Visions Of Atlantis, Warkings and Induction at the O2 Academy Islington, London 11/02/2026

Warkings and Visions Of Atlantis joined forces for the ‘Pirates & Kings Over Europe ‘ co-headline tour and as two very prominent names of the current power metal scene, they certainly pleased many of their fans. Supported by Induction, the bill promised a stacked evening at the O2 Academy Islington from the very beginning.

Induction

When Induction started their opening set, many fans were still outside the venue, waiting to be let inside, as the doors were opened later than expected. That, however, did not stop the five-piece from bringing their highly contagious energy into the room. From Gabriele Gozzi’s powerful vocals, to Tim Hansen, Justus Sahlman and Dominik Gusch’s synchronised guitars, all the way to Markus “Maks” Felber’s aggressive drums, the openers got the crowd, that very quickly grew in size, to move around almost instantly

Although they could offer only seven songs in total to the capital, majority was from their freshly new album ‘Love Kills!’, such as ‘Beyond Horizons’, ‘Dark Temptation’ and ‘Strangers To Love’, that features Clémentine Delauney from Visions Of Atlantis on the original recording. Induction was for sure a perfect opening act for the night and it was obvious the band was grateful for the crowd’s welcoming.

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Warkings

The first headliners of the night, Warkings, were indeed highly anticipated by the audience, as the cheers and applause indicated once the lights dimmed. Beginning the set with a single monk incantation, that turned into ‘Genghis Khan’, one of the songs from their latest release ‘Armageddon’, and ‘Maximus’, all the masked members of the band – The Tribune (vocals), The Crusader (guitars), The Viking (bass) and The Spartan (drums) swiftly took over the whole stage, accompanied by a fair amount of steam. Joined later on for ‘Odin’s Son’ by the second vocalist Morgana le Fay, whose presence was felt instantly upon entering the stage, the five-piece enchanted “Londinium” – as they kept calling the capital, using their energetic and powerful presence, while swiftly moving through the likes of ‘Armageddon’, ‘Hephaistos’, ‘Warriors’ and ‘Circle of Witches’, that followed the tape recording ‘Morgana’s Incantation’, one of the transitional tracks from the latest release.

From countless interactions with the audience, to a member of the band’s team in a massive inflatable pool ring, the power metal powerhouses certainly knew their way around, and the full-length performance of fourteen songs went by quicker than expected. Jokingly teaching the audience what is their new job – “Awoo”, before the song ‘Hangman’s Night’, The Tribune could not spare the fans from asking and demonstrating for the rest of the set. Continuing with ‘Fight’, and English version of the infamous song ‘Bella Ciao’, followed by ‘Kings Of Ragnarök‘, it was time for yet another beautiful duel between The Tribune and Morgana – a cover of Opus’ hit song ‘Life Is Life’, welcomed and sung instantly by everyone in the audience. Closing the set with ‘We Are the Fire’, ‘Sparta’ and ‘Gladiator’, Warkings received praise for their performance from the whole venue, and appropriately so, as they mastered the art of power metal to its fullest potential.

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Visions Of Atlantis

Last on the stage were the second headliners of the night, the almighty Visions Of Atlantis. Starting the set with an enchanting, siren-like singing from the current female vocalist Clémentine Delauney with ‘To Those Who Choose To Fight’, and transitioning right into ‘The Land Of The Free’, the five piece from Austria quickly earned the attention of the whole audience. Welcoming the members Thomas Caser (drums), Christian Douscha (guitars) and Herbert Glos (bass) onto the stage one by one, while delving deeper into the song, the O2 Academy Islington’s excitement only intensified with every second. Finally bringing their second vocalist, Michele Guaitoli, to create a bone-chilling harmony on stage, and proceeding with ‘Mercy’ and ‘Clocks’, the venue suddenly started chanting “Happy Birthday, Clémentine!”, as the vocalist had her big day that night.

Continuing the night with some of their biggest songs such as ‘Pirates and Kings’, one of their newest songs featuring their co-headliners Warkings, ‘Heroes of the Dawn’ and ‘Armada’, where the audience interchanged the lyrics “Hail Jolly Roger” with “Happy Birthday Clemi”, and closing with two encore add-ons ‘Master the Hurricane’ and ‘Melancholy Angel’, the set was a fun experience for every pirate and mage in the venue.

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