Beast in Black - London Review

Whilst I had a good time with both Wishbone Ash in Plymouth and Tortured Demon in Bristol last weekend, I always had the feeling that Monday night's trip to London would contain the main event. Everything over the weekend felt as if it had been building up to Monday - so it was with excitement that I got my train from Bristol to London on Monday, after something of a welcome lie-in, ready for one more evening of music. Perhaps strangely, I was not feeling all that tired - so by the time I got to London and into my hotel I was pretty fired up and ready for a night of prime power metal. Despite the presence of an excellent bill, the main reason for the trip was to, finally, see the Finnish power metal act Beast in Black as a headliner. Whilst Monday was my sixth time seeing the band live, it was my first time seeing them top a bill. I first saw them live back in 2018, when they opened for the then-reformed Rhapsody in London - and have since seen them open for Nightwish twice, Gloryhammer, and Helloween. In fact, I remember buying the ticket for Monday's show whilst standing in the queue outside the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith waiting to get into that aforementioned Helloween show. I have always enjoyed seeing Beast in Black live, but had never had the opportunity to see them as a headline act before now. I remember being rather annoyed at not being able to get to a UK tour a few years ago which included Firewind on the bill, especially as it came fairly locally to Bristol, as I think the show clashed with some pre-existing plans. I was not going to miss this opportunity, then, even if only a London show was included this time - especially as the tickets went on sale just over a year ago. The show is one that I had been looking forward to for quite a while, then, especially as the band were as good as ever when they opened for Helloween that night. It ended up being a notable show in the band's history, too, as it was their final show with guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen - who was, if the rumours are to be believed, essentially left behind in London following a post-show disagreement. The band carried on as a four-piece for a few shows, before drafting in current Crownshift and former Children of Bodom guitarist Daniel Freyberg to help out for a while. He was never going to be a permanent solution due to his other commitments, so guitarist Markus Venehsalo was brought in earlier in the year to permanently replace Heikkinen. Throughout all of this, too, the band have been working on their fourth album - which was supposed to be out before this current tour, but clearly that has not happened. A couple of singles have been released and presumably the album will follow next year - so I think that it is fair to say that the past year or so has been something of a dramatic one for the band. They seem to have come through it relatively unscathed, though, save for the delay that the new album has suffered - and seem really keen to push forward into a new era on this lengthy European tour. Despite Beast in Black being the main event, I think that it is fair to say that the overall bill was a very tempting one for power metal fans. It seems strange to think of Sonata Arctica as anything other than a headline act these days but, in fairness, their commercial peak is likely now behind them - so having them as a special guest certainly gave the tour a bit more credibility. Funnily enough, the day before buying the ticket for the show I had seen Sonata Arctica live for the first time in nine years - so was relieved not to leave it so long again. Also on the bill as openers, too, were relative newcomers Frozen Crown from Italy - whom I had previously seen once before opening for Kamelot in 2024.

