Tarja - London Review

In some ways, this past weekend saw me turning back the clock. As can be seen in my previous post here, this past Saturday I saw Epica play an excellent show at the Roundhouse in London. I talked about how symphonic metal was an important genre for me in my teens, but what I did not say was that Epica was not the only reason for me being in London this past weekend - as on Sunday I took in another show, this time at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. The reason for heading back to Camden was to see arguably the original queen of the symphonic metal genre, Tarja Turunen, live for the first time since 2010. By the time I started listening to symphonic metal, Turunen had already been ousted from Nightwish - but I nevertheless devoured all of the band's early work, and I must have watched the End of an Era DVD most weeks for about a year. I also started to get into Turunen's solo work, which at this point only really consisted of 2007's My Winter Storm. I remember looking forward to the release of 2010's What Lies Beneath - and I saw Turunen and her band on the tour for that album at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. The show was a good one, but I soon fell of the Turunen bandwagon. I remember thinking that the show was enjoyable, but that Turunen herself was somewhat stoic and overly professional. The experience felt like a theatre show rather than a traditional gig, and I think I felt that perhaps her heart was not really in it - almost as if she was continuing with metal due to her association with Nightwish rather than because it was what she really wanted to do. She seemed to be playing a part somewhat, and I remember that there was little interaction with the audience - and I was also likely comparing it to the fantastic Nightwish show which I had seen the previous year, which was perhaps somewhat unfair. I did not immediately fall off the wagon, but by the time 2013's Colours in the Dark came out I had. That album did very little for me when it came out, and I essentially stopped following Turunen's solo career after shelving it. For some reason, though, I picked up her latest album, 2019's In the Raw, a couple of years ago - and was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. It could well be my favourite album of hers to date, so I went back and also picked up 2016's The Shadow Self and gave Colours in the Dark another go. I enjoyed this revisiting enough to pick up a ticket to her London show last year, which was then postponed. I think it had already been postponed at least once before that - but it ended up being this past Sunday which tied in nicely with Epica the previous night. The Electric Ballroom is also quite a decent venue in my opinion, and it was nice to return to the Camden venue after a few years. It is definitely a bit grungy for someone like Turunen, who I expect feels more at home in somewhere like the Shepherd's Bush Empire - but there was a decent crowd packed into the space throughout the night, which ensured that she received a warm welcome.

Before Turunen and her band took to the stage, the crowd was treated to 30 minute slots from two support acts. Up first, and after a false start where the band took to the stage to find that none of their equipment was working, were the UK-based metalcore act Beneath the Embers - and the hard-hitting, yet melodic, band impressed despite the technical issues and a somewhat muddy sound mix. They seemed like the odd-band-out sound-wise on the bill, but they did not let this get to them - and they riffed their way through a handful of songs from their 2022 debut album Condemned. Metalcore, arguably like symphonic metal, is a genre that has somewhat had its day - but Beneath the Embers harked back to the mid-2000s glory days of the sound, with hints of bands like Killswitch Engage to be found throughout. That being said, though, the band certainly sounded English rather than American. There was perhaps a little more of a hard rock swagger to some of their riffing - and the harsh vocals of frontman Lewis Rowland certainly felt weightier than some of the lightweight screamers of the metalcore heyday. As such, and despite the muddy sound, Beneath the Embers powered through their allotted 30 minutes. There were plenty of shredded solos from guitarist Clint Bredin throughout the set, and the riffing of Bredin and fellow guitarist Quentin Radburn allowed for some catchy, yet heavy, motifs. Rowland switched back and forth between harsh and clean vocals, with bassist Liam Gloster also chipping in vocally, and the mix was very much classic metalcore - often seeing heavier verses mixed in with a more anthemic, melodic chorus. Songs like single Set Me Free and the hard-hitting Drag You to the Grave showcased the band's core sound nicely, whilst the somewhat slower-paced Fade Away allowed for a more atmospheric and emotional approach. Whilst it is fair to say that Beneath the Embers are not really out there doing anything particularly original, their material contains plenty of hooks - and the band seemed really down to earth, particularly with how they dealt with equipment troubles. They are still in the early stages of being a band, but with such an attitude and a strong collection of songs I can see them making a dent in the UK metal scene going forward.

