A crisp Sunday evening in November awaits the queued fans at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Excited chatter fills the air about a night of Symphonic and Power Metal, with headliners Kamelot on their Dark Asylum world tour, plus special guests Exit Eden and support from Temperance.
Kamelot – Exit Eden – Temperance
O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 1 November 2026
Words: Sean Titley
Photography: Manuela Langotsch
Kamelot deliver a masterclass in Symphonic-tinged Power Metal, immersed in a set designed around their newly released album, Dark Asylum. A concept album based around a Neo-Victorian gothic horror world set in Ravenhill Asylum, “an imposing institution once built as a grand cathedral, now repurposed into a place where science, faith and madness uneasily coexist.”
The stage set plunges us into this world with a circular stained-glass window backdrop with the Kamelot logo, a terrace behind the main stage holding a stage for the keyboard player, Oliver Palotai, with a mock organ.
Opposite him, a wonderful drum rack, all gleaming steel and arrayed cymbals, held the vastly experienced Alex Landenburg (also a current member of CyHra), who maintained the grandeur of Kamelot’s sound throughout.
Aside from this, the set is all black or dark gothic paraphernalia, including grey ravens, creepy Ravenhill asylum shields and haunting images of gothic figures. The centrepiece is a macabrely carved, jet-black throne.
The throne is reserved for their outstanding Swedish lead singer, Tommy Karevik, dressed in black leathers, a tortured soul, King of the madness.
The set list was heavily weighted towards the new album, which was passionately sung along to by the air-punching fans, just as much as the old favourites. The outstanding examples from the new album for me being Dark Asylum, which hit particularly hard. With Landenburg running free on his drum kit, the whole band seemed to thrive. Also Sanctuary, a wonderfully powerful and moving piece live.
However, for me, Kamelot were at their most compelling both when Karevik interacted closely with the audience and when supported by their unexpected guest singers. Clémentine Delauney (also of Exit Eden and Visions of Atlantis) and Ignacia Fernández (also of Decessus), who, in addition to being known for her superb death metal growls, is also Miss World Chile.
Fernández added depth to Kamelot’s sound, which accentuated Karevik’s powerful but melodic voice, and then both of these interplayed and harmonised with Delauney’s higher, more operatic pitch, making for a textured sound that overwhelmed.
All this was amply supported by Palotai, who played keyboards like a man possessed. Kamelot’s dreadlocked bassist Sean Tibbetts ruled the stage, and lead guitarist Thomas Youngblood, band founder, showed off his near forty years with the group with an unobtrusive but masterful display.
The evening also had a lovely personal touch when the drums ground to a halt. Cue a bemused Karevik when Landenburg came down from his kit to celebrate the singer’s birthday with a Kamelot candle-covered cake and a resounding chorus of Happy Birthday to Tommy.
After the more balladic and touching Ivy, My Dear, with phone torches waved aloft the punchy finale really began with a flag waving One More Flag In The Ground, leading the fevered soldiers in the venue with chant after chant.
Sanctuary blew the collective socks off. The encore of March Of Mephisto, with masked drummers and Sacrimony, provided a rapturously dramatic finale with the band and guest singers for one last time, making the smoky foundations of the ruined Ravenhill Cathedral tremble once more.
Exit Eden
If you enjoy Metal bands covering other genres’ songs, then you are in for a treat with the Symphonic Metal group Exit Eden. Three versatile singers who own the stage, dressed all in black all supported by lead, bass guitar and drums.
Symphonic/Power metal is a close-knit, collaborative world. In this instance, Temperance’s drummer Marco Sacchetto reappeared to provide again a similarly measured, cool and powerful beat for Exit Eden.
The singers, Clémentine Delauney and Anna Brunner, are supported by Chiara Tricarico, who all gave mesmerising performances. Chiara is standing in for Exit Eden’s other singer, Marina La Torraca (Battle Beast’s new lead vocalist).
They hit high note after high note, delivered with theatrical flair, combined with melodic harmonies, punchy rock vocals and pop leads.
Joined during the song Run by Temperance’s male singer, Michele Guaitoli (also of Visions of Atlantis), this really was a singers’ night, and the audience joined in. Never more so than when they covered the British band Pet Shop Boys It’s A Sin, where the crowd joined in the whole song with passion.
It would not be fair not to mention the ace axe work and stage performance by their lead and bass guitarists, who were way more animated and fun than might be expected from a band whose central attraction is the vocalists.
Given that Exit Eden said this was their first time they had played London, I have a quibble that they didn’t play more of their British classic covers, including Kayleigh, Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Skyfall, A Question of Time and Fade to Grey. The crowd would have loved it. A mysteriously missed opportunity?
Exit Eden are not just a covers band, though, and played equal amounts of their own material, but the cut through with the rows of eager listeners was greater when the well-known pop classics were covered. All in all, a lot of fun, great stage presence and an epic vocal experience.
Temperance
The strength of this lineup is immediately apparent from the full venue and throaty roar that greeted Temperance, to what was a very narrow stage for them to perform on, due to Kamelot’s set already being in place, covered in black dust sheets.
The band are promoting their new album Arcani, built around Tarot cards, with each of the thirteen songs exploring a different card.
Temperance made great use of the space they had to win the crowd over almost from the first song. Hailing from Italy and being an established Power Metal act for now well over a decade, they know their craft well, delivering a polished set.
All in black except for Kristin Starkey, the lead singer, who had more of a goth queen look with lace and gauze hanging from her arms, giving a certain bat-like appearance, thoroughly in keeping with the night after Halloween. She is one of three singers, along with Marco Pastorino and Michele Guaitoli.
The interchange between the female and male voices was captivating and, for me, at its strongest when they all harmonised with the deeper grind of the bassier voices, contrasted with the soaring, high-pitched, occasionally operatic pitch of the higher notes.
This locked in with Marco Sacchetto’s pounding drum beat and melodic guitars to create a classic Power Metal sound.
The new material made a strong impression, particularly Death: Right Before We Die and The Devil, Sin, Sin, Sin, which brought a chorus made for audience participation, which was duly delivered.
The fans, old and new, clearly loved the gig and left many cheery faces, fully warmed up, ready for Exit Eden and Kamelot to take the stage.
