjoyable set from these guys.
Next we had veteran German happy metallers Freedom Call. The sound was absolutely fantastic for their set. The guitars were thick and crisp with Chris Bay's happy high vocals ringing out loud and clear. Their latest album Land of the Crimson Dawn is a mixed affair for me but has enough good songs to be an enjoyable album overall. I must admit I am not a big enough fan to know their songs instantly but they are so easy to latch on to in any case whether you remember them instantly or not. They went down very well but I far preferred Orden Ogan to FC in the end.
Finally it was the turn for Luca's incarnation of Rhapsody to bowl us over with their symphonic power metal. I had been looking forward to this show since I got the ticket back in the summer and to be honest it was a long time coming. They took to the stage at 9.20pm and took their final bow at 11pm although this did include solo spots and time spent for a couple of encores. They also had some tech issues with the tape playback at one point but it was a minor thing. New vocalist Alessandro Conti was pretty damn amazing and he was helped along with the female singer whose operatic vocals were perfect. They played most of the new album and they were played at breakneck speed.
I was pleasantly surprised that they played two songs from Luca's solo albums namely Demonheart and Village of Dwarves which both went down a storm with the crowd. Later on an acoustic song was played which was a nice change of pace from the frenetic stuff before they soon returned to the classic fast songs such as Emerald Sword. Overall I can have little room for complaint apart from the usual set list type complaints that everyone has. I'm just glad that I managed to see this version of Rhapsody at least and if possible I'd like to see Rhapsody of Fire one day to see how they compare with Luca's version. A very enjoyable night of cheesy power metal shenanegins indeed!
Vexillum
Orden Ogan
Freedom Call
Justin G
Member
That sounds like an awesome week of shows. And here I was excited about seeing Paul Shortino and Uriah Heep in the same week!
It was awesome indeed. What a week. We were really spoiled. Now I've got two more shows on the horizon. Testament on the 30th and a pre xmas double header with Iced Earth and Evergrey on the 22nd of Dec. Really looking forward to that one. Last time IE came they tore it up with Stu. Lets call it an early xmas present!
labrekk
Member
Man, you live in a killer place to see metal gigs...Here, nothing on the horizon for the next few months...
Similar threads