The London show took place at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town - a decent-sized venue for a power metal show in the UK. Given Beast in Black's status, the show sold out a while ago - so perhaps the band will consider a larger venue next time or a better spread of UK shows. Due to Beast in Black having a 90 minutes set, and Sonata Arctica rightly afforded a full hour, this meant that Frozen Crown had to start their 30 minute set 15 minutes after the doors opened. Even though I got to the venue around half an hour before the doors opened, the queue was already really long - so it took a while for me to get in. As such, Frozen Crown had already started playing - and I missed two or three of their songs, which was disappointing as I been looking forward to seeing them live again. There were plenty of people behind me in the queue, too, who likely ended up missing a lot more of the show - which is a shame as Frozen Crown are rising stars in the power metal scene and deserve to be seen by as many people as possible. Despite missing some of the show, I was still impressed by the band - even if their live sound mix was a bit on the muddy side. Frontwoman Giada Etro is a real powerhouse. She does not go for an operatic nor an angelic approach - instead really powering through the band's guitar-heavy power metal sound with a smooth, clean, yet high-octane vocal sound. She is a great frontwoman, too, and sounded great despite being a bit low in the mix at times. Guitar-heavy is the best way to describe the band's sound, too, as Frozen Crown have three players - with bandleader Federico Mondelli, Alessia Lanzone, and Alexandra Lioness all riffing and soloing throughout. Mondelli writes most of the band's songs, but I would say that most of the soloing was done by the two ladies, even though the duties were fairly well spread - ensuring that the crowd was constantly kept on their toes with who was doing what. They were a man down, with bassist Francesco Zof conspicuous by his absence, but the three guitar attack somewhat made up for this - with the bass likely just on the backing track with the keyboards and orchestrations. That being said, Frozen Crown rely on such less than many power metal bands - with the triple guitar attack certainly the driving force of the band's sound alongside the big vocals of Etro. Songs like Who Wants to Burn in Heaven and Reborn showcased the latest album nicely, whilst their cover of the Goo Goo Dolls' Iris conjured up a bit of a sing-a-long - even though I fear the band will now be saddled with playing that song live forever, as is often the case when bands do novelty covers. Whilst I cannot fully judge Frozen Crown's set as I did not see all of it, I enjoyed what I did see - and I hope to see the band properly again one day.

There was only about 15 minutes between Frozen Crown's set and Sonata Arctica's - so there was not much waiting around. Having seen the band recently, I wondered what their setlist would look like - especially acting in support rather than as headliners. Sonata Arctica have likely not been a support act for a while - but they did not seem to mind, delivering a powerful nine-song set in their 60 minutes on stage. The band are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, so the nine songs played came from throughout their career - with a good mix of styles present. The show started with an orchestral intro, which stopped just in time for frontman Tony Kakko to start singing the slow-burning chorus of I Have a Right. I personally would not have opened with the slower, slightly hypnotic song - but it worked better in that context than I expected it to. I have to say that it has never really been a personal favourite, but it is a popular number - and there were plenty around me singing along. Given that Sonata Arctica are essentially power metal legends at this point, though, I was surprised how many in attendance seemed to not know their songs. They received a strong reception - but perhaps they have bypassed some of the younger power metal fans who are more into the brasher, often gimmicky, form of power metal now popular. Sonata Arctica have always been a bit left-field and enigmatic in any case, and are far from a typical power metal band, as Kakko somewhat acknowledged on stage. I had a great time, in any case, and power metal stompers such as Black Sheep and The Last Amazing Grays were big highlights - whilst gentle moments such as Tallulah hit just as hard. Given the somewhat muddy mix that Frozen Crown battled through, the overall sound was much clearer for Sonata Arctica. In fact, they sounded excellent - with all of the nuances of the band's sound easy to discern. The keyboards of Henrik Klingenberg were especially high in the mix, and it was good to see how much of the keyboard work he was doing live - with a fairly limited reliance on backing tracks. The synth melodies, lengthy piano sections, and shredded solos all came across really well - whilst the chunky guitar riffing of Elias Viljanen was suitably beefy, even if I have never really liked his live guitar tone. Sonata Arctica are the way they are, though, duo Kakko - who is a unique frontman and songwriter. He has always walked his own path, and that is why I have continued to be invested in the band throughout all of their style shifts - with songs like Paid in Full and the stranger Closer to an Animal showcasing perhaps the variation in the band's approach over the years. I was really enjoying the band's set as always, so was disappointed when it was clear that it was coming to a close. FullMoon is always going to come towards the end of a Sonata Arctica set, and it was the first proper sing-a-long of the night. The crowd really got into the power metal classic, with even some of the casuals waking up, before the band's ever-present closer Don't Say a Word brought an hour of melodic power metal to a close with one last anthemic chorus and keyboard/guitar solo duel - and, of course, the obligatory Vodka sing-a-long. The setlist was:

