Symphonic metal is such beautiful music to experience. I’ve always loved listening to bands who push the operatic style of music with amazing, powerful vocals. When you hear those highs in the music and vocals they are hair raising and sometimes even bone chilling. When Kamelot announced their Awaken The World Tour in support of their 13th album Awakening I knew I had to see this tour. With support from both Battle Beast and fellow Napalm Records record label mates Xandria, this was bound to be a fun show. And with the tour closing in Orlando, FL, it was bound to be something special.
Hard Rock Live Orlando had a solid crowd buzzing that evening with a line stretching down the way almost towards the Universal Studios entrance. Once people were inside, they crowded the merch booth and the bars. There were a large number of people wearing Kamelot t-shirts representing the band that formed out of Tampa, FL. You could easily sense the excitement in the venue and the anticipation to get the show started. The crowd didn’t need to wait too long for the lights to drop, which generated a huge roar from the crowd.
The German symphonic metal band Xandria opened up the show. The band has been around since their start in 1994, disbanding in 1997, and then re-starting again in 1999. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years. But, this recent lineup has a different feel than their prior lineups and almost seems like a rebirth of the band. With 7 albums released, it took 6 years for them to release their 8th studio album titled The Wonders Still Awaiting on February 3, 2023 via Napalm Records. The album was so well received and hit #9 on the German Album charts. Xandria is Ambre Vourvahis (vocals), Marco Heubaum (guitar), Robert Klawonn (guitar), Tim Schwarz (bass), and Dimitrios Gatsios (drums).
I was completely amped up to see Xandria perform that evening and they were everything I expected. New vocalist Ambre absolutely commanded the crowd with her presence and voice. Her range was absolutely incredible and she continued that tradition of truly symphony-style singers fronting the band. Marco and Robert were power players that evening, shredding through their notes, keeping the pace moving and flowing through their songs. Tim, one of the newer members of the band, not only played amazing well, but had such charisma on stage. Dimitrios was all smiles behind the drumset snapping off those thundering beats. Xandria sounded better than ever.
Xandria played most of their small set off The Wonders Still Awaiting performing “You Will Never Be Our God”, “Reborn”, and “Ghosts”. But, the pinnacle moment was the band pulling out “Nightfall” from their 2014 album Sacrificium. The crowd all sang along and you could see Xandria was loving the moment. Since it was the last night of the tour, it’s not uncommon to see artists get pranked while they are on stage with their tourmates. During Xandria’s final song, all the members of Battle Beast came out with lawn chairs, a barbeque, and an American flag making themselves at home on stage. It was a truly hilarious moment seeing them take the stage while Xandria was still performing. Overall, Xandria had a great set of new music and sounded fantastic. I only wish their set was longer. Go check out their music and merch over at https://www.xandria.de/.
Next up was the Finnish power metal band Battle Beast. The band from Helsinki formed in 2008 and released their first album Steel in 2011. The album peaked at #7 on the Finnish Album charts. From that point forward, every album they released ranked into the Top 10 on the Finnish Album chart, with their last 4 albums all peaking at #1. The band’s last album Circus of Doom was released in 2022. Battle Beast is Noora Louhimo (vocals), Eero Sipilä (bass), Joona Björkroth (guitar), Juuso Soinio (guitar), Janne Björkroth (keytar), and Pyry Vikki (drums).
Battle Beast is no stranger to Orlando, FL as the band has played here before. And this crowd definitely remembered them as they cheered for them loud and hard as they came onto the stage. Noora really knows how to make an entrance as she strutted onto the stage in her leather outfit with fishnets and a set of horns on her head and a flowy cape. She had everyone’s attention and when she started belting out the opening lyrics to “Circus of Doom” the crowd went crazy. Noora may be one of the best female vocalists out there today. Her power and range is beyond impressive and you’ll jaw drop hearing her sing. Jooan, Jusso, Eero, and Janne were having so much fun on stage. They were all smiles, interacting with the crowd, and truly looked happy performing in Orlando. They powered through their songs keeping the pace fast and fierce.
