Kamelot @ The Islington Academy, London

Kamelot have risen exponentially over recent years, and with their latest album Ghost Opera have upped the ante once again.

Now back in the UK to kick off the second leg of the bands European Tour in support of the album, which has of course now been reissued just in time to coincide with them hitting the road again, they kickstart things at the Academy in Islington. With support coming from Firewind, who are turning into an exceptional band, Kamelot had to be at the top of their game when they hit the stage to an almost sold out venue.

One of the most impressive things about the band tonight - other than the fact that they've made the stage at the Academy, which normally can look particularly crap, look as though the band just stepped off an arena tour with back drops, side drops, and enough smoke to signal to America - is how much fun they look like they're having on stage.

I lost count of the amount of times a truly animated Roy Khan checked the audience were having a great time, complete with a huge smile on his face. He really gives a shit about his fans when he's on stage, he wants them to have as good a time as he's having, and he tries to do everything he can to make sure they do.

For the opening night of the tour, the band are flying out of the gates with a set that draws quite heavily on the bands latest album, while not forgetting their earlier opuses, the performance of The Black Halo being extremely well received. It's the new material that really shines through though, Ghost Opera being the real highlights.

The band rule the stage, they own it, and at the end are called back for two full encores, and I don't think anyone really wanted to leave or have them leave after that.