Kobra and the lotus - Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes - 4th October 2014

The Reaper opened the night. If you've not come across The Reaper before, they are a young band from Oxfordshire, and when I say young, they really are young - I don't think any of them are over 16. If you're thinking they sound too young, then you need to hear them before making a decision - these kids are damn good. They play music that's somewhere between hard rock and heavy metal. It's a great set, and they sound great. The only weak part was during one song there was a slow section with the vocals being the main sound, and I thought the vocals just weren't strong enough for that part. The rest of the time the vocals sounded great - it was that one bit that just didn't work in my opinion. Definitely a band worth seeing.

Next up was Kobra and the lotus, who kicked off with the title track of their new album, High Priestess. The new album is great, so it's not surprising that tonight's set is almost entirely made up of songs from the album, with the rest coming from their earlier self titled album.
I've seen Kobra and the Lotus regularly since their first UK shows back in late 2009, and they constantly improve both in their studio albums and their live performances. Tonight they are in fine form which is no surprise given how much they tour, and they sound tight musically. Kobra's voice is nice and powerful and she really can hold those screams nicely. On stage the band all look to be having a great time, and when not headbanging they're moving around and making the most of the limited space available.
As well as the material from the new album, we get a few of my favourites from the previous album, "Forever one", "Welcome to my funeral" and "50 shades of evil", with the latter being the final song in the encore and being a great way to end the night.

Kobra and the Lotus are a great live band and are equally as at home in a small venue playing to 50 people as they are opening for bands such as KISS in massive arenas. A band that you really should see live.


Setlist:

High Priestess
Nayana
Battle of wrath
Hold on
Soldier
Welcome to my funeral
Forever one
Visionary
Lost in the shadows
I am, I am

Heartbeat
50 shades of evil