KAMELOT / MYRATH / ELEINE / LEAGUE OF DISTORTION (Live)

KAMELOT (Live at L'Elysée Montmartre, Paris, France, March 15, 2023) — Photo: Séverine Peraldino

The evening in Paris was once again not particularly charming, the fault of the government not reacting to the continuous strikes of the last weeks, with piles of uncollected bins littering the pavement on every street corner and underground entrance. Still, the Elysée Montmartre was almost full for the four bands of the Awaken The World Tour: League Of Distortion, a brand new band hailing from Germany, Eleine and their Swedish Dark Symphonic Metal, Myrath the kings of Desert Blazing Metal and Kamelot the heavyweight of Symphonic Melodic Metal. Despite the rebellious atmosphere in the streets, the venue remains a sight with its old wooden floor and Art Nouveau ornamentations. Unfortunately, the sound quality was disappointing: deafening bass and drums drowning the guitars and vocals (low notes merely inaudible, slightly better on higher notes but making it difficult to catch any nuances.) Sadly, this only grew worse throughout the evening.

League Of Distortion

Most of the audience was still queuing outside when League Of Distortion started their set focused on their first and only album so far. With a big smile on her face and impeccable French, the singer Anna Brunner, alternated between sweet and aggressive vocals on their new songs, such as the catchy “Rebel By Choice”. With unwavering energy, the band started the first sing-alongs of the night. For the novices, however, these were not the best conditions to discover their music.

Eleine

Eleine was next up on the stage, but still with Kamelot’s decor wrapped up, so they only had a minimalistic show. Despite the larger audience, the sound quality did not improve and it was difficult to properly hear Madeleine Lijestam’s usually lovely melodies. Growls were slightly better on their hit “All Shall Burn.” You could only regret they did not choose an acoustic rendition of this title, which sounds all the more majestic unplugged. The band dedicated their new title “We Are Legion” to their fans before concluding with “Death Incarnate.”

Myrath

Usually keen on inventive, fiery and magical staging Myrath’s performance seemed a bit drab, compared with what you can see for instance on their Live In Carthage from 2019. Luckily they had the best sound of the evening (it was not perfect far from it.)Both Malek Ben Arbia on guitars and the singer Zaher Zorgatti proved that Myrath is currently one of the most accomplished bands. Amidst their now classic “Born To Survive” and “Dance” the new song “Child Of Prophecy” sounded promising. The new album is planned for September 2023 with hopefully the chance to see them headlining the tour.

Kamelot

Finally unveiling the decors hidden, Kamelot started their set with their talented guest singer Melissa Bonny. Even if they cannot help but rely on samples for the symphonic effects, bringing on tour another singer was a splendid idea. Melissa’s more aggressive melodic lines remained powerful amidst the otherwise poor sound. Tommy Karevik is one of the best singers in Symphonic Metal with an impressive range but it was difficult to pick out his vocals amidst the rest of the distortion. Most of what makes Kamelot’s true musical identity was thus lost for this evening. Still making the best of the situation, the audience took all the chances to sing along to the memorable choruses. “New Babylon” from the brand new album, not yet released on the night of the show, was highly praised. Along with new songs, the band also brought back the old ballad “Song For Jolee.” With Melissa, perhaps “The Haunting” would have been a better choice.

The time of their set flew quickly with the drum solo, usual woah woah singing games and longish speeches (another song would have been appreciated instead of the neverending band presentation) and it was soon the encores. The audience acclaimed Tommy as he brandished the French Flag for their new title “One More Flag In The Ground.” Liar Liar” concluded the evening with a last boost of energy, but before long everyone had to rush out to catch the last trains.
While all the bands played with energy and dedication, the poor sound quality marred the evening.