Dames of Darkness Day Two
Dames of Darkness Day Two @ Robin 2 Bilston (UK)
Sunday 10 May 2015
Curious on what day two would bring (for me: 5 unknown and 2 known bands) I was early at the venue. Just like quite some die-hards. Not all looked that fresh. The doors opened on time. Getting in the sound of the first band could be heard. After some confusion I learned the sound check was still in progress. It looked like others suffered from the night before and had a hard time to get started.
After finishing the sound check and a very short break Edenfall opened day two. Dark doom from Cheltenham. The styling was partly gothic but the music is what you come for. Chiara Webster had some challenges, similar to the sound but both improved during the set. It’s hard to get the crowd moving the second day so early. Although it was a decent set, the real fire on both sides was missing.
Next in line was Insuna. Here the delivery was key during the set. AK led from the front with her raw, passionate vocals and enormous energy and asked for the crowd to join her in a united headbang, to which they were more than happy to join. These guys rock and brought the standard back to the appropriate level. The nice thing of Dames of Darkness is the opportunity that is given to quite unknown local bands to mingle with more well-known bands. Solid riffs, well executed solos, strong vocals with and enthusiastic performance. They clearly enjoyed being on stage.
The following set brought a different style. Finnish classically trained former opera singer Elina Siirala of EnkeliNation definitely knows what Female Fronted means. With an excellent show with her in the front they put the bar on top again. Also the melodic hard-rock was more than good, with awesome riffs of Shadow Venger, nice bass lines of newbie Julia Cadau and lovely melodies and harmonies. Elina has a great voice with a wide reach and she interacted very well with Shadow, often hidden in the shadow of his hair. They were definitely appreciated looking at the feedback of the crowd.
Because of the cancelation of Incassum, Skarlett Riot had an extended set. Scarlet was leading the punk ‘n’ heavy metal band from Scunthorpe from beginning to end with a smile on her face that became bigger and bigger. They bring very catchy songs with really high-speed guitar work. The band burst into life, with a load of riffs, heavy beats and crunchy bass lines. Completely different from the symphonic metal that is main on the menu. It’s good to have a band on stage with such an energy and enthusiasm. Maybe it’s not completely in sync the others but it shakes up the crowd. It was definitely fun to watch and to listen to. The crowd didn't follow up the “mismatching” request for some mosh pits, nevertheless they gained new fans by the minute because of the energetic show.
Another inconvenience is solved in an awesome way. Early on Sunday morning it became clear that Winter in Eden singer Vicky Johnson had suddenly lost her voice. Some of the other Dames of Darkness stepped in and had offered to come on stage and take over the vocal duties. With that the band on stage was now Winter in Eden’s allstars! Guest singers Andrea Casanova, Bexie James and Melissa Adams performed the just learned songs with passion and total support to the band. It was stunning to see how that worked out. An unforgettable experience not only by its uniqueness but also confirming the supporting attitude and family atmosphere in the (female fronted) metal scene. Thanks to all involved.
Now it was time for the first known band for me. Enemy of Reality was fantastic. From the first second it was immense and just impressive. I heard them before at Metal Female Voices Fest and was already impressed then. It’s a band with top musicians. When coming together and synergy is present, something great things will come out of it. The riffs were great, the guitar solos well executed. The atmosphere and tone was almost perfect and Iliana Tsakiraki’s vocals were stunning. Although this band is new, it’s already solid as a rock. The sound is completely overwhelming from the beginning. They take your attention by their energetic performance and keep you in to the end. They mix gothic, techno, operatic and progressive elements into excellent metal compositions like “Needle Bites” and “Her Descending Ghost”. Although Leaves’ Eyes is the band almost all were waiting for, for sure they will have a hard time to beat Enemy of Reality.
‘When Leaves’ Eyes entered the stage the crowd went crazy’. It was an amazing experience. I saw them already a couple of times. This time with a crowd that was brought to the boiling point, an intimate setting and a band that wanted to make a party. And what a party it was. For me their best show ever. The chemistry between the band on stage and the crowd was extraordinary. Both Liv Kristine and Alexander Krull added oil to the fire when interacting with the audience. The roof almost went off when they announced the name of the new album: King of Kings. 'Halvdan The Black' gave a taste of the new record. Of course the classics 'Elegy', 'My Destiny' and 'Take The Devil In Me' were part of the set. The three encores completed the finale. With this grand finale ending with 'Froya's Theme', Dames of Darkness got what it deserved.
It was a memorable show LE gave at Dames of Darkness. All the other bands before created the atmosphere to make that happen. Thanks to Davd Holmer for organizing an event like this with both unknown local bands and well-known international bands. Thanks also to all present as you create the friendly family atmosphere that makes this scene incredible. Hope to see many of the old and new friends in October in Eindhoven at FemME.
