Epica/Amaranthe - Bristol Review

Following a month or so to rest and recover following a busy 2025, just like that 2026 is now underway from a gigging perspective. After my last weekend away in Wolverhampton just before Christmas, I was very much ready for a bit of a break from both travelling and live music. I certainly overindulged somewhat last year, getting to a record 58 concerts, which took its toll during certain parts of the year. I will never stop loving live music - but you can have too much of a good thing at times, and the last few free weekends and the longer Christmas break were certainly much needed. By the time yesterday rolled around, then, I was very much ready to get back at it - and it was with excitement that I headed up to Bristol yesterday afternoon for 2026's first adventure. Gigs always feel a bit more special after a little break - and the first couple of months of 2026 are relatively quiet, before things pick up in a bigger way in March. I have another month or so before my next planned weekend away, a double header in London to see both Sylosis and Smith/Kotzen, but January's only gig took the form of one of the year's best touring packages - a co-headline tour featuring the Dutch symphonic/progressive metal act Epica and the Swedish pop metallers Amaranthe. With former Delain frontwoman Charlotte Wessels also along for the ride as an opening act, the tour promised to be a really special one. It is also one that I had had the tickets for for a long time - perhaps nearly a full year. It certainly feels like along time ago that I booked them - so it was one that I had been looking forward to for a long time. I would consider myself a pretty big fan of all three acts - especially Epica. Given the current uncertainly surrounding Nightwish and their ongoing hiatus, I would consider Epica my current favourite symphonic metal act. It helps, too, that Epica were always something a bit different. They never felt like just another symphonic metal act that came in the wake of Nightwish and Within Temptation's early success. They always had their own sound, and that has only been perfected over the years. In terms of live shows, too, Epica have always impressed. Last night was my seventh time seeing them live - and the first since their tour with Apocalyptica in 2023. I generally catch Epica live each time they come to the UK - largely as they always impress. They are pretty good at keeping their setlists fresh, generally focusing on whatever their latest album is, whilst always delivering from a performance standpoint. I have not been to an Epica show where the sound mix was less than stellar - and the band always seem to give their all whilst appearing to have a lot of fun. I keep coming back for these reasons - and I will continue to do so whilst the band operate at such a level. Amaranthe, though, I am less into - although I have liked them since the start. I was really into their first two albums at the time - but they never really impressed as live act (albeit one of my two prior experiences was a very compromised set at one of the Bloodstock Open Airs due to technical issues) and after a while the albums started to all sound the same. I have always kept up with their new releases, and have enjoyed them all to an extent, but they are certainly a band that has slipped down the pecking order over the years. Regardless, though, I was looking forward to seeing them live after many years - and giving them another chance as a live act. The wider European tour included four UK dates - and Bristol made obvious sense. The Beacon was a bigger venue than either band had played in the city before, too, but it was pretty full - despite there being quite a bit of room towards the back of the standing area and visible empty seats upstairs.

With the two co-headliners afforded 80 minutes each - Wessels and her band had around 40 to play with. The room was already pretty full when she took the stage - and she impressed with a seven-song set which largely included material from 2024's The Obsession (which I reviewed here), alongside a couple of newer songs. Whilst this was my first time seeing Wessels as a solo artist, I saw her a number of times fronting Delain - including a memorable Bristol show in 2015 at the now-closed Marble Factory. This was my first time seeing her since Delain's London show in 2020 - which likely ended up being one of the last shows of the Wessels era, given that the pandemic hit a month or so later and that line-up of Delain splintered during the madness. In fact, the band line-up last night was only one person different from that 2020 Delain show - with Timo Somers (guitar/vocals), Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (bass guitar), and Joey de Boer (drums) all joining Wessels on her solo venture. Her band was rounded out by Nina van Beelen (keyboards/vocals) - who contributed as much with her excellent vocal harmonies as much as she did instrumentally. Wessels' solo sound is different from her past work, with a heavier, dryer riffing style mixed with atmospheric passages and quirky vocal arrangement. The songs still soar with her typical melodic approach, though, with set-opener Chasing Sunsets perhaps the closest thing to her previous band. The first three songs in the set all felt pretty rocking, with the band giving it their all behind her. Somers seems to be her right hand man these days - his big riffs driving many of the songs, and he also found plenty of time to throw in a few big guitar solos. He soloed so hard during one song that he broke a string - but he kept going and the set kept flowing. The Crying Room was perhaps a little less hard rocking than the opening two numbers - but the more atmospheric Soft Revolution allowed for a softer overall vibe to fill the room. The lighter, floatier piece ended with Wessels and van Beelen singing together in a delicate manner - and it was one of the best moments of the overall set in my opinion. Their two voices worked well together - and it will be interesting to see how the two work together going forward, as van Beelen was not part of The Obsession. Two new songs followed. Tempest was another heavier track, with Somers adding some key vocal counterparts during the chorus, allowing for a three-part vocal arrangement, whilst the newly-released, piano-driven After Us, The Flood was a good mix of theatrical vocals and heavier riffing in places - alongside Somers' best solo of the night. Hopefully a new album is in the works - as both the new songs played sounded very promising indeed. The Exorcism then brought the 40 minute set to a close - and Wessels received a decent reception from the growing crowd. I hope that she returns as a headliner to the UK soon - and I am looking forward to what comes next from her and her band. The setlist was:

Chasing Sunsets

Dopamine

The Crying Room

Soft Revolution

Tempest

After Us, The Flood

The Exorcism

Breathe;

30 or so minutes later the lights went down and it was time for Amaranthe's set. Despite not previously considering the six-piece a great live act, I was open to giving them another chance given that it had been many years since I had last seen them. Their last album, 2024's The Catalyst (which I reviewed here), is one of their better efforts in my opinion, too, and I had recently enjoyed a run-through of their catalogue in advance of the gig. Despite not matching the majesty of Epica later, nor the songcraft of Wessels beforehand, Amaranthe turned in a strong performance. Like so many of the current brand of pop metal acts, much of Amaranthe's sound relies on backing tracks. This can sometimes make a live band feel a bit soulless - but the three vocalists ensured that there was plenty going on on stage, and the interplay between Elize Ryd, Nils Molin, and Mikael Sehlin has always been their USP. All three vocalists sounded strong throughout, with Molin perhaps sounding the most powerful, but the harmonies and countermelodies provided by the three helped to distract from the disembodied synths which form such a big part of the Amaranthe sound. Guitarist and driving force Olof Mörck impressed with a few shredded guitar solos, too, which helped to add further interest. In terms of the setlist, the 18-song set included material from all but one of the band's albums - with newer material generally dominating. 2020's Manifest (which I reviewed here) was plundered the most, with half the album featuring, whilst three were featured from The Catalyst alongside a fairly recent stand-alone single and an unreleased new song. Fearless and Viral got the set off to a fun start, but it was perhaps Damnation Flame where the set really felt like it was motoring. The song introduced newest member Sehlin when it was originally released, and his harsh vocals were a big part of the song - but generally he impressed throughout. He added a lot of backing vocals throughout which allowed for some additional grit during chorus after chorus - whilst the main pop hooks and energy came from Ryd. Songs like Maximize and the more slower-paced Strong really saw her dominate - whilst some of the somewhat heavier pieces like PvP and a later rendition of my personal least-favourite Amaranthe song BOOM!1 saw the two male singers dominate. Sehlin in particularly had a lot to do during the latter, with his half rapped/half growled vocals dominating during the dated verses whilst Molin joined in during the chorus. This was the set's low point, but thankfully the excellent The Catalyst was up next, which saw Ryd join back in after sitting the previous number out, whilst the new track Chaos Theory likely gave an indication of where the band's next album might go. It sounded pretty typical of the Amaranthe sound which has changed little since the debut album - but it was perhaps on the heavier side of that core sound, which is never a bad thing. Towards the end of the set a lot of the older big hitters were brought out - with one of the highlights being a great rendition of the ballad Amaranthine. Mörck played the first verse and chorus of the song on the piano, after a brief classical piano solo, which Ryd sang in a delicate and emotive manner - before the rest of the band joined in and the track played out like it does on record. It certainly saw plenty of singing from the crowd, who largely seemed to be really into Amaranthe, and it set the scene for the two big oldies, The Nexus and Call Out My Name, which rounded out the main set. The band then briefly stepped off the stage, but given the co-headline nature of the night they came back for a three-song encore - which kicked off with the heavier Archangel. Sehlin had a lot to do during this number, too, but the last couple of tracks were largely much poppier - with the anthemic That Song being one of the evening's poppiest moments. A small portion of Queen's We Will Rock You was included during the song, before the set came to an end with the industrial and groovy Drop Dead Cynical. The setlist was:

