Visions of Atlantis - Bristol Review

I have said something similar on this blog before, but Austria's Visions of Atlantis have become one of my favourite symphonic metal bands over the past few years. During my real love for the genre during the late 2000s and early 2010s I did not really listen to them, but since seeing them open for Kamelot back in 2019 I have been hooked - and I have reviewed all of the albums which they have released since then and have seen them twice as headliners. I still struggle with the band's early work - but everything they have released since 2018's The Deep & the Dark has been excellent, and earlier this year they released their latest opus which has been getting quite a lot of love in my house. It was perhaps seeing the band last year which really cemented my love for them in a big way, though. They were great with Kamelot, but since then the band's current line-up has really solidified and have bettered themselves in the studio. As they played at last year's iteration of Bloodstock Open Air, the band arranged a few headline shows in the UK to coincide with the festival - so I travelled up to Bristol to catch them at The Fleece. Despite the show being mid-week, I remember The Fleece being pretty busy - with the band attracting a large and vocal crowd. The atmosphere was excellent as a result and the setlist was also strong - showcasing many of the current line-up's best songs with the occasional look to the past. As a fan, too, it is great that the band have been so active in recent times. They seem to constantly be on tour, either as a headliner or making new friends as a support act - and Visions of Atlantis seem to be bigger and more popular than ever. This is great to see, but even so I was not expecting to see them again so soon after last August's show. A few months later, though, the band announced a large European tour in support of their latest album which included three UK shows. Perhaps buoyed by the success of the previous show, another Bristol date was included in this latest tour - albeit at the Exchange rather than The Fleece. In my opinion, The Fleece is a much superior venue - so it was a shame that they did not return there. I can only assume that it was not available on the date, so the Exchange was chosen instead - and given the small size of the venue it was not a surprise when it soon sold out. I am not the Exchange's biggest fan due to its grotty toilets, tight corridors which make it hard to move around, and slightly strange main room layout which means a lot of people end up standing by the door - further making it hard to move around. It is not somewhere that I get to that often, as it tends to focus on punk, but it is not all bad - and I have had a few decent nights there in the past despite The Fleece easily being my favourite smaller venue in the city. Given the venue sold out, too, I imagine that a larger room than the Exchange could have been played - but the packed room made for a strong atmosphere throughout despite my overall dislike of the venue in comparison.

Annoyingly it was an hour after the doors opened before the music started, as it is always boring waiting for gigs to start, but thankfully it did not feel as if too much time had passed before Seraina Telli started her short set. She also supported the band last year - but given that there was an extra band on the bill this time she only had around 25 or so minutes to play with. Her poppy hard rock impressed last year, but I was not feeling it quite as much this time for some reason. Perhaps it was just the choice of songs played this time, but I did not find as many of them to be quite as memorable - plus she has since changed her live band configuration, losing a bassist and adding a guitarist. As such, all of the bass was on a backing track, which was a shame - plus I am just not sure that her music needed the addition of more metallic guitar playing. I was impressed with Telli as a guitarist last year, but she focused more on singing this time - which meant that her brash riffing and soloing was not as present as it was previously. I would have rather her sound retained the rawer feel that it did previously as it worked nicely as it did - so, for me, the changes made did not work all that well. Some of the songs which she played last time were played again, and they impressed again, but the others did not seem as hooky. She did not seem as up for it as she had last year, either. In fairness, the Exchange's stage is so small that she barely had any room to move - so for a number of reasons I did not find myself enjoying her set as much I had enjoyed last year's effort. She still came across well and did get the crowd going, particularly towards the end of her set, but last year she seemed a real force - so it was a shame that that did not come across so much on Monday.

