It was many a brave music lover that made their way through horrific weather on a Tuesday night to support three bands who carry the flag for symphonic metal.
Due to accidents, torrential rain, wind and closures my colleague and I were able to get into the Bristol Beacon just in time for Charlotte Wessels (8) to begin her intimate but hard rocking set of solo anthems. Vocally she has always been very impressive, stretching right back to her days with Delain, her solo material is much more emotive and theatrical the set dressed almost like it was going to host a stage play giving everything a sense of intimacy between the audience and the band.
Charlotte is exquisitely able to easily shift from heavy rock to ballad and even some pop and jazz moments, her dynamic range using both power and fragility. Behind her she has a band, The Obsession, who are just as capable of these genre switches and in guitarist Timo Somers (formerly if Delain), she has an axe slinger who absolutely loves to solo. While the rhythm section of Joey Marin De Boer (drums) and Otto Schimmelpenninck Van Der Oije (bass) compliment that with some thick heaviness as Nina Van Beelen on keys bring not only the orchestral/classical phrasing but vocal harmonies too.
This wouldn't be the last time that we saw Charlotte she appeared on stage later but more on that as we progress with the review as an opening slot her inclusion was well received and genre wise worked perfectly. Charlotte has created her own legacy in the Dutch metal scene that the co-headliners set out the blueprint for and yet now creates her own sound away from that but still very much a part of it.
The stage now got bigger as we came into the co headline part of the tour there were risers steps and all manner of video screens lasers CO2 cannons primed and ready for Amaranthe (7) to take the stage.
Now I have seen this band a few times many of them in Bristol and while I can see the appeal I understand quite people find them entertaining I struggle, to me a lot of their music it's very very similar. It feels very synthetic the EDM and synths far outweighing the metal side of things meaning that the guitars, bass and drums are there but never particularly potent.
I think the other issue that I have always had with Amaranthe live is that so often Elize Ryd's vocals are buried really really deep in the mix now seeing as she is the only surviving vocalist from when the project started and for a lot of people the reason why they go to see the band it always strokes me as odd that she is the one that I can hear the least. Both harsh screamer Mikael Sehlon and clean singer Nils Molin are much higher up in the mix, essentially working as the main singers of the band Nils especially doing all of the interaction with the crowd.
With an 80 minute set I did kind of get fatigue a little bit as although Amaranthe are a perfectly serviceable band, they are slick, perhaps too slick, a lot of their songs blend into one after a while for me.
With an 80 minute set I did kind of get fatigue a little bit as although Amaranthe are a perfectly serviceable band, they are slick, perhaps too slick, a lot of their songs blend into one after a while for me.
Now they got a huge reception the stage show is top notch but it is very much a meat issue in terms of what they play and how they've influenced a lot of the symphonic metal scene as now using EDM and lots of synth has become the norm over the more traditional style of classical orchestration.
After Amaranthe's set the lights went down once again and with a video intro we counted down to the last band of the show the silhouette of front woman Simone Simmons draped in a veil beginning the show proper with Apparition.
After Amaranthe's set the lights went down once again and with a video intro we counted down to the last band of the show the silhouette of front woman Simone Simmons draped in a veil beginning the show proper with Apparition.
A ghostly spectral start that fully dialled you in to the theatrical power of Epica (9), then the full metal assault came with Cross The Divide, where heads began to bang and pits began to form. This was very much more my thing out on for the two bands I've always loved the way that Epica blend the symphonic and classical elements with death thrash and black metal wrapping it all up in a progressive metal experimentalism.
Since 2002 the band have been driven by the crushing riffs of Mark Jansen, his grunts countering the angelic delivery of Simmons, as the orchestral moments are brought by Coen Janssen. A man who despite being a keyboard player could also be a frontman switching between his rotating keyboard stand and his curved portable keyboard/keytar, a grin permanently etched on his face. The keytar allows him to come down from his perch and join Jansen, Simmons, Isaac Delahaye (lead guitar), Rob van der Loo (bass) at the front of the stage as all of them switch between the various levels of the stage.
Since 2002 the band have been driven by the crushing riffs of Mark Jansen, his grunts countering the angelic delivery of Simmons, as the orchestral moments are brought by Coen Janssen. A man who despite being a keyboard player could also be a frontman switching between his rotating keyboard stand and his curved portable keyboard/keytar, a grin permanently etched on his face. The keytar allows him to come down from his perch and join Jansen, Simmons, Isaac Delahaye (lead guitar), Rob van der Loo (bass) at the front of the stage as all of them switch between the various levels of the stage.
There's something quite powerful about what Epica do, the heavier style that they play means that even some of the more po-faced of the crowd were banging their heads as the band drew mostly from their most recent album Aspiral. With Sirens - Of Blood And Water, Charlotte Wessels joined for a duet, however just as they were ending it all of the house lights came on and a few blue lights starting flashing up in the lighting rig. The fire alarm had triggered (remember the CO2 cannons?) leading to a elongated periods of nothing the audience were told nothing where the venue other than the band occasionally checking in to see if everyone was still there.
Thankfully this was resolved after about 10 minutes and Simone and Coen return to the stage for a piano and vocal rendition of Tides Of Time, which managed to recalibrate the room as things got back on track with The Grand Saga Of Existence – A New Age Dawns, Part IX and Cry For The Moon, building the excitement once more
Even with this break in the show which was unfortunate considering this was there first UK date on the tour Epica showed why they are considered to be one of the originators of the symphonic metal genre despite my grievances with Amaranthe the inclusion on this tour meant that both versions of the symphonic genre we're represented and having Charlotte Wessels as the opener was the icing on the cake.
Overall the Arcane Dimensions tour was a perfect way to spend a Tuesday night in Bristol with one of my best mates, even though at times it proved too hot to handle!
Thankfully this was resolved after about 10 minutes and Simone and Coen return to the stage for a piano and vocal rendition of Tides Of Time, which managed to recalibrate the room as things got back on track with The Grand Saga Of Existence – A New Age Dawns, Part IX and Cry For The Moon, building the excitement once more
Even with this break in the show which was unfortunate considering this was there first UK date on the tour Epica showed why they are considered to be one of the originators of the symphonic metal genre despite my grievances with Amaranthe the inclusion on this tour meant that both versions of the symphonic genre we're represented and having Charlotte Wessels as the opener was the icing on the cake.
Overall the Arcane Dimensions tour was a perfect way to spend a Tuesday night in Bristol with one of my best mates, even though at times it proved too hot to handle!
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