Battle Beast - Bristol Review

Whilst I am now home again - the past few days have yet again been busy. This past week or so feels like my busiest of the year, alongside a similar period back in February which felt relentless, and there is still more to come over the next few weeks - although much of it is local. Gigs are very much back, then, following a fairly quiet summer - and I have been making the most of this despite some long journeys and plenty of hotels. I got back from London on Tuesday, did one and a half days of work - and I was back on the train, this time to Bristol, to catch the Finnish power metal band Battle Beast at the O2 Academy. It is fitting that I saw both Beast in Black and Battle Beast live a few days apart, given the acrimonious link between the two, but things can work out ironically sometimes - and I have enjoyed catching up with both bands again over the past month or so. Whilst I had seen Beast in Black quite a few times before, although always as a support act, before Thursday I had only seen Battle Beast live once before. This came back in 2019 in London, at a student union venue I had never been to before and have not returned to. I remember the show impressing - but since then Battle Beast have released two more albums and have grown further as a band. The latest of these albums, Steelbound, was only released last week. A review of it will follow on this blog at some point - but thankfully I had the chance to hear it a few times before the show. It is the band's seventh overall, and their fourth with the current line-up. Given that the band essentially ignore their first three albums now, given the split which led to Beast in Black's creation, they likely see it as their fourth. They still played a few 'older' tracks when I saw them in 2019, but those songs seem to have been permanently retired now - with the current six-piece understandably wanting to showcase their creations rather than someone else's. Battle Beast have managed to cultivate a decent fanbase here in the UK, too. When I saw them in 2019 they were on their first proper tour of the UK, with previous visits having been one-off London shows or festival appearances, and they are one of the few power metal bands that seem to have taken hold somewhat. They toured here in the UK last year, too, which sadly I could not make - and having two multi-date UK tours from a power metal band in consecutive years is quite rare. Hopefully this is a good sign for the genre as a whole, and given that I recently saw Sonata Arctica with a decent turnout in Manchester perhaps power metal is, finally, starting to become more popular over here. Battle Beast's tour last year also brought them to Bristol - but at the smaller Marble Factory. I quite liked The Marble Factory, even though it was absolutely freezing when I last went there back in February, but it sadly closed in July due to the lease on the building expiring. Given that whole area is being redeveloped, I imagine the venue was likely forced out to allow for such - but in truth Bristol is not short of good music venues, and there are others I preferred in any case. Battle Beast, this time, opted for the larger O2 Academy. It is probably too big for the band in truth, but they have outgrown places like The Fleece and Thekla - and a decent-sized crowd was gathered in the venue for a Thursday night. The balcony was not open, which is always a sign of low-ish ticket sales - but there was easily a few hundred in attendance, with the main floor and bar area feeling busy despite not being as packed as it often is.

There were enough people for a decent atmosphere, though, and there was a good vibe from the off - despite the action not starting for an hour after the doors opened which is a real pet peeve of mine. The reason for the early good vibe was the two quality support acts, who were both new to me, that entertained the growing crowd with ease. Up first, with half an hour to play with, were Majestica - a Swedish power metal band I was familiar with in name-only due to them being fronted by former Sabaton guitarist Tommy Johansson (vocals/guitar). Whilst the band has been around for a while, largely under another name, I get the impression that they were essentially reborn in 2019 as Majestica - so see themselves as a relatively new act. I was familiar with Johansson as a guitarist but not as a singer - so I was impressed with his vocal display. His voice was very melodic and controlled throughout, and he was not afraid to throw in a few high-pitched screams when required. Musically, Majestica are very much a power metal band, with a slight symphonic edge, but I felt that they were largely more guitar-driven than some - with both Johansson and fellow guitarist Petter Hjerpe riffing and soloing throughout. Johansson was the star, though, and he cut a figure similar to a young Yngwie Malmsteen due to his overall look, outfit, and playing style throughout the set. His plentiful guitar solos were full of finesse and melody - and he expressed himself more and shredded harder than he ever did whilst in Sabaton. I was not familiar with any of the band's songs, but everything played was easy on the ear. The opening track Power Train was one that stuck in the brain pretty quickly - whilst smoother numbers like Night Call Girl showcased something of an AOR influence. 1980s throwback sounds are big in power metal at the moment, as Battle Beast themselves showcased later on - but as a big AOR fan this is not necessarily a bad thing. Generally, though, Majestica's material felt a bit weightier thanks to the big guitar presence - and a busy solo was never too far away. There was certainly a lot to enjoy for power metal fans, then, and the epic Metal United later ensured that the band's short set ended on a high. It was great finally getting a chance to check out Majestica - and based on the band's Bristol set I need to give their albums a listen.

