Words and Pictures: Adrian Hextall / (C) MindHex Media
A welcome return to Wembley Arena for the Dutch symphonic metal titans who, over the years have refined their sound to encompass a multitude of genres, styles and lyrical themes, allowing them to focus on topics that truly matter to them. Latest album ‘Bleed Out’ focusses on ‘freedom’ with the lyrics addressing subjects such as war, oppression, women’s rights, religion, bullying, and inner-struggles. That becomes far more important when you read what they did mid way through their headlining set.
Before that though. German post-hardcore band hailing from Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Annisokay (stylized as annisokay, pronounced Ann is okay) took to the stage.
Annisokay
This was the second time I’d seen them perform this year, having put on a superb show in Czechia during the summer festival season at Masters of Rock. I was excited to see them a second time unlike, it would seem, half of my esteemed photography colleagues who simply didn’t ‘get’ the set from the Germans at all.
It’s strange, their mix of harsh vocals from frontman Rudi Schwarzer and clean vocals from lead guitarist Christoph Wieczorek bring the perfect balance to the band’s music and as such, it’s no surprise that they’re so easily able to mix a cover of Linkin Park’s ‘One Step Closer’ into their setlist, something they did in Czechia and something that was repeated in London. It’s a clever crowdpleaser, especially at a time when the original artist is making a huge global comeback.
The rest of their set was filled as one might expect with originals and a surprise (for me at least) appearance by Sharon den Adel who sang ‘Like a Parasite’ alongside Christoph and Rudi. Surprising for the fact that the song we all expected them to perform was 2021’s ‘Shed My Skin’ given it was a known collaboration with the headliners and a track that also made it into the virtual live event that Within Temptation streamed around the world. Still, I’m not complaining, it was all great to see and they had the decency to bring Sharon out during the third song which meant the grumbly togs perked up a little bit.
For me, the ideal warm up, showing the crossover appeal that the headliners have in the rock and metal community.
SETLIST
Throne of the Sunset
Ultraviolet
Like a Parasite (with Sharon den Adel)
Get Your Shit Together
One Step Closer (Linkin Park cover)
Human
Coma Blue
Calamity
STFU
Within Temptation
And so to our headliners. Never ones to miss the opportunity to bring a truly theatrical show to the table, Within Temptation have been amazing crowds for years with their own brand of symphonic \ theatrical \ epic heavy rock. I shy away from the use of the word metal because the complexity and power stitched into the songs makes the band far more accessible to audiences around the world than some of their contemporaries. Their sound and style is defined as one might expect by their charismatic front-woman. Sharon has always brought mystery and spectacle to a Within Temptation show. Her outfits, dresses and headdresses have always been something that could be as at home on a Paris catwalk as they are on an arena stage. The show in London was no exception with a deep red lighting pinpointing a figure with a headpiece that seemingly came from the fantasy driven mind of Guillermo del Toro.
The blood red lighting, haunting presence on stage and strong visuals provided the perfect introduction and accompaniment to the first track of the night, namely ‘We Go To War’.
The rest of the show involved clever use of giant video screens to bring to life the songs being performed, special guests, which we’ll move to in a second and the use of some serious CO2 cannons in place of the hoped for pyro, which I’d last seen the band use at Masters of Rock in 2023. The lack of flames, with CO2 clearly the preferred option for the tour was however my only gripe and it’s fairly low on the list of things to pick up on. Instead, how about the fact that Sharon brought on Tarja Turunen for 2 stints on stage. The pair, who could easily have been far more competitive rivals, have clearly formed a very tight bond over the years and it was truly heartwarming to see them singing both ‘The Promise‘ and Tarja’s own ‘I Feel Immortal’ whilst bathed in icy blue lighting making the whole affair very atmospheric (albeit a tad difficult to grab a truly great shot. Later in the show, the expected pairing for the brilliant ‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ reminded us just what the duo could do with a full album’s worth of material – nudge, nudge… c’mon it has to happen one day!
A break in proceedings, or at least expected proceedings, came when the video screens started to display QR codes and the word DRONEFALL appeared above visuals of industrial buildings. A young man wearing a jacket and spectacles then arrived on stage and sang ‘A Fool’s Parade’ with Sharon. The young man in question is and was Alex Yarmak and the QR code and visuals relate to his ‘Dronefall’ initiative which looks to retro engineer basic drones to down Russian missiles in Ukraine, strengthening the country’s air defenses with a hugely reduced cost during the current conflict.
It’s a fascinating programme, worthy of inclusion in the set which was a tad confusing but more importantly started people talking, me researching and if you’d like to know more, see below:
https://dronefall.webflow.io/main-eng
The rest of the set unfolded as we’ve come to expect from the Dutch outfit. Epic, uplifting, engaging yet conscious that important messaging is being delivered. As entertaining as they are, Within Temptation are also experts at education and I form one am a willing student. If all lessons were like this, I’m sure a lot more people would sit up and pay attention.
The band I first saw opening for Iron Maiden many years ago have truly grown into a phenomenal machine, and it’s easy to see why Sharon is so passionate about the band given the subject matter she sings about. It’s all clearly close to her heart and her eyes, movement, reaction to crowd and more all convey that a hundred times over.
SETLIST
We Go to War
Bleed Out
Ritual
Don’t Pray for Me
Wireless
The Reckoning
Shot in the Dark
Stand My Ground
A Fool’s Parade (with Alex Yarmak)
The Promise (with Tarja)
I Feel Immortal (Tarja cover) (with Tarja)
Supernova
Faster
Encore:
Our Solemn Hour
All I Need
Paradise (What About Us?) (with Tarja)
Mother Earth
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