Kamelot / O2 Ritz / Manchester

Nov 6

Nov 6 Kamelot / O2 Ritz / Manchester

A trip over the Pennines to the O2 Ritz in Manchester to catch Kamelot on their ‘Dark Asylum World Tour’. A stacked line up, this promises to be a killer of a night.

First up on stage in support are Italian power metal band Temperance. Fusing heavy guitars, metal riffs, electronic tracks and elements of folk music into a magnificent melodic, and powerful sound. They released their debut album, the self-titled “Temperance” in 2014, and their eighth and most recent, “Arcani” earlier this year. Temperance are Marco Pastorino (vocals and guitar), Luca Negro (bass), Michele Guaitoli (vocals and keyboards), Kristin Starkey (vocals) and Marco Sacchetto (drums).

There’s a sizable crowd in early doors to catch Temperance, and from the performance they delivered tonight, it’s hard to see how they are headliners in a venue like this ! Opening the night with The Magician: Into The Fire, it drew a huge reaction from the Manchester crowd. As you would perhaps expect, the majority of the set focused on the latest album “Arcani” with tracks like The Tower: Lean Into Fear and The Fool going down a treat. The highlight form the new album had to be the soaring The Devil: Sin, Sin, Sin which really showcased the dual vocals to perfection.

They closed their all too short set with Daruma from 2023’s “Hermitage Daruma’s EyesPt.2” which is packed with theatrical swagger aplenty.

An introduction to the evenings proceedings unlike any other, and I look forward to seeing them again real soon.

Setlist

The Magician: Into the Fire

Of Jupiter and Moons

The Devil: Sin, Sin, Sin

The Fool

The Tower: Lean Into Fear

The Last Hope in a World of Hopes

Pure Life Unfolds

Daruma

Next up are US symphonic metal band Exit Eden. Formed in 2017 by three vocalists -

Anna Brunner, Clémentine Delauney and Marina La Torraca. Exit Eden perform a mix of their own original material and cover versions of well known rock and pop songs and have released two albums 2017’s “Rhapsodies in Black”and 2024’s “Femmes Fatales”. Unfortunately Marina La Torraca wasn’t able to join this tour because of clashing commitmets with Battle Beast, but her replacement on this tour Chiara Tricarico was impressive.

Surprisingly this is Exit Eden’s first full tour and that sense of excitement and anticipation flowed from band to audience. They made an instant impression on the crowd with set opener Femme Fatale. What a statement this was…. It was immense and the orchestral tones filled the whole auditorium, the vocals soaring to the rafters. They followed this with a fantastic cover of Journey’s Separate Ways before delivering another original track in the form of Dying In My Dreams which sounded immense and had a kind of Evanescence vibe to it.

Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi from 2017’s “Rhapsodies in Black” received a fantastic reaction, with some immense power riffs adding a new dimension to the pop classic. For me the highlight had to be the wonderful Run! Where Temperance’s Michele Guaitoli returned to the stage. With a real swashbuckling attitude it hits like a highwayman galloping down the road escaping the king’s men. The chorus is anthemic and has the crowd bouncing along.

As the set drew to a close we enjoy a fun cover of the Pet Shop Boys classic hit It's a Sin.

Exit Eden are a real treat live, and perform with a real sense of joy. A real find !

Setlist

Femme Fatale

Separate Ways (Journey cover)

Dying in My Dreams

Désenchantée (Mylène Farmer cover)

Paparazzi (Lady Gaga cover)

Run! (with Michele Guaitoli)

Buried in the Past

It's a Sin (Pet Shop Boys cover)

Impossible (Shontelle cover)

With such a packed line up, the time just flies by, and before you know it, the crew are out transforming the set ready for tonight’s headliners American powermetal titans Kamelot. Formed in 2017 by Thomas Youngblood. They released their debut album “Eternity” in 1995 and their most recent, “Dark Asylum” this year.

The band currently consists of Thomas Youngblood (guitar), Oliver Palotai (keyboards), Sean Tibbetts (bass), Tommy Karevik (vocals) and Alex Landenburg (drums).

The lights dim and the smoke swirls. Blue light hightlight the stage, set out like a palace hall, with centre stage being a throne flanked by ravens on pillars as they rip in to ashen World from 2026’s “Dark Asylum”. There’s no respite – it hits hard with soaring and powerful riffs, grand melodies and heavy rhythms which all combine to create the stage on which Tommy Karevik’s vocals launch out into the crowd.

The pace is relentless, and Kamelot are masters of their craft, filling every corner of the hall with immense power. The set slows for a mesmerising rendition of the ballad Ivy, My Dear from the latest album. The track has a kind of Celtic string/whistle sound running through it, and is packed with medieval flair. It flows like a stream through the crowd. Stunning stuff. The power returns with tracks like Nocte Veritas and the set closer Veil of Elysium.

They return to the stage for a three song encore, ending on Sanctum Requiem from the new album. With it’s delicate piano intro, it weaves and dances round the room. It grows and build, to an orchestral peak, like a movie soundtrack, before suddenly dropping down to simple piano again.

Kamelot are certainly masters of their power metal craft, and delivered a theatrical performance for the ages. A night to remember !

Setlist

Ashen World

The Great Pandemonium

Rule the World

Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)

Godlike Alchemy

Karma

Revolution

Nocte Veritas

Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)

⁠Dark Asylum