Page 64 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 107

BV107 pg 64-67 Within Temptation Evanescence.qxp_BV107 pg64 02/12/2022 18:49 Page 1

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WITHIN TEMPTATION / EVANESCENCE / VERIDIA – BIRMINGHAM UTILITA ARENA, 15.11.22
Originally announced to take place in April 2020, Evanescence and Within Temptation’s Worlds Collide Tour was postponed until 2021, postponed
again until March 2022, and postponed yet again until November 2022. It’s definitely a case of third time lucky, as the tour has finally happened – and
the wait was definitely worth it.
This great female-fronted tour, of course, could not take place without a third female-fronted band opening each night: Meet VERIDIA from
Nashville, Tennessee. They have a formidable vocalist in the form of Deena Jakoub. Not only does she look the part, but she sounds the part too,
with immaculate vocals. Opening with ‘Blood Diamond’, the atmospheric rock tune captures the audience from the start. Deena swirls two long glowing
drapes of lit-up yellow and red fabric towards the end of the song. “I cannot tell you how honoured we are to be sharing the stage with Evanescence
and Within Temptation,” says Deena, before ‘Poppies’, a song from their latest ‘Pain Reliever’ EP. Amy Lee joins the band on piano for the emotional
‘I’ll Never Be Ready’, a stunning, heartbreaking song about grief. While VERIDIA originally formed in 2012, this is still just the start of a magical future.

Tonight, Evanescence are next
up. They and Within Temptation are
taking it in turns to headline the
event. Evanescence were on last in
London the night before, so tonight
it’s Within Temptation’s turn. Evanes-
cence’s set begins with ‘Artefact/The
Turn’, the opening track from their
2021 release ‘The Bitter Truth’, and
Amy Lee steps in at the back of the
stage up on a high riser behind the
drum kit. With a dark, evocative vo-
cals, Amy is a mesmerising front-
woman. In fact, we get chills
numerous times during the set –
something we haven’t felt for a while.
Amy’s vocals can touch parts of the
soul that others can’t. “We made it!”
the frontwoman says. “I don’t think
we’ve ever appreciated it this much.
If you guys are anything like us, it just
makes it worth it just a million times
more to be back after having it taken
away, doesn’t it?” Now with Emma
Anzai of Sick Puppies in the band on
bass, the unit perform songs from
their latest album, such as ‘Broken
Pieces Shine’ and ‘Take Cover’,
alongside classic Evanescence hits
such as ‘Going Under’, ‘Call Me
When You’re Sober’ and ‘Imaginary’.

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