Amaranthe have barely taken a toe off the gas pedal since the band’s inception in 2010. They have toured relentlessly in support of each of the previous two albums, and even in that heavy touring cycle somehow they have managed to pump out a third album only a year after the release of the acclaimed ‘The Nexus‘. So here they are in London, yet again driving forward in support of their brand new opus, ‘Massive Addictive‘ throwing their solidifying electro-metal sound at the hordes of UK fans that have appeared tonight. Amaranthe’s hard work has won the popularity of a UK audience tonight, a tough nut to crack, and just how do they embrace their popularity on the stage tonight at the o2 Academy Islington?

SANTA CRUZ

Amaranthe have brought a couple friends with them tonight, and first up is Finnish hard rock / metallers Santa Cruz. I had never heard of the band before, not even once, and was very unsure what to expect. Of course first impressions are always of a high magnitude in metal, and the quartet appear on stage as if they were a pub cover band of Guns & Roses and Skid Row. This was what the audience was expecting, a mid-tempo hard rock band with the standard influence of 80’s glam and LA based hard rock bands, but as soon as the band kicked off it was quite evident Santa Cruz are on a mission to redefine the classic hard rock sound for the 21st century.

Unfortunately I did not catch any song titles from the band, but the sound was an impressive cocktail of hard rock, Finnish melancholic metal and hints of power metal. The mix of the show was excellent, with each of the guitars sharp-leads resonating well through the venue and demonstrating the full technical prowess of the clearly talented musicians. While the performance and musicianship was exceptional, at times one couldn’t help think that the band are struggling in direction for how they want their sound to be defined with the songs not being quite as captivating as the stadium anthem sound Santa Cruz seem to strive for, but it’s the start of their full-on professional career, and we have no doubt they can go on to do big things!

Applause gentlemen, it was very enjoyable!

ENGEL

Second up were industry veterans Engel, bringing a more typical Swedish sound into London with their standard mix of industrial and Gothenburg metal. What baffles me about Engel is that the band’s mainman and guitarist, Niclas Engelin does not seem to actually play with the band these days, and definitely was not present tonight for the performance. It sort of set the scene for tonight’s performance, troops heading into battle without their General.

So here we go. In support of their latest album ‘Raven Kings‘, the band kick into gear with the full-on opening track, ‘Salvation‘. The first notable trait of this performance tonight was that the sound was absolutely epic. The guitars were punishing, the kick drums were pounding and the backing tracks were subtle enough to provide atmosphere to each of the songs without completely overshadowing the instruments actually being played. I would like to extend my kudos to whoever was in charge of the mixing board this evening, but now on to the rest of the performance.

As the band continued with ‘Your Shadow Haunts You‘, the performance became more and more apparent that something was missing as the band seemed mildly uncomfortable despite the great sound that was coming through the speakers. The band members were a bit stiff, and vocalist Mikael Sehlin was left to try and work something up of the sound that audience members who didn’t know the band were already starting to notice was very similar to ‘Soundtrack to Your Escape‘-era In Flames. The audience was losing interest, including myself, with the first half of the setlist being tracks from less than reputable albums, and the discovery that the second guitar usually performed by Niclas Englin was part of the backing track – something I always feel is a bit of a disappointment in metal music when standard instruments are in the backing track.

However finally the band got into more comfortable territory when they began to play more classic Engel tracks with ‘Six Feet Deep‘ and ‘Burn’. The band definitely should have populated their setlist with more tracks from ‘Absolute Design‘ and ‘Threnody‘ as audience response became phenomenal. Despite the missing instrument in the second guitar the band loosened up and took full advantage of the phenomenal sound that they were pumping through the venue. Heads were banging and people were moving laying aside the questioning of Engel’s likeness to In Flames, and wrapped up a more enjoyable performance with my personal Engel favourite ‘Until Eternity Ends‘. The band served a perfect precursor the new wave Gothenburg sound to come in Amaranthe.

AMARANTHE

It was time for the headline performance of the evening, and witness what one of the hottest properties in metal now have to offer on stage. Expectation has been increasing with their popularity, and pressure was on to relay to UK fans that the band are in it to win it.

The Gothenburg sextet entered the stage gracefully and kicked off ‘Digital World‘ a neckbreaker of a track to storm the room with, and instantly make use of the three vocalist with each having a part in the track in quick succession. The live issue with Amaranthe is apparently almost immediately however, is managing 3 vocalists on stage, as often two of them find themselves doing absolutely nothing.

As the band progress into their first hit ‘Hunger‘, the energy starts to come alive and kicks the audience into gear. Desipite initial sound issues with the vocals they are quickly rectified to produce an excellent mix of vocal harmonies and death growling, and moving strait into ‘Invincible‘, the band tonight are clearly here to treat UK fans to a setlist that equally varies their back catalogue and not just focus on tracks from their latest album ‘Massive Addictive‘.

While so many of Amaranthe’s tracks have catchy vocal lines and fast rhythms, the bread and butter of an energetic performance, the band just seemed particulary lacking tonight is beginning to hint the sign of a burnout. As aforementioned that band just have not stopped since it’s inception, and that pure energy from the music that the band could feed off of appeared to be a bit of a choregraphed routine tonight.

In retrospect to that however, the execution of the music tonight was flawless. Despite each song being very backing track heavy, everybody in the band knew their part and played to absolute perfection. Guitarist Olof Morck proved an anchor point of the band as he chugged away at the rhythms and shredded on those fast leads, whilst drummer Morten Løwe Sørensen propelling the complicated drumwork with clinical precision. Tracks such as ‘Serendipity‘ and ‘Trinity‘ really showed off the musicianship and definitely underlined why the band are heading to such success.

Amaranthe continued to demonstrate their range with the techno-infused ‘Electroheart‘, the explosive ‘Afterlife‘ and the sweet and solemn ‘Amaranthine‘. It seemes that the band have has every intention tonight to captivate us with their impressive range of tracks throughout their career and show off the new sound of Gothenburg, but what was exceptional in musical excecution was lacking in performance.

The band just seemed a bit tired, and who can blame them. Apart from vocalist Elize Ryd is involved in a vast number of projects on top of the hectic schedule of the band, as with guitarist Olof Morck. The band did however but that spontaneous passion and energy of old into their final track of the evening ‘The Nexus‘, it is clear it is still within Amaranthe’s capilities to pull off a full captivating performance. It wasn’t quite there tonight, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a nice little break post their European tour!

We will look forward to when Amaranthe returns to the UK!