On Saturday, March 21, a trio of bands—all featuring female vocalists—performed at Fórum Karlín in Prague. Epica and Amaranthe brought us a spectacular show as part of their joint "Arcane Dimensions" tour. They brought along singer Charlotte Wessels (ex Delain) with band as a supporting act. During the evening, all three ladies showcased three different takes on metal.
Fifteen minutes before the show started, the photographers were ushered inside. The feeling of entering a concert “through the back” was completely new to me. We walked into the hall, which was already quite full. I can’t imagine the stage fright some of the band members must be feeling. Time is running out, and at 6:40 p.m., we’re about to go on!
On stage comes Charlotte Wessels and, together with the microphone stand adorned with colorful flowers, she dominated the stage from the very first song. Her vocals, which many fans may remember from the band Delain, haven’t aged a bit. Unfortunately, the band’s overall sound was a major disappointment. For the most part, only the drums were audible, and the high frequencies were lost in the mix rather than showcasing their strengths. Unfortunately, the tough lot of opening acts is that fans are often as cold as a dog’s nose during this part of the concert. The audience was still getting settled in at that point. And during the first songs, which were well-executed, there wasn’t much movement to be seen. The entire performance concluded with the song “The Exorcism,” in which she demonstrated that she can be not only gentle but also dark.
After the necessary stage setup, the energetic Nordic band, Amaranthe, took the stage. From the very first song, “Fearless,” fans in the front rows were headbanging hard, and more than once I felt strands of hair whipping against my back. “Viral” and “Digital World” followed immediately afterward. And it was clear that nothing was going to stop this concert now. For some reason, fans love the mix of growling, electronic beats, and guitars, and it actually works brilliantly together. The trio of vocalists only reinforces this atmosphere and the cohesion of the whole, as individual passages flow seamlessly into one another and complement each other. This was perfectly demonstrated during the song “Crystalline,” when Elize sat down and, together with Nils, performed a fantastic duet. Amaranthe didn’t forget to give fans a sneak peek at what they have in store for them, and they introduced the single “Chaos Theory” to the Czech fans, which fit perfectly into the setlist. Of course, they didn’t forget their slow dance track “Amaranthine,” during which they managed to get the audience singing along. They closed the setlist with the very energetic song “Drop Dead Cynical,” and I believe many fans left this concert feeling energized and with a great sense of fulfillment.
The star of the evening, Epicamade a truly grand entrance. During the intro, a figure shrouded in a black cloak stepped onto the darkened stage, standing on the raised platform for the drummer and evoking an almost death-like presence. And right from the first songs, they introduced us to their album “Aspiral” from last year. The visuals for the entire concert were complemented by a massive LED wall displaying a succession of different motifs. It really added to the atmosphere of the entire concert and very sensitively complemented the individual songs. For example, during the song “Eye of the Storm,” we could see storm clouds on the LED wall, and the entire stage was shrouded in fog. This stage design really made a great impression on me.
About halfway through the concert, we saw all three singers together on stage, performing the song “Sirens – Of Blood and Water” as a fantastic trio. During “Cry for the Moon,” keyboardist Coen Janssen tried to get the fans to start a mosh pit, but unfortunately, it didn’t go over very well with the crowd. It’s true that the audience is getting older, and this song is already 23 years old… A nice moment of the concert was definitely the birthday wishes for their videographer with the classic “Happy Birthday to You,” which the entire hall joined in on. The end of the show, of course, belonged to energetic and well-known songs, such as “Beyond the Matrix,” which I still remember from my second metal concert ever, nearly ten years ago. The circle is closing, and I’m probably too old for nonsense like standing in the front row. The finale was the song “Aspiral,” which also closes their new album of the same name.
It was a really great evening. The lighting was fantastic, and the lineup of bands worked perfectly all night long. I’m really glad I got to attend such a big concert again. A huge thank you goes out to the bands and the organizers, because without them we’d just be sitting at home, and we wouldn’t have had the fun with friends that I always love to experience.
Photos and report by Vladimír „Toby“ Tobyška