Kamelot
w/ Delain & Eklipse
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
The last time I saw Kamelot was back in October of last year when they opened for Nightwish here in Atlanta. It was the first time I had ever seen them and I remember feeling completely blown away and mesmerized by their performance. Imagine my excitement when they announced a full on US tour that would bring them back to Atlanta! After what seemed like the longest wait ever (dates had been posted like 4 months ago or so), Kamelot pulled into town for the 2nd to last date of their nearly yearlong tour behind Silverthorn. Along for the ride was support acts Delain for their first ever US tour as well us US newcomers Eklipse.
Eklipse took the stage first and I really had no idea what to expect. Four attractive ladies with violins (3) and a cello (1) took the stage dressed almost like characters out of an Edward Gorey illustration. The ladies took their positions and eased into the song “Teardrop” originally performed by Massive Attack. How did I know that? Well, I only know it’s a Massive Attack song because I looked it up but that’s beside the point. Their dark, brooding, ambient tones fill the room and immediately captivated this nearly capacity room. Their sound brought a touch of class and elegance to this metal crowd . Most fans of progressive metal already understand and appreciate the classical music elements of metal so it’s no surprise that they were totally digging these women. The group’s short but oh so sweet set also included covers by Adele, Dead or Alive, and even (gasp) Justin Timberlake. It was the quartet’s cover of “Sweet Dreams” by The Eurythmics that completely brought the house down to a roaring newly seized fan base. These girls earned themselves a lot of new fans and as soon as their set was over a mob rushed the merch booth to meet the band and buy their latest CD Electric Air. So far, I would have to say that this night was off to a truly great start.
Eklipse Setlist:
Teardrops, Assassins Creed, Set Fire to the Rain, Where The Wild Roses Grow, Cry Me a River, You Spin Me Round, Sweet Dreams
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Dutch symphonic metalers Delain were up next. Since their inception in 2002, the band had yet
to tour the US so this was also their first ever US tour. There was quite a bit of excitement amongst the crowd and I had noticed that I was seeing quite a few Delain shirts. I figured that this band must have quite a following. The band took the stage to an appreciative roar and launched into “Mother Machine.” I was so pumped and ready to be blown away but instead felt myself make a scrunchy face and say, “Meh.” By the time they were ½ way through their second song “Go Away” I found myself wishing that they really would go away. Delain weren’t the worst band I had ever heard but they were far, far, way fucking far from being remotely close to the best. If I had to describe Delain, I would say that they were a down tuned, extremely pitchy version of Lacuna Coil with a female vocalist delivering Disney Princess stage dialog in between songs. If you really want me to sum it up, I’d call them Delame. Delain is just an average sounding band with forgettable songs that sounded more like American Idol auditions with a metal band backing them. They just did nothing for me but bore me and send me packing to the bar to get a beer.
Delain Setlist:
Mother Machine, Go Away, Get the Devil Out of Me, April Rain, Electricity, Invidia, Sleepwalkers Dream, Not Enough, The Gathering, We Are the Others
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Leading up to Kamelot’s set there was a lot of excitement in the air. Having been a good boy and not peeked at the tour’s setlist I had no idea what to expect. The band came out one by one and slammed right into “Rule the World” from Ghost Opera and right away I was completely floored. Karevik proved to be more than capable of remaining true to the classic Kamelot songs such as “The Human Stain”, “Ghost Opera”, and “Karma” but he did so without trying to replicate the voice of former Kamelot vocalist Roy Khan. In my opinion, where Khan’s voice made these songs so much more dramatic and almost operatic, Karevik turns these songs into arena style epic metal masterpieces with his powerful, soulful voice and Bruce Dickinson like stage presence. Before going much further can we address the “solos” in this show? This was my only issue with the show as a whole. Really Kamelot? Drum solo? Keyboard solo? Bass solo? Kamelot! Are you for reals? These solos could’ve been cut and two more songs added to the set list. The solos did absolutely nothing to wow me and in some ways they were vibe killers. The bass solo starting the encore out was by far the lamest thing I have ever seen but luckily the epicness of the rest of the encore made me forget that I had just seen that. Songs >Solos. End of equation. Now more about how this show ruled.
All eyes are on Karevik the entire night as it is he that has taken Kamelot to a whole new and
exciting level. He rules the stage covering every inch of it and continuously working the crowd and keeping us all on our toes at all times. The band as a whole puts 110% into their performance creating a truly electrifying and exciting visual spectacle. It’s so refreshing and fun to see a band not afraid to give each performance their all and physically throw themselves into their performance. The performances of “Veritas” and “Sacrimony” with Alissa White-Gluz were absolutely stellar and in many ways I preferred her performance over that of past female guest Elize Ryd. The highlight of the night for me was having Eklipse welcomed back on stage for “Don’t You Cry” and the intensely beautiful “My Confession.” It all came to a boil with the show closing encore of “March of Mephisto” which left a huge ocean of melted faces in its wake. This had to be one of my favorite show closing numbers as it was so amazing to see the energy play between the band and the crowd.
In a nutshell, Kamekot fucking killed it. I was in total awe of the caliber of musicianship and showmanship that Kamelot brought to the stage. Kamelot brought an epic metal performance of arena proportions to the small stage of the Masquerade and left every fan with a fist in the air and a smile on their faces. From the overall reaction, I’d say that it’s safe to say that Kamelot has a long and very promising future ahead of them. There’s nowhere to go but up for this band.
Kamelot Setlist:
Rule the World, Torn, The Great Pandemonium, Veritas*, Center of the Universe, The Human Stain, Song for Jolee, Drum Solo, When the Lights are Down, Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)*, Don’t You Cry**, My Confession**, Keyboard Solo, Forever
Encore:
Bass Solo, Ghost Opera, Karma, March of Mephisto
*= with Alissa White-Gluz
**= with Eklipse
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