I Have a Right

Black Sheep

Paid in Full

Tallulah

The Last Amazing Grays

Closer to an Animal

Shy

FullMoon

Don't Say a Word/Vodka

The changeover between Sonata Arctica's set and Beast in Black's was a more typical 30 minutes - but given the lack of waiting around earlier it passed quite quickly, and soon the lights were down and some synthy music was blaring out of the speakers. This intro went on for quite a while, too long probably, but soon the band took to the stage - and launched into one of three new songs played throughout the set. The high-energy Mighty Dragon made a good first impression but, as I have often said, it can be hard to judge hearing a new song live for the first time. Its chorus is likely to become one that sticks around, though, and it felt like a powerful set opener - with frontman Yannis Papadopoulos sounding his best from the off. Like during Sonata Arctica's set, Beast in Black's sound mix was generally very good. The vocals generally soared above the band - whilst the guitars of Venehsalo and bandleader Anton Kabanen were full of power. Sometimes when I have seen the band live the synth backing tracks have been very overpowering, but that was not the case on Monday - with the guitars generally the driving force, allowing the band to sound heavier. Another new song in Fear the Beast followed, but given that it has already been released as a single the crowd were immediately into it - and following the appreciation of the opening number the atmosphere levels rose and the rest of the night felt pretty electric. The sold out O2 Forum was bouncing from number to number, and the band treated the strong turnout with a 19-song set that fairly equally culled material from all three of their albums - alongside some stand-alone singles and the new material. There were no huge surprises in the set, with much of what was played being the best of the band's output so far. Early on the crowd were treated to the shout-along chorus of Hardcore - before Venehsalo introduced the older Born Again with a fluid guitar solo to act as his proper introduction to the UK fans. The quality of Beast in Black's output so far is so consistent that my reaction to each song was essentially: 'Nice, I like this one!'. The London show was the first night of the tour, so I had not seen a setlist beforehand - so which song was coming next was genuinely a surprise each time. There are still at least a couple of songs I would have liked to hear instead of perhaps a couple of the regulars, but I cannot complain about the quality of the material played - especially when true band anthems like their self-titled song and Sweet True Lies came about halfway through. By this point, the crowd were fully warmed up. The chorus vocal interplay between Papadopoulos and Kabanen was ticking, their two growling voices trading back and forth, whilst shredded solos came thick and fast, too. Up on his industrial riser, too, drummer Atte Palokangas was beaming all the way through - and I think his drumming style is quite underrated, given that he often has to compete with programmed drums doing a different beat at the same time as his more traditional metallic additions. Papadopoulos hyped up the crowd a few times, introducing some of the songs, but largely the band just let the songs flow. Things were slowed down a bit later on with the final new song, the ballad Lost Children, but it was straddled by high-energy pieces Die by the Blade and Zodd the Immortal - ensuring that the energy levels never really dropped. A personal favourite in the form of Highway to Mars came later on, which was a bit of a surprise, whilst the latter portion of the set was largely made up of big favourites such as the stand-alone single Power of the Beast and the club-like One Night in Tokyo. By this time the 11pm curfew was looming, but the band did not stop to think - instead just powering through the early classic Blind and Frozen and the up-tempo No Surrender to bring a night of power metal to a majestic close. The setlist was:

Mighty Dragon

Fear the Beast

Hardcore

Guitar Solo

Born Again

The Fifth Angel

From Hell with Love

Beast in Black

Sweet True Lies

Enter the Behelit

To the Last Drop of Blood

Die by the Blade

Lost Children

Zodd the Immortal

Highway to Mars

Cry Out for a Hero

Power of the Beast

One Night in Tokyo

Blind and Frozen

No Surrender

Apart from the disappointment of missing part of Frozen Crown's set, my Monday night in Kentish Town was rather excellent. All three bands really delivered, and the packed out O2 Forum felt pretty electric from the off. Given that power metal has not always been the most popular genre here in the UK, it was good seeing such a bill playing to a decent crowd. A headline Beast in Black show had been a long-time coming really and it feels good to have finally ticked that box - with many more to follow I hope, alongside what is promising to be a strong fourth album.