Beyond The Black – Storytelling and Showmanship at its finest

Symphonic metaleers Beyond The Black took over the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire on January 16th, as part of their Rising High tour, delivering a strong, emotionally competent and visually striking performance.

Armed with two almost polar opposites for openers, one leaning more into the experimental side of metal (Seraina Telli) and the latter a show of brute metalcore force (SETYØURSAILS) the evening can be easily described as whiplash in sound form.

Seraina Telli started the proceedings with a stage design that truly fit the venues history as a performance house, more than a stage for heavy bands to bounce on.

LED lit flowers dropping off the side of the stage, almost comically large, amplified by the mic stands wrapped in vines and more flowers and pushed to the absolute limit by the green haze, guitars and outfits made the two piece band a very compelling study case for the metalheads in the crowd who were clearly not expecting an explosion of neon colours to set off the night.

Telli and Mike Malloth (drums) didn’t take too long to win the crowd over, even if some gig goers still looked slightly confused. Their sound, much as their image, is a blend of soft pop, heavy drums riffs and some classic metal thrown in, enough to constantly keep you guessing about what comes next.

Next up, german modern metalcore group SETYØURSAILS don’t so much walk on stage but pounce and don’t stop bouncing until their set is over.

Lead by Jules Mitch, a powerhouse of screams and cleans combined, the four piece has established itself as one of Germany’s heaviest metalcore groups since forming in 2017.

In this time they have already collaborated with some of the most popular names in the industry. Their song Ghosts guests Rudi Scwarzer of Annisokay; the newly released Bad Blood with Adrian Estrella of Zebrahead; Holywood Suicide with the dark and aggressive GHOSTKID and powerhouse Within Destruction and many others.

For the London crowd, the difference between Telli and Mitch’s vocals and energy were downright mouth dropping, as the crowd didn’t quite know what do to. Add to it the fact that this was not a mosh heavy, crowd surfer heaven type of audience, some of the aggression that SETYØURSAILS layed out on stage didn’t quite land, but that didn’t stop them, Mitch even apologising to the crowd for how heavy they are, yet never pulling back.

The most memorable part of SETYØURSAILS performance is the black flag that Mitch waved somewhere towards the end of their set, with a very clear message: No Space For: Homophobia, Fascism, Sexism, Racism.

When Beyond the Black’s time came to take the stage, the crowd was now warmed up, slightly whiplashed, and eager to hear the new songs the band has just released live.

The stage design was a masterclass in creative storytelling, backed by two large LED screens, a second story level drum platform where Kai Tschierschky ran the proceedings from and was occasionally joined by Jennifer Haben and guitarists Tobi Lodes and Chris Hermsdoerfer.

Their set started with the newly released title track of Break The Silence (released January 9th via Nuclear Blast) and continued into an 18 track long set, well balanced between the new record and the bands existing catalogue, something very well received by a crowd used to bands discarding their older music in favour of newly released songs.

The continued into Hysteria, Heart of the Hurricane, Songs of Love and Death, and then let things breathe for a few minutes, with a synth medley that transformed the stage into something that could come out of a post apocalyptic film, with strange machines being wheeled out, and neon green mist flowing low, it was the perfect build up for the bands most well loved song, Ravens.

Ravens (this being the nickname the fans of the band have also assimilated for themselves) sees Jennifer wear a set of visually striking golden wings that flutter in tempo with the track, staying closed for the softer, lower parts and then opening wide, as if to embrace the whole crowd, when the song lifts into its peak.

The visuals, however grand, never seemed to distract too much from what was actually happening on stage: four incredibly talented, seasoned musicians, playing a fun yet very well composed set.

The two screens sometimes showing lyrics, animations or just providing different lighting over the stage were managed incredibly well, so they didn’t take away from the band at all.

This was only the second show of the 19 run that Beyond the Black are currently on, but everyone looked already fully settled in, and giving their all. A truly talented group, and well dedicated to the craft.

Setlist and gallery below.

Words and photos by Gabby Adler

Setlist