Following Beneath the Embers were the Italian power metal five-piece Temperance. They were a band that I was familiar with in name-only prior to this tour, so I was looking forward to giving them a proper go - and I enjoyed their set, which style-wise was more in keeping with the night's headline act. Led by Marco Pastorino (vocals/guitar), whom I saw fairly recently fronting Virtual Symmetry, the Temperance of the 2023 Tarja tour are something of a make-shift iteration of the band - due to two members quitting on the eve of the tour and vocalist Michele Guaitoli on duty with Visions of Atlantis. As such, Pastorino and bassist Luca Negro were joined by vocalists Gabriele Gozzi and Lina Victoria - alongside drummer Marco Sacchetto. With Pastorino also contributing lead vocals throughout, the triple lead vocal attack certainly brought Amaranthe to mind - but Temperance's sound is much more rooted in power and symphonic metal than the more pop-infused sounds of the Swedish band. There were no real harsh vocals, either, although Pastorino's voice certainly has more grit to it than the soaring cleans of Gozzi, but when it came to hooks the comparisons with Amaranthe were somewhat apt. Temperance's sound is quite straight forward, but that meant that hooks shone throughout their set. Like Beneath the Embers, though, Temperance had to battle with muddy sound during parts of the set - but thankfully the vocals were pretty audible. The background synths and such were very quiet, though, which made the band sound quite hollow at times - but the vocal hooks were generally sufficient to get the point across. Each of the songs played were based around a big chorus, and they were all choruses that pretty much stuck in the brain from the off. These hooks, combined with the big riffing and occasional solo from Pastorino, allowed for a classic-sounding set of melodic power metal - and it was great that the band were able to get such a strong make-shift line-up in place in time for the tour. Based on their performance, they are certainly a band that I need to investigate further. They seem like the sort of band that will be a fun listen when some hooky power metal is needed - and there is a lot to be liked about music like that.

It was only around 20 minutes following Temperance's set that the lights went down again and Turunen and her band took to stage - whereby the launched into the dramatic and film score-esque Serene from In the Raw. Despite coming out in 2019, this was the tour for In the Raw - so a number of its songs were present in the set. All of Turunen's five solo albums were represented, though, and there was even one look back to her past in Nightwish. She was joined by three of the same musicians who I saw her play with back in 2010, too, which was nice to see. Her band has often been pretty consistent throughout the years - and the five on stage were like a well-oiled unit, complementing Turunen's dramatic voice nicely. As for Turunen herself, she seem much more animated this time. She interacted with the crowd a lot, and seemed to be having a great time on the stage. It helped that the crowd were loud throughout the set, but she fed off this energy to deliver a great set. Following Serene, the heavier Demons in You allowed guitarist Alex Scholpp to riff away, whilst My Little Phoenix saw Turunen's classically-trained voice in full flight. An early highlight, though, was the vocally-complex Anteroom of Death. The abrasive metal of the early parts of the song perfectly clashed with the vocal-led mid-section - which saw Turunen, Scholpp, and Living Color's Doug Wimbish (bass guitar/vocals) replicating the intertwining vocals of the album version in a way that worked well on stage. It was a great example of the band's talents, before the riffy Diva and another new cut in Goodbye Stranger wowed the crowd. The latter in particular was a highlight, as Turunen left the stage for a while to allow everyone in her band a chance to solo. Wimbish stood out, really shredding on his bass, but it was also great to hear Max Lilja (cello) really let rip on his cello for a short while.

Turunen then returned for a lengthier and soaring Silent Masquerade before the clock was turned back quite a while as Nightwish's Wishmaster was wheeled out. It was great to hear the song live, as it is one of the oldies that I have never seen Nightwish do live - and Turunen looked like she was having fun revisiting it, whilst Scholpp sunk his teeth into the folky guitar melodies and solo. A moment of calm followed Wishmaster, as the band left Turunen alone on the stage with a piano - where she played a medley of a couple of the latest album's ballads, which culminated in a great version of You and I. The song soared thanks to the gentle piano and Turunen's voice, and it provided a brief moment of respite before the last few songs of the set. Undertaker and Tears in Rain returned to the hard rock of the bulk of the evening - but it was the main set-closing Victim of Ritual which was the next big highlight, and it ensured that the main set ended in style. A four-song encore followed, though, which was slightly delayed whilst an issue with Lilja's cello was fixed, and it contained a number of Turunen's most loved solo cuts. Innocence started the encore off, but it was I Walk Alone that really got the crowd going. It was possibly Turunen's best vocal showcase of the night, too, and it received a huge cheer as it came to a close. The heavier Dead Promises, with Scholpp handling the male vocal parts, and the hooky Until My Last Breath then saw the night come to an up-tempo close. Turunen seemed really pleased with the strong reception that she and the band received, and overall it was a joyous close to what had been a memorable night of music. The setlist was:

Serene

Demons in You

My Little Phoenix

Anteroom of Death

Diva

Goodbye Stranger

Silent Masquerade

Wishmaster [Nightwish material]

The Golden Chamber (Loputon Yö)/You and I

Undertaker

Tears in Rain

Victim of Ritual

-

Innocence

I Walk Alone

Dead Promises

Until My Last Breath

Considering that I fell off the Turunen wagon quite a while ago, it has been great revisiting her catalogue again recently - and I really enjoyed her show this past Sunday. She has come a long way as a solo artist since 2010, and she really rocked the Electric Ballroom with her band. I am certainly going to keep up with Turunen and her activities going forward, as I think that with In the Raw she has made her best solo album to date - and I am looking forward to seeing how she builds on it. I will also make the effort to see her live again next time she tours in the UK - and I am sure that doing so will, again, be very much worth it.