SONATA ARCTICA & PAGANS MIND
LONDON ISLINGTON ACADEMY 21/04/08
After an unexpected adventure around Islington (which is a creative and er…less embarrassing way of saying I got lost!) I arrived much later than planned catching only the final two tracks by Pagan’s Mind. Having missed them when they played the inaugural PPUK festival, and having enjoyed their recent opus ‘Gods Equation’, I was rather disappointed that I hadn’t caught more of their set tonight. The couple of songs I caught only left me kicking myself for not being able to get there sooner! There is something mystifying about this band, as they appear saturated in a cosmic blue and green miasma, that somehow seems so apt for this band. The mature vocals of Nils K Rue kicks out some serious power over a tight and heavy wall of sound filled with spiritual wonder. A good start to the evening.
After selling out their only UK show last November, Sonata Arctica finally took the hint and returned for a full jaunt of our fair isle, and if tonight’s crowd is much to go by then the tour must be a roaring success. The last album was a huge disappointment for me (Having hardly touched my stereo since I reviewed it in 2007) but it is easy to look past that tonight as tracks like ‘Paid In Full’ are placed side by side with ‘8th Commandment’ and ‘Kingdom For A Heart’. The musicians don’t always make for the most scintillating band to watch, although Tony Kakko more than makes up for this with his animated persona on stage. The vibrant frontman bounces across the stage with a child like exuberance. Whether this is an adorable feat or, at times, a tad cringeworthy, is of course open to interpretation.
Their unique and melodic power metal is delivered tightly, with the mellifluous vocal delivery of Kakko sounding particularly alluring on the beautiful ‘Shamandilie’ and ‘Caleb’, which gets the crowd swaying, while ‘Wolf And Raven’ is a pure exercise in unadulterated speed with it’s racing attack of guitar and keyboard melodies swathed in symphonic glory. An element of fun is injected into the set as the band return for an encore, dividing the crowd into three groups who become one big giant drum kit (I guess you really need to be there!) as the band launched into a cover of ‘We Will Rock You’.
The sound problems faced throughout the headliners set left me with the feeling that I have yet to see Sonata Arctica at their best. A varied set seemed a wise move, rather than focussing on the new material, and while I wasn’t blown away by the show tonight, I wasn’t left feeling disappointed.
Luci Herbert
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