VISIONS OF ATLANTIS (Live)

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS (Live at La Rayonne, Villeurbanne, Lyon, France, October 9, 2024) — Photo: Séverine Peraldino

Although Visions Of Atlantis has been around for more than twenty years, the arrival of French vocalist Clémentine Delauney and then her Italian colleague Michele Guiatoli marked the beginning of a metamorphosis and a change of course. The band now proudly sails on the waves of symphonic power metal, imbued with a perfume of freedom and ready to defend an ideal of imaginary piracy. Armada, released this year, is the second time the band has donned their pirate garb, and it must be said that it suits them well. Their concert at the Rayonne de Villeurbanne in Lyon, France, was an important date: it’s one of the biggest venues on the tour and Clémentine’s home town, where family, friends and long-time fans have come to support her band.

Seraina Telli and Illumishade

Seraina Telli started the evening with her classic but catchy rock n’ roll. The neon visuals, the rather pleasant songs and above all her powerful voice and infectious good humour ensured that the audience had a great time.

Then came the other opening act, this time a little more in keeping with the theme, but perhaps less convincing. Illumishade is led by Fabienne Erni and Jonas Wolf of Eluveitie. It seems that this project is becoming more important to them. These days Eluveitie seems to be treading water, struggling to come up with novelty. The sound was not as good as earlier and the instrumentation was drowned under layers of keyboards. Fabienne Erni’s voice may be powerful with a distinctive colour, but it was rather lacking in variety, and Illumishade’s melodies all sound a bit one-dimensional. In the end, only the excellent “Tales Of Time” took things to another level. However, the Lyon crowd gave the band a warm welcome and Jonas Wolf paid tribute to Gojira and their Olympic performance by giving away goodies to anyone who could find the Gojira riff he played.

Visions Of Atlantis

For Visions Of Atlantis, the attention to detail is refreshing. Probably due to the smaller size of the stages, some of the other dates on the tour did not feature the whole décor, which is a cross between a pirate’s tavern and a vessel. Only the smell of the ocean is missing. Visions Of Atlantis began their set, still in the dark, with the introduction of their latest album “To Those Who Choose To Fight”. Clémentine’s voice might sound a bit too mellow on the albums, but that’s not the case live, where her colour is deep, expressive, powerful and warm.

The epic track ‘The Land Of The Free” set the record straight. Visions Of Atlantis were on top form that night. The audience knew the new album by heart. The band chose to base their setlist almost entirely on their last two albums, alternating between the catchy, almost pop ambience of “Monster” and more dramatic tracks like “Where The Sky and Ocean Blend”. “Heroes Of The Dawn” is the only remaining track from the band’s pre-pirate days. It’s worth noting that the entire set is built around this identity, with barrels of Ruhm, skulls on microphone stands and Jack Sparrow-style costumes.

Among the most memorable moments was of course “Hellfire”, which delivered the goods, but above all “Dead Of The Sea”, one of the best tracks on the latest album. The band used very few samples for this song (and indeed throughout the concert), although it was a shame that Clémentine did not sing the operatic highlights of the chorus that are present on the album (the “Requiem Pro Nobis, Miserere Deus” part). She presented the ballad of the evening, “Underwater” with great emotion, before the excitement of the pirate party resumed.

Clémentine took the reins of the show, adorned with a crown that truly proclaimed her the Pirate Queen while continuing the comedy with her sidekick Michele. The two singers complement each other perfectly on stage and their musical complicity brought great energy to the whole concert. Behind the drums, Thomas Caser never lost his smile. On bass and guitar, Herbet Glos and Christian Douscha also played their parts flawlessly.

The audience sat down and rowed to “Pirates Will Return”, well almost everyone, one member of the audience was in a bossy mood and pretended to whip the oarsmen. Michele offered to shoot him with his dummy gun, but the pirate queen felt merciful. The encores included the excellent ‘Master the Hurricane’, which fortunately wasn’t omitted from the set list. But it was “Armada” and its chorus, which is terribly catchy live, that brought the evening to a close.

DVDs have gone out of fashion, which is a shame because Visions Of Atlantis would have had plenty of quality material on this tour. However, if the band does not visit your town, you can always catch the show on Douscha’s Twitch channel, which broadcasts the entire concert every night.