© Claudia Ehrhardt
Photos:
Serenity - June 2009
© Claudia Ehrhardt
Photos: Delain - Dec. 2009
This was my first time in Academy 3, but it was pretty much everything I expected it to be. It was fairly small but not cramped and thankfully you could see the bands from the bar, something which is a major let-down in the larger Academy 2.
Delain's first time in Manchester had sold out well in advance and it seemed that everyone in attendance was in a state of euphoria about seeing the Dutch band fronted by the one and only Charlotte Wessels. Before that though we had the two support bands to enjoy.
First up, Lost In Thought. This progressive power metal band from South Wales have recently signed to Inner Wound Recordings and released their debut album Opus Arise. I'd not heard them before and didn't even realize there was a third band on the bill before arriving!
The band kicked off and I - well there's just no nice way to say this – decided I'd rather go look at the merch. Unfortunately there wasn't much merch to look at so I had to go back in and endure the rest of Lost In Thought's set with bad grace.
Now, its not like the whole band was bad. The keyboardist, bassist and guitarist were actually pretty good and although the compositions were pretty generic they were the kind of songs that you could enjoy. The drummer was the first problem with Lost In Thought as he just seemed to go through the motions. There was little to inspire any interest in his playing at all, however, he wasn't a bad drummer and I could have ignored this one downside.
The major problem with Lost In Thought is the singer. If he kept to the mid-range he was ok but every time he reached for the high notes it became painful. I've never heard anyone push their voice so far beyond its limit before and hope to never have to endure such horrifying vocals again.
Honestly, if this guy was singing for free in your local pub you'd leave. I can only hope that there was a problem that I didn't know about because if this is the best he can do I'd advise him not to quit his day-job.
Additionally, there was just no stage presence at all. Every time the band launched into an instrumental section the singer left the stage. Every time I hoped he wouldn't come back...alas! Anyway, leaving the stage is not working the crowd. We assumed he was leaving to brush his well maintained hair as he seemed more intent on playing with his flowing locks on stage than on delivering a good performance or getting the crowd warmed up.
One can only hope that those who applauded the set of this band were really applauding the three members who showed a modicum of talent rather than the band as a whole.
After a few beers in the hope of purging the memories of Lost In Thought from my mind I stood and waited for Austrian symphonic metal masters Serenity. The band's latest album, Death & Legacy, gained a huge 9/10 rating from Ice Vajal's Claudia Ehrhardt and is highly recommended to all fans of melodic metal. With this is mind I was expecting a lot from them and hell, did they deliver!
As soon as they took the stage it was apparent how wide the chasm is between Lost In Thought and Serenity. The caliber of playing was just superior in every department but especially noticeable in the quality of Georg Neuhauser's voice.
Serenity took the whole crowd on a magical journey through five songs (plus intro) of high caliber melodic, symphonic power metal mainly drawn from the latest album but with a couple of oldies included too. Partway through Serenity were joined on stage by the lovely Lisa Middelhauve, formerly of Xandria. This impassioned duet was truly a sight to behold. The chemistry between the singers was absolutely breathtaking and hearing the two brilliant voices together was amazing.
Serenity could have headlined this show, without doubt, and it was only unfortunate that they didn't get more time. Still, the crowd loved what they saw and heard and Serenity left the stage to rapturous applause!
Delain were kicking off their European tour in Manchester and the fans had done their bit by selling out the show well before the date! In my opinion the band could and probably should have been performing in the larger Academy 2, but nothing we could do about that!
This was the first show for Delain's new guitarist Timo Somers and the crowd gave him a very warm reception as we were mesmerized by his talented playing. If you didn't know that he was a new member of the band I very much doubt you could have guessed as he seemed to be at home on stage with the rest of the guys. His playing was flawless and he did his best to help work the crowd (not that much work was needed by this point!) by head banging and standing on the speakers.
Charlotte promised us some old songs, new songs and really new songs and we got all of that and more. The majority of songs were from the second album, April Rain, with Delain classics like the awesome Invidia and the majestic Start Swimming as well as the two singles April Rain and Stay Forever. Add into the mix a quality cover of The Cranberries' Cordell and you have a really varied setlist with a good mix of slow songs, fast songs, sing-along songs and songs where you just listen to the beauty Charlotte Wessel's voice.
As promised Delain also played a few news songs from the upcoming third album. The first of these was Get The Devil Out Of Me and the second Milk & Honey. The titles of these songs may change though because, as Charlotte's explained, Milk & Honey contains no milk! The new songs were nice to hear and it seems like the next album will be up to the level of the first two!
The gathered throng were all equally entranced by Delain and when the band performed a three song encore the place went wild, especially for what is seen by many as the Delain classic; The Gathering. Finally hearing this song live made my night!
This show had started as a lesson in mediocrity, but the professionalism and class of Serenity and Delain had turned it into a fantastic gig. I'm hoping that SerenitySerenity will return on a headline tour at some point and I can't wait to hear the new Delain album!
