Rage - London Review

Being a fan of European melodic metal often means that, to see a band live, a trip to London, and often the Camden Underworld, is necessary. Power/symphonic/progressive/etc. metal is not particularly popular over here, with a few notable exceptions, with most bands content just to quickly pop over for a one-night stop over in London during a wider European tour. Those of us who are big consumers of the aforementioned genres therefore often find ourselves travelling to London, and I probably make at least a dozen or so trips to the capital a year for musical reasons. While it would be nice if these bands could sometimes play closer to home, a trip to London is always to be looked forward to - so it was with excitement that I headed up to the city for my first London weekend away of 2020. The event was, almost as always, at the Camden Underworld - with the German metal veterans Rage headlining a strong three-band bill. When the show was announced last year, it was being advertised as a co-headline tour topped by Rage and the Austrian power metal band Serenity - but over time the bill seemed to be altered to make the tour Rage's, with Serenity acting as a special guest. This was further altered in London due to the fact that the tour's support, Savage Messiah, are English - meaning that they were granted a longer set than usual at their 'home town' show. While somewhat different from what was originally advertised, the evening still promised to be an excellent showing of melodic metal. Rage are a band I have been casually into for a couple of years now having seen them with Firewind in 2018, and Serenity are a band I have wanted to see for a long time but could never put a plan together that worked. Seeing the two together promised to be a strong night of music, with Savage Messiah - a band I saw a couple of times a few years ago but never really kept up with - being something of an added bonus. Given the venue's dual use as a club well into the night, the Underworld opened at 5pm, with Serenity hitting the stage at 6pm. Both Serenity and Savage Messiah had an hour each on stage, whereas Rage were afforded a little longer playing for around 75 minutes. Given the generous set lengths, no band really ever felt short changed, and gave their fans a good amount of music for their money. The turnout was pretty good too, especially considering that Sabaton (one of the aforementioned exceptions) had sold out the Wembley Arena (a show I would have gone to if I did not already have a ticket for this one), providing something of a competition for English melodic metal fans this past Saturday night.

As mentioned, Serenity were up first and they really seemed up for the show - buoyed by the grand notes of The Last Knight playing over the PA as they took to the stage. With the album of the same name just over a week old, the band immediately launched into My Kingdom Comes, one of the new singles, and followed it up with nine further songs from throughout their excellent and majestic catalogue. I have been wanting to see the band live for a while, and the four-piece did not disappoint. They managed to inject a lot of energy into their songs, and a great live sound mix that pushed frontman Georg Neuhauser's voice the fore also helped the band to shine. Neuhauser was in great form, prowling the stage and interacting with those down at the front, while the rest of the band ably backed him up. Chris Hermsdörfer (guitar/vocals) particularly impressed, with plenty of excellent shredded solos sprinkled throughout the set - and his occasional harsh vocals adding weight to the band's usually fairly easy-going sound. He got a particular workout during the prog metal oldie Reduced to Nothingness, in but in truth everyone really pulled together to make the set tick. With the whole band contributing to vocal harmonies, Serenity's live sound was big. Tracks like Iniquity and the new Set the World on Fire benefited from this big vocal approach, while moodier tracks like Souls and Sins saw the band's heavier side come to the fore. Despite the efforts from all involved however, it is a shame that the band does not include a live keyboard player any more which means that parts of the band's sound are relegated to backing tracks. Power metal bands should have a keyboard player for their orchestrations, so it was a shame to see Serenity touring without one. That is really the only criticism I could level at the band however, as their set was flawless and their song selection contained some of their best-known tunes as well as a selection from their new album. By the time the final third or so of the set rolled around, the whole crowd seemed really into what Serenity were doing, with each song receiving a better reception than the last. Spirit in the Flesh went down a storm, with bassist Fabio D'Amore showing off his own vocal talents during the chorus, and the grand Legacy of Tudors saw everyone singing along with the song's great Renaissance-era melodies. It was left to the fast-paced Lionheart to round everything off, with Andreas Schipflinger's (drums/vocals) fast footwork really driving everything forward. It was an excellent closing number, and it left a strong impression as the band took their bows. I am glad that I finally got to see Serenity live, and I will definitely be making every effort in the future to see them again. The setlist was:

The Last Knight
My Kingdom Comes
Reduced to Nothingness
Iniquity
Set the World on Fire
Souls and Sins
United
Spirit in the Flesh
Legacy of Tudors
Follow Me
Lionheart