Following on from Majestica, and only around 15 minutes later, were the German four-piece Dominum - a band I was not familiar with at all. When the band members took to the stage and three of them were wearing zombie-like masks I was immediately concerned - but a couple of songs into their set I found myself enjoying the band's upbeat, atmospheric, hard rock-inspired power metal. Fronted by Felix Heldt, under the alias Dr. Dead, whom I was more familiar with as a songwriter and producer for bands like Visions of Atlantis and Freedom Call, Dominum call their music zombie metal - and they have been described as fusing the sounds of Ghost and Sabaton. Whilst that is not 100% accurate, I can understand why they would be described that way - there was certainly a fun element to the band's sound - and Heldt was immediately a captivating frontman. In fact, he really had the crowd doing his bidding from the off - and at times I would say that Dominum received a stronger reception than the evening's headline act. Given the number of Dominum shirts I saw being worn this perhaps should not have been a big surprise - and I am clearly pretty late to the party with this band, who are already two albums deep. In my defence, though, I am generally weary of bands with a strong gimmick or shtick. I tend to find such bands lose their appeal rather quickly. I have long gone off Steel Panther and Alestorm slowly embraced memes and cheap laughs - so time will tell whether or not something similar happens to Dominum. Currently, though, the band seem fresh enough for that not to matter - and there actually seemed to be some substance behind the band's songs despite the theming. Don't Get Bitten by the Wrong Ones, for example, seemed to be a zombie-themed snipe at those spreading hate and division online - whereas We All Taste the Same was a cry for unity. Such messaging and a clear aim to write meaningful songs rather than just playing up to a joke might help Dominum in the long run - but there was still plenty of fun to be had with the spooky opening Danger Danger and the epic Frankenstein. They even threw in a pretty fun cover of Scorpions' Rock You Like a Hurricane, too, and this allowed guitarist Jochen Windisch, aka Tommy Kemp, to show off. With 45 minutes to play with, too, the band were allowed to stretch out a bit. Heldt treated the show as if it was his own and the crowd rewarded him with plenty of energy and singing. Many of the songs whipped up sing-a-longs, with even those who were not already on board with the band joining in - which is always a good sign that a support act has done their job. The crowd were thoroughly warmed up by the time Dominum's set came to an end, then, and the German act are likely going to be another that I am going to have to properly check out.

Following half an hour or so, the lights went down again and Battle Beast took to the stage - and for the next 90 minutes the crowd were treated to plenty of excellent power metal anthems from the band's last four albums. Most of the new album was played throughout the night - but despite the plethora of new songs played it was actually a couple of older numbers which kicked things off. The bombastic and heavy Straight to the Heart and the mid-paced grooves of Master of Illusion were the two songs to get the show underway - and it was clear from the off that the night was going to be a good one. The band's live sound mix, as it had been for both support acts, was clear and well-balanced throughout - which allowed frontwoman Noora Louhimo to really power above the rest of the band. She has one of the most powerful voices in metal in my opinion, at least in terms of gritty, traditional clean singing - and the chorus of Straight to the Heart in particular really packed a punch. Whilst many of the biggest cheers were reserved for the more well-known tunes, the eight new songs played all were welcomed by the enthusiastic crowd. Clearly plenty in attendance had done their homework, which ensured that Last Goodbye and Here We Are both received a strong reception when they came early in the set. Whilst Louhimo was certainly the star of the show, and Battle Beast's music is very vocal-focused, other band members also shone. Joona Björkroth (guitar/vocals) had plenty of opportunities throughout the night to lay down some melodic, fast-paced guitar solos, occasionally with or in tandem with fellow guitarist Juuso Soinio - whilst bassist Eero Sipilä essentially acted as the evening's MC, doing many of the between-song introductions and generally bantering with the crowd. Louhimo did this too on occasion, but Sipilä was the main man in that regard - and it helped the band to have a few moments in the spotlight. Particular highlights in the set included the fast-paced Eye of the Storm and the somewhat Sabaton-esque Blood of Heroes - which is an early favourite of mine from the new album. There was a bit of a strange moment when Sipilä sang a truncated version of Elton John's Can You Feel the Love Tonight - but thankfully Louhimo was back soon enough for more epic metal, including more new bangers like Twilight Cabaret and the thrashy, old-fashioned Bastard Son of Odin. I mentioned earlier, too, about how AOR seems to be creeping into power metal quite a bit recently. Battle Beast have done songs like that in the past, but Angel of Midnight from the new album is their latest attempt at such - and the set late-comer was another strong addition, before the fast-paced Steelbound and the more melodic oldie Eden saw the main set come to a close. The latter featured quite a bit of singing from the crowd, as Louhimo carried out a sing-a-long before the song took off proper. Following a brief step off stage, Joona and his brother Janne Björkroth (keyboards/vocals) returned to play the instrumental piece The Long Road, which had previously acted as the intro tape at the beginning of the show, to kick off a three-song encore which also included the band's big anthem King for a Day and the epic Wings of Light. These two big tunes were a great way to round of 90 or so minutes of melodic power metal - and the few hundred that turned up likely went away happy. The setlist was:

The Long Road

Straight to the Heart

Master of Illusion

Last Goodbye

Here We Are

No More Hollywood Endings

Eye of the Storm

Blood of Heroes

Can You Feel the Love Tonight [Elton John cover]

Where Angels Fear to Fly

Watch the Sky Fall

Twilight Cabaret

Bastard Son of Odin

Angel of Midnight

Steelbound

Eden

-

The Long Road

King for a Day

Wings of Light

The past week or so has really been a power metal-fest. Sonata Arctica, Helloween, and now Battle Beast, plus numerous support bands, have all put on excellent sets to decent-sized crowds in three different UK cities. Y&T the next night in Wolverhampton brought me back to classic rock ground, though, which will be covered here shortly, but I have enjoyed getting to hear a lot of live power metal of late - and Battle Beast did not disappoint.