Live Review: Visions of Atlantis - Rebellion, Manchester
5th October 2022
Support: Ye Banished Privateers, Xandria
Words & Photos: Rich Price
After braving the football traffic the journey to Rebellion which is normally fifteen minutes took close to one hour, so upon arrival Rebellion was absolutely heaving and I was greeted with eight pirates on stage and the middle of a 17th-century party. It was a surreal experience it has to be said, walking into a room full of pirates having a ‘whale’ of a time in the middle of Manchester city centre. Fantastic costumes on stage and in the crowd, including an unprecedented number of tri-corner hats being waved in the air. It’s fair to say that if the gimmick wasn’t backed up with great songs, great characters, and a flair for storytelling from the crew, then they wouldn’t have been going down so well with the crowd, and they went down very well indeed. Ending their set with big cheers from the crowd, this was a genuinely enjoyable set and set the scene perfectly for the rest of the evening.
Next up was German symphonic metal band Xandria playing their first gig here since 2017, as expressed by band leader Marco Heubaum addressing the crowd later in the set. It still touches the heartstrings that musicians are so grateful to be back out doing what they love after the pandemic.
They had an epic sound on the small stage. The new lineup has gelled together well and put on a wonderful show. There was a big full sound coming from the Rebellion stage, most notably some absolutely powerhouse drumming. The new song Ghosts is an absolute stormer, and by the time they play the last song they had won the crowd over. An excellent performance that was met with long lingering applause from the appreciative crowd.
Headliners Visions of Atlantis from Austria come out to an energetic crowd and present a perfect fusion of the pirate theme of Ye Banished Privateers and the symphonic Xandria neatly wrapped up into their cinematic set. This was a charismatic set, delivered with flare and showmanship and the vocals were incredible.
This was a heck of a show and they engaged with the crowd very well, even responding to a note from the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to someone called Ste. The sound coupled with the visuals of quaffing from oversized tankards and the level of storytelling lent the set a very commercial borderline Disneyesque feel to it.
Rounding out the set with a brief visit to the stage from Dragonforce guitarist Sam Totman, to the song Melancholy Angel, which had been rechristened very accurately ‘the Jump Jump song’. After leaving the stage, the crowd were chanting and stamped their feet so loudly and forcefully enough to give the building a bit of a shake, and delivered an epic finisher to their set which had been postponed for 2.5 years.
An absolutely wonderful evening out at Rebellion bar, which outdid itself in creating a fantastic atmosphere tonight.
Photo credits: Rich Price Photography