And the song list they had was great. With great singles like “Straight to the Heart”, “Eye of the Storm”, and “Master of Illusion”. The band had a great selection of songs from that night. But, now it was Battle Beast’s turn to be punked. When the band was performing “King for a Day” all the members of Xandria and Kamelot came out wearing crowns and some carrying swords and started throwing crowns out to the crowd. Everyone was on stage dancing and singing along, absolutely having a good time. Ambre from Xandria stayed out with Battle Beast to perform “Eden” and hearing Noora and Ambre perform together was too good to be true. Both women have amazing voices and they showed off their full force in harmony. Battle Beast did a phenomenal job that night and you could tell gave it their all for the final night of the tour. You can check out their music and merch over at https://battlebeast.fi/.
And then it was time for the headliners, the symphonic heavy metal band of Kamelot! Founded back in 1987 by guitarist Thomas Youngblood out of Tampa, FL. The band released their first album Eternity in 1995. Over the years the band had two former vocalists before they had their current vocalist Tommy Karevik join the band in 2012. The band has released 12 additional albums since Eternity. Their most current album, Awakening, released on March 17, 2023 via Napalm Records. Kamelot is Tommy Karevik (vocals), Thomas Youngblood (guitar), Oliver Palotai (keyboards), Sean Tibbetts (bass), and Alex Landenburg (drums). Also along on this tour was guest vocalist Melissa Bonny the lead vocalist for Ad Infinitum.
Kamelot plays such beautiful metal music and Tommy’s vocals are so breathtaking and chilling. What you don’t get to see when listening to their albums instead of seeing them live is the theatrical elements they add to their performance. With a beautiful massive backdrop of the Awakening album cover, a beautiful platformed stage, and boxes in the photo pit so Tommy to get closer to the crowd, Kamelot truly goes all out to make their performance an experience for their fans. Alex on the drums is truly incredible, especially being the newest member of the band. He even had a drum solo that was absolutely insane and also paid tribute to Neal Peart, former drummer of Rush, when he included performing the drum portion of “Tom Sawyer”. Oliver, described as the wizard behind the keys, is a master of his craft and also had a small solo that night showing off exactly why keyboards are still so relevant in music, especially symphonic metal. Sean is a maniac on the stage and throws down while he plays including some jumps and headbanging with his hair flying everywhere. Thomas keeps mainly stoic as he performs, and he does so with just such beautiful guitar work. He truly makes the guitar sing through every note he shreds. And what can I say about Tommy’s vocals other than “Wow!” His voice is crystal clear and the notes he reaches at times are truly incredible. The addition of Melissa Bonny for this tour was truly a bonus to hear such amazing harmonies between her and Tommy, plus the theatrics they performed were truly hair-raising.
The band played a number of songs from the new album including “New Babylon”, “NightSky”, and “One More Flag in the Ground”. I was surprised they did not perform “Eventide” which was one of the singles they released off the album. They also pulled out some classic songs including “Vespertine (My Crimson Bride)”, “Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)”, and “Phantom Divine (Shadow Empire)”, one of my personal favorites. While Kamelot didn’t get punked by their tourmates, both Xandria and Battle Beast came out on stage during the last song to celebrate with Kamelot the end of an amazing show and tour. You can find Kamelot’s music and merch over at https://kamelot.com/.
This was one of those tours that had a perfect combination of bands that kept the vibe and flow moving throughout the night. From the symphony of Xandria, to the power metal of Battle Beast, and the symphony and theatrics of Kamelot, it was truly a phenomenal show. And while this tour closed their doors in Orlando, FL, I know the fans here, including myself, look forward to seeing Kamelot come back on tour again. And if they happen to be stopping at a city near you in the future, do yourself a favor and go see them for yourself. You will not be disappointed.
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