Eleine was a bit like the odd group out in this context. Sure, metal unites, and every band was a metal band, but Ensiferum and Ryujin had a very similar sound to each other, as I’ve touched on in their review, and Pain as the headliner sort of sets the tone for the whole deal, right? But Eleine brought something different, and that’s not inherently a bad thing.

“We are Eleine from Sweden, and this is our second time on this very stage, so thank you for having us back!”
- Rikard Ekberg (vocals/guitar)

Admittedly, I haven’t the foggiest about Eleine’s German fanbase, but them being back here at Columbia Club the year after they visited the place in support of Sonata Arctica was clearly not a bad idea. The room was filled and people were ready to party! I believe that Ekberg doing a lot of his between songs chit chat in German didn’t exactly harm things, and with one (semi)German track on the setlist, War Das Alles, both band and fans were on track for a good evening.
Musically, Eleine hasn’t really hit me as of yet, but this they did deliver in a tight and energetic way, so there’s not a finger to put on this aspect of their time on stage. Eleine were rockin’, and the crowd was feeling it.
Another aspect of their performance was also undoubtedly on tracks, but here I wish it had been a little less so, and that was the physical side of the performance. Their whole stage behaviour seemed rehearsed more or less down to the minutest step of each of the members. I got the same feeling from Ryujin earlier, and sadly it’s not something I can say I appreciate. I’m all for well-rehearsed music, but when it comes to the live performance, I prefer a bit more life to it. More presence in the here and now. There was a bit of it when Ekberg and Madeleine ‘Eleine’ Liljestam addressed the audience between songs, but not so much in their movements and delivery, and that’s a shame.

“Well hello Berlin, you bring the heat tonight! (fuck yeah!) Fuck yeah indeed!”
- Madeleine ‘Eleine’ Liljestam (vocals)

At least there was a lot of energy to Eleine’s delivery, which was something that hit home with the crowd, which also went all in on the show, and the temperature in the club definitely took a turn upwards.
All the cheering and headbanging was rewarded when the final song came up, as the Berlin audience got to participate in a crowd competition sing along - you know the ones, left side scream, right side scream - which the band resolved in an unusually peaceful manner by saying that everyone should just sing together because we were all one gathered family. And then they went into Death Incarnate.

“Vielen dank noch einmal!”
- Ekberg (vocals/guitar)

Eleine was definitely a hit with the locals, no one can take that away from them. I wasn’t convinced, mainly for the reasons mentioned above, but I’m only one in a crowd of many, and there were a lot of supporters for the band, so they have nothing to be sad about.

Setlist:

Enemies
Never Forget
War Das Alles
We Are Legion
Blood In Their Eyes
Ava Of Death
We Shall Remain
Death Incarnate