Female Fronted Metal Lands in Lawrence

6 hours ago

*Delain vocalist Diana Leah at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas. Photo by Josh Chaikin*

In the United States, March is Woman’s History Month. So it’s only appropriate to celebrate not with one, but with three female-fronted metal bands. DELAIN, XANDRIA, and EDGE OF PARADISE. This would be the first time DELAIN has toured the United States since their line-up change in 2021, so fans were undoubtedly excited to see them. The cold weather and rain may have caused a delay in people arriving to the show, but the Bottleneck’s small size, and angled stage, meant that anyone arriving late would still have a great view.

Upon entering the venue, I noticed that the drum kit on stage had “Edge of Paradise” on the kicks; checking the venue website, I only saw mention of XANDRIA, and DELAIN. A third band? What a wonderful surprise. And it certainly was for anyone who had shown up early.

Hailing from Los Angeles, EDGE OF PARADISE has elements of symphonic metal, industrial metal, and hard rock. The lineup consists Margarita Monet (vocals/keys), Dave Bates (guitars), David Ruiz (guitars), Jamie Moreno (drums) and Kenny Lockwood (bass).

Signed to Napalm records, EDGE OF PARADISE recently released their new album, Prophecy, earlier this month. Unsurprisingly, 5 of the 7 songs on their setlist came from this album. They certainly won themselves new fans, and it’s easy to see why. Certainly any fans of DELAIN and XANDRIA will love them.

After a short break, XANDRIA took the stage. It’s almost poetic; 11 years ago, in the early years of this publication, I had seen XANDRIA, and DELAIN just a few blocks over, opening for SONATA ARCTICA at the Granada. In fact, I can see my signed copy of Sacrificium from here. During their set, I saw several people in KAMELOT shirts, who undoubtedly saw XANDRIA when they were tour support a few years ago.

For this leg of the tour, XANDRIA operated as a four piece, as their bassist, Tim Black was busy with his side project, VELVET RUSH. Without bass, XANDRIA’s music lacked a certain punch, though the small stage barely contained the four members as it was. XANDRIA‘s set contained mostly newer songs, featuring heavily from Universal Tales, and The Wonders Still Waiting. Vocalist Ambre Vourvahis has really come into her own since joining the band three years ago, and the two aforementioned albums featured Ambre on vocals. Of course, their set closed with Nightfall, which either featured a lot of moshing, or people trying to squeeze their way out towards the rest rooms…whatever the case, XANDRIA delivered, and the crowd was all in for it.

Soon it would be time for DELAIN to take the stage. DELAIN is no stranger here (see here, here, here, here, here), so seeing them in a headlining capacity was exciting. XANDRIA wasn’t the only band missing a member; founder, and leader of DELAIN, Martijn Westerholt, missed the show due to a family emergency; otherwise, it was the first time I had seen the new line-up.

I was curious how they would handle things in Martijn’s absence, but the band carried on as usual. The keyboard parts, normally played live by Martijn, were played from a track, and things gelled well. Diana Leah handled vocal duties exceptionally well, and won the audience over with her charm. Vocally, she sounds remarkably like Charlotte Wessels. She was clearly a fan of the music before she became a member, and performed beautifully, while showing immense respect to the songs, and fans.

Diana became frontwoman during a vacation in Italy. She caught Westerholt’s attention through an Instagram comment, and he reached out about her YouTube channel. She showed her vocal prowess through key changes and high notes in songs.

The new lineup made their mark right away with the opening song The Cold. They played six tracks from their latest album “Dark Waters” along with crowd favorites. Ronald Landa on guitars, Ludovico Cioffi on bass, and Sander Zoer on drums showed great chemistry on stage.

The band mixed new songs with classics while staying true to their symphonic metal roots. Burning Bridges brought together soaring vocals and guttural growls that showed the band’s talent for balancing melodic and aggressive elements.

A few years ago, DELAIN was on their first headlining tour of North America, playing at the Riot Room (RIP). I was unable to attend the show, so I’m happy that I was able to attend this one. Delain has always put in the work, and done incredible work supporting other artists on North American Tours. Seeing them headlining their own tour, with support from other incredible acts, is gratifying. It’s wonderful to see them getting the recognition they deserve.