Before Sabaton took to the stage, though, the large crowd was treated to sets from two support acts. I have to say that I was quite disappointed by the choice of support. Sabaton have generally toured with strong bills, but this bill seemed aimed at a broader market - which was a shame. That being said, though, I did quite enjoy the 40 minutes or so which Lordi were on stage for. Like many, I first heard of the Finnish five-piece when they took part in, and won, the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2006. I think that it is fair to say that the band never really capitalised on that fame, but, nevertheless, they have been ever-present in the rock and metal scene since. In some ways, I am surprised that it took me so long to run into Lordi - but the costume-clad rockers essentially delivered exactly what I thought they would: a fun set of decent melodic hard rock/heavy metal anthems with a good dose of both humour and 1980s-style cheese. Despite having been around for over 30 years at this point, the band took to being relegated to an opening act in their stride, and generally let the music do the talking. Frontman and bandleader Mr. Lordi was a captivating presence on the stage, especially when some demonic wings opened as part of his costume during one number, but the band as a whole were tight. Kone (guitar/vocals) particularly impressed with a number of shredded solos, whilst Hella (keyboards/vocals) added plenty of cheesy horror atmospherics. The vast majority of the songs had big, stadium-ready choruses, too, although these were not always allowed to shine thanks to a somewhat muddy sound mix. Mr. Lordi's vocals were generally audible, but they lacked the punch which I imagine that they should have - meaning that the choruses did not always land. It was easy to see what the band were aiming for sound-wise, though, and it was good to hear that things had not really changed since 2006. I remember listening to a few other Lordi songs when they won Eurovision, but I was never truly swept along. Based on their set, though, it would seem that the band have at least a few decent songs worth checking out - so I may have to do some investigating in due course. Their 40 minute set of course came a close with the Eurovision-winning anthem Hard Rock Hallelujah, which went down well with the large crowd - and I think it is fair to say that Lordi's job of warming up the crowd had been well done.
Up next, after a 20 minute changeover, were Babymetal - the Japanese pop/metal crossover band who made a bit of a splash a few years ago when they burst onto the scene. I must admit to being pretty ignorant of Babymetal's work, nor was I particularly looking forward to seeing them. I was pretty certain that they would not be my thing at all, and within a few minutes of their set starting my suspicions were essentially confirmed. Musically, though, Babymetal had their moments. The anonymous band who backed the trio of pop singers/dancers were certainly very capable - even if the music often felt a bit stuck in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Some of the tech metal style riffing was fun, though, and the last song of the set sounded so much like an old-school DragonForce song that I thought that the band were about to do a cover. That is about as far as my enjoyment of Babymetal's set went, though. For those who do not know, Babymetal is essentially a metal version of a typical Japanese girl band, featuring girls dancing and singing and that overly 'cute' manner which is such a huge part of Japanese pop culture. I would make the argument that this kind of act just does not translate that well with Western audiences - but Babymetal have been pretty popular here in the UK for a while. I do think that their initial popularity has waned, but there still seems to be quite a bit of love for them - and the reception that they received throughout their set was pretty strong. Clearly lots in attendance enjoyed Babymetal - but they really were not for me at all. Given how poppy the band can be, there was surprisingly little vocals - with only one of the three main girls singing anything close to a significant amount. As such, much of the set was instrumental - broken up by instances of pretty screechy and unappealing vocals. It is fair to say that I will not be checking them out further, but in a way I am glad that I have seen them - and I can now have something of a meaningful opinion on them. I had essentially ignored them up to this point, and I will likely continue to do so from this point on.
