Written by:	D.T. Metal
Published:	May 15, 2018
Event:	Kamelot: North American Tour 2018
Location:	Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO, USA
Galleries:	Kamelot, Delain & Battle Beast - Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO - 1 May 2018 by D.T. Metal (61)

Kamelot's month long trek across the United States (and a bit of Canada) came to an end this past weekend. With opener Battle Beast and direct support Delain in tow, they put together an awesome package. I had the opportunity to catch them all at their Denver stop and let me tell you: the tour just flat out rocked.

I arrived at the venue well ahead of door times since I had an interview scheduled with Battle Beast's newest (2016) guitarist Joona Björkroth (link will follow) and there was already a sizable line of metal heads waiting outside. Kinda surprising since the Denver show was during the week and unless it's a super popular bigger band, I don't see this kind of devoting.

While I have seen Kamelot plenty of times over the years, the last time I have seen them in this particular venue (Ogden Theatre) was when the band supported Nightwish. I guess in hindsight I witnessed something that night in September 2012 which is known as the "Denver Debacle" and long story short; Anette Olzon became sick and went to the hospital - Kamelot's back-up singers Elize Ryd and Alissa White-Gluz saved the gig by performing (with lyric sheets in hand nevertheless) alongside the audience. What a night! Seriously, google it and at times it is hilarious that the fans know the lyrics from heart while Elize and Alissa needed to look at their sheets.

Anyhoo, Kamelot was back in Denver and while I do dig some of their stuff, my main interest that night was Finland's Battle Beast. Thankfully their set started an hour after the doors opened and most, if not all people who stood in line made it into the venue to see them perform.






I said it a couple times already, and without taking anything away from all the lovely women - there are female fronted bands and then there is Battle Beast! Noora is a fricking beast not only in the vocal department but in her overall stage presence as well.

The band opened their set with "Straight To The Heart" followed by "Bringer Of Pain", both off their latest album Bringer Of Pain. Most of the audience was jumping up and down during "Familiar Hell" and it clearly showed that everyone had an awesome time.

Battle Beast toured North America last year in support of Sabaton and I guess they made tons of fans during that outing. It was actually rather refreshing to see the audience sing along with the band especially since the Finn's are only on their second tour over here. With only 40 minutes to play they of course had to pick and choose which songs to include into their set-list and most songs were from their latest release. Not complaining here, but it would have been nice to hear some material off their 2011 debut album Steel as well; maybe next time.

I heard opinions that the band feels stagnant ever since songwriter and guitarist Anton Kabanen left in 2015, but I really can't concur with this; for me it's still the same energetic Battle Beast. Anton's replacement Joona is no slouch on the guitar and brings that little bit of extra to the band's stage performance.





The changeover to Delain was actually rather short (15 min. or so) and after coming out of the photo-pit there was still a line going to Battle Beast's merch table where Noora greeted each and every fan while taking pictures and signing memorabilia. Very nice and very much appreciated by all. It also helped that those in line still could watch Charlotte and Co on stage while waiting to see Noora.

Set-list: Straight To The Heart, Bringer Of Pain, Familiar Hell, Black Ninja, Lost In Wars, Touch In The Night, Bastard Son Of Odin, King For A Day, Beyond The Burning Skies






Delain, a band I had seen plenty of times, but I can honestly say I have NEVER seen them without a bassist. Yap, Otto was noticeably missing but this didn't deter the band from laying down a great performance. I have to say, the amount of people wearing Delain shirts was almost as much as those wearing Kamelot garb.

Charlotte is always a treat to watch and this night was no different. Just like Noora she interacts with her fans tremendously while on stage and this fact did not go unnoticed with the folks in the front row.

Just as Battle Beast, Delain played mostly songs off their last album; 2016's Moonbathers, and the rest were from We Are The Others. I don't know why the band didn't mix it up a little bit since it's not that they necessarily toured in support of their latest release, but maybe since Otto wasn't there they had to pick and choose which tracks would be easier to pipe the bass in to. Who knows.





After the first three songs Delain slowed it down a bit with "The Hurricane" which really showcased Charlotte's vocal abilities, before going all out again with "Get The Devil Out Of Me" and of course the closer for the evening "We Are The Others".

All in all it was a great show and for some reason it seemed that the room cleared a bit before headliner Kamelot took the stage; but it also could have been that folks moved closer together.

Set-list: Hands Of Gold, Suckerpunch, The Glory And The Scum, The Hurricane, Danse Macabre, Get The Devil Out Of Me, Fire With Fire, Mother Machine, Don't Let Go, We Are The Others






Then it was time for the main event of the evening, Kamelot took the stage. Their line-up really hasn't changed over the last couple of years, except for the huge announcement when longtime drummer Casey Grillo decided to leave the band earlier this year. Apparently replacement Jo Nunez couldn't make the already scheduled tour neither and the band tagged Alex Landenburg (Luca Turilli's Rhapsody, CyHra) to sit behind the kit. What a fucking treat.

Backing female vocalist for this tour (no clue if she is a permanent studio and live member ) was Once Human's Lauren Hart. If you are unfamiliar with the band, please check them out; it's the brainchild of ex-Machine Head shredder Logan Mader. I saw them once at the local watering hole and was utterly impressed.

In regards to the often talked about vocalist debate: Roy vs Tommy; I am indifferent on this one. Shit, I have even seen Kamelot fronted by Rhapsody Of Fire/Angra's Fabio Lione before and enjoyed it just as much.

One thing though, Tommy is very fan oriented and spend most of his time kneeling on the front of the stage so he could be closer to his fans. At one point later in the show he even was down on the barriers to be even closer.

As already mentioned Alex was behind the drum kit and did an awesome job to say the least. He really shined during the rather long drum solo. Keyboardist Oliver had the opportunity for a solo as well and on the stage taped set sheet it was listed as: "Oliver Da Man!"

Delain's Charlotte Wessels joined the band onstage for "Sacrimony (Angel Of Afterlife)" and she and Lauren Hart really sounded great during the song.

Granted, the tour started mere 10 days after the band's current album The Shadow Theory was officially released, but it really surprised me that Kamelot only played 3, yes 3 songs off this release. Yap, only "Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)", "RavenLight" and "Amnesiac" made it onto their set-list. Impressive, since most bands include way more tracks on their first outing in support of a new album. But hey, the fans sure enjoyed the older tracks which were played. Shit, even "Forever" from their superb 2001 epos Karma was played. Nice. But then again, I really don't know if I've ever seen a Kamelot show where this song wasn't played.

The band ended their set with an encore of "Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)" off their 2015 album Haven; not bad but I would have preferred the aforementioned "Forever" as an encore. But hey, small potatoes for an absolute stunning show.

I would assume the next time Kamelot comes to town they will play more songs off their latest release but until then one thing is for sure; they gave the fans a lot of material for their money and I bet everyone went home glad that they braved the Denver traffic on a weekday.





Set-list: Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire), Rule The World, Insomnia, The Great Pandemonium, When The Lights Are Down, End Of Innocence, Veil Of Elysium, Here's To The Fall, RavenLight, March Of Mephisto, Amnesiac, Sacrimony (Angel Of Afterlife), Forever, Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)