Before the doors open, two long queues are snaking around the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, buzzing with anticipatory chat for the coming Mittel-European assault on the senses of the German bands, Beyond The Black and SETYØURSAILS and from Switzerland, Seraina Telli.
Beyond The Black – SETYØURSAILS – Seraina Telli
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – 16 January 2026
Words: Sean Titley
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
Beyond The Black
Beyond The Black delivered a masterclass in Symphonic Metal, immediately capturing the venue with their song, Break The Silence from their outstanding new album of the same name.
Jennifer Haben started her career as a child pop star. It is well worth checking out her version of I Will Always Love You singing as an adult with her eleven-year-old self.
Dressed in black, Haben is a mesmerising focal point. Her striking elegance and commanding stage presence are only overshadowed by her first-rate voice. Commanding the stage and leading a band that looks every inch an embodiment of what a Metal band should be, they expertly blend polished Symphonic Metal with at times heavy, Thrash-inspired riffs and Maiden-style harmonised guitars.
A highlight was the song Ravens, the collective name for the band’s resolute fanbase. For this track only, Haben performed in stunning gold wings, capturing the raven’s symbolism of mystery, insight, and the merging of the mystical with the real.
For me, there was a little concern that the wings might not have been as firmly attached as hoped, with Haben’s movement being somewhat curtailed, but still a glorious sight.
Beyond The Black played against a backdrop of double-tiered video screens. This worked particularly well during the song When Angels Fall, with the statues of angels holding their arms in classical sculpture poses echoing Haben’s sweeping arm gestures at the front of the stage.
Aside from that, the video visuals seemed non-specific to the songs and happily allowed the focus to be on the band, who needed no visual assistance for the fans to love every moment.
Haben shared that the new album addresses the paradox of living in a “hyper-connected world” where we feel increasingly disconnected and that the songs are about uniting us. This lent a particular poignancy to The Art Of Being Alone, which began a power-packed final medley.
In the sing-along spirit of the night, voices roared in unison during Running To The Edge and by the time they reached the final belter, Hallelujah, the conspiracy of ravens were unified in a state of triumph and fan adoration, bringing them to a peak, before being released light and smiling back into the black London night.
SETYØURSAILS
Moving across the musical spectrum, SETYØURSAILS delivered a high-octane, in-your-face performance that brought out the raw energy of modern Metalcore.
Anchored by lead singer Jules Mitch, with an incredible vocal range, switching seamlessly from talk-singing to unbelievable screams and guttural growls, the band owned the stage with a vibe that was both dominant and edgy.
Jules was the focal point and tore the hell out of it with her trademark swagger and cut through intelligence. A minimalist black clothed and white lighting aesthetic focused on the music where they powered through tracks like Why, which SETYØURSAILS introduced as “a very aggressive track”, cheekily telling the largely British assembly: “We’re German, we are aggressive.”
The defiant Fckoff engaged the room in a spirited call-and-response of “Fuck” from one side of the room and “Off” from the other.
This was strikingly juxtaposed with their social message. The lead singer carrying on stage during one song a black flag proclaiming no place for racism, sexism, or homophobia. This stance, perhaps a conscious reflection on Germany’s complex political history, added a layer of moral depth to their intense sound.
The band faced a stylistic uphill battle. While the room respected the display, the ripping and tearing sound of Metalcore occasionally felt like too much for an audience primarily gathered for the polished, Symphonic Power Metal of Beyond The Black.
Despite this disconnect, the band’s self-deprecating humour and charisma were infectious, even raising the occasional belly laugh. It was a fun, dynamic set that proved SETYØURSAILS are a force to be reckoned with, even if the Symphonic Metal fans were not quite ready to “break their necks.”
Seraina Telli
Seraina Telli is a two-piece consisting of Telli on vocals, guitar and keyboard and Rico H on drums. Telli’s mastery of her instruments shows she is one of those ridiculously talented musicians who you feel could bring any instrument she chooses into play. To boot, she has a heck of a set of bellows powering her voice.
The blue and green-haired Telli seems intent on being tagged as a fairy or Oompah-Loompa-Metal with a visual aesthetic which is familiar from the hippier corners of Glastonbury Festival or the 1971 Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
This was pure theatre, as the set was of a fairy glade with large lit-up plastic flowers, equipment wrapped with leaves and branches and green lighting to set the mood.
The on-stage outfit of a leather jacket with translucent wings, swirly short green skirt, green lighting and a signature green guitar with pink strap also helps remind that they are promoting their new album Green. The music is a Metal, alternative rock and pop combination.
All three bands tonight are led by female vocalists, something that is still slightly unusual. This brings the only truly duff note of the evening when Telli, reflecting this fact, seeks that the predominantly male, Symphonic Metal gathering should shout out for “girl power”, which got the response you would expect, from male and female alike.
This was a brave, spirited, enjoyable and stylistically eye opening set that showcased a performer unafraid to experiment who, to some degree, won the throng over in the face of people that were clearly here for Beyond The Black.
