In 2014, I discovered three bands that would forever change my perception of music.  I have been an obsessive fan of Symphonic Metal for about three years now, but discovering Xandria and especially Delain opened my world to new music.  So of course I jumped on the chance to see the two charismatic female fronted bands live, and get a chance to discover Sonata Arctica.  I was extremely excited for this show, because I knew all three bands put on a spectacular show in concert, but they blew my expectations out of the water.  This is now my favorite concert I have ever been to, topping an Epica headliner and many Halestorm shows.  Every band lit The BlueBird up and continually raised the intensity in a way I have never experienced before.  Discovering these three bands prior to the concert, I knew what to expect, but this was a greatness I could have never anticipated.

Regardless of my personal preference of Delain and Xandria, these two bands are absolutely flawless in concert.  Xandria came on and played a very short explosive set.  They opened with Nightfall, their heavy operatic single off of their latest album, Sacrificium.  Dianne’s delivery of soprano operatic vocals on this track blew my mind.  Her technique, control, and projection match a perfection few singers achieve today.  “Blood on my Hands” was a heavier jam, keeping up with the intensity Nightfall had started.  Every member had energy and intensity as well as excellent and engaging stage presence.  “Forevermore” was seamless in the set and allowed Dianne and guitarists to show off a little more than earlier songs.  “Stardust” was well played and executed in a live setting and proved Xandria are up to par with the best live Symphonic Metal experience.  Dianne Van Giersbergen was absolutely the right choice for the new era, as she blew away all expectations with their final song, “Valentine”.  This is one of my favorite songs they’ve ever put out and their execution of it live made it even greater of a track.  The only complaint I have about Xandria’s set is that it was entirely too short for their quality of live play.

I have the utmost genuine respect for Delain and this concert made that respect turn into love.   Delain is possibly the best band I have ever seen live, because of the fun, tight, interactive set they produced at this concert.  Their set was absolutely spectacular and awing.  The mix and volume of each member, the lights, their overall live sound is absolutely perfect.  Most songs sounded like an album version turned up on high and injected with fierce energy.  The set was diverse as well, playing songs from almost every album except April Rain.  They opened with the heavy track “Mother Machine” off of We Are the Others and instantly stunned the crowd with their tight sound.  They followed the heavy opener with the fun and jamming track, “Get the Devil Out of Me”, giving Charlotte the chance to show off her flawless falsetto.  “Army of Dolls” swoons and ebs with intricate melodies and a unique beat easy to dance to and rock out to.  Next they mesmerized the crowd with their impressive hit, “Stardust”, off of The Human Contradiction.  This song was absolutely flawless live, containing a breakdown that centered around Charlotte’s enchanting vocals.  Delain continued to heat things up with emotive and powerful track, “Electricity”, a song that had the crowd belting lyrics out and head banging all the way through.  They also played the slower more haunting track, “Milk and Honey”, that was smooth and delivered well.

Delain continued their dynamic set with an old track off Lucidity “Sleepwalker’s Dream”, a more symphonic track that contains mind blowing vocals.  The delivery of operatic soaring vocals by lead vocalist, Charlotte Wessels, is indescribable.  The pure power of her voice on this song was distorting the sound system of the venue.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  They also played heavy hitting song, Pristine with bassist Otto on grunts, classic symphonic duet The Gathering with Timo on the male vocals, and closed with powerful hit “We Are the Others”.  I cannot say enough good things about this band live.  Delain really set the bar high for Symphonic Metal performances.  I will never forget their set, and can’t wait to see them again with Nightwish in April 2015.  I highly suggest seeing this band live.

Sonata Arctica are a legendary Power Metal band hailing from Finland.  They are still one of the most unique and cherished bands from Scandinavia.  They integrate Folk, Theatrical, and Symphonic aspects into their music.  Sadly, I didn’t hear of this band until I discovered this concert date with them as headliner.  The good thing is, this concert developed a love and immensely impressed me.  Lead vocalist, Tony Kakko, is one of the best male vocalists of all time in my opinion.  His performance throughout their nearly two hour set was flawless and eye catching.  The whole band matched Tony’s theatrical enthusiasm and made for a show that pulled you in.

The new songs they performed from Pariah’s Child were even better live than on the album.  “The Wolves Die Young” was dynamic and fast, a perfect live jam with an incredibly well executed bass part.  “Love” was a ballady change up in the set, allowing for an easy sing along.  “Cloud Factory” is possibly their catchiest song ever and was really fun and exciting to experience live.  They also performed older tracks without missing a beat.  “Letter to Dana” was a beautiful power ballad.  Tony captivated the audience with softer building vocals on this song.  Sadly, I am not familiar with a lot of the songs they played that night.  Regardless, Sonata’s set was absolutely incredible.  Their sound is infinitely energetic and hooks you right from the beginning.  I was vastly impressed with them and would love to see them again soon.