Within Temptation / Smash Into Pieces @ Metro Areena
20.10.2018 Metro Areena, Espoo, Finland
There are not so many bands to fill an arena in Finland … in this case the Metro-Arena in Espoo. Thanks to a widened underground train net it can now be easily reached from Helsinki central area (just like the airport Vantaa). Hence it looked like most of the 5000 people who would attend this show had already gathered at the venue way before doors opened… which is also nice for the opening act to face a big crowd.
Where have Smash Into Pieces found their drummer – at Ghibli-Studios? Definitely an eyecatcher … The Swedes took off powerfully with an impressiver LED Cyber show and a sound mixing Alternative, Rock, Pop and a touch of Metalcore. But only into their second song there was a technical problem with a guitar which took 10-15 min to fix. Quite a long time for a 40min set… and unfortunately those guys seemed totally unprepared for a worst case scenario like this. Even worse than their 3-day trip to this show -there was a camera man filming the whole thing… When the technical issues were solved, they tried their best to kick off the good mood again but only had 15min left to do so… hopefully their next Finland visit will be less troublesome….
The changeover happened quite quickly – and the audience began cheering even before the lights went out. So many fans had been waiting to see this band live again – and what Within Temptation had to offer was indeed bombastic, a great experience.
Admittedly I was also blown away by this show – first, the new material is so much heavier than expected but still has this instant-ear-candy effect (check out e.g. “The Reckoning”). Then this Science-Fiction Virtual Reality thing on those huge LED walls – and sometimes you were not quite sure if it’s just a projection of actually happening… absolutely impressive.
Everything was nicely coordinated and seemed to run smoothly. The overall sound was flawless and nicely balanced too, you could hear Sharon’s awesome voice clearly anywhere and at any time in the set. The fans in the almost sold out venue were definitely not disappointed.
What I found quite amusing was the range of fan activity to express their admiration – besides the usual classic headbanging I also saw expressive dance and some of those huge masculine Metal dudes hypnotized by the massive show, singing along passionately (and maybe with a tiny tear hidden in the corner of their eyes)?
Naturally a major part of the set list was dedicated to the new material, the new CD of the band called “Resist” due in December. What I heard gives the impression that there will be much more Industrial Metal added to the Symphonic Metal mix. Which sounds absolutely great, by the way!
The band did not forget about their old hits, though, e.g. Shot In The Dark or Paradise. During this song the video clip with Tarja was played in the background – hence she and her voice became actually part of the live performance.
And during the ballads the hall lit up with cellphone lights – although, I have to admit that I would have loved to hear even older material instead, e.g. “Memories” or “Angels”. At least “What Have you done” was part of the encores.
MORE PHOTOS HERE IN THE GALLERY!
Summing up, Within Temptation is a band not to miss on this still ongoing “Resist” tour, and they might stop by your town, therefore check out the tourdates here!
Setlist:
Raise Your Banner
The Reckoning
Endless War
In The Middle Of The Night
Stand My Ground
All I Need
Supernova
Shot In The Dark
The Promise
Faster
Mercy Mirror
Paradise
The Heart Of Everything
Forgiven
Mother Earth
———-
What Have You Done
Stairway To The Skies
You must be logged in to post a comment.