Following Babymetal's set, there was a half an hour or so break whilst the crew got the stage ready for Sabaton. As has been typical of the band's shows of late, the set-up was pretty lavish. Drummer Hannes Van Dahl's kit was sat atop a tank, which is the norm for Sabaton, whilst other parts of the stage were laid out like a trench - with plenty of barbed wire. This became the setting for the next 90 or so minutes of music - although the show got off to a strange start. Part of the spoken word section of Sarajevo played over the speakers, before a huge pyro explosion cut it off. A pause was then followed by Sun Tzu Says and the band launching into their ever-present opener Ghost Division. Looking at the band's other recent setlists, this seems to be typical - but it felt like a false start, and the whole vibe was very strange for a moment or so. When Ghost Division kicked off, though, the crowd got going - and Sabaton did not have to work hard to get the energy levels within the room high. The first part of the set largely consisted of older songs, before the second portion focused on songs telling stories from the First World War - largely taken from the band's last two albums. This meant that some old favourites where wheeled out early on. The up-tempo Ghost Division set the scene as always, before the slower, more epic Bismarck saw frontman Joakim Brodén prowling the stage whilst being covered in plectrums by guitarists Chris Rörland and Tommy Johansson. Brodén took this in his stride, before Johansson impressed with a fluid solo. Not to be left out, though, Rörland shone during the bombastic The Last Stand, whilst Into the Fire turned the clock back to the band's debut album to showcase something altogether more fast. The band's older material certainly has a strong speed metal feel, and Into the Fire gave the set a kick of energy before two slower pieces, Carolus Rex (sung in Swedish) and Winged Hussars, brought the first part of the show to a close.
The second part of the show was generally more theatrical. Crew members in costume often provided something extra to look at, and there was a more liberal use of props here. Sarajevo was played properly to start this part of the show, with both Rörland and Johansson soloing during the spoken word piece, before the hammering Stormtroopers saw Brodén decked in a long coat whilst flamethrower-wielding crew members flanked the stage. A poignant and toughened version of Motörhead's ballad 1916, which Sabaton have just released a cover of, really slowed the pace, which then made the poppier Solider of Heaven feel surprisingly joyous with its big synths and driving bassline from Pär Sundström. In fact, the whole back end of the set was pretty varied, with heavy tracks like Dreadnought sitting side-by-side with the Uriah Heep-influenced The Red Baron - during which a keyboard attached to a plane was wheeled onto the stage for the Hammond organ solo. The creeping Father, a recent single, added a spooky side to the show, with a science lab brought out, before the industrial-sounding The Attack of the Dead Men built further on these vibes - with the whole band donning gas masks. Sundström then took the time to thank the crowd, and reflect on how far the band had come since their first London headline show in 2007, before introducing an epic, set-closing rendition of Christmas Truce. The symphonic ballad brought the main set to a powerful close, with the crowd lighting up the venue with their phones. There was time for a bit more, though, and the band came back out with another oldie in Primo Victoria, which of course had everyone in the crowd singing along, before the folky vibes of Swedish Pagans acted as a vehicle for a bit of extended soloing, some crowd interaction, and even a short drum barrage from Van Dahl. There was still time for one more, though, and the anthemic To Hell and Back closed the night. It has become the band's closing cut of late, and it works well as such due to its huge chorus and bouncing rhythm. It capped off a powerful set nicely, and the band then took their bows to huge cheers from the sold out room. The setlist was:
Sarajevo/Sun Tzu Says
Ghost Division
Bismarck
The Last Stand
Into the Fire
Carolus Rex
Winged Hussars
Sarajevo
Stormtroopers
1916 [Motörhead cover]
Solider of Heaven
Dreadnought
The Red Baron
Father
The Attack of the Dead Men
Christmas Truce
-
Primo Victoria
Swedish Pagans
To Hell and Back
I knew that Sabaton would pull out of all of the stops, and their London show this past weekend did not disappoint. Each Sabaton show which I have been to has been memorable for different reasons, and Saturday night will be memorable for the scale of the show. It was also great to hear quite a few songs live which had not been featured in the setlists of the previous Sabaton shows that I attended. Sabaton often shake things up like that, and this made the London show a real winner. I feel like I have seen better overall performances from the band, but as far as spectacle goes this past weekend was a real winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment