Kamelot - London Review

When it comes to deciding what gigs to book tickets for, I have, in more recent times, tried to focus on seeing bands that, either, I have not seen live before or have not seen live for quite some time. This is not always easy to plan in a sensible way given the hap-hazard way that tours are announced - but there are some tours of late that I have passed on so I could get to something else instead. When you like so many bands, seeing every band on every tour is just not possible - and I probably need to be a bit more ruthless going forward to try and squeeze as much as I can in, particularly given the rising costs of going to gigs. I think that it is fair to say that some bands are going to be exempt from such a rule, though. There are a handful of favourites that I will likely always make room for, unless they announce a tour too late for me to get involved. As an aside, why are so many bands still announcing tours for February and March next year? This happens every year, when the annual leave well has run dry, but it seems to be especially prevalent this year - and it seems a bit short-sighted, given that those with similar lifestyles to me that likely make up the majority of many live crowds, especially at smaller shows, will likely be in similar positions. Anyway, and to get back on track after that mini rant, one of the bands that is likely to always be exempt from my aforementioned rule is the American power/symphonic metal act Kamelot. My handful of lifetime favourites are all bands that I want to see as often as I can - and Kamelot concerts do not exactly come around every day. Despite always being well-received here in the UK, I am not sure that I would be 100% confident in the band including at least one UK show on each European tour. They do generally make it to the UK at least once per album cycle, but there have sometimes been quite large gaps between visits. That does seem to have changed a bit of late, though, with the band also venturing further than London. In fact, prior to last night, my last time seeing Kamelot in London came back in 2018 - with my last two Kamelot live experiences coming in Birmingham in 2019 and Wolverhampton in 2024. As such, that percentage is creeping ever closer to 100%, but there are certainly territories that the band would likely favour over the UK should they need to choose - even if Kamelot remain a popular live act here in the UK, at least in the context of the scene in which they operate. As such, when a couple of UK shows were announced as part of their latest European tour earlier in the year, I quickly picked up a ticket to the London show. There was no Midlands option this time, but there was also a Manchester show to ensure a bit of a spread - but London on a Sunday was always going to make the most sense for me rather than mid-week in Manchester. The tour was announced before news of their latest album Dark Asylum (which I reviewed here) was made public - but it was pretty clear when the tour was announced that a new album was imminent, and Dark Asylum has been on regular rotation since its late August release. It is certainly my favourite Kamelot album since 2015's Haven (which I reviewed here) - and if it did not run out of steam somewhat towards the end it would likely surpass that one, too. It was also great to see Kamelot live again after just a two year wait - with the aforementioned Wolverhampton show in 2024 falling exactly two years to the day ago in relation to last night. The wait before that had been five years, but the pandemic likely had something to say about that - although I ended up seeing the band three times within the space of a year between 2018 and 2019 thanks to two European tours that included the UK and an appearance at 2018's Bloodstock Open Air.

I was ready to see the band again, then, following the two year gap - and I joined the queue outside the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire around 20 or minutes before the doors opened. It must be the largest venue I have seen the band in to date - and it seemed pretty full throughout the night, even if parts of the various balconies looked a little sparsely filled. I got quite close to the front, too, not something I often do these days, so was in a great position for all three bands - with Italy's Temperance kicking things off. This was my third time seeing the band live - having first discovered them back in 2023 when I saw them opening for Tarja. I have become something of a fan since, although they are not a band that I listen to regularly. That being said, I had been listening to the newly-released Arcani in the lead up to the show, which I may well review here on due course, and I am glad that I did as five of the set's eight songs were culled from the tarot-inspired album. Sadly, though, Temperance suffered from quite a muddy sound mix. Clearly whoever was on the mixing desk, too, was struggling with their trio of lead vocalists - with co-frontwoman Kristin Starkey usually the one to suffer. She was very hard to hear at times, whilst bandleader Marco Pastorino (vocals/guitar) was always very loud in the mix, which was strange given that he generally sings the least! Despite this, though, I still enjoyed seeing the band live again - and I enjoyed hearing so many of the new songs. I ended up struggling a bit with their last album, but I think this one is stronger overall - with epic songs like The Magician: Into the Fire and The Devil: Sin Sin Sin hitting the crowd early on. Pastorino is a strong songwriter, and his guitar playing is full of melody - perhaps in a more straight forward way than many of his peers. Co-frontman Michele Guaitoli played some additional guitar during a few numbers, too, but generally he and Starkey were all over the stage - really working the crowd nicely. Despite the focus on new material, with another big highlight later on being the album opening The Fool, there were some older favourites also included. It was nice hearing Of Jupiter and Moons again having not listened much to the band's older albums for quite a while - whilst the more symphonic and dramatic Daruma proved to be a powerful set closer. Temperance are one of those bands that I should probably pay more attention to. They have lots of songs that I like, but perhaps none of their albums are consistently great - at least in my view. That being said, I have enjoyed the band live each time that I have seen them - and with Pastorino being a regular on the scene as a member of many bands, Temperance always feels like his main project. The setlist was:

