Date: 08/09/26
First Direct Arena, Leeds
Support: K.Flay, Poppy.
All Images by: Seanen Middleton
Evanescence’s defiant live performances continue to prove that why they truly are one of the greatest modern heavy bands around today.
When I first saw this lineup, I had to pinch myself! Every audience automatically won with the lineup (K.Flay, Nova Twins & Poppy but location dependant) and I could hardly contain my excitement. In all honesty, I got goosebumps the day of the show because I couldn’t quite believe this tour was actually happening!
First up on the evening: K.Flay. This is an artist born for arena shows with every note hitting every single corner of the venue where the new material (the fantastic track ‘Ants’) mixed fluently with the older (the spine tingling ‘Blood In The Cut’).. You always know what to expect with K.Flay and that is the artist whom is a powerhouse levelling up massively with an audience along for the ride. What’s more is that this audience was the first to get a taste of the aforementioned ‘Ants’ which belnded spectacularly with the heavier crowd tonight albeit with a bit more of a punkier tone compared to the rest of the lineup. Hopefully by the next time we see her live, this is a staple in her set.
Secondly Poppy. My instant reaction? Breathless. That’s how she left a majority of the audience based on the glances of those around me and some in the standing section as I looked down. We’ve had punk and metal princesses before but Poppy transcends a lot of those artists. Moving between metallic aggression and deceptively bright melodies in ballad form, songs including “Scary Mask”, “crystallized”, “V.A.N” and “new way out” showcased an artist increasingly comfortable occupying the space between and breaking out of the cage of expectation as to what people whom are unfamiliar with her material see her as at a first glance.
Now for Evanescence. This is a moment, I’ve waited quite a while for and if you haven’t heard Amy Lee’s vocals live, then it’s a bucket list thing to do because her’s is the most pristine vocals I’ve ever heard at a show to date.
Appearing on a very simplistic stage setup rather than something overly zealous and blinding compared to other large arena level playing bands, the quintet offer a smoke filled stage with a large backdrop that transformed the whole thing into a gothic church. From the first note, the hauntingly beautiful vocals to the blaring backing of the guitars, bass and drums filled everything in the room to ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Tell Me When You’ve Had Enough’, ‘Afterlif’e and ‘Rapture’, it was proof that their new material was as powerful as ever but in all honesty, everywhere you look in the crowd was in awe of the performance.
Headlining into one of their biggest hits to date, ‘Going Under’ was met with the deafening screams from the audience as Amy Lee encouraged everyone to join. There were a few times where a hole did open up on stage leaving a few audience members confused but for the fans whom has seen them before, you know exactly what’s coming: a giant piano! This could only mean one of a few things and of course one of them is the heartbreaking: ‘Lithium’. Watching Amy Lee supported by nothing but that in the moment is nothing short of incredible, the emotion you hear reduced a fair few in the crowd to tears and built the song up as something more intimate with everyone in the room.
It’s after this song there was a reflection where Lee announced it had been twenty years since the release of their album, ‘The Open Door’ (released back in 2006). In celebration, for this run, they played something they have never done previously and that was the track, ‘Like You’. It’s a deeper cut to the more seasoned listeners in the room but a welcomed one nevertheless. What came after was more pyro making appearances througout the set with the members of the band at times elevated into the air for all to see in their glory.
The energy came up and down for the rest of the show but that elevated when we were graced with the presence of the opener K.Flay for ‘Fight Like A Girl’ which they had recorded together. Seeing these two artists come together in this way was awe inspiring and a joy to to watch.
Everything reached a fever pitch when their arguably most well known track ‘Bring Me To Life’ came into play. As expected this was the track which gained the most audience participation where you could hear many voices in the audience blaring their own vocals to the nu0metal anthem.. Shortly after, we were graced for a live debut with their other fantastic support Poppy in the highly emotive ‘End Of You’. I do have to say this is the cherry on top of the performance tonight because rarely we see one guest appearance (especially on a northern date of any major band) but we get the second?! We are truly blessed tonight.
Heading into the final stretch Evanescence graced us further with the highly emotional ‘My Immortal’ on piano and a white backdrop. As the track built up, the rest of the band became visible behind as they became silhouettes behind the sheet in this rendition of the track and then ending with he final track off their latest album, ‘Wide Open Heart’.
With over two decades of experiences, Evanescence could easily create a show baiting people with nostalgic tracks but there’s more than enough evidence in this Leeds show to show they are more than that, they are a band moving forward with their best written material and a true fanbase behind them.
Rating:5/5.
Almost Anything Music 