THERION, GRAVE DIGGER, SABATON
Apparently the last time Sabaton played London it was as support to Dragonforce and they only got a 10 minute set! Not being a fan of power metal in the slightest (I was really only here for Therion) I was thinking 10 minutes might be too long for them but actually found myself enjoying their show after I had stopped snickering at singer Joakim?s Mad Max 2 top and the groups matching combat trousers. Luckily I was not reviewing them from a fashion point of sense and they quickly had fists pounding in the air from an audience lapping up both their songs and their stage posturing, which would have got them top marks if there was an exam for such things.
It was as I always find with this sort of music, cheese laden to some extent but Sabaton had a bombastic joy de vivre that was compellingly infectious. At one point the symphonic element really shone through with the sort of riffing that Nightwish would have been proud of getting everyone bouncing along. Tracks such as Into The Fire were tight and skilfully executed but I was no doubt not the only person somewhat surprised about a song being played as a tribute to the Brits for the Falklands campaign!!! Rather odd for a band from Sweden and they should perhaps know better than to mention the war.
If Sabaton were a bit cheesy then there were times that Grave Digger were served up with blue veins running through them complete with crackers and pickles. The only problem with this for me was that as they were co-headlining this set they were playing for a very long time. A blast of Phantom Of The (bleeding) Opera saw the monkish crew come on before they fittingly started with the title track off new album Liberty Or Death. I was certain that some of the old classics were going to be aired as this hardy German band have cracked out 13 studio albums in their 22 year career.
The adoring crowd had flags at the front of the stage and there was plenty of head- banging action going on to every Maidenized riff that the band were throwing out. GD worked out a traditional sword and sorcery type of theme, with numbers such as Excalibur and Valhalla being no doubt forged on steel and fed to the gods. This was the sort of band that had me writing down the words, ?good at what they do but not my kind of thing.? I also seemed to have written ?this was the worst thing I have heard in ages,? to describe a particularly cringe-worthy ballad complete with keyboards that would be more at home in a Barry Manilow number. You had to be so drunk to like this (and I was and didn?t) but luckily they injected things later with a much faster tempo. It also seemed that they wanted to give the Scots a tribute with Highland Tears and Morgane Lafay later on stood out with its thrashy riffs. However by the end of the set I was ready for a Heavy Metal Breakdown, which was aptly the last number (thank god).
Therion have always electrified me with their performances from the first time I caught them after Theli had just come out at Dynamo Open Air. This was to be the first time I had caught them without Christopher Johnsson handling vocals but there were plenty of others on hand to act out this musical spectacle and it has to be said that Snowy Shaw and Mats Leven were both on top form tonight.
Gothic Kabbalah is one fuck of an amazing album and should be at the top of every metal heads shopping list. The first thing I did on entering the venue (yes before going to the bar) was to buy a shirt with the album artwork and I had been looking forward to hearing numbers from it. Starting with the albums first cut Middernacht Lowe with its pompous swagger of a rhythm was a good way of getting everyone fired up and it was one of the Katarina Lilja who stepped up to the microphone first. Glad I got a photo of the setlist as the first couple of numbers were rather difficult to jot down, Schwarzalbenheim anyone?
Blood Of Kingu is certainly one of my favourites and was glad to find it rampaging away just before we were asked to leave the frantic activity of the photo pit allowing me to enjoy the music with less distraction. Luckily Therion had plenty of time to play a massive uninterrupted set unlike their last London show when they had to contend with a power failure. It was pretty much made up of the best of their albums from Theli onwards with a smattering of the more boisterous cuts from the new album. All I can say is that Tuna 1613 rocked like a bastard and the excellent Son Of The Staves Of Time worked magnificently live.
The sheer scope of the show made it a wonder to watch with the ever changeable vocalists adding their stamp on proceedings and keeping us all on our toes. I am sure everyone has their personal favourites and I wasn?t disappointed with what was aired. Deggial E, Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah and Ginnugagap all really stood out but it was the encore that rightly brought the house down. Lumuria, Nightside Of Eden and to Mega Therion was one hell of a finale and one that was so good I didn?t even curse having missed my last train (doh)!
Pete Woods
LONDON MEAN FIDDLER 21/01/07