Born to be epic. Not many bands can sum up their entire feeling in a song title. Equilibrium might have some thunderous riffs that might put them in the camps of Death Metal, but their Folk Metal slant has many layers of melodies and symphony that gives them a larger than life feel. They do this without falling into the cheese of Power Metal. If it sounds like a strange mix of genres then we’re almost there. Extreme Folk Metal never sounded so hard hitting and yet larger than life than with Equilibrium. It would stand to reason that their live shows would similarly have this feel in mind. The personality of enlarged but extreme metal climbing a mountain in front of you, but so many bands can’t live up to their albums. First of all, on February 14th, we have Nailed to Obscurity take the stage in London’s O2 Islington Academy. Nailed to Obscurity are a vastly different act. Whilst Equilibrium are extreme with a sense of positive majesty, Nailed to Obscurity are a lot darker. Sure, there’s an atmosphere, yes they’re powerfully scathing, but they’re trying to tear into you. This may put them at slight odds with the evening but their atmosphere is enough to take hold. The musicianship knows when to keep the background chilling and barely aware. We’re left with a band that are trying something entirely their own. The real show-stealer though is the vocals of Raimund Ennenga. The growls are distinct and powerful. Consistent to the music as if delivering the complete message of the band. The music might have its atmosphere of surrounding dread but it is his vocals that chills you. 7 Lord of the Lost, again, are a completely different direction. A lot more akin to the German Industrial Metal that Germany has become known for. Their presence on stage also visibly a lot more done up in make-up and costumes. It picks up a fuss and the drums thundered through the melodic and those deep vocals. Bright lights swept everyone into a rather mild but dance-like Metal. Opening with ‘Lament for the condemned’ seemed to bring a good introduction to what they were and energies were put out there. Most notably in-captured by their guitarist, Pi Stoffers. His energy on stage was invigorating and powerful, the way you’d imagine a vocalist to be. However, we soon understood why. Lord of the Lost’s Chris ‘The Lord’ Harms, their vocalist, took to the mike and said “I can’t”. He had a fever and had been forcing himself to take to the stage the best he could. Lord of the Lost were no more. 5 With that unfortunate revelation it was time to get excited for the epic cheese of the headliner. Symphonics rose and tension built. The neon lights slammed high then faded to dark as the melody brought on the chants of the crowd. Jump, London, jump! ‘Renegades – A Lost Generation’, the tour and their latest album’s namesake broke the silence. The mastery of Equilibrium is their ability to go from powerful punching Death Metal-like brutality into cheesy pop like riffs. There is a feeling of Semargl’s Satanic Pop Metal within them, but their music is more epic. Despite dancing through songs from the latest album with relative raw and tricky energies, the audience were snapping this up in a powerful energy that saw everyone moving as large as they could get life to go. They hadn’t sold out but it felt like it. Equilibrium were much more formed in more classic songs like ‘Walschrein’, ‘Heimat’, ‘Born to Be Epic’ and, by audience request, ‘Wirthaus Gaudi’. The fun of the evening was heightened by songs to sing along to, like the riffs in ‘Born to be Epic’ and the crowd favourite for the encore ‘Blut im Auge’. But topping all this was Equilibrium bringing in guitarist Pi Stoffers to perform with them, perhaps it was their way of getting Lord of the Lost more involved after they had to duck out – who knows. Despite varying musical appeal throughout the night, their energy was completely on point, well-earning them a climax for the evening. Born to be Cheesy, naturally Epic. 8 Equilibrium Facebook: /equilibrium Twitter: @Equilibrium Setlist Here. Lord of the Lost Facebook: /lordofthelost/ Twitter: @LordOfTheLost Bandcamp: /lordofthelost.bandcamp.com/ Setlist here. Nailed to Obscurity Facebook: /nailedtoobscurity/ Twitter: @OfficialNTO Bandcamp: /nailedtoobscurity.bandcamp.com/ Setlist here.