PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
@Planetmosh reviews @AtrocityPage @Pythia_Tweets and @Leaves_Eyes Nottingham gig.
Tonight was a gig I’d been looking forward to since the tour was first announced. I’ve seen Leaves Eyes and Pythia plenty of times and like both bands, but having never seen Atrocity before then they were the most exciting part of the lineup for me.
Atrocity and Leaves Eyes are pretty much the same band, but with very different sounds. Liv Kristine doesnt sing in Atrocity, just Alexander Krull, and apart from that the only change is that they have different drummers. Okay I know Liv does sing on some of their songs on the albums but as a guest singer – in the live shows (certainly on this tour) she doesn’t participate. Atrocity are a lot heavier than Leaves Eyes (the fact that Alex does the growls during Leaves Eyes songs should give you an idea what to expect), and tonight are the opening act.
I only started to listen to Atrocity a few months ago when I picked up a few of their albums at the Napalm stand at Metal Female Voices Fest and really enjoyed the albums, so tonight I was expecting good things, and I certainly wasnt disappointed. With a set list including several songs from the latest album (Okkult) and some older favourites this was a great set (just not long enough for my liking). Alexander Krull is an imposing figure as he towers over the crowd, and as he starts headbanging his waist-length hair there’s hair everywhere and when he flicks it up over his head he grows to around 9 foot tall. Musically this is best described as Death Metal – particularly the newer songs, and they sound fantastic tonight as they put in a great performance. I’d wondered how they’d go down with the crowd being so much heavier than Leaves Eyes, but any doubts were soon laid to rest – the large crowd who arrived early to see them was a good sign and the fact the crowd enjoyed their set confirmed that the two bands while being very different can appeal to the same fans.
While most bands encourage some audience particpation – waving arms, singing along etc, Alex takes things a step further and gets two female volunteers from the crowd to come on stage and dance during one of the songs.
A great performance from Atrocity, and I’d certainly like to see them again – ideally doing a headline show so they can play for longer.
Atrocity setlist:
Pandaemonium
Haunted by demons
Fatal step
March of the undying
Satans braut
Death by metal
Reich of phenomena
Outro
Next up were British band Pythia, a band I’ve seen many times before. Tonight though they had something new – some songs from their long awaited third album which is due out sometime later this year (no date set yet). It’s also one of their first shows since guitarist Tim Neale left to join Mortad and was replaced by Motherload guitarist Oz Wright (who remains in Motherload as well as in Pythia).
They’re in great form tonight and sound tight musically. The old songs – “Betray my heart” and “Army of the damned” go down best, as those are the ones that people know. The new songs sounded very good too, but as this was my first time hearing them then I’d like to hear them more before commenting too much. Pythia go down very well with the crowd and put in a great performance.
Pythia setlist:
The king’s ruin
Betray my heart
Sword of destiny
Army of the damned
The key
Bring me home
Heartless
Finally it was time for the headliner – Leaves Eyes. They opened with Galswintha, the first of five songs from their new album, Symphonies of the night. As Alex only sings on some of the songs he comes on stage for those songs he’s involved in before disappearing backstage ready to re-emerge when needed. In contrast to his deep growls, Liv has a beautiful voice with a semi-operatic quality which she uses for the clean vocals in the songs. As well as the new songs we also get some fan favourites including their cover of Mike Oldfield’s “To France” as well as songs from earlier Leaves Eyes albums including “My destiny” and “Elegy”. It’s a great set and both Liv and Alex do a great job at getting the crowd involved. Despite the fact it’s a fairly small stage and venue, Sander and Thorsten, the two guitarists, regularly swap places so they each spend time on both sides of the stage. I last saw the band on a huge stage in front of a large crowd at Metal Female Voices Fest, so tonight is quite a contrast but one thing remains the same – whatever the size of the venue, the band always put in an excellent performance. A great end to a great night of music – three great bands on one bill.
Leaves Eyes setlist:
Galswintha
Take the devil in me
Fading earth
Farewell proud men
Velvet heart
My destiny
Symphony of the night
Spirits masquerade
Melusine
To France
Maid of Lorraine
Elegy
Hell to the heavens
Froyas theme
Outro: Mot fjerne land
