The undisputed kings of epic metal return to London to unleash ‘Armageddon‘, gracing the intimate environment of The Underworld Camden.
[date]3rd October 2016[/date]
[venue]The Underworld Camden[/venue]
[city]London, UK[/city]
[support_bands]Heidevolk, Finsterforst[/support_bands]
Back when I was first listening to Equilibrium, a live show was nearly as rare as a solar eclipse. Now the band have broken into European metal as one of the most acclaimed artists in the scene, they are playing live a lot more these days, ensuring London is always included on the tour sheet. It’s a sign that the band are really gaining some success, and their live shows have always justified an increasing rise in popularity.
Tonight the German epic metallers sound can barely be contained in the small capacity venue of The Underworld, heartwarmingly filled to the brim with those UK fans paying homage to the genre-defining quintet. Fist rise in the air as the intro of ‘Sehnsucht‘ triumphantly blares through the PA, before all hell breaks loose in the crushing riffs of ‘Erwachen‘.
While Equilibrium play some serious metal, the band certainly know how to make good fun of it when performing it live. Stage and fan energy is rampant in the tracks of ‘Waldschrein‘ and the older ‘Blut im Auge‘, while frontman Robse manages to emit a fierce gaze that hold every person in the venue under his command, getting every voice to sing out the hook of ‘Born To Be Epic‘.
The setlist mainly ran through songs from the previous two albums, the efforts that most fans are very familiar with. As a long time fan, I hoped to hear some more of the back catalogue, but the band did manage to churn off some older tracks such as ‘Unbeseigt‘ and ‘Heimwarts‘.
Whatever the band would have chosen to play though would have been good enough though. The 90 mins the band graced the stage was phenomenal entertainment. Somehow Equilibrium manage to convert their captivating, atmospheric epic metal into a full-blown party on the live stage, and it’s those smaller venues that only enhance the intimacies and feel of the music. Great stuff all around.
