Amorphis/Soilwork - London Review

Throughout the past decade or so, co-headline tours and larger touring packages have become a lot more common. With the live music market somewhat flooded, and ticket prices rising all the time, bands sometimes have to find more inventive ways sell tickets. Co-headline tours have become popular because they often provide fans with excellent value for money. A well-matched pair of artists is likely attract fans from both bands' fanbases, and sharing backline and transport costs can help make the tour more financially viable. The downside is that bands sometimes have to sacrifice some time on stage, with co-headline partners often not having quite as long of a set when compared to their own headline shows, but in my opinion this is a small price to pay. The latest two bands to team up in this fashion were the Finnish progressive/folk metal act Amorphis and the Swedish melodic death metal veterans Soilwork. Both Amorphis and Soilwork have been around for years now and both have large fanbases worldwide. They also, probably, have just enough of a fanbase crossover for this pairing to make sense - with the presence of the 'other' band not likely to put someone off going to the show if they were only a fan of one. The result of this pairing was a fairly lengthy European tour, that included one stop off in the UK - at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London. I had only been to the Electric Ballroom once previously, and that was back in 2015 to see Queensrÿche headline the day before Bloodstock Open Air kicked off that year. I remember quite liking the venue, so was not disappointed to return. By the time the day of the show rolled around, it was nearly sold out. Adverts on Facebook a few hours before the doors opened stated that only around 20 tickets remained, so I was expecting a big crowd. There was a big turnout, which was great to see on a Monday night, but the place never felt over-full - which is always good! Joining Amorphis and Soilwork on this trek were Jinjer and Nailed to Obscurity, but sadly the former were unable to make the London show due to visa issues. This meant that both Amorphis and Soilwork were able to play slightly longer sets than has been average on this tour so far - something which I doubt too many had any complaints about.

The doors opened at 6pm, and half an hour later the aforementioned German doom metal act Nailed to Obscurity took to the stage for around 45 minutes of slow, heavy music. I had seen the band open the Main Stage at Bloodstock last year, but they did not make much of an impact on me. While I think it is still fair to say that they did not make much of an impact on me this time around either, seeing them in a smaller venue, in the dark, and with better sound certainly helped me appreciate what they do. The occasional bursts of clean vocals were still fairly ropey, but everything else sounded big, heavy, and powerful. Frontman Raimund Ennenga has a great growl on him, and his guttural vocals really went well with the band's slow riffing. The decent sound mix allowed for the intricacies of the guitar playing to shine through in a much more convincing way than it did at Bloodstock too. Many of the songs have beautiful clean guitar passages, which really help to create an atmosphere and add 'light' to the songs in a way that the clean vocals fail to do. This, coupled with the numerous heavy riffs and melodic guitar solos, make for strong, oppressive sound that really filled the room. I would not be surprised if the band made themselves a few new fans with this performance, as they received a strong reception throughout the night. Doom will never really be my thing, but Nailed to Obscurity are a band that are very good at what they do and I would not be surprised to be hearing more about them in the future.

After a 20 minute changeover that flew by, the first of the evening's headliners - Soilwork - took to the stage as the title track of their latest album Verkligheten played over the PA. The six-piece band hit the stage in a flurry of energy and immediately launched into Arrival, the first single from the new album, and what followed was just under 90 minutes of energetic, catchy, and melodic metal music. While the sound mix was certainly not as kind to Soilwork as it was to the other bands on the bill, and sadly things did sound a little mushy at times, the band still managed to put on a powerful display and featured songs from throughout their career. An early highlight was the mid-career offering Nerve, before the future classic Full Moon Shoals slowed things down for some mid-paced crunch. Frontman Björn 'Speed' Strid was on good form vocally throughout the show, and luckily managed to be heard above the rest of the band. Songs like Full Moon Shoals allowed him to showcase his clean vocals more effectively, while older classics like the twin-guitar romp of Like the Average Stalker focused on his screams. Both sides of his voice sounded strong, although I have to say that I was a little disappointed to hear a lot of vocals on the click tracks. Only bassist Rasmus Ehrnborn was providing live backing vocals, so there was a lot of reliance on piped-in vocal 'help'. Strid still sang live however, and sounded great, but I just wish the extra vocals were not so obvious! That aside, there was a lot to like about Soilwork's set. Songs like Rise Above the Sentiment and The Akuma Afterglow had big choruses for the crowd to really get into, and heavier tracks like Bastard Chain allowed the band's two guitarists, Sylvain Coudret and Simon Johansson, to lay down some excellent shredded solos. Johansson is currently filling in for the band's usual guitarist David Andersson on this tour, and acquitted himself very well by nailing all of his solos. Towards the end of the band's set, the more melodic anthems were wheeled out. As We Speak saw a bit a sing along erupt in the crowd, and allowed Sven Karlsson (keyboards) to showcase some of his more melodic playing. A late highlight for me was the band's latest single Witan which includes one of their very best choruses. It went down well with the crowd, before probably the band's best-known track Stabbing the Drama allowed for the biggest sing along of the evening up to that point with the crowd almost downing out Strid during the choruses. It was left to the new tune Stålfågel to bring the eighteen song set to a close, which was met with cheer from the large crowd. I certainly felt that the audience was more Amorphis', but Soilwork still managed to elicit a strong reaction and I really enjoyed their efforts. The setlist was:

