Live Review : Amaranthe + Epica + Charlotte Wessels @ O2 Apollo, Manchester on January 23rd 2026

If you can find the right match-up, a co-headlining tour is veritable box office gold. Whilst increasingly big draws in this country, neither Epica nor Amaranthe are on their own ready to headline the cavernous confines of the Manchester Apollo. Yet here we are with the sold-out sign firmly in place and a venue that is packed from top to bottom. If we are honest there is quite a lot of crossover between their respective fan bases. Both play headline shows this evening, and there doesn't seem to be much to-ing and fro-ing in the middle with partisan members of the fraternity leaving after Epica or arriving especially for Amaranthe. Essentially, what we have is a value-for-money package that allows both acts to cavort on the largest stages they have yet to inhabit in this country.

If you are a fan of the headliners, then it is likely you were also, or still are, partial to a bit of Delain. Therefore, it is a masterstroke to give the opening berth to their former lead singer, especially given that her backing band is, to all intents and purposes, the pre-2021 variant of the band. She stands in the middle of the stage on a raised circular platform, almost hidden by a mic stand adorned with plastic sunflowers. Unlike tonight's other two female front people, she doesn't go down the leather-goddess route and instead plumps for a flowing white summer dress that throws off serious “Midsommar” vibes. You are immediately reminded of what a charismatic and enrapturing frontperson Charlotte actually is. Her voice, as ever, is astonishing, but since her departure from Delain it seems to have gained a new level of maturity and textured depth.  

It is a very tight and disciplined set. When Charlotte is not standing on her circular pedestal, she is off stage (though still visible through the transparent curtain), allowing the others members of the band to be the centre of attention. It is not clear whether it is a choice or necessity, but she avoids material from her and the guys around her former employee. Instead, she concentrates on her first and third solo albums as well as providing teasers for what is yet to come. The two new tracks, ‘Tempest’ and ‘After Us, The Flood’ are particularly strong and have an innate heaviness that is rather impressive. It is all deliciously dreamy but also meticulously grounded. Timo Somers' guitar work is especially evocative and emotional. He is restrained and in the shadows for most of the set, but then occasionally steps forward to unleash the most incredibly adept solos. Final track 'The Exorcism’ sees Charlotte become completely caught up in the moment, flagellating herself on the floor as the music flows over her. An impressive and evocative set that proves Delain's leadership in exile have still got what it takes.  

Epica have brought all the toys. Their stage set is a futuristic playground that provides visual and sensual overload. A masked figure begs us to be in the moment and not to live through our phones. His pleas are mostly answered as the shadowplay of opening number ‘Apparition’ is met in the main by wide-eyed wonder as opposed to flickering neon screens. Simone is initially draped in a veil and silhouetted in darkness. She seems to take on the persona of the titular character from The Woman in black, a ghostly figure calling to us from high up on the raised superstructure. It continues in that vein, a highly theatrical show that uses the LED netting and projection spotlights to spectacular effect. ‘Eye Of The Storm’ provides mimicked rainfall whilst ‘Sirens – of Blood and Water’ sees thick bellowing smoke that enwraps the performance area. The latter track is also special as it sees Charlotte Wessel (via an impressive costume change) join Simone onstage, singing to each other as they are embossed in the shadows. 

They may well have elected to go on first this evening, but they make no bones about providing a level of performance and spectacle that it is pretty much impossible to follow. Everything is precision-engineered to impress, and it is a slick rollercoaster of astonishing set piece after astonishing set piece. When you think it can't get any more opulent, they roll out a piano for ‘Tides of the Time’ and then blow the hallucinogenic Kaleidoscopic graphics budget for ‘The Grand Saga of Existence – A New Age Dawns, Part IX’. It is a lavish, extroverted marvel of a show that spares no prisoners when it comes to magnificent splendour. However, none of the bells and whistles anything if the band aren't on form. Tonight Epica are firing on all cylinders and clearly having a whale of a time. During ‘Cry for the Moon’ they each take turns to joyfully gurn into the onstage camera, mouthing the words and grinning insanely like the cats who have managed to take control of the whole diary cart. It is that obvious level of self-aware humanity that stops it from becoming overproduced pompous twaddle. 

Live, Epica always manage to unleash a heaviness that is more subdued on record. Mark Jansen’s growls, whilst sporadic, are indeed positively evocative. When they are unleashed, they enhance the material, giving it a much-needed griminess and jagged underbelly. Coen Janssen is also in particularly fine form; unlike most synth players, he is not content to be stuck behind a keyboard. On numerous occasions, he joins his band mates up front, welding a portable set-up that allows him to rush around, demand circle pits and join Simone in synchronised stage moves. For the final number,’Beyond the Matrix’, he goes one better and dives into the photo pit. Epica have have always been a highly enjoyable symphonic metal band but tonight sees them take it to another level entirely. Rather than being a case of style over substance, they take the style and the impressive staging and use it as a launchpad for the substance. A brilliant all-consuming show that is extraordinary in both musicality and theatrics.

If we are honest, even with the lasers, Amaranthe’s visual setup feels a bit DIY and produced by Uncle Sven in his backyard, after the hi-tech Technicolour glory of Epica. The other noticeable difference is the massive reliance on backing tracks. For a band that puts so much emphasis on dance beats and silky snyths, it is very obvious that they are being piped through via backing tracks. There are numerous moments during the show where the three vocalists, Elzie, Nils and Mikael our accompanied solely by prerecorded instrumentation, and it feels like you're watching Steps, the metal years. However, there are indeed a ying to this yang. Whilst Amaranthe may not possess the operatic abundance of Epica, there is an undeniable sense of fun about their show. For all the use of pre-records, it has a sense of spontaneity and unrehearsed passion.

Three vocalists means treble the amount of enthusiastic, charismatic banter. Eliza may well be the old guard, but she turns out to be the least forthcoming when it comes to audience interaction and relative newcomers Nils and Milael are left to pick up the lion's share of the quips and anecdotes. They both come across as incredibly likeable, and the ecstatic audience eat from their hands, especially when they allow the inhabitants of the room to enthusiastically boo any town that is not Manchester. When it comes to pop metal, Amaranthe lean unapologetically into the word pop. ‘Crystalline’ screams out to be a big number from a Disney animated feature whilst new song ‘Chaos Theory’ is drenched in sweet saccharine. It is all blissfully commercial and bereft of any jagged edges. It still manages to be infectiously enjoyable, but this is truly metal at its most accessible and radio-friendly. By rolling out slick, perfectly formed ballad ‘Amaranthine’, that originally resided on their debut record, they prove that as opposed to moving towards overt commerciality, they have always fished from those waters.

Amaranthe continue to bring the fun and frolics until the dying moments of the set. The encore see’s them right up against the curfew and the venue begins to empty as they slide into, ‘Archangel’ as people contemplate the likelihood of missing the last train home. There are final demands for raised voices and raised arms as infectiously catchy hooks are without scant regard rained down upon us.Epica may well be siphoning metal through highbrow refined symphonic filters, but Amaranthe have no issue with splicing our beloved music with unashamed dirty pop. It may well be guilty pleasure central, but it still feels wonderfully cathartic. It is the juxtaposition of these two differing touchstones that makes this evening so edifying and enjoyable. Both bands are gloriously similar enough to appeal to each other's devotees but distinctively different to sculpt a night that feels like a veritable banquet of styles and approaches. A diverse and delightful amalgamation of high theatrics and joyful wonderful silliness.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Amaranthe + Epica + Charlotte Wessels