Kamelot - London Review

While Kamelot's trips to the UK are fairly frequent (usually once every couple of years or so), the fact that they are one of my favourite bands makes their concerts 'must see' events for me. As is the case with many European melodic metal acts, the band are not popular enough here in the UK to schedule a proper UK tour, so us fans have to make do with an obligatory one-off show in London. I long for the days when bands like Kamelot feel like it would be worth their while to play in more British cities than just London, but sadly I feel that day is not likely to come any time soon! I am sure there are many out there like me who often find themselves travelling to London to see their favourite bands, and I will certainly continue to do so while I am financially able. This was not the first Kamelot show on British soil this year however, as the band landed a slot at this summer's Bloodstock Open Air festival. Kamelot occupied a slot high-up on the Friday, and were - unsurprisingly - one of the bands of the weekend for me. I had worried that having a band of Kamelot's ilk so high up the bill would have led to a fairly small crowd at a time when the Main Stage arena would usually be packed, but the somewhat conservative Bloodstock crowd did me proud and plenty turned out to see Kamelot's hour on stage. They were excellent that day, and I had been looking forward to seeing this full-length headline show of theirs ever since. The band's last headline show in the UK was back in 2015 at the O2 Academy in Islington. Since then, the band have released two more albums, have changed their drummer, and played loads more shows. 2018's London show came at the end of a fairly lengthy European tour, which has seen the band promote their twelfth album The Shadow Theory which was released back in April of this year. The Shadow Theory is an album that continues to grow on me so I was looking forward to hearing some of the songs performed live alongside some favourites from the band's back catalogue. Originally scheduled to take place at Camden's Koko, the show had to move to the Electric Brixton - a new venue for me - due to some structural issues at the original venue that has led to its temporary closure. The move was a shame, as the Koko is a really nice venue, but the Electric Brixton impressed. It has an old-school vibe inside, and had a big enough stage to take the band's show.

Given that the venue was used as a nightclub after the show, the doors opened at the extremely early time of 5pm to give the night's two support acts and Kamelot chances to play good-length sets. The first band on were Leaves' Eyes, a band who I like a lot and have seen a few times over the years. I last saw them back in April, on their co-headline tour with MaYaN, so was really looking forward to seeing them again. New frontwoman Elina Siirala has really given the band a new injection of energy, and their latest album Sign of the Dragonhead is still getting regular spins in my house. Despite only having 45 minutes to play with, the band treated the show as if it was their own and there seemed to be many in attendance who were already fans. All but one of the songs played came from the band's most recent couple of albums, and things got off to a powerful start with Sign of the Dragonhead and Across the Sea from the new album. Alexander Krull (vocals) still does the vast majority of the between-song talking, and continually works hard making sure the crowd are involved. While sometimes he does go a little overboard trying to get the crowd to clap along etc., his enthusiasm definitely transferred into the crowd who seemed to be really into what Leaves' Eyes were doing. The set was essentially a condensed version of what was played earlier in the year, with the tough duet of Edge of Steel and the fluid folk metal of Riders on the Wind feeling powerful. Stoic guitarist Thorsten Bauer, who along with Krull is the only founding member left in the band, particularly shone during the latter which is full of folky guitar leads and solos. The guitar playing in Leaves' Eyes music is not often that flashy, so it was good to see him getting a chance to cut loose. The highlight of the set for me however was Beowulf, a song which I was not previously familiar with. It was a bonus track on some versions of Sign of the Dragonhead, and it is a pure slice of epic power metal that sees Siirala unleashing her most operatic vocals to great effect. There was one song left after Beowulf however, and the lengthy Blazing Waters, with Krull taking to the stage in full Viking garb, brought everything to a powerful close. He barked his way through the verses, while Siirala handled the choruses with ease. Leaves' Eyes are a band that I already take any opportunity that I can to see them, so it was great to see them again here and playing to a larger crowd than they usually would in the UK. The setlist was:

Sign of the Dragonhead
Across the Sea
Swords in Rock
Edge of Steel
Riders on the Wind
Hell to the Heavens
Beowulf
Blazing Waters
Haraldskvæði

