You can't help but feel sorry for our Tarja. In Lisbon on the 7th of March 2020, she embarked on an envisaged mammoth tour of continental Europe to support the release of her latest album, “In the Raw”. What was meant to be a glorious celebration of her rapidly ascending profile, unceremoniously ground to a halt in Bilbao after a solitary four shows. It was the dawn of the global pandemic and borders were slamming shut all over Europe. Two further attempts were made to get back on the road in 2021 and 2022 respectively, but neither came to anything. But Tarja is a resilient soul (she has of course built an admirable solo career after being remorselessly kicked out of Nightwish) and where others would have given the whole thing up as a bad idea, here we all are for a  fourth attempt.

Tonight openers, Beneath the Embers, hail from Maidstone in Kent and are trying to do something different with metalcore. They do get instant plaudits from me for their attempt to fire a bit of variety into what can be one of the blandest of metals’ infinite subgenres. However, it is obvious that things are not quite as they should be up on their stage. Clint Bredin’s guitar seems to be experiencing the age-old adage of technical difficulties. It sounds patchy, as if half the notes are getting lost somewhere between him plucking them and their emergence out of the speakers.

Musically what they're trying to do is really interesting. They are melding the swing of vintage classic rock with the high-octane bounce of metalcore. It just comes across as a little rushed and unprepared tonight. Maybe it's a case of nerves, but they are missing that elusive swagger.  All the ingredients are there to make Beneath The Embers a really enticing proposition, it just needs some more polish and some more self-assurance. But there is definitely a really interesting act here desperate to get out.

Italians Temperance hail from the Tarja school of resilience. Less than two weeks ago, with this prestigious support slot on the horizon, their female lead vocalist (their USP is to have both male and female frontpeople) and their drummer walked away. This was on top of their usual male vocalist, Michele Guaitoli, already being cup-tied with existing commitments. However rather than stalk away and lick their wounds, they prioritised bringing in guest musicians as replacements and from the strength of the performance tonight they have done a remarkable job of baking them into the band. Temperance come across as such a slick and highly professional unit, it is really hard to imagine this is only the sixth show that this line-up has played together. Lina Victoria and Gabriele Gozzi trade stage positions and lyrics like they have worked together for years. 

This is big, brash, European Symphonic metal at its best. It's brim-full of catchy hooks, soaring guitars and gigantic choruses. Gabriele Gozzi is having an absolute blast and spends the entire show bonding with the Mancunian audience. His vocal range is simply incredible and, on several occasions, he manages to hold notes longer than is frankly humanly possible. He comes across as a man that absolutely adores what he does for a living and that unbridled exuberance is highly infectious. Whilst this is undoubtedly Tarja’s crowd, the raised fists that Gabriele regularly commands, steadily grow as the set goes on. Set closer ‘Catch the Dream’ is sung acapella, and whilst it is probably not top of anybody present’s karaoke list, they soon have the whole crowd joining in. Tonight's performance is very much one of grit and determination and is obvious that Temperance’s good nature and tenacity wins them a plethora of new followers.

But tonight is really only about one woman. The response Tarja elicits when she wanders on stage is thunderous. She has some sort of mystical energy about her. I have never been able to fully comprehend what it is, but she seems to have some other-worldly ability to catch me (and from the transfixed looks of the packed Academy 2, many many others) in some form of rapturous spell. Her presence is ethereal and atmospheric like she has entered this plain of existence through some sort of translucent looking-glass. And then there is a voice. As ever it is an absolutely astounding mix of operatic soprano and deep haunting Gothic melody. 

Whilst “In the Raw”, may now be heading towards its fourth birthday, this is the tour that was meant to promote it and come hell or high water promote it is what Tarja is going to do. Over the ninety-minute set, we get six tracks from it, with ‘Goodbye Stranger’ used as an elongated opportunity for band solos as Tarja takes a quick breather. To be honest, if you had a backing band that contains the talents of not only Alex Scholpp but also Doug Wimbish (the man who put the funk into Living Colour) then you would be giving them as much room to show off their talents as possible. And that is probably the biggest takeaway from this evening. I love Tarja with utter passion and I know she's going to be good and I know she's just gonna blow my little mind away. But God, how good and how heavy is her band?? ‘Silent Masquerade’ can best be described as crushing. Doug’s bass dispenses deep, resonating sounds that do something evil indeed with your insides.

We get but one foray into her past life and ‘Wishmaster’ is greeted like a prodigal child by the assembled masses. During many of the songs tonight the audience stays stum and listens intently to Tajra’s exquisite lilt. But with ‘Wishmaster’ they join in, revelling in its appearance. But Tarja has been a solo artist now for 15 years and has built up her own impressive arsenal. She ignores her seasonal and classical material and instead plumps for the harder and heavier corners of the catalogue. ‘Innocence’, ‘Undertaker’ and ‘I Walk Alone’ all land like precision explosives, direct and devastating.

She forgoes the pantomime that is the encore and instead just powers on through the set. ‘Until My Last Breath’ brings it all to a conclusion and her band continues to be utterly utterly amazing. It is really obvious that they are not interested in being hired hands and instead are spilling out every single inch of their collective musical brilliance. And then with a fittingly theatrical bow, it is over. A wonderful evening of rich operatic, symphonic metal. Very very much fourth time lucky.

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

Tarja, Temperance, Beneath The Embers