Savage Messiah were up next and the melodic thrash act put on a strong showing for their hour on stage. I saw the band supporting Amon Amarth and at Bloodstock Open Air a few years ago, but beyond that I never really kept up with what they were doing despite enjoying their sets. I enjoyed their set this time too, but not enough to rush out and pick up their back catalogue. The band's sound is somewhere between 1990s-era Megadeth and the heavier end of Dokken, with a few strong hooks and plenty of excellent solos from both Dave Silver (vocals/guitar) and the returning Joff Bailey (guitar/vocals). In truth, Savage Messiah are a band I feel that I should like a lot more than I do - but for whatever reason I have always just 'liked' their stuff without ever being blown away. There were certainly hampered a little here by a rough live sound however, which was a shame. Both Serenity and Rage sounded great - but Savage Messiah's sound just seemed a bit mushy, with the guitars never really having much definition. This meant that some of the hooks and strong riffs did not really pack a punch, which was a real shame. Despite this, the band clearly had a quite a few fans in so received a strong reception. I think it is fair to say that both Serenity and Rage were better received though, but Savage Messiah certainly held their own and deserved their slot on the bill. I recognised a couple of the older tracks like Cross of Babylon and The Fateful Dark, but many of the tracks were newer so were not ones that I recalled from the shows I saw a few years ago. Savage Messiah are, in truth, a band I should probably give some more time to as I feel that with some more investment I could become quite a fan of them. I was interested to see them again after a number of years, so it was just a shame that their sound ended up being something of a hindrance.

The evening's headline act certainly felt like they had something to prove. Their last London show in 2018 was marred with illness, so seemed to want to make amends for that somewhat lacklustre showing - and they did so in style. Rage also have a new album out, the excellent Wings of Rage, and the band wanted to show it off early by hitting the crowd with two of the new tracks right away. Both True and Chasing the Twilight Zone got the evening's final set off to a flying start, with Peavy Wagner's (vocals/bass guitar) growling spoken word-esque vocals in the former really reverberating around the venue, while Marcos Rodriguez (guitar/vocals) churned out riff after riff. I enjoyed the band's 2018 show, and it introduced me to Rage, but this set was so much more powerful. It is easy to see in hindsight how much the band were affected by illness, but this time they were running at full pelt - with the large crowd fully behind them. Four of the new songs were played in a thirteen-song set that pulled tunes from throughout their career - with Wagner and Rodriguez in good humour throughout, telling stories and joking with the crowd. Many of the tracks chosen were from the band's more melodic side, but thrashier numbers like The Devil Strikes Again ensured that heads banged, before the big choruses of Set This World on Fire and Refuge had plenty of the old-school fans singing along. Rage are a band with a huge discography, and in truth I have only really scratched the surface of it so far. I recognised some of the tracks, but there were some new ones for me, with epic tracks like Shame On You standing out. In truth however, the band's whole set was excellent - and it goes to show just how consistent Rage have been throughout their career. The band's current line-up might only be five years old, but they are already a well-versed unit and it says something that some of the newer songs are some of my favourite Rage tracks yet. Let Them Rest in Peace is a great example of the modern Rage sound, and it seemed that plenty of others in attendance also thought that the track was excellent - as it received a strong reception. It was kept for the final portion of the set, and I can see it becoming a real crowd favourite in the future. It was left to two of the band's best-known tracks to bring the evening to a close, with the epic Don't Fear the Winter sounding as melodic and potent now as it did in the late 1980s and Higher Than the Sky creating the most excitement of the whole evening. Wagner led the crowd through a rendition of the song's chorus before launching into the song proper, and everyone in attendance sang along and just generally had a great time with the band. The band were clearly having a great time too, and included a little medley of classic metal tracks within Higher Than the Sky, with Rodriguez doing an impressive Ronnie James Dio impression during a snippet of Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell. It rounded off a great evening of metal really well, and the crowd sounded their appreciation as the band took their bows. The setlist was:

True
Chasing the Twilight Zone
Shadow Out of Time
The Devil Strikes Again
Deep in the Blackest Hole
Until I Die
Set This World on Fire
Wings of Rage
Refuge
Shame On You
Let Them Rest in Peace
Don't Fear the Winter
Higher Than the Sky/Princess of the Night [Saxon cover]/Heaven and Hell [Black Sabbath cover]/Seventh Son of a Seventh Son [Iron Maiden cover]/Fear of the Dark [Iron Maiden cover]

The first London gig of the year was certainly a success, with three strong sets from three bands who deserve to be playing bigger venues than the Camden Underworld. All three bands were hanging around the venue throughout the night, and after the music finished they were all hanging around the merch tables. I got my copies of Wings of Rage and The Last Knight signed by both Rage and Serenity which was great, and I hope to have an opportunity to see both bands live again in the future.