Pythia opened the nights entertainment by skipping their usual intro tape and going straight into some fast heavy metal. By the time they were announced as support for tonights gig, it had long since sold out, so they couldnt rely on a crowd of their own fans to help cheer them on. They clearly weren’t fazed by this, and despite some sound problems early on, were clearly making a good impression with the Dragonforce fans and as the set went on more and more fans were headbanging, and the cheers between songs were getting louder and louder. Tonight’s set from Pythia consisted of four songs from their forthcoming second album as well as two from their debut album. Some thought had clearly gone into the setlist as the songs chosen were some of their fastest heaviest songs, and those most likely to appeal to Dragonforce fans.
A great performance from Pythia who certainly looked to have made some new fans here tonight.
Dragonforce took to the stage to a rapturous reception from this crowd, and kicked off with ”Heroes of our time”. Unfortunately they too suffered sound problems, and it was only two thirds of the way through the song that the vocals became audible. New vocalist Marc Hudson put in a great performance tonight, proving himself to be a worthy replacement. Fans were treated to a taster from the new album – ”Cry Thunder” and ”Lost fallen world” both being played, with the latter being described as ”the fastest song Dragonforce have ever written”. For me, despit the inclusion of one slow track, the performance tonight seemed to be lacking in variety. Almost all the songs were flat out high speed power metal with lots of fancy guitar work, but the relentless pace means that after a few songs they started to lose the impact they should have had. Looking around the room though, its clear that most of their fans were very happy with the set, so I’m probably in a minority with that opinion.
Tonight was a great introduction for their new vocalist, and the new material sounded excellent – it’s clear that Dragonforce are planning to be around for a long time.
Pythia setlist:
Cry of our nation
Betray my heart
Just a lie
Army of the damned
Heartless
No compromise
Dragonforce Setlist:
Heroes Of Our Time
Operation Ground And Pound
Cry Thunder
My Spirit Will Go On
Starfire
Lost Fallen World
Black Fire
The Last Journey Home
Fury Of The Storm
Encore:
Through the Fire and Flames
