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Concert Review – Visions of Atlantis (Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON, 04/09/2025)

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Sailors, comrades and buccaneers from every nook and cranny of Toronto gathered this Wednesday night for an electrifying feast of first-class Melodic and Symphonic Power Metal.

OPENING ACT: Seraina Telli

Sailors, comrades and buccaneers from every nook and cranny of Toronto gathered at the always cozy Lee’s Palace this Wednesday night for a cinematic, thrilling feast of Melodic and Symphonic Metal, plus some colorful and vibrant Hard Rock, courtesy of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS with special guest SERAINA TELLI during their Armada Over North America Tour 2025, brought to the city by the iconic Noel Peters of Inertia Entertainment. Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi and I were there to cover such a unique experience in the city, and I must say that from all Symphonic Metal bands out there these days, Visions of Atlantis are by far the most entertaining one, and the one I can listen to on a regular basis without getting bored at all. Quite the contrary, right after the show I kept listening to their music instead of switching to something else, just to give you an idea of how exciting the whole night was.

But before those Austrian pirates (seasoned with French and Italian elements) hit the stage, we were treated to the electrifying Hard Rock by Switzerland’s own SERAINA TELLI, a pleasant surprise as I’ve been following her work since she was part of Burning Witches, but I honestly had zero hope of seeing her live with her solo career in Canada. Well, it was amazing watching Seraina on the stage at Lee’s Palace, as she simply kicked ass with her beyond powerful and beautiful voice, colorful looks (which matched perfectly with her 2023 debut solo album Addicted to Color, available on Spotify), and rockin’ moves, and the crowd loved every single moment of her show. Not even the fact the bass lines were pre-recorded took away the energy of her show, with songs like Addicted to Color and Wish You Well masterfully depicting her passion for Rock N’ Roll. There was a funny moment when during one of her interactions with the crowd she asked us to sing with her some sort of “oooh-oh-oh-oh!”, and one guy screamed “what does that mean?” Seraina laughed out loud as she was caught by surprise, sayinbg no one had ever asked her that before, and that moment made the whole show even more intimate and relaxed. Hopefully we’ll see her again soon in Toronto, because at the same time she’s addicted to color, Toronto is just starting to get addicted to her music.

Setlist
Addicted to Color
Wish You Well
I’m Not Sorry
Take Care
I Dare to
Think!
All Your Tears
If No One Else Had Ever Been There Before
Modern Warrior

Band members
Seraina Telli – vocals, guitar
Mike Malloth – drums

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS

It was 9pm sharp when the Austrian pirate ship of Melodic/Symphonic Power Metal buccaneers VISIONS OF ATLANTIS docked in the “port” of Lee’s Palace for one of the most entertaining shows of the year, making everyone at the venue raise their fists, jump up and down, dance, headbang, and even row on the floor, thanks to their awesome pirate gimmick (or maybe they’re real pirates, who knows). Their latest albums Pirates (2022) and Pirates II – Armada (2024) resulted in an amazing live album titled Armada (Live Over Europe) (2025), available on Spotify, and that was basically their setlist for the night. I had no idea how they would behave during their first-ever headlining tour in Canada and in the US, after having a few opening slots like when they opened for Korpiklaani in 2024, but Visions of Atlantis were incredible from start to finish and, therefore, deserve a bigger venue when they get back to the city (as much as I love Lee’s Palace).

Songs like Monsters, Heroes of the Dawn, Where the Sky and Ocean Blend, Clocks, Tonight I’m Alive, Hellfire, and so on (and holy shit, they definitely know how to craft catchy tunes!) sounded thrilling live thanks to the perfect synchronicity between their pirate frontman Michele Guaitoli and their stunning siren Clémentine Delauney, plus their heavy artillery brought forth by Christian Douscha, Herbert Glos, and Thomas Caser. Michele and Clémentine are by far one of the best, most talented and most charismatic vocal duos in heavy music, maybe only losing to Helloween’s iconic vocalists Michael Kiske and Andi Deris (just to give you an idea of how good Michele and Clémentine are), and their clash of vocal styles kept the energy flowing majestically during their entire show. Michele brings power and fun to the stage with his crazy pirate character, while Clémentine is simply hypnotizing, driving the crowd crazy and putting huge smiles on everyone’s faces.

The last part of the show was a very entertaining and demanding one, starting with the pirate ship rowing during Pirates Will Return, the unstoppable jumping during the “jump jump” song Melancholy Angel, and of course the screaming of “HAIL JOLLY ROGER!” and “ARMADA!” during their now all-time hit Armada. I was even tired after the show was over, but a good type of exhaustion, I mean, when you’re tired but very satisfied and happy, got it? And if you ask me, not only they need to return to Toronto sooner than you can say “ARMADA!” with an even bigger headlining show, but they also deserve a spot opening for bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Helloween anywhere in the world. Visions of Atlantis are absolutely awesome, and if you don’t like them, it’s time for you to walk the plank.

