Artist: Dragonforce, Amaranthe
Venue: Bristol, O2
Date: 22nd March 2024
"Whilst both headliners were Power Metal bands, they have been different enough from each other to give a wonderful experience regardless of which are your favourite, and there’s shiny, happy people everywhere."
It’s a busy night in Bristol, as the co-headlining Metal Monsters sell out the O2 with ease. Cards on the table, I’m here for Dragonforce, a band I’ve never seen despite being a long-time fan. I’ve heard good things about Swedish band Amaranthe, though, so find a space with breathing room and demand to be entertained.
Well, it doesn’t take them long to make me stand up and take notice, as I never realised that they had three vocalists! I’m probably the only person in the venue that didn’t know this, but gawd dammit if it doesn’t work like a dream. Opener ‘Fearless’ follows a Sci Fi spoken word intro, and all three vocalists are immediately involved, as Elize Ryd gives us a female fronted melody, followed by Mikael Sehlin and his shouty stuff, completed by Nils Molin’s Power Metal stylings. Behind them, the song itself is a fast-paced Metal monster with added atmosphere and some fantastic melodies, a smorgasbord (yeah, I know a Swedish word, deal with it) of styles that fit together like a really easy jigsaw. The whole thing is very dramatic, and of course there’s flames, because it’s that sort of music. The hour and ten minutes allotted flies by, with highlights including ‘Virus’, ‘Damnation Flame’ and the video game anthem ‘PvP’. The encore includes the interestingly names ‘That Song’, which segues into ‘We Will Rock You’ and gives everyone a nice easy singalong. Amaranthe surprised me tonight, with extremely well crafted Power Metal that sports an original twist that always gives you someone to watch. Great stuff.
As the roadies load up Dragonforce’s stage gear, it’s clear this band are a bunch of massive nerds. There’s oversized arcade cabinets either side, each with steps at the back for posing and waving, plus two of the mic stands are from Warhammer and Final Fantasy. How do I know this? Takes a nerd to know a nerd band, is all I’m saying. With a similar set time to Amaranthe, Dragonforce get less songs in because they tend to be longer, but what songs they are! ‘Revolution Deathsquad’ opens proceedings, and it’s amusing to see the arcade cabinets display gameplay from classic arcade games, but sped up to match the music. I’m surprised to see they have an extra guitarist (Billy Wilkins) onstage to add a bit of rhythm behind the widdling of Herman Li and Sam Totman, and for the most part the poor guy is like a spare cock at an orgy. It’s nice to see Alicia Vigil on bass, too. At the front Marc Hudson doesn’t put a foot wrong, his vocals strong and his presence fighting for visibility as most people drool over the guitar solos. He’s eclipsed ZP Theart as far as time in the band is concerned, and he’s a wonderful, commanding frontman. Oh, and we mustn’t forget Gee Anzalone at the back on drums, often displaying superhuman abilities that make me tired just thinking about them.
Just ten tracks are hurled at us tonight, with the only one original from the new album (‘Warp Speed Warriors’) being single ‘Power of The Triforce’, introduced by Herman with a mini lecture about Legend Of Zelda games (neeeeeerrrdddd). It’s a superb track, for sure, but I so would have liked at least one more, specifically ‘Space Marines’, but I don’t get it. What we do get is their new cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Wildest Dreams’, here coupled with ‘My Heart Will Go On’, and whilst they’re probably the shortest tracks it’s a shame that with a shorter set time they didn’t kick them out and do a long original instead. Naturally, they both sound awesome. Throughout the set we are treated to various Sci-Fi and video game graphics on two screens either side of the hall, and when that’s matched with two guitarists on top of oversized video game cabinets that are playing a clip of Bubble Bobble played at ten times its normal speed it all gets a little like the best gaming con ever.
Naturally, they sign off with ‘Through The Fire And The Flames’, which will forever be their signature song that reminds many of Guitar Hero button blisters but is nonetheless a Power Metal anthem that never, ever gets old. Well, unless you’re the poor sod that has to play it every night, I suppose. Either way, the crowd goes predictably apeshit. Whilst both headliners were Power Metal bands, they have been different enough from each other to give a wonderful experience regardless of which are your favourite, and there’s shiny, happy people everywhere.
Review: Alan Holloway
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