LIVE FROM THE PIT: Epica, Amaranthe and Charlotte Wessels

EPICA and AMARANTHE join forces to bring their brand of vocal focused symphonic metal to the crowd.

Although the tour was a co-headline, the audience was still treated to a support act. CHARLOTTE WESSELS brought her new solo project to open the show. Unfortunately, the set did not feature a live drummer due to injury, so instead the band utilised the drum tracks from the studio recordings. Luckily, this did not hinder any enjoyment by the crowd. Most of the tracks of the short set came from the most recent CHARLOTTE WESSELS album The Obsession and showcased why the songs work in a live setting. The lighting and stage craft for the opening act were beautiful and WESSELS’ vocals were complimented by it, as it highlighted the theatrical nature of the music. It was an overall great set that helped to set the mood for the rest of the night.

Next was the first of the headliners, AMARANTHE. Having three vocalists is unusual within metal yet this feature defines the sound of the band for more than a decade now. Unfortunately, the mixing at some points during the set made the power of the vocals muted due to being too low relative to everything else happening on stage. Luckily for most of the set this was not an issue. The use of three vocalists did make the band at times come across a little bit euro-popish with how cinematic their music was. The crowd unfortunately was largely subdued for the set as the audience was a peculiar mix with many of which not seeming like traditional metal concert goers. However, this did not mean they did not enjoy the set, as every song was received with rapturous applause. There was of course typical headbanging and horns raised to the sky but unfortunately no moshing. 

The band seemed at ease on stage as everything was tightly rehearsed and created a cohesive vision for the band. Unusually for the first headline of the night, AMARANTHE included an encore which they did fairly naturally. Their set included eighteen tracks which, compared to EPICA’s set of thirteen tracks, was significantly longer. However, in the moment of the gig this was not noticed. The set was built on a variety of their material with a significant amount coming from their album Manifest, despite the staging featuring artwork from The Catalyst. Luckily, the set was paced in such a way to make sure every track flowed well. The set was overall fun, but would likely be more enjoyable in a more lively crowd.

EPICA were a beautiful band live. They knew how to stage themselves and understood how to work with lighting instead of against it. The set opened with a short video asking people to live in the moment and to not use phones. Even this video was stylised for the concert, almost too stylised as people still used their phones during the set. From the moment EPICA started their performance they commanded attention. Their use of darkness in their staging helped to use the lighting to punctuate songs, making them feel ever more powerful. The use of screens was not just a typical video package, instead they used it with darkness to create shaped video which in some moments helped to create the illusion of a fully new backdrop. 

One of the stand out performers of the band was the keyboardist COEN JANSSEN. His touring rig featured a moveable keyboard and a wearable one, which he used to show off his true showmanship. JANSSEN used the moveable keyboard whenever he had a chance to spin it and ride it around while playing it. It was an unusual sight within a metal gig. The whole band formed almost an orchestra with the intricate song structure. The vocal mixing issues that happened during AMARANTHE’s set were still present but to a much lesser extent. 

EPICA are at the height of their career and show no signs of slowing down. The set was a career spanning mix of tracks with a focus on Aspiral. They seem to be gaining younger and younger fans and carve their place in heavy metal history.

Words: Will Freeman

Photos: Claire Cabanac