Traveling to the venue was a bit strange as it was a school night and I didn’t see any other metal fans until I was standing outside the Islington Assembly Hall. After much confusion of where to queue I finally found which one I was meant to be in. Looking around at all the fans waiting for 7pm to hit, I was met with a very eclectic range of people. Young and old, band shirts and smart dress….. but they were all pretty quiet and reserved, a first for me.
After getting in, I was met with a very friendly well presented older gentleman in the box office who was very dapper. I made my way in to the main hall which was pretty stunning. Bar staff were awesome but the drinks were pretty pricey, £3.45 for a pint of off brand cola was a bit steep and tasted like a melted ice-pole.
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Security in the main hall were excellent, very friendly and approachable yet very professional and got the job done.
It got crowded very quickly and a surge of fans swarmed to the front as Firewind’s set started. They started solid and well balanced. Looking around at the crowd, they seemed to be more chilled than expected, but you could see the appreciation on everyone’s faces as they took in the technicality of the band playing.
These really are a musician’s band. After a few tracks the crowd had really warmed up and were getting in to it. The light show really hit the spot with the use of white lights and some fancy pattern filters. They played a good crowd-pleasing setlist and finished on their cover of the 80’s hit song “Maniac”. One of the best sights in metal is seeing so many metalheads kind of headbang/dance to a pop song cover. Needless to say the smell of hard work was in the air. Wished their set was a little longer as they played so well.
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After a sort break and stage change up Beast in Black‘s stage was revealed. Awesome backdrop, two very large specimen tubes, each complete with a female android making the stage look like something out of a high budget sci-fi film set. I love that little bit of drama waiting for a band to come out on stage, you could literally feel the electricity in the air. Beast in Black fire on to the stage with “Blade Runner”, what a perfect track to start with. Instantly forming that bond with the crowd, making them go wild from the get go.
These guys are so well in tune with each other it’s almost like a dance, perfectly timed and well-executed, fans blowing their hair in the wind just adding more visually to the experience almost looking like a the power metal version of a boy band. You know just by watching them that this is their life, they enjoy what they do and it oozes out of every single pore and that makes a great show. Yannis is possibly the most spectacular male vocalist I think I have ever seen. When you have to take a double take to check a woman hasn’t walked out on stage to sing only to see that he is singing. Although his range is on the high end of the scale, it did not faulter throughout the entire performance. Hats off to them for putting on an over two hour performance.
The whole show was well rounded and seamlessly put together, a fantastic night of epic power.
Reviewer: Donna Richards
Photos by Kraken Of Moshville Times
