Being heavier than the usual gigs I attend, I wasn’t sure what this was going to turn out like. But damn, the bands and the Rescue Rooms didn’t let me down!
Starting the night was Finnish glam metal band Santa Cruz. This band impressed me quite a lot with the vocalist’s large and high vocal range and the guitar solos. The majority of the songs played were from their self-titled album released earlier this month.
Next up was Engel from Sweden, whose first song made me think it was going to be a drag waiting for them to be over. However once the mixing had been fixed it was better, though I felt like they milked the crowd for applause too much. Having listened to their music afterwards, I have decided this is one that sounds better recorded.
Now the act everyone was waiting for, Amaranthe, who are notable for having three dedicated vocalists each representing a different genre (pop, rock and death metal). Building the tension in the room beforehand with a prelude, each member came out in turn assigned prisoner IDs before starting ‘Digital World’. Whilst not being a band I regularly listen to, I couldn’t help but sing along to most of their songs including ‘Hunger’ and ‘Afterlife,’ it just had that feel-good and uplifting vibe. During the show there were technical difficulties (though it may well have been part of the show) but the improvisation throughout was excellent: for the first part the bassist started having a conversation with audience members, poking fun at them and saying the crowd from previous shows were better; and the second part featured a drum solo. For the encore they played four more songs with the final being ‘The Nexus,’ which had the whole room singing the chorus to. The only thing I really missed from this gig was the lack of mosh pits compared to my usual gigs, but overall this was definitely a gig I’m glad I went to.
By Jason Powell
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