Thankfully once the night got underway the changeovers between each band were relatively swift, so it was not too long before the night's main support act Illumishade took to the stage. I have been following the Swiss band since their first album dropped back in 2020 so it was great to finally get the chance to see them live - and their second album from earlier this year has certainly seen the band kick on to the next level. Despite the band's five members all being cramped on the small stage, they delivered a powerful set with ease - with six songs coming from this year's Another Side of You (which I reviewed here) and three from the debut. All of the newer songs came early on, with the melodic feast of Elegy kicking things off. Frontwoman Fabienne Erni has a voice which differs from many of her peers in the symphonic metal genre, if Illumishade can even really be called such, and her folky yet powerful delivery cut through the mix nicely - with Mirjam Skal (keyboards/vocals) often harmonising with her to create a powerful vocal sound. Despite barely having any space to play with, the band seemed really happy to be in Bristol. They had an infectious energy from the off and it was clear that it did not take them long to get everyone in the room on-side. There were certainly a few fans of the band already in the crowd, though, as certain song announcements received decent cheers, but I am sure that they also made a few new friends with their powerful performance - with the hooky chorus of Here We Are an easy one to easily sing along with early on before the heavier Riptide showcased the riffing and soloing of Jonas Wolf (guitar/vocals). Illumishade's sound is pretty varied, mixing tech metal riffing at times with the occasional gothic orchestration and symphonic flourish - all with Erni's poppy vocal hooks leading the charge. They introduced In the Darkness as 'a bit of power metal', though, and the up-tempo track certainly brought a strong reaction from the crowd - whilst the more cinematic and anthemic Rise from the first album showcased their core sound nicely. Erni even delivered some harsh vocals during Tales of Time pretty convincingly - and by the time they were closing up with World's End I am not sure that many in the crowd were ready for things to end. Judging by the queue at the merch desk following the band's set they had impressed a lot of people - and I hope that they return to the UK again soon as I would love to see them deliver a longer set. The setlist was:

Enter the Void

Elegy

Enemy

Here We Are

Riptide

In the Darkness

Cloudreader

Rise

Tales of Time

World's End

Overture: Edge of Dusk

By the time all of the support bands' gear had been removed from the stage there was actually a surprising amount of room - and Visions of Atlantis did not look as cramped on the stage as I had feared they would. They are a band with great stage presence, and limited space would restrict that, but they did the best they could with the space available to them - and the next 90 or so minutes were packed with 16 songs, 15 of which came from their most recent two albums. It was a very forward-looking setlist, then, but given the strength of the band's recent material the choice was wise - and frontwoman Clémentine Delauney initially took to the stage alone to sing the delicate and atmospheric To Those Who Choose to Fight - with the rest of the band joining her as it transitioned into companion piece The Land of the Free. Performance-wise, the show was on the level of last year's excellent one. Delauney and frontman Michele Guaitoli have a great chemistry and they stole the limelight all night. They spoke to the crowd all night and got everyone going - with the one who was not singing at the time generally getting the crowd going before returning to the microphone. Christian Douscha (guitar/vocals) did occasionally step out and deliver a shredded solo, but generally the band's sound focuses on symphonic hooks and the vocal melodies of the two singers. As such, the rest of the band can sometimes blend into the background - but I think that is somewhat intentional. Nevertheless, they always look as if they are having a great time - and with strong receptions to new cuts like Monsters and Tonight I'm Alive it is easy to see why. Most of the recent album Pirates II - Armada (which I reviewed here) was played, but early on there were a few relatively older cuts thrown in - with the bouncy Clocks and the more symphonic Heroes of the Dawn showing the band's variety. The new album is really strong, though, so it was great to hear all but two of its songs live. Even a song like the strange floaty Collide, which was not one of my favourite cuts originally, came across really well live - whilst anthems like Hellfire are likely to be in the set for years to come. The latter was one of the biggest crowd participation moments thanks to its shout-along chorus and it was an overall highlight for me. Another such track was the lengthier The Dead of the Sea which featured a much murkier sound and a slightly progressive edge - complete with some more prominent guitar moments from Douscha. It is good to see the band shaking things up somewhat, whilst the old-school power metal of Magic of the Night was a bouncy antidote to a couple of slower moments which had come before it. By this point, though, time was sadly running out. The more epic Pirates Will Return was another late highlight, with the band encouraging the crowd to sit on the floor and 'row' during part of it, whilst Melancholy Angel rounded out the main set with another big sing-a-long. There was time for a two-song encore, though, with personal favourite Master the Hurricane getting the crowd going again following the short break - but it was the night-closing Armada which saw perhaps the most singing of the night, with the band encouraging everyone to shout along as a powerful night of music came to a close. The setlist was:

To Those Who Choose to Fight

The Land of the Free

Monsters

Heroes of the Dawn

Clocks

Legion of the Seas

Tonight I'm Alive

Collide

Hellfire

The Dead of the Sea

Underwater

Magic of the Night

Pirates Will Return

Melancholy Angel

-

Master the Hurricane

Armada

Visions of Atlantis continue to go from strength to strength, as this current lengthy European headline tour shows. The band have never been in such a good place it seems and the recent material reflects this. Their live shows are perhaps where they shine the most, though. Symphonic metal bands can often come across as very serious live, but Visions of Atlantis manage to really bring the fun whenever they take to the stage - and they are one of the best in the business currently when it comes to delivering high energy and melodic metal shows.