Fearless

Viral

Digital World

Damnation Flame

Maximize

Strong

PvP

Crystalline

BOOM!1

The Catalyst

Re-Vision

Chaos Theory

Amaranthine

The Nexus

Call Out My Name

-

Archangel

That Song/We Will Rock You [Queen cover]

Drop Dead Cynical

Following another 30 minute break, during which I stretched my legs a bit, it was time for, in my view, the main event. I enjoyed both of the other acts - but Epica are one of my favourite bands of this type, and their shows are always special ones. Given the longer nature of their songs, they only had time for 13 - but they made their 80 or so minutes count with a balanced set that focused on newer material. Many of the songs played were either ones I had never seen the band do live before, or had not seen for a very long time. This made it a lot of fun, and two songs from last year's Aspiral (which I reviewed here) opened things up. Their set was easily the most theatrical of the night, too, with a big screen backing the band - and the show started with frontwoman Simone Simons appearing on the riser at the rear of the stage in what looked like a widow's veil as the band launched into the groovy Apparition. The song was perhaps a more gothic and less bombastic opening than was expected, but it worked well. Simons was essentially static throughout, which only helped the gothic vibes, but by the time the band crashed into the more dramatic and up-tempo Cross the Divide she was more her usual self. As always, the band were clearly having a lot on fun on stage. Coen Janssen (keyboards) made good use of both his wheeled keyboard stand and his keytar to move around the stage - whilst Simons was all over the stage after the opening number, interacting with the rest of the band. She was in fine voice throughout, as was Mark Jansen (vocals/guitar) - whose growls were potent as ever. The growl trade-offs between him and Isaac Delahaye (guitar/vocals) during resurrected oldie Martyr of the Free Word filled the room with death metal vibes - whilst the symphonic feast Eye of the Storm saw plenty of Jansen growls during the verses as Simons handled the massive chorus. A couple of the songs played were slightly re-arranged, too. Unleashed, once a setlist regular, returned - with the opening verse sung solely against Janssen's piano and strings. It gave the song a bit of a different edge - and when the rest of the band kicked in after the first chorus it only ended up feeling more powerful. I do not recall ever seeing the band do Never Enough live before, despite the song being a bit of a crowd favourite in the early days, so the more straight ahead, melodic track was a welcome addition to the show - but perhaps the next big favourite was Sirens (Of Blood and Water) which saw Wessels come out to sing with Simons. Wessels co-wrote the song with the band so it made sense for it to be brought out on this tour - and the duet made the gothic, slow-burning number really shine. Sadly, as things were going so well, the set was somewhat derailed for a bit after this song - as a fire alarm meant that the band had to stop for around 10 minutes. Thankfully there was no need to evacuate - but it seemed ages before the show got back underway. I was worried that this would mean a shorter set, but the band still got to play their full set - even the curfew was breached. They eased back in with the delicate ballad Tides of Time, featuring just Simons and Janssen - before the epic The Grand Saga of Existence proved to maybe be the song of the night. The big chorus was made for the stage - and Delahaye delivered one of his best guitar solos during it, too. Everything following this felt like a victory lap, with the ever-present Cry for the Moon prompting quite a bit of singing - before one last new number in Fight to Survive (The Overview Effect) kept things fresh. The band took their bows after this track - but did not leave the stage for an encore break. Perhaps given that they were against the clock they just kept moving - and they stuck around for two more. The oldie The Last Crusade was a treat to hear again after so long - before the slightly funky and upbeat Beyond the Matrix acted as a powerful and melodic closing number following what had been a largely forward-looking set. The setlist was:

Apparition

Cross the Divide

Martyr of the Free Word

Eye of the Storm

Unleashed

Never Enough

Sirens (Of Blood and Water) [w/ Charlotte Wessels]

Tides of Time

The Grand Saga of Existence (A New Age Dawns - Part IX)

Cry for the Moon (The Embrace That Smothers - Part IV)

Fight to Survive (The Overview Effect)

The Last Crusade (A New Age Dawns - Part I)

Beyond the Matrix

Whilst Epica were the band of the night, all three of the acts on the bill were excellent. The sound was generally great and, save for the fire alarm-related confusion, everything seemed smooth and well paced. It was also good to see acts like this in a venue like the Beacon. It really is becoming a real jewel in Bristol's crown again - and I have been quite a few times now since it re-opened. It was good to change my view on Amaranthe as a live band and see Wessels as a solo artist live for the first time. Epica were just as good as always, too, but I hope that next time they tour they do so as a proper headline act again - so that we can be treated to a longer set.