We introduced the ladies of LOVEBITES to you before and even got the chance to interview bandleader Miho and now it’s time to tell you about the night we’ve been waiting for! On November 13th they kicked off their European tour in Patronaat, Haarlem.
Before the ladies entered the stage we got to listen to the support act of the night: Phantom Elite, a Dutch band with a Brazilian powerwoman. And power it was, although they aren’t a well-known band they blew me away. Their music matched the night perfectly and Marina’s vocals were amazing. They know how to warm-up a crowd and it was a very good wake-up call for what’s coming.
And it came really fast, we only got a short break between the bands. Everything was perfectly timed and the ladies of LOVEBITES entered the stage with their intro song THE AWAKENING. It was an awakening indeed, the ladies were welcomed by a lot of manly screams and applause. They started with a song well-known: THE CRUSADE, in which they showed what they can do: fast guitarriffs, heavy drums and amazing vocal power. Those skills continued in another famous song DON’T BITE THE DUST and after that vocalist Asami welcomed everyone and told how happy they are to be here.
Their blast continued with BREAK THE WALL, a really good headbang song and SCREAM FOR ME, which has many solos so bassist Miho and guitarists Midori and Miyako could show the crowd their skills. Those solos continued and announced the next song, fans recognized those riffs immediately and the screaming got louder. SHADOWMAKER is the song we’re talking about! Fists could be noticed everywhere, most of them in their own rhythm which is a sign that everyone enjoys the show in its own way.
Everyone went silent to listen to the guitar riffs that starts in the symphonic song ABOVE THE BLACK SEA, it’s a bit different than we heard before but it still sounded like LOVEBITES. The band held another talk with the crowd, when vocalist Asami announced the next song she asked if we knew this song. The whole band got surprised when the answer was yes and they started playing RISING with a big smile on their faces.
Time had come to play the last few songs: THE HAMMER OF WRATH, a fan favourite and followed by LIAR. Asami asked if everyone could sing with her in UNDER THE RED SKY and the crowd listened. Although it wasn’t really synchronized, everyone tried their best and looked like having a great time. The ladies waved and left the stage waiting to be called for an encore and that happened!
LOVEBITES came back on stage and piano music was the next thing we heard. Asami showed her vocal skills in the ballad like song EDGE OF THE WORLD, you could really feel the emotion she released. After a setlist full of heavy songs this was what everyone needed. They finished the night with a perfect last song: BRAVEHEARTED which gave everyone one last powerful moment. Like we said in our band introduction: is there something these girls can’t do? In their music there is so much to find for a metal fan: heavy riffs, strong drums, powerful vocals, these girls really know what they are doing!
SETLIST
THE AWAKENING (INTRO)
THE CRUSADE
DON’T BITE THE DUST
BREAK THE WALL
SCREAM FOR ME
SHADOWMAKER
ABOVE THE BLAK SEA
RISING
THE HAMMER OF WRATH
LIAR
UNDER THE SKY
-encore-
EDGE OF THE WORLD
BRAVEHEARTED
Still didn’t have enough?
Arlequin Photography has more photos of this show here and they also had an interview with bandleader Miho, go check it out on their website! (Dutch only for now)
