Smoke filled the Metro Music Hall as Visions of Atlantis (VoA) took the stage, announcing to the audience, “Piracy will return!”
VoA is a symphonic metal band from Austria that takes inspiration from the legends of the lost city of Atlantis. Their most recent album, 2022’s “Pirates,” was their theme for the show.
Every member wore pirate attire, from hats to jackets, creating a very immersive production.
An audience member praised them, saying, “I love their showmanship, having two vocalists [Michele Guaitoli and Clémentine Delauney] really helps sell the show. Their on-stage chemistry is great!”
The audience’s energy grew with each song. Delauney reminded the audience that the hurricanes we face in life often are our own internal struggles. This message led to the audience jumping during the song “Melancholy Angel” which was a crowd favorite for the night.
Another crowd favorite was when Guaitoli invited everyone to become true pirates by sitting on the venue floor and rowing in unison. An audience member remarked “Everyone in the crowd was rowing. It was really cool. I’ve never seen that level of participation before, and I felt like a pirate!”
Near the end of their show, Delauney announced, “Visions will be going off the map for a while […] but we’ll be bringing back treasure for you when we do! […] For those in the audience that can’t get a metaphor, we’re working on our next album!” Her announcement was met by much applause.
Delain entered the stage next and built off the energy that VoA brought. Delain is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded by keyboardist Martijn Westerholt in 2002. Over the years there have been many lineup changes, but in 2021 the band was entirely reformed, blending old members and new between 2021 and 2022 to form what we have now.
Diana Leah, the new vocalist, remarked that it was her first time touring here in Salt Lake City. The audience members loved the energy she brought to the show. “She’s done a great job integrating with the band, singing both old songs and new,” one audience member said.
The band’s setlist included songs from their 2023 album “Dark Waters,” which is the first to feature the new lineup, as well as songs from their extensive catalog. An audience favorite was “Moth to a Flame” from “Dark Waters.” It includes infectious melodies and heavy riffs that you can really headbang to.
After the show, we had the pleasure to speak with Westerholt, who had this to say: “This may not have been our best-selling crowd, but we really loved their energy. We want to come back out and sell out the show next time!”
One thing is for certain, Visions of Atlantis and Delain both put on a fantastic show that energized the crowd. We’d love them to come back and perform at a larger venue to a sold-out audience!