After a quick changeover, the near-capacity crowd was treated to 45 minutes from the Swiss folk metal act Cellar Darling, a band which was formed by three former members of Eluveitie after they were ousted in 2016. The band released their debut album This is the Sound last year, and I have been wanting to check them out since. While I am not a huge fan of the band I think are they extremely original and interesting, so was looking forward to seeing them. The band's nine-song set contained most of their debut album, and it got off to a powerful start with Black Moon. Anna Murphy (vocals/hurdy-gurdy/flute) has a strange voice, but it is an extremely powerful one. It is her that brings to folk to the band's sound, with her vocals having a certain chanting quality to them, and her hurdy-gurdy often providing a more earthy melody, which is often in contrast to the riffing of guitarist Ivo Henzi. His riffing here is much more tech metal-inspired than anything he ever did in Eluveitie, which gives Cellar Darling a modern and dry sound. I am not the biggest fan of tech metal, so some of the band's angular and mechanical riffing does not do much for me, but the combination of this modern metal sound and Murphy's folky trappings is extremely interesting. Despite this, the band's sound is pretty melodic, with most of the songs sporting a strong chorus and folky melodies to latch onto. Hullaballoo was one of the highlights of the set for me, due to its big chorus, and the lengthier, more progressive Six Days also impressed. While I do not think that Cellar Darling will ever become a favourite of mine, it is always good to see something new and different. The fact that the crowd's reaction was often somewhat more muted in comparison to the big cheers that often greeted Leaves' Eyes' songs shows that there are probably others who feel the same, but Cellar Darling are already managing to build themselves a large fanbase, which is great. They are certainly a band I will keep an eye on, and I will be interested to follow their progress. The setlist was:

Black Moon

Hullaballoo

The Hermit

Avalanche

Six Days

Redemption

Starcrusher

Fire, Wind & Earth

Challenge

Despite two strong support sets, it was Kamelot that most were here to see. The stage was cleared pretty quickly, and the lights dropped at just after 8pm to big cheers. A symphonic opening followed, before the band took to the stage and rushed into Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire) from their latest album. It is clear that the fanbase has taken to The Shadow Theory already, as the few songs that were played from it throughout the evening were greeted as warmly as many of the older songs played. Speaking of older songs, it was interesting to note that the vast majority of the songs played (10 out of 16) were from the band's most recent three albums. i.e. the ones featuring current frontman Tommy Karevik. This was good to see, and I am glad the band are confident enough in their newer material to essentially focus on it now live. It was of course great to hear some of the older songs too, and Karevik has really made them his own now. Rule the World was one of the older tunes played early on, with the mechanical riffing and swirling orchestrals getting a strong early reaction from the crowd. My only comment on the choice of older material would be that the band seem to rely on the same few 'classics' from tour to tour. Songs like Rule the World and The Great Pandemonium are excellent, but they have been essentially omnipresent in the set since their releases. It would be great to hear another song from their respective albums instead to help shake up the setlist somewhat.

It was the newer material that really stood out the most for me however, with both Insomnia and Veil of Elysium impressing early on. Both feature fast and powerful guitar riffs from founding member Thomas Youngblood (guitar/vocals), and are true modern Kamelot classics. One thing I noticed during the latter in particular is how good a bassist Sean Tibbetts is. His bass playing is not usually the focus of the band's music, but I was stood basically directly in front of him for most of the night and some of his riffing is a lot more intricate than I realised. Another early highlight was the piano ballad Here's to the Fall, which featured Karevik and Oliver Palotai (keyboards) alone on stage to play the short, heartfelt piece. From then on the set was mostly a hard-hitting romp through some of the band's heavier songs, including the gothic-tinged RavenLight and the old classic Karma. That is not a song that seems to be played live too often these days, so it was great to hear it live again. It has a great chorus, and one of Youngblood's most memorable guitar solos in my opinion. A real favourite song of mine if Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife) which is a modern classic. It has one of my favourite Kamelot choruses, and this gave Karevik and touring guest vocalist Lauren Hart a chance to let rip with some soaring melodies. The heavy mid-section featuring Hart's harsh vocals was extremely powerful, and this set the tone for the rest of the night - with Burns to Embrace and the old-school Forever rounding out the main set. Forever featured a lot of crowd interaction, with Karevik putting the crowd through their paces, and a sing-a-long of Happy Birthday for Tibbetts who's birthday it was. The band left the stage to big cheers, but came back to perform one more - the heavy Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) from 2015's Haven. The dynamic piece proved to be a great closing number, and the crowd let out a huge cheer as the show came to a close. The setlist was:

Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)

Rule the World

Insomnia

The Great Pandemonium

When the Lights Are Down

End of Innocence

Veil of Elysium

Here's to the Fall

RavenLight

March of Mephisto

Karma

Amnesiac

Keyboard and Drum solos

Manus Dei

Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)

Burns to Embrace

Forever

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Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)

Ministrium (Shadow Key)

Overall this was, as expected, a great show from the American power/symphonic metal act. This was my fourth time seeing the band live, and they have never disappointed me - always giving everything and putting on a really memorable performance. It was good to see quite a few songs live that I had not seen them do before also, which always makes shows that little bit more memorable.