Creeping around the dark corner into what feels like a witches cave, this vespertine exhibition of siren songstresses is just getting revved up and already the venue is filling out. The merchandise is set up in its usual space facing the bar, patrons peeking over their shoulders to marvel at the display of artwork as they wait in line for a beer.

Despite so many similarities and a shared bill, the contrast is stark, Ignea’s Japanese-Suibokuga inspired designs against Eleine’s medieval gothics in glinting golds. It is the release tour for Eleine’s “We Shall Remain” album, and nostalgia brews at the sight of stacks of CDs, some tattooed with signatures.

Ignea are the singular chosen guests of Eleine, already giving this Ukrainian five piece gravity as a sizable group gathers at the front of the stage. The lights plunge suddenly into a foreboding red, and Helle Bohdanova stalks onto the stage with a confident prowess. She is draped in heavy black, chillingly folkloric with haunting vocals to match.

Accompanying this fearsome femme fatale are her black-clad brutalists, brazenly blasting through their first few songs with energetic eagerness. The set list is full of tracks from the 2023 album “Dreams of Lands Unseen”, a confronting and compelling project dedicated to Ukrainian photographer Sofia Yablonska and her daring documentation of European struggle post World War 2.

Encapsulated perfectly in ‘Camera Obscura’, Yablonska’s work is clearly pertinent to the band, as the solemn reminder of their homeland’s invasion rides the soaring sadness in Helle’s vocal performance, against the backdrop of a symbolic yellow and blue light display.

There is a defiance to their performance, very befitting of a tour dedicated to an album titled “We Shall Remain”, unrelenting and unstoppable even in the face of global tragedy, championing the story of Ukrainian endurance and visionary women. It is a very powerful performance, potently passionate, confronting and raw.

While Helle is captivating, she doesn’t outshine her bandmates. Yevhenii Zhytniuk, performing with the criminally underrated Keytar, wields his instrument like a buster sword, subtly stirred by the novelty of it himself. He’s also making sure the crowd are doing their part, gesturing during breaks in his playing, pointing out into the darkness and encouraging the audience to bounce around like Helle during the rolling riffs.

The band finish their set with the epic ‘Leviathan’, the song that closed their bloodstock performance a few months back. Orchestral arrangements against pulsing drum beats, Ignea know how to close their show with the biggest of bangs. An epic folk melody rides crushing guitars, while band and crowd both headbang with intensity.

There is a roaring applause for Ignea as they depart from the stage, clearly a force to be reckoned with, showcasing a seasoned professionalism beyond their years. Melancholic and mesmerising, and thrilling and touching, there’s no need for a few bands tonight to warm this crowd up for the main event. Ignea just set everybody on fire.

The name ‘Eleine’ comes from lead singer, Madeleine Liljestam and her command is evident. This is her dominion, and as if hypnotised by some unseen, arcane power, whenever Madeleine so much as raises a fist, the crowd complies in an instant. She almost acts as conductor alongside her vocals, leading her band of Swedish brothers through a layered and immersive journey, enshrouding the Rebellion in a stygian veil of allure and mesmerism.

She spins around the stage with an almost other-wordly seductive elegance, but her stoic ferocity slips when she takes in the crowd; moved by the turn out and touched by the support. She blows kisses and makes a heart with her hands, smiling as the symbol is mirrored back to her.

You can’t mention Madeleine without giving due credit to her co-founder and guitarist turned growler Rikard Ekberg, a dynamic duo echoing the direction of early Nightwish. Rikard is an excellent showman, theatrical with an untamed wildness to his performance. He is ignited with passion, evident when the whirring lights catch the menace in his eyes.

The contrast of his guttural vocals against the disarmingly clear serenades of Madeleine make for a powerful chronicle of a show, swarming with soothing symphonies, expressive neo-classical interludes and a harmonic chemistry in the rhythmic section, composed of Filip Stälberg on bass, and Jesper Sunnhagen on drums.

Madeleine introduces fan-favourite anthem ‘Where Your Rotting Corpse Lie’, to thundering applause and eager screams, as the band plunge into the dark barrage of the song's opening, carried by inhumanely fast drumming from Jesper and punctuated with atmospheric operatics. The song is a testament to their gloomy gothic influences, and a flawless flaunt of Rikard and Madeleine’s vocal alliance.

Eleine embrace their symphonic talents towards the latter half of their show, yet remain guitar-centric. The genre Eleine play within can stifle guitar into a monotonous backing track, but Rikard won’t let that happen, his playing too savage to be subdued. The thrash influence begins to show, as the band members swing their heads from side-to-side in synchronously.

Madeleine takes a moment to thank the crowd, her voice breathy and her face beaming. She reminds us that this is Eleine’s first headlining tour in the UK, and her pride is infectious. It’s Rikard’s turn to address the crowd now, and levels with us that this is the part where he would encourage us to go harder and louder than ever before, but that would be redundant to this crowd given how incredible they have been in support of Eleine. Although the crowd sounded apathetic upon hearing it, Rikard seemed truthful when he claimed this is the best crowd they’ve had on tour yet.

Blasting through ‘All Shall Burn’ and rolling straight into the title track of the album “We Shall Remain”, Eleine deliver two punchy tracks to end the night with. Madeleine hops up onto the stage amps at the front of the stage, reaching a fist out into the crowd as she gives it her all for her final song. Rikard follows suit, flicking his tongue at the crowd and looming his guitar over the front row. Even bass player Filip takes centre stage for a brief moment, banging his head as he plucks through the final chords of the final song.

Thanking us one final time, Madeleine reaches out to clasp hands, and the band join her, making a slow exit stage right, catching handshakes and fistbumps as ear-splitting whistles and screams fill the venue in the absence of crushing metal. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Eleine + Ignea