Carlsberg doesn’t do symphonic metal gigs, but if they did, then chances are that they would feature several bands on the enviable Napalm Records roster, probably the best symphonic metal roster in the world.

Tonight’s gig comes as one of only two UK gigs by the multinational metal veterans Kamelot, and comes hot on the heels of two self-curated mini-festival dates in Tilburg, the Netherlands, where the band headlined successive nights at their very own weekender, dubbed Kamfest (“A gathering where symphonic metal, theatrical production, and dark atmosphere collide…”). Two nights with three different supporting acts each night, of which, Temperance and Exit Eden, made the crossing across the channel to continue the Dark Asylum Tour that runs until November 22nd in Madrid.

Hugely experienced Italian maestros Temperance are first out of the traps, and with New York powerhouse vocalist Kristin Starkey joining the ranks in 2023, the band are on one hell of a run, after a lot of naysayers wrote them off with the departure of Alessia Scolletti a few months prior to Starkey joining. The band also swapped drummers, with Marco Sacchetto joining at the same time as Starkey, and in all honesty, the band has never sounded better.

Last in the UK in 2024 to promote the impeccable Hermitage – Daruma’s Eyes Pt 2, the five-piece not only matched that album with their new release Arcani, but surpassed those heights. And as you would expect, Arcani makes up the lion’s share of the well-received set. A short set by their normal headliner standards, but one performed as if their lives depended on it.

You will be hard-pressed to find a band clearly having as much onstage as Temperance, and the chemistry between the three lead vocalists, Starkey, Michele Guaitoli, and Marco Pastorino, is there for all to see. Constantly joking around, they realise they have captured lightning in a bottle with Starkey, and any perceived pressure is off.

The contralto’s prowess is front and centre for a trip back in time for a blast through “Of Jupiter and Moons”, before a triple-hit from Arcani with “The Devil: Sin, Sin, Sin”, “The Fool”, and an insanely strong version of “The Tower: Lean into Fear”. The latter is the set’s highlight. All Starkey; it’s less symphonic or power metal and more full-on classic heavy rock, with a lengthy scream from Starkey to kick shit off. Guaitoli straps on a Les Paul to add weight to the sound, which is already hella beefy thanks to the band’s backbone: bassist Luca Negro and his partner in crime, Marco Sacchetto. One of Temperance’s strongest songs, already powerful on the album, takes on new ferocity live.

The set could have ended there, and this reviewer would not have grumbled, but there is another 15 minutes to follow, with the OTT “Daruma” (that triple vocal intro is goddam lush) bringing the set to a stunning conclusion. Expect headlining dates to be announced after this jaunt with Kamelot ends. It’s inevitable, as somehow, after slogging their guts out since 2013, Temperance are only just getting started.

After 15 months of radio silence, in October 2023, the Exit Eden social media pages spluttered back into action with a bit of a good news/bad news situation. The good news was that the band were gearing up for the long-awaited follow-up to 2017’s debut album Rhapsodies in Black, but the bad (although very understandable) news was that Amanda Somerville would no longer be part of the band, as she was taking a step back to raise her daughters. Sadly, in the last few months, it has emerged that the Trillium leader, ex-Avantasia live vocalist, and collaborator with Helloween’s Michael Kiske on the Kiske/Somerville project has an inoperable, malignant, and aggressive brain tumour and is in the fight of her life. If well wishes and support count for anything, then one of the best vocalists on the planet has both in abundance. We keep her in our thoughts and wish her well.

The three remaining vocalists, Anna Brunner, Clémentine Delauney, and Marina La Torraca, announced that Exit Eden would continue as a trio. 24 hours later, they teased “Run!”, the first single from the forthcoming album Femmes Fatales, and all of a sudden, what once seemed improbable became real. A tour, though? With UK dates? Surely not. But, almost three years to the day of that “Run!” teaser, Exit Eden are onstage. In Manchester. Inconceivable.