Setlist
To Those Who Choose to Fight
The Land of the Free
Monsters
Heroes of the Dawn
Where the Sky and Ocean Blend
Clocks
Legion of the Seas
Tonight I’m Alive
Collide
Hellfire
The Dead of the Sea
Underwater
Magic of the Night
Pirates Will Return
Melancholy Angel

Encore:
Master the Hurricane
Armada

Band members
Clémentine Delauney – female vocals
Michele Guaitoli – male vocals
Christian Douscha – guitars
Herbert Glos – bass
Thomas Caser – drums

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Album Review – Hellfire / Goat Revenge EP (2017)

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From the ominous pits of the Ukrainian underworld, comes a triad of black metallers ready to crush your soul with their demolishing debut album.

Are you ready for a demonic storm of Black Metal made in Ukraine, with strong influences from old school Thrash and Death Metal? If instead of simply answering yes you began banging your head and raised your devilish horns, then the darkened, blasphemous music crafted by the vicious power trio known as Hellfire in their debut EP titled Goat Revenge might be exactly what you’re looking for in extreme music. In a little less than 25 minutes, Hellfire unleash sheer fury and hatred upon humanity in Goat Revenge (which by the way features a beyond traditional and macabre artwork by artist Oleg Satanyugin), showcasing all their loyalty and passion for underground Black Metal.

Forged in 2014 in the hellish fires of Kremenchuk, an important industrial city in the Poltava Oblast, in central Ukraine, by lead singer and guitarist Karagh and bassist Necrobaphomet (former members of Ukrainian Black Metal band Paranomia), Hellfire have been gaining a lot of positive feedback wherever they play in their homeland, inspiring the trio to keep moving forward and never turning their backs to traditional Black Metal. If you check their biography online, you’ll see they don’t assign “regular instruments” to themselves, but they use more obscure words to describe their roles in the band. Karagh is responsible for “all guitar holocaust, screams and bulldozer”, Necrobaphomet takes care of the “four strings fornication and obscurant propaganda”, and their third element, drummer Skullcrusher, provides the “drums of doom and coffins”. After reading that, how putrid and aggressive do you think Hellfire might sound?

Goat Revenge starts with an Intro comprised of a minute of flies buzzing, gun shots and ominous sounds, directly followed by the cutting tune Hellmass Attack, where the band delivers devilish Black Metal with huge influences from Death Metal and hints of the badass Rock N’ Roll by Motörhead. Moreover, Karagh blasts pure evilness through his demonic growls and metallic riffs, boosting the song’s already visceral sonority. Following a similar pattern from its predecessor, the title-track Goat Revenge is led by the infernal and rhythmic beats by Skullcrusher, while its main riff will incite you to bang your head nonstop. In addition to that, Karagh sounds filthier on vocals than before, with Necrobaphomet maintaining a high level of obscurity in the music with his roaring bass guitar.

War Apocalypse Battery, another thunderous, badass composition by Hellfire and a mandatory choice for their live performances, presents a solid melody without abandoning the band’s old school sonority thanks to the amazing job done by all band members, in special Karagh with his fiery guitar; whereas investing in a darker and more visceral Black Metal sounding, the power trio fires pure hatred and evil through their music in Field of Screams, with Skullcrusher doing justice to his nickname by pounding his drums manically. And adding some groove to their musicality, Unholy Cult presents a more rhythmic display of their blasphemous Black Metal, with Karagh and Necrobaphomet slashing their strings in a powerful way while Skullcrusher takes care of the intricacy in the music through his beats.

Unleash the Beast is the closest the band gets to the most primeval form of Black Metal, with the song’s fiendish gnarls and blast beats impregnating the air and disturbing our minds. Not only that, Karagh once again offers the listener trenchant riffs during the whole song, and maybe because it’s the longest of all tracks it’s also the one presenting the highest amount of progressiveness and variations, resulting in an amazing full-flavored Extreme Metal chant. Lastly, the band hits us ruthlessly with their most vile fusion of Black and Death Metal titled Lord of the Mighty Horns, one more great option for their live concerts. The drumming by Skullcrusher reminds me of old school Cannibal Corpse, while Necrobaphomet leads the song’s pugnacious ending with his rumbling bass lines, concluding the album on an extremely savage note.

If you have the guts to brave the ominous pits of the Ukrainian underworld to the sound of Hellfire, simply visit their Facebook or VKontakte for news about the band (including their tour dates if you live in Ukraine or if you’re planning on visiting the country anytime soon), listen to Goat Revenge on Spotify, and purchase your copy of the album at the Witches Brew’s BandCamp or webshop, on iTunes or on Amazon. Hellfire will certainly crush your soul with their unrelenting Black Metal, which in the end is everything you crave when listening to good extreme music, right?

Best moments of the album: Hellmass Attack, War Apocalypse Battery and Unleash the Beast.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2017 Witches Brew/Iron County Records

Track listing
1. Intro 0:53
2. Hellmass Attack 2:43
3. Goat Revenge 3:37
4. War Apocalypse Battery 3:44
5. Field of Screams 2:29
6. Unholy Cult 2:53
7. Unleash the Beast 4:39
8. Lord of the Mighty Horns 3:24

Band members
Karagh – guitars, vocals
Necrobaphomet – bass
Skullcrusher – drums