My opinions, for what they are worth:
ALL of the "Forever Advancing...Legions" material was astonishing. "Tomb Of Kings", "Sloping Altars", "Wrath of God". The pure speed, power and precision of Mithras was something to behold. Sam's vocals fitted in perfectly with the old material and gave us all a new arsehole.
There was the hit single "To Where the Sun Never Leaves". Leon's opening melodies dazzled momentarily, before the rest of the band kicked us into their powerful statement of purpose.
We had "Beyond The Eye's of Man". When I recognised the start, I thought to myself "This will be interesting...", what with Rayner's vocals being so prominent on the track. But Sam pulled it off spectacularly. Well done sir!
Senseless fool you are not!
Psyrens! Always awesome! Leon's solo's were a joy to behold whilst the tempo slowed and we got an opportunity to appreciate what makes Mithras such an outstanding band. Powerfully emotive.
Worlds Beyond The Veil. It seemed to me that Ben was going hell for leather on this song. Those snare blast must have been paid for in lactic acid by the litre.
Sam's stage presence was confident and purposeful during the show. As anyone who had seen Mithras with Rayner will testify, his colossal presence on stage is inimitable. But Sam engaged with the crowd (shithouse!) and his movement on-stage made for a dynamic performance visually.
Being honest though, there were a few negatives to the show, and not just the low turnout (I got lost twice and I know where Rushden is!), or the mood shattering light-switch interruption (though it was good of the owner to let Mithras play their last song).
Several of the songs, predominantly the "Behind The Shadows" material, didn't come of as well as others. "Awaken Man and Stone" seemed unable to reach it's powerful climax, "Under The Three Spheres" sounded a bit lacking in parts and "Behind The Shadows" felt slightly drawn out as a finisher.
I can't quite put my finger on why that is. Perhaps it was a lack of bass guitar presence, or maybe it's the missing guitar parts (especially whilst Leon is soloing). It might even be my ears missing Rayner's vocals at points. Indeed, there were moments during a few songs where Rayner's voice was missed.
There was also the dominance of Leon's soloing, which tended to push the other sounds to the side-line in songs where they are such a feature. Still, I wasn't wearing earplugs, so I was hearing a lot of splash.
But despite these points (which I have only really included for the band's sake - "Feedback's a gift"
), Mithras have again proved that they are top quality, and Sam is certainly well placed to fill in Rayner's shoes. I truly mean it when I say that I cannot wait to hear what Mithras will accomplish with him on the next album, and I know Leon is aiming high. HAIL MITHRAS!
