Symphonic power metal act KAMELOT recently released their new album, “The Awakening,” while already touring around Europe. Since these guys are known to be a pretty entertaining live act with excellent production, and considering they always bring intriguing support acts with them – this time around with LEAGUE OF DISTORTION, ELEINE, and most notably, Tunisian progressive metal act MYRATH – it was a no-brainer to attend their stop in Helsinki at Vanha Ylioppilastalo on March 29th, 2023.
Having recently released their self-titled debut effort, LEAGUE OF DISTORTION was a pretty new name for us and we hadn’t really had the chance to explore their music much yet. The new band from Germany, led by singer Anna Brunner, already lured out quite a few people to enjoy their show. In the front row, fans were headbanging to the groovy compositions this band brings to the stage. For a young band, they were all very energetic on stage and it was very entertaining watching Anna sing the songs while moving all around; at one point, even lying down. With songs like “My Revenge” and “Wolf or Lamb,” they made it really easy for fans to engage with the music. Personally, I was also hoping for “I’m A Bitch” to be included in the setlist, but I guess we’ll have to wait for a headlining show for that!
In 2022, Swedish symphonic metal act ELEINE released an acoustic EP, were signed to Atomic Fire Records, and promised us they’d also release new music (a first single, “We Are Legion,” has been recently released), so naturally, we were excited to be part of the band’s first show in Helsinki. While we are still waiting for more new music, watching them live for the first time was surely a great experience. It’s always an impressive thing when band members are simultaneously windmilling on stage and just seem to be enjoying themselves as much as possible. We particularly enjoyed “Ava of Death,” but were really excited about the addition of “We Are Legion” to the setlist, as it turns out it’s an excellent live banger too! The band thanked the audience excessively for their support and seemed genuinely happy about the turnout for the show. I’m quite sure we haven’t seen the last of them!
The evening was a night of many firsts. It also included the first-ever appearance of MYRATH in Finland and frankly, this was one of the primary reasons why we wanted to go see this lineup. Even though their last album, “Shehili,” was released in 2019 and the band also toured along with BEAST IN BLACK, they were never able to set foot in Finland. Admittedly, before this show, my expectations were very high and I was very glad the band exceeded any and all of them.
The band made a very bold decision to start the setlist with a new song, “To the Stars,” from their upcoming album. Fortunately, it had great energy and worked really well as the opening track. Did it make us more excited about the upcoming release? Hell yes! The band transitioned into one of my favorite MYRATH songs, “Born to Survive,” which admittedly is a song that definitely benefits from a grand production (just watch their live video in the legendary Carthage amphitheater in Tunisia and you’ll know what I mean), but nonetheless it did do the job of getting people to move in the audience. Continuing with “Dance,” the party continued. The band included another new track in the set, “Child of Prophecy,” which also sounded great. They rounded out their setlist with “Believer,” which is a very motivational song and made for an altogether positive ending.
I spoke with a few people in the audience who had never heard of MYRATH before this show and each and every one of them were simply amazed by the magic they witnessed on stage, from the tight instrumentation to singer Zaher Zorgati‘s incredible voice. It’s really hard not to fall in love with this band’s music and we surely hope we get to see a hell of a lot more of them in the future!
After a smooth turnover, KAMELOT took the stage a couple of minutes behind schedule. Since they just released their new album, “The Awakening,” a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised that the band opted to open the set with an older song, “Veil of Elysium,” though it is nonetheless a great choice to kick off the show smoothly. Their guest singer this time around was none other than Melissa Bonny (AD INFINITUM), who at very beginning of the concert was mostly used as a background singer – admittedly, it would have been nice to have her a little bit more involved already from the get-go.
Continuing with “Rule the World,” the band opted for a more atmospheric song, which gave the fans an opportunity to headbang and raise their hands. The first new song included in the setlist soon followed: “Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem),” which was deemed to be a great fit in the setlist. Melissa Bonny did some impressive vocal melodies in the back that showcased her incredible vocal range. The first half of the set consisted of more energetic tracks, including “Insomnia” and “When the Lights Are Down”; the first time the set slowed down a little bit was with “Song for Jolee.”
During “March of Mephisto,” singer Tommy Karevik was suspended in their air, which once again highlighted the pretty top-notch production this band always been developing in their live shows. After that, Alex Landenburg took the spotlight with a drum solo. Additionally, there’s a case to be made concerning the positive energy Landenburg often brings to the stage, mostly drumming with a big smile – he definitely was the best choice for the job, having taken over in 2019, and his drum rig setup is definitely impressive to say the least! “Forever” was the last song before the encore; this will always remain one of my favorite live tracks.
The band came back with three more encore songs, “Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire),” their pretty catchy single “One More Flag in the Ground,” and fan favorite “Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy),” but much to my surprise two songs were definitely missing from the setlist: “Center of the Universe” and “Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife),” of which the latter they have omitted from the Helsinki show but seem to have played on other dates during this tour. Nevertheless, the setlist worked well on so many levels, as having mostly high-energy songs was an excellent way to get fans to commit to giving their all for the entire evening!
Setlist
- Veil of Elysium (with Melissa Bonny)
- Rule the World
- Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem) (with Melissa Bonny)
- Insomnia
- When the Lights Are Down
- Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)
- New Babylon (with Melissa Bonny)
- Karma
- Song for Jolee
- NightSky
- March of Mephisto (with Melissa Bonny)
- Drum Solo
- Forever
- Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire) (with Melissa Bonny) (encore)
- One More Flag in the Ground (encore)
- Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) (with Melissa Bonny) (encore)