With Marina La Torraca recently joining Battle Beast, her place on this tour is taken by Moonlight Haze vocalist Chiara Tricarico, who, in a killer game of six degrees of separation, was a member of Temperance during the formative years and performed on their first three albums. And keeping it in the family, Temperance drummer Marco Sacchetto is pulling a double shift by also drumming with Exit Eden, and Michele Guaitoli appears midway through the set in the role of guest vocalist, performing Marko Hietala’s parts in “Run!” That famous Charlie Day whiteboard meme from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia springs to mind.

With a perfect blend of cover versions of famous songs done in a symphonic style and original material from Femmes Fatales, the set more than lived up to the anticipation built up by those who have been waiting for live Exit Eden shows since day one. With each vocalist having other commitments (Brunner with League of Distortion, Delauney with Visions of Atlantis and Serenity), it is always going to be a logistical nightmare to repeat this, so the performers are grabbing the chance with both hands. The sound of three powerful vocalists working in unison is staggering to witness, and once they settle into a killer version of Journey’s “Separate Ways”, they are having a blast, constantly swapping centre stage.

One of the highlights from the Femmes Fatales album, and recommended by no less than Bruce Dickinson, is a gorgeous version of “Désenchantée” with Clémentine Delauney in the spotlight, singing in her native French. The standout song on the album, and, along with “Run!”, one of the standout moments of the set. As previously mentioned, the latter has Michele Guaitoli guesting on vocals, and the only thing better than having three stellar live vocalists is having four. Such great fun, and that is what the set is all about – fun. Huge audience singalongs from those perhaps unfamiliar with Exit Eden, on covers of songs that you might not normally hear, mixed with strong original material. Having dipped their toes in the water with these dates, hopefully it won’t be another nine years before Exit Eden makes a return.

Having already been on the road since the release of Dark Asylum in late August, Kamelot have built up a head of steam, with the new songs road-tested and sounding larger than life. It helps that the guest vocalists involved with the studio recordings are also out on the road, and it’s the album opener “Ashen World” that the band turns to to launch the set. With a stage production that lives up to the “dark” in Dark Asylum, the guttural growls from Ignacia Fernández come roaring out of the banks of red lights to go toe-to-toe with Kamelot vocalist Tommy Karevik. Great back-and-forth from the two amidst huge plumes of smoke and two contrasting vocal deliveries that complement the other.

Coaching some audience participation out of the front few rows during “The Great Pandemonium” (which has Oliver Palotai breaking out the keytar), Karevik is in stunning form and has to be the owner of the cleanest male vocals in metal. Destined for a career on Broadway when he hangs up his metal boots, he is the complete package; very humble without any hint of lead singer syndrome, he doesn’t even curse – going with “fricking” instead. Almost as if he is in training for that call once Broadway needs a new P.T. Barnum for The Greatest Showman. For now, though, he fronts a badass metal band and has just delivered the strongest Kamelot album of the post Roy Khan-era.

After a powerful version of “Rule the World”, Fernández reappears to deliver her growls on an early airing of “Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)”, which actually closed the show last time in this same venue back in 2024. Clémentine Delauney joins in with her usual show-stealing clean vocals, and watching her, alongside Karevik and Fernández, is a genuine thrill. One of the best songs of Karevik’s reign (16M YouTube views and counting), it is the direction in which you point anyone unfamiliar with the band, wanting to know what Kamelot are all about. Behind his huge drum kit, Alex Landenburg is playing out of his skin, and the partnership he has with bassist Sean Tibbetts (one of the most entertaining bassists to watch live) is special.

Delauney pops up on a full-on version of “Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)” that forms part of a huge second half with “Dark Asylum”, “Ivy, My Dear”, “One More Flag in the Ground”, “Sanctuary” (Thomas Youngblood kills his guitar solo on this one, as he does all night), and “Veil of Elysium” all being dispatched before the closing pair of “March of Mephisto” and “Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)”. “Sanctuary” has grown wings since it first appeared as one of Dark Asylum‘s singles. So hooky, it digs its claws in and simply refuses to let go. Having both Delauney and Fernández on hand to reprise their roles is the icing on what is a delicious, Michelin-starred symphonic metal cake. Miss this tour at your peril.

All remaining tour dates can be found here.

Review – Dave

All images by Angie at Skull Lens Photography, reproduced with kind permission.