In February 2026, two popular modern power metal bands joined forces for a joint tour and are touring Europe together. We are talking about the "Pirates & Kings" tour, a collaboration between Visions of Atlantis and Warkings. The special guest of all shows is still young and now newly energized band Induction. I visited two stops at once, on February 14 at the club Hellraiser in Leipzig and February 18 at the club Masters of Rock Café in Zlín.
Both nights were opened by the special guest InductionThis band underwent a rebirth more than a year ago in the form of a new lineup, and they finally released their first album together, "Love Kills." This show consisted entirely of songs from this album, except for one. I have to admit that the new songs work much better live than on the recording. The show in Zlín in particular had excellent sound and lighting, and I enjoyed it very much. They played all their singles, including the latest one, "Strangers To Love", but also some extras, such as the bonus track "Gods of Steel". The finale belonged to the only older song, "Queen of Light".
The order of the next two bands differed, but I'll go by Zlín, where the second band to play was WarkingsThose who are familiar with me know that this is one of my favorite bands, and therefore I am unable to be objective. It was evident that at least half of the audience came primarily to see the powerful kings, who are not unknown in the Czech Republic either, having gained a respectable number of fans after performances at the Masters of Rock and Rock Castle festivals in previous years. From the introduction of the band members at the beginning, through the jokes during the show, to the final song "Gladiator," I had a really great time. I've seen them several times over the past few years, but they always come up with new things and keep the ones that are interesting. New additions included the song "Circle of Witches," sung only by Morgana, and a cover of "Live is Life," which is known by just about everyone. In Zlín, there were even a few Czech words, including the well-known joke about the "Sheisshaus". You can see them again this year at festival Rock Castle.
The event concluded with a proper pirate party with Visions of AtlantisThey played a lot of popular songs from their last two pirate albums. They alternated faster songs like "Clocks," "Legion of the Seas," and "Hellfire" with slower ones like the only older song, "Heroes of the Dawn," and "Underwater." About halfway through the final band's set, we witnessed a joint song created especially for this tour, "Pirates & Kings." At the end of the set, they added the iconic song from their latest album, "Armada", "Master the Hurricane," and the finale belonged to what is probably my favorite song, "Melancholy Angel." If you want to enjoy them even more, come to the festival. Masters of Rock, where they will perform accompanied by an orchestra.
Comparing these two concerts, Zlín comes out on top. I felt that the sound and lighting were better throughout the evening. And, of course, I enjoyed it more in the company of my good friends. This is music that I will probably never stop listening to, especially live, and I would gladly go again.
Bellow you can find some videos taken in Zlín and Leipzig.
Were you there with us? How did you enjoy this evening?
Photos taken in Zlín by Vasilis Tiropolis (you can find more on website: https://www.xp-spot.com/index.php/gallery)
Report by Kerry Lynx