Alestorm & Týr + Middenhelm - Underworld, London

After having seen Alestorm and Týr again at HammerFest, this was a show I was very much looking forward to. Especially after bumping into a quite wasted bassist by the name of Gareth Murdock in the day. After obtaining a nasty sprain in my left ankle on the Friday night (leaving me unable to see the Peterborough show on Saturday), this gig was sure to put a strain on me.

Middenhelm
What can I say about this band? Everything needs work. The music was a mismatch of black metal, thrash and metalcore. It seemed like they couldn't quite make up their mind what they wanted to play. The band don't look the part either. As a support band, it's generally not an idea to go on-stage with a variety of other bands shirts on. Also, when a technical error occurs with a guitar that you couldn't even hear, you can at least pretend to play rather than staring at your amp dumb-founded before leaving the stage and returning with a microphone to poorly scream the words with your other vocalist. Not impressed.

Týr
As stated in the previous blog, Týr have really become something as a live act. They play all the fans favourites, including the Irish traditional "The Wild Rover", with Gazz & Wilson of Alestorm hitting the stage to sing along on this track. Tracks included the newer & refined version of "Hail to the Hammer", "Regin Smiður", "Ólavur Riddararós", "Sinklars Visa" and the brilliant "Ramund hin Unge" - an adaptation of a Danish traditional. The band also played another Irish traditional in the form of "Whiskey in the Jar" - which appeared to be not as rehearsed, but incredibly tight. A great performance from the Faroe Islands' finest.

Alestorm
I was both looking forward to and concerned about the Alestorm show. Since the band appeared to be quite wasted, I knew it wouldn't be the tightest show they'd ever played. But that's not what this show was about. This show was about putting to an end an incredibly long stretch of touring and having a party in the country's capital. Showcasing much old and new material, Alestorm gain a lot of fan participation throughout the show, yet I don't know where the person dressed as a parrot seemed to disappear to - his costume was the best by far. Special thanks to Dani for sorting the guest list out on this one, as well as the rest of the guys in the band for being a fun bunch of drunken bastards.

Kamelot + Dream Evil & Amberian Dawn

I arrived at Islington Academy, only to see that Serenity would not be playing the show and would be replaced by Amberian Dawn. At first, this was upsetting because I had recently checked out Serenity's latest album (2008's Fallen Sanctuary) and was somewhat impressed with the level of songwriting.

I had no idea what Amberian Dawn would hold, apart from over-hearing in the queue that they were a female-fronted metal act from Finland. This made me sceptical because that's usually the recipe for a generic metal band for me, only a handful of the female-fronted bands do it for me as I feel they often lack a bite to their music and seldom play guitar solos, (which is a must for a guitar geek like me).

Amberian Dawn hit the stage and I was already very impressed at the songs they played. I'd never heard them in my life, but I could really get into them. They completely sealed the deal after both guitarists unleashed multiple shred solos at chaotic speed. The band were tight, the songs great and the solos mind blowing. At the end of their set, they threw out some goodies for the crowd. I managed to get my hands on one of their shirts on the top balcony. It's always a good place to stand to catch things because bands see it as a challenge. Great band, worth checking out!

Dream Evil were up next. A band I really do enjoy. The band opened with "Made of Metal" - a truly heroic metal anthem. They put in a great performance with good crowd interaction and again, brilliant shred solos. The only things I could complain about Dream Evil themselves is that they weren't dressed for the occasion. (Seriously, they all looked fantastically silly). Also, singer Niklas Isfeldt was clearly struggling to hit the high notes, sounding like Rob Halford on one of his less good days. Still, all the band worked the stage. The final negativity (albeit completely out the band's hands) was their set being cut short. Niklas announced "We're not allowed to play anymore, sorry. I know it sucks, but what can you do?". This must be the only time they've not been able to play their fan's favourite: The Book of Heavy Metal (March of the Metallians), much to the disappointment of the crowd. This was a terrible shame, but I will get to see them next month at HammerFest - so it's not the end of the world. Special mention goes out to the drunk guys, who made a pit for people who didn't actually appear to want to be in it.


Next were the headliners: Kamelot. They're a band that I know I like, without knowing material inside out. Luckily for me, they played all my personal favourites of the songs I knew and displayed some fantastic musicianship with guitar, keyboard and drum solos. A great and entertaining band (even if they do appear to know it). It was also nice to see singer Roy Khan out of that ridiculous jacket he seems to like wearing. Maybe it's only silly in the UK. But anyway, blasting through tracks like "Karma", "Center of the Universe", "Anthem", "Forever" and their closer "March of Mephisto" left me very well entertained and looking forward to a promised show early next year!

I will try to get some pictures of setlists up on here soon.

Links:
Kamelot.com
DreamEvil.se
AmberianDawn.com
Serenity-band.com