The Magician: Into the Fire

Of Jupiter and Moons

The Devil: Sin Sin Sin

Death: Right Before We Die

The Fool

The Tower: Lean Into Fear

The Last Hope in a World of Hopes

Daruma

Up next were the multi-national symphonic metal act Exit Eden - essentially kicking off their first ever tour. They had played the odd live show previously, but this current run with Kamelot constitutes the band's first tour. Formed as something of a female version of the now-defunct Northern Kings (i.e. well-known singers performing covers of pop songs in a metal style), Exit Eden have somewhat developed - with their second album including some original material alongside the covers. Fronted by Anna Brunner, Clémentine Delauney, and, for this tour anyway, Chiara Tricarico (filling in for Marina La Torraca), the band delivered a fun set for the next 45 or so minutes - mixing original material, largely written by Brunner, and pop covers. Strangely enough, Brunner was the only person on stage that I was not already familiar with. I will need to check out her band League of Distortion in due course, especially as I enjoyed much of the original material in Exit Eden's set. Like Temperance, Exit Eden did suffer with a relatively muddy live sound mix - but they fared better than the night's openers. The vocal balance between the three frontwomen was generally well-struck - so the band battled something of a more general muddiness than the strange imbalance of Temperance. Given the band's origin as a covers band, their original material was unsurprisingly quite poppy. I would consider the band a symphonic metal act overall, but certainly at the hookier and more straightforward end of the scale - with quite a few big choruses present, including in opener Femme Fatale and the later Run!, which included some extra vocals from Guaitoli. Clearly three vocalists was not enough for that number, but generally the trio approach worked well - with lots of opportunities for lush harmonies during the set. The layered approach allowed for some differing vocal approaches, too. There were more operatic vocals in spots, particularly from Delauney, whilst Brunner often handled those moments that required a bit more grit with her powerful voice. Most of the songs covered came from the pop genre, but early on Journey got a bit of love via Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) - and perhaps the overall highlight was a fun rendition of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi. The three ladies were backed by some known musicians, too. Temperance's Marco Sacchetto (drums) did double duty, whilst Sirenia's Nils Courbaron (guitar) and former Blackbriar bassist Siebe Sol Sijpkens rounded out the backing band. A set that was half covers was likely never going to set my world alight, but I enjoyed the carefree attitude of Exit Eden's set - and their original material was stronger than I expected given that the project is likely not the main creative outlet of anyone involved.

The changeover between the two support acts had been short, but there was a longer wait for Kamelot's set - but soon the lights went down again and Sanctorium started playing through the PA. The band then took to the stage, and unsurprisingly kicked off with Ashen World from the new album. This was the first of five new songs included which meant, with one other song taken into account, there were six songs in the set that I had not seen the band do live before. I have sometimes been a bit critical of the band not mixing up the setlists that much between tours, but this setlist felt quite fresh - despite the remaining presence of lots of regulars. Thankfully, too, the sound was better for Kamelot - although I still had to take my earplugs out due to being slightly behind the speakers. I have often found the venue a bit hit and miss for sound - but once I had taken the earplugs out things were largely fine - with Ashen World kicking things off nicely with its melodic chorus. Frontman Tommy Karevik was in excellent voice throughout - and he was aided on a number of songs by Delauney on clean vocals and Ignacia Fernández on harsh vocals, who both sang on Dark Asylum. Fernández's first growls came during Ashen World, but the next two numbers featured neither - with trips back to the past for both The Great Pandemonium and Rule the World. It seemed a little strange to have two pre-Karevik songs come so early, but both were sang loudly by the crowd - with Thomas Youngblood (guitar/vocals) delivering shredded guitar solos during both. As always, the band were tight. Keyboard player Oliver Palotai added a keytar to his arsenal, which meant he could come down to the front of the stage during a couple of numbers - whilst Sean Tibbetts (bass guitar) was as active as ever, really getting the crowd going. Given that Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) had been the band's closing number for the last few tours, it seemed strange to hear it so early in the set - but no-one seemed to mind, and it sat nicely alongside the moody, older Karma. It was great that the new material received a strong reception, too, with the single Godlike Alchemy, one of the night's poppier numbers, going down well early on - but it was perhaps the heavier Revolution, with Palotai strangely doing the harsh vocals, which was a surprising highlight. The song has never been a favourite of mine, but it worked well live and it was the only number not from the new album that I had not seen the band do live before. New material largely dominated the second half of the set, too. Aside from the main set-closing Veil of Elysium and the two-song encore, everything else played came from either the new album or the last one. The dramatic, symphonic stomp of New Babylon has always worked better live than it did on record, and it seems destined to be something of a setlist staple, whilst the title track of the latest album was another highlight. The latter was already a favourite of mine, but hearing it live only made me enjoy it more. Ivy, My Dear was the set's obligatory ballad, with Karevik and Palotai left alone to perform it - whilst a juddering solo from Alex Landenburg (drums) later led into One More Flag in the Ground from the last album. Another big highlight for me was Sanctuary, with both of the ladies helping out vocally - which also featured Karevik sat on a large throne which was part of the lavish stage set. By this point, though, there was not much time left - and a lengthy version of Veil of Elysium rounded out the main set, with some audience participation and a break to wish Karevik a happy birthday. The encore followed, with the ever-present oldie March of Mephisto sounding as powerful as ever - and Karevik's first single as a member of Kamelot Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife) acting as a soaring and melodic closer. The setlist was:

Sanctorium

Ashen World

The Great Pandemonium

Rule the World

Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)

Godlike Alchemy

Karma

Revolution

Nocte Veritas

New Babylon

Dark Asylum

Ivy, My Dear

Drum Solo

One More Flag in the Ground

Keyboard Solo

Sanctuary

Veil of Elysium

-

March of Mephisto

Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)

Sanctum Requiem

Kamelot shows are always great, but this one felt fresher setlist-wise, and it was probably the most fun I have had at one of their shows for a little while - largely due to being close to the front. I was pleased to see Forever finally rested, and if only the same had happened to Rule the World then the setlist could have been near-perfect given the amount of new material played. Kamelot are on a real high at the moment, with another European tour leg planned for next year (which sadly does not include any UK shows), so hopefully it will not be too much longer before the band are back.