 Unfortunately we do not have photos of Atmora. Apologies to the band and the fans. (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Navneet Johal (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Navneet Johal | Written by: Alex Mrkonjic Photography: Navneet Johal (C)2017 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com @ The Opera House Toronto, ON Canada April 19,2017 Presented by Inertia Entertainment This was a night of firsts for me. The first time I have ever conducted band interviews, seen or even heard of Delain and most importantly, seen HammerFall live. When my friend told me that HammerFall was coming to Toronto, I couldn’t believe it. It had been a long time since they have played here, (seven years to be exact), and I was excited. They and Delain were doing a co-headline tour, and Toronto was the first date of the tour at the legendary Opera House. While waiting to get into the venue, the biggest thing I noticed was how divided the crowd was between the two bands, especially when it came to Delain. The day before the concert, I started to listen to Delain’s latest album Moonbathers. I wasn't even sure what I was going to expect, but I was impressed with how good they were, and they reminded me of Nightwish. Knowing that and interviewing both bands, I was looking forward to a good night of some power metal. Unfortunately due to our interview with HammerFall, I wasn't able to really see the opening act; Windsor metal titans Atmora, so by the time I got back into the venue, they were on the last song, so HammerFall was the first act I saw in full, and I was really excited as they're one of my favourite bands. As I mentioned above, this was HammerFall’s first North American tour in seven years and it was noticeable by the crowd's reaction as soon as the lights went off and the opening music began that the crowd was really excited to see the band. Joacim Cans and company kicked off the night with the opening track from 2014’s r(Evolution) “Hector’s Hymm”, with lead guitarist and founder Oscar Dronjak ripping it on his signature and very cool looking hammer shaped guitar. As the night went on, we were treated to killer classic HammerFall songs such as “Blood Bound”, “Any Means Nessesary”, “Let The Hammer Fall”, and “Riders Of The Storm”. This was also our first chance to look at new drummer Johan Kolberg who did a fantastic job behind the kit, especially on the heavy track “Dethrone and Defy” from their new album Built To Last. Ending a perfect show was none other than the hit track “Hearts On Fire” which every single person in the venue was chanting along too. Next up was headliners Delain, coming all the way from the Netherlands. I was completely unsure what to expect here considering I only just started listening to their music the night before, but needless to say I was looking forward to it. I was not disappointed either as lead singer Charlotte Wessels brought the energy right off the bat with the opening song from their recent album Moonbathers “Hands Of Gold”. Too bad we couldn’t hear Alissa White-Gluz’s vocals from the album, but oh well, the song still kicked ass. They played most of the new album throughout the night with “Suckerpunch”, “The Glory and The Scum”, “The Hurricane”, and “Fire With Fire”. They band’s energy was at a high point during “Fire With Fire” and “Danse Macabre” with great guitar work from guitarists Timo Somers and Merel Bechtold. Finally, they ended the show with the hit “We Are The Others” from the album of the same name. You could tell why it is a fan favourite because the crowd was singing along througout the entire song and when the show was over, nobody wanted the night to end and to be honest, neither did I. I loved watching Delain and they made a fan out of me. |
| DELAIN Charlotte Wessels - Vocals Martijn Westerhold - Keyboards Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije - Bass Roben Israel - Drums Timo Somers - Guitars Mercel Bechtold - Guitars Label: Napalm Records Website: www.delain.nl | HAMMERFALL Joacim Cans - Vocals Oscar Dronjak - Guitars Fredrik Larsson - Bass Pontus Norgren - Guitars Johan Kullberg - Drums Label: Napalm Records Website: www.hammerfall.net |
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