Dragonforce & Kamelot @HOB 12/07/15
Dragonforce & Kamelot with Sicocis at HOB, Las Vegas NV Dec 7th 2015
By: Leah Burlington
When I found out that one of my top fave bands, Kamelot, was coming to Vegas I was first in shock and then worried about whether there would be a crowd there. They have never played in Vegas before and like all firsts there is always a bit of doubt that people may not come. The energetic and talented Dragonforce, who has played here before to pretty good crowds, was opening for them so I figured it would be pretty good for the bands. My buddies in local metal band Sicocis helped out by selling tickets to locals to get some more people in the door and that helped immensely. They also tore up that stage and warmed up the crowd for the awesomeness that was to come after. Sicocis was awesome in their own right so they got a whole story dedicated to them in this issue…
Dragonforce is known for their upbeat version of power metal and their two inhuman guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman play extremely fast solos with intensity and virtuocity. Their music is sometimes referred to as “Nintendo Metal” or as I have lovingly referred to them as chipmunks on speed. The bands new singer (He came in 2011) Mark Hudson looks like a blonde Viking and sings like a beast. This band went on this night with so much fire and fury that as soon as these guys exploded onstage I felt the energy go up about 100 percent! The four main guys all ran around the stage with so much excitement, guitarists Herman and Sam, along with bassist Frédéric Leclercq and Keyboardist, Vadim Pruzhanov, we like a blur and hard to capture on camera. They would all get right up front and center and just shred out together like their lives depended on it. They are an absolute blast to watch and their energy is palpable. Yes you can feel the music!! Live, Dragonforce cannot be beat so when it was time for one of my all time fave bands to come out, I was a bit worried. I know Kamelot can deliver as well so we waited after we collected ourselves and caught a second wind.
The set list for Dragonforce was “Fury of the Storm”, “Three Hammers”, “The Game”, “Heros”, “Cry Thunder”, “Valley of the Damned”. “Ring of Fire”, “Through the Fire and Flames.”
Kamelot is one of the most talented heavy yet symphonic power metal bands around. In the lines of say Nightwish, but they are definitely their own style. They have this amazing new singer, Tommy Karevik, who replaced the mighty Roy Khan who was like a God in our eyes for many years. Tommy slid easily into the shoes of Khan in 2012 as they released the abum “Silverthorn.” The newest album, 2015’s “Haven” is an epic album as well and has put Tommy up there on the pedestal that Khan left empty. They usually have a female singer join them onstage for some of their songs and they brought us the amazing Kobra Paige from “Kobra and the Lotus” to mesmerize us with her beauty and vocal abilities on this tour. Kamelot’s music is hauntingly beautiful, romantic and dark with some glorious vocals and blast beats from the mighty drummer Casey Grillo, along with the ever bouncy and heavy handed Sean Tibbets on bass who’s blonde braids make him look like a wicked mad man. The backbone of this band and founder, guitarist Thomas Youngblood is the man behind this glorious sound and word that is Kamelot. He is the reason for the amazing beauty of this music. He formed Kamelot in 1991 and they have eleven albums to their name and have travelled all over the planet on tour since then.
When they came out I was in awe of the lights the sounds and the aggressiveness of the music as it pounded me into blissful submission. The music has highs and lows and is like a symphony of dark and light. I was blown away by how amazing Tommy’s voice was all through the show and how he and Kobra singing together was entirely magical.
I loved watching Sean stomping his way across the stage and pounding his bass while keyboardist and multi talented composer Oliver Palotai would bang his head and throw that beautiful hair around all while playing his keys like a beast. Thomas commanded the stage with that regal presence that he always has while watching the crowd’s reaction. He looked convinced that we were loving it and with a smile he raised a mic stand to us and let us sing! Tommy sang his ass off and I was just enthralled with the whole set and didn’t want it to end. Even though it wasn’t a huge crowd the band was happy with our screams and and swore to come back to Vegas again. This was one of the best shows of the year for me and all the while getting to see it in my own hometown!!
Kamelot set list: “Veil of Elysium”, “When the Lights are Down”, “The Great Pandemonium”, “Center of the Universe”,(With Kobra) “Karma”, “Talk”, “Torn”, “Here’s to the Fall”,” March of Mephisto” (With Kobra) “Decible”, “Rule the World”, “Insomnia”, “Liar,Liar” (With Kobra) “Forever”, “Revolution”, “Sacrimony”(With Kobra) and “Continuum”