Verkligheten
Arrival
The Crestfallen
Nerve
Full Moon Shoals
Death in General
Like the Average Stalker
Rise Above the Sentiment
The Akuma Afterglow
Drowning With Silence
The Phantom
The Nurturing Glance
Bastard Chain
As We Speak
The Ride Majestic
The Living Infinite II
Witan
Stabbing the Drama 
Stålfågel

While I have been a casual Soilwork fan for years, I have been a big Amorphis fan for around the same amount of time. The band's last two albums have been included in my Albums of the Year lists for their respective years, and I was very much looking forward to seeing the band again - with the last time coming back in 2015. Like Soilwork, Amorphis had just under 90 minutes to play with and used the time to showcase six tracks from last year's excellent Queen of Time as well as a selection of other tracks, mostly culled from their other recent efforts. The Bee and The Golden Elk, both from the new album, got their set off to a flying start. I imagine that a few Soilwork fans would have left after their set, so everyone who was left was really embracing what Amorphis were offering. The setlist was almost like a 'Best Of' the Tomi Joutsen (vocals) era, with all-but-one of the songs played coming from his time with the band. The spacey Sky is Mine went down well early on, before the epic melodies of Sacrifice saw lots of singing from the crowd. The sound mix benefited Amorphis, and everything sounded crisp and clear. Esa Holopainen's (guitar) leads and solos all stood out perfectly, and Santeri Kallio's (keyboards) washings of organ and piano melodies had just the right amount of weight. This allowed the band's dense arrangements to really come alive on stage, with the more complex numbers like Message in the Amber shining. This song was one of the highlights of the evening, with Joutsen, Olli-Pekka Laine (bass guitar/vocals), and Tomi Koivusaari (guitar/vocals) all taking a turn vocally. It was particularly fun to hear Koivusaari sing a few lines here and there, considering he was originally the band's lead singer! The simpler songs also sounded great, with The Smoke's melodies really washing over the crowd and the band's latest single Wrong Direction showing that the now long-established Amorphis sound is sounded as crisp and warm as ever. I still get a smile when I hear the intro to Daughter of Hate, as it sounds a lot like Def Leppard's Women but I imagine this is something lost on many Amorphis fans(!), but the real late-set highlight for me was a powerful rendition of Hopeless Days that saw lots of singing from the crowd. Joutsen encouraged the singing, and the chorus brought lots of it. This led nicely into Black Winter Day, the only 'older' number played, and the old-school fans in the crowd certainly enjoyed it. Koivusaari actually handled a few of the vocal lines too which was nice to see, as he sang them on the original album version of the song! This brought the main set to a close, but as Amorphis were closing out the evening they were afforded an encore. The percussive Death of a King was the first of two more songs to follow, before House of Sleep brought everything to a close. It has possibly the band's chorus, and as a result it saw the loudest crowd sing along of the evening. Everything sang their hearts out, and the band seemed happy with the result! It certainly ended things on a high, and brought a great evening of music to a fitting end. The setlist was:

The Bee

The Golden Elk

Sky is Mine

Sacrifice

Message in the Amber

Silver Bride

Bad Blood

The Smoke

Wrong Direction

Daughter of Hate

Heart of the Giant

Hopeless Days

Black Winter Day

-

Death of a King

House of Sleep

Amorphis were the band of the night, but Soilwork also put on a great showing and Nailed to Obscurity enjoyed a strong reception. I was glad to be able to see Amorphis live again after a few years, and to finally catch Soilwork for the first time. I am looking forward to seeing Soilwork again at Bloodstock later in the year, and I hope Amorphis will return to the UK again in the near future.