This show occurred on the 21st of November, with Finland's Omnium Gatherum opening. While I have been a casual fan of the band since 2007's Stuck Here On Snake's Way(Jukka Pelkonen, their vocalist first disc with the band), I haven't listened to a whole disc by them, till the latest, Grey Heavens released. The set started with the first song, off that release, The Pit, a mixture of technical guitar playing, brutal growls, and guitar solos abound. The whole set mixed brutal rhythms, with melodic passages, tasteful keyboards, technical solos, and Pelkonen's controlled rage. Moments during the set where he sings clean, were a nice change of pace. I can't say they slowed down during the set at all, but the dynamics were abound. I would call their later music, better then the earlier stuff, more progressive melodic death metal first traditional melodeath. The day after the show, I found some of the music I missed, like 2013's Beyond on Spotify, and listened through it. I was left impressed when their short set ended, and happy to have seen them up close in such a small venue.

Now Leaves' Eyes have been a band I have listened to since the very beginning. While I found out about the show a year ago, at the time Liv Kristine was still in the band. Then she left, and I wondered what the band was going to do, and low and behold they hired a singer(Elina Siirala) who to some may be an unknown, but to me was someone from a band(Enkelination/Angel Nation), I reviewed just a year and a half before. To read that review, you can check it out HERE. Their set was mixed with classics, Halvdan the Black, and the encore Blazing Waters. With later singles such My Destiny and The Waking Eye. Two new songs, from their brand new Fire in the North EP, were performed, the title track and Edge Of Steel. Siirala commanded the stage, kept the crowd engaged, and in the small venue, her voice at times was overpowering to those not accustomed to operatic vocalists. I personally think it showed how very talented she is. I was excited to see her live, with being a fan of her other band. The whole band sounded great, and before I knew it, it was time for Sonata Arctica.

Speaking of the mighty Finns, their setlist surprised me. It was a lot of melodic mid paced songs, with a few omissions I was expecting to hear live. Tony Kakko, sounded great as per usual, but that night was one of the best times I had head him live. The new Ninth Hour(their latest release), was featured early with Closer To An Animal and the first single, Life coming first. The classic ballad, Tallulah found its way in. A beautiful song on disc, as well as live. You could feel Kakko's emotion in his vocals. Four more classics were all that took up, the fourteen song setlist, with Fullmoon, Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited and The Power Of One near the end of the setlist followed by closer, Don't Say A Word. The rest of the songs were post-Unia(not my favorite release, nor do I hate it), from that discs In Black and White to newer songs, Fairytale and We Are What We Are. As I said, the setlist was surprising, as in many of my classic favorites were not played, but in the end it was still a great show, and great performances from the entire band. A decent turn out for a show early in the week, helped with the atmosphere on a very cold day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Listen to MY interview with Leaves' Eyes on Soundcloud HERE