So Fenya and I headed out to see these Dutch headbangers, along with two openers we'd never listened to. Her boyfriend Bobby joined us, dutifully taking notes for the same world music class Fenya had taken two years ago. Each student is required to visit a type of performance they'd bever seen before and then report back, and you could do worse for a power metal show than a band whose lead vocalist also has her masters in women's studies and has done papers on black woman s-f author Octavia Butler.
But first we got to encounter Anneke van Giersbergen. Anneke has been around metal and metal-adjacent acts for years(like Ayreon and The Gathering), and has recorded solo albums under her own name (and also as Agua de Annique) that rock fairly hard, but on this tour she is performing a stripped-down acoustic set.
She covers both her own material, her numerous collaborations and a few favourite covers, but what you need to know about Anneke is a) she has a tremendous voice and b) is completely adorable.
"I wrote this song 19 yeara ago," she said at one point, "which means I'm ... 30?" Pausing for the chuckles from the crowd, she said, "I was very young ... " (She certainly doesn't look the 46 Wikipedia claims she is.)
At one point, she said she wanted to play something a bit more uptempo, knowing a metal outfit was taking the stage immediately after her. Anneke confessed she only had two fast songs in her repertoire: one by Kiss and the other by Dolly Parton. She put the choice to the crowd as was delighted to hear a pronounced preference for The Smoky Mountain Songbird, and was grinning as the crowd of headbangers (and the three of us) joined in for a throaty chorus of "Jolene."
When Finland's Amorphis took the stage, I was pleased to hear a keyboard-heavy intro that bordered on the psychedelic prog rock my friend Dave and his brother exposed me to in my high school years. The crunchy guitars that followed were intricate and non-dissonant, but then lead singer Tomi Joutsen unleashed a deep, resonant and sustained death growl which you felt at least as much as you heard. Now, I like vocals and melody too much to be a fan of this vocal styling, but there is no mistaking its power and energy, especially live, where it had a literally visceral impact.
Astonishingly though, he switched effortlessly to clear baritone singing for the chorus, and Fenya and I shot each other a surprised look. Joutsen is no Andrea Boccelli, but his singing voice is quite solid, connects emotionally to his material and lets him provide his own counterpoint to the growls in his toolkit.
Best of all, they called Anneke back on stage to sing on "Amongst Stars," as she does on their latest album, Queen of Time. It's a brilliant duet in the classic power metal tradition, and van Giersbergen provides the very model of a soaring chorus.
The light will lure youTo lands forged by demiseTo the shores of deathThe blooming meadowsSeduce and intoxicateWith a deceiving scent
Follow the thread of goldDrift on its tideIt's a path of starsRide on the golden streamAnd break the wavesIn a trail of stars
I downloaded the album via Google Play because of this and am enjoying it way more than I anticipated.
At last Delain took the stage, but not without their own challenges. Rhythm guitarist Merel Bechtold left the band amicably in June to do her own thing, and drummer Joey de Boer had visa issues that prevented him coming to North America, so Amorphis drummer Jan Rechberger has been playing for both bands throughout this tour, a stunning display of endurance.
Lead singer Charlotte Wessels is one of Fenya's favourite vocalists, period, which surprises some people, what with Fenya being a self-described vocals snob, but she is the whole package: resonance, projection, energy, range and enough power to push a train.
The Thursday night crowd felt a little small to me, and in truth, I think more people might have come for Amorphis, but that didn't stop Wessels from engaging the crowd and keeping them on their toes, bouncing through high-energy numbers like "Fire with Fire" and "Suckerpunch." Best of all I finally got to hear "Stardust" live for the very first time before Delain wrapped up with the brilliant anti-bullying song "We Are the Others."
There were no encores, but it was a school night so that wasn't a tremendous disappointment for my young companions. For my part, I can't tell you what I enjoyed more: hearing one of my favourite bands live for the third time or discovering two new performers with rich discographies I am keen to explore. All in all, an excellent evening of musical boundary-widening!
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