Battle Beast - London Review

Despite being a fan of Finland's Battle Beast for a few years now, I had not previously had the chance to see them live until yesterday. The UK has not always been a big part of the band's touring plans, but recent years has seen Battle Beast's profile rise over here. Until recently, Battle Beast's UK appearances were largely consigned to one-off appearances at the Camden Underworld - but a powerful set at 2017's Bloodstock Open Air seems to have really given them a boost. I did not go to Bloodstock in 2017, but I have heard a lot of good things about their Thursday night headline set. I am sure that the festival set turned a lot of heads - so much so that the band are now at the stage where they can schedule UK tours of their own. The band's last UK appearance was only back in April, which saw the band sell out The Dome in London's Tufnell Park. Due to the sell out, the band used that platform to announce a further string of UK dates - venturing further this time than the customary London appearance. Ironically however, the show that made the most sense for me was the London one - this time at ULU Live, which is a venue built into one of the London University's Student Unions. It was great to go to another Student Union venue so quickly after experiencing Manchester's Club Academy - but it really makes me realise how cities like Plymouth could benefit from their Universities hosting more live bands. I booked the Battle Beast ticket quite a few months ago, but when the weekend rolled around I found myself in the middle of a lengthy four-gig weekend! I enjoy these lengthy cross-country treks to take in live music, and everything this weekend was built around the Battle Beast show - as they were the first of the four tickets to be bought. I hot-footed it down from Manchester and got into London in the early afternoon. I was staying in Ealing, which was a fair way away from Central London where the gig was - but everything worked out nicely. After settling into my Travelodge, I headed into Central London to ULU Live - which was another new venue for me. The venue is slap-bang in the middle of the London shopping area, so the area was still pretty busy despite it being early evening by the time I got to Goodge Street tube station. Despite only being a few months since the band's last visit to the city, there was still a decent-sized crowd gathered in the ULU throughout the evening. I do not think that the show was sold out this time, but there was a great atmosphere throughout the evening as everyone in attendance was clearly up for a good time.

Before Battle Beast's set however the growing crowd was treated to an excellent set from the Swedish melodic metal act Cyhra - another band that is starting to make a name for themselves in the scene. The band have only been around since 2017, but with two albums now under their belts they are currently brimming with confidence. This tour with Battle Beast were the band's first UK appearances, so it provided their UK fans their first opportunities to see them live. As there was only one support act, Cyhra benefited from a lengthy slot, and managed to squeeze ten songs into their 45 minutes on stage. The early portion of the band's set was filled with songs from the newly released No Halos in Hell, but the show got underway with the title track from the band's 2017 debut release. With no live bassist or keyboard player, there was a heavy reliance on backing tracks, but the guitars took on more of a presence live which really helped to boost up the band's sound. Euge Valovirta (guitar/vocals) led the charge on the guitar front, while frontman Jake E proved why is held in such a high regard as a singer. He was always a bit overshadowed in Amaranthe, despite being one of the band's main songwriters, so it was great to see him take centre stage throughout Cyhra's whole set. There were clearly a few fans in attendance, but by the end of the show it seemed that nearly the whole crowd was on Cyhra's side. They are a hard band not to like, as each song contains a huge chorus which is extremely easy to latch onto. Despite being less familiar with them, it was actually the newer songs that stood out the most to me, with the epic Dreams Gone Wrong and the emotional Battle from Within particularly hitting the spot early on. No Halos in Hell is a much poppier album than Letters to Myself was, meaning that the melodies throughout the newer songs really came over well live. It also meant that the set really kicked up into a somewhat heavier gear as it moved on, with the meatier Heartrage and Karma showcasing a bit of a different side to the band. The latter in particular impressed greatly, with both Valovirta and touring guitarist Marcus Sunesson nailing the opening Gothenburg-esque guitar lead. A couple of newer tracks finished everything off, with the new single Out of My Life bringing everything to a close. E even managed to initiate something of a sing along during one of the album's choruses - which goes to show how much the crowd were into Cyhra by this point. It was a great set from an up-and-coming band that seems to continue to go from strength to strength - and I hope that next time the band return to the UK it is on their own terms. The setlist was:

Letter to Myself
Bye Bye Forever
Dreams Gone Wrong
I Am the One
Battle from Within
Heartrage
Here to Save You
Karma
Man of Eternal Rain
Out of My Life

About half an hour after Cyhra's set came to an end the house lights went down and Battle Beast took to the stage. The band are two albums into their 'new' era following the firing of former guitarist and lead songwriter Anton Kabanen, so it is unsurprising that the band chose to focus on the two albums that they have released since then. Songs from this year's No More Hollywood Endings made up the bulk of the set, with a healthy dose from 2017's Bringer of Pain also making the cut. A couple of old, fan-favourite Kabanen-era tracks were retained, but the focus was certainly on the modern Battle Beast. Unbroken got things underway, but it was perhaps Familiar Hell that really got the party going. Battle Beast are a band that manage to whip up a lot of energy throughout their shows, and this is largely down to the presence and efforts of frontwoman Noora Louhimo. She is such a force of nature up there on the stage, and her voice is out of this world. She sounds great on the band's albums, but live she is something else. She really carried the six-piece through their fifteen-song set with ease, with the band backing her up and occasionally stealing the spotlight when necessary. An early highlight for me was the melodic, fast-paced Straight to the Heart, which featured some excellent, but rare, soloing from Juuso Soinio (guitar) and a chorus that everyone got into. Despite Louhimo's voice and presence, it was Eero Sipilä (bass guitar/vocals) that did most of the between-song talking. He did a good job of compering the evening, introducing the songs well and joking with the audience. Another earlyish highlight was the AOR-esque Endless Summer, with plenty of keyboards from Janne Björkroth filling out the sound. He wielded his keytar throughout the evening, and really helped to big up the band's sound. His keyboards have become an even bigger part of the band's sound over the past couple of albums, and it seems to be his influence that is emphasising the AOR end of the band's sound. Those who prefer the heavier end of things however were kept happy with the rampaging The Golden Horde and the older classic Out of Control. The two songs followed each other and made for a really powerful few minutes of music - with Joona Björkroth (guitar/vocals) taking the opportunity to show off with a number of fast guitar solos. In truth however, much of the final third of the main set was fast-paced metal, giving drummer Pyry Vikki something of a workout, with the heavy disco of The Hero and the brash Bastard Son of Odin impressing the crowd - before the more melodic Eden brought things to a close. Chants of the band's name soon brought them back out however, with a three-song encore following. Some of the best was saved for last however, with the strange ballet of No More Hollywood Endings and the anthemic rock stomp of King for a Day seeing plenty of headbanging from the crowd. There was one fast-paced track left however, with Beyond the Burning Skies bringing the evening to a powerful close. The reaction from the crowd was electric, and even the band seemed a bit taken aback by the cheers throughout - and especially at the end. A great set from a band that is really starting to move waves in the metal world! The setlist was:

Unbroken
Familiar Hell
Straight to the Heart
Black Ninja
Endless Summer
I Wish
Raise Your Fists
The Golden Horde
Out of Control
The Hero
Bastard Son of Odin
Eden
-
No More Hollywood Endings
King for a Day
Beyond the Burning Skies

The evening was an excellent one, with two of power metal's current rising stars really putting on great shows for a good-sized and appreciative crowd. Cyhra showed that they could reproduce their poppy and melodic sound live, and Battle Beast demonstrated their power - and showed that in a fair world they would already be big hitters in the world of metal.