Dio - distraught overlord in London

Despite the bitterly cold English weather on the evening of November 26th, a devoted queue of Dio - distraught overlord fans were waiting patiently outside The Underworld in Camden. The queue was admittedly quite short and the concert had been downsized to a smaller venue, but it was clear that the fans that had gathered were delighted to be there.

A little after 7pm, the doors opened and the excited queue began filing into the underground venue. Once inside, there was a small merchandise table selling T-shirts and posters, which were a little pricey, but they sold rather well all the same. The fans took up their positions in front of the stage and the smaller venue proved to be a bonus for them as they were able to get right up to the front.

It wasn’t long before chants of "Dio! Dio!" started to fill the room and the atmosphere began to pick up. However, there was a delay and when eight o’clock came and went, some fans started to get impatient and bored. They continued sporadically chanting, cheering and stamping their feet, but the band still did not appear. The wait went on for a long time and it was clear that people were starting to get restless. However, at ten past nine, the lights finally dimmed and the audience cheered wildly.

denka was the first to come out, raising his arms high to greet the cheering crowd before taking up his position behind the drum set. His blond hair was styled in impressive spikes, but his outfit was much more toned down than those of his band mates. Bassist ivy was the next one on stage, dressed in a characteristically flamboyant PVC coat with a large, feathered collar and an eye patch. erina, dressed elegantly, was the next to appear and kei followed soon after, his outfit covered in studs and straps and his hair easily rivalling denka’s. The last to arrive was Mikaru, the vocalist, who entered the stage sideways due to the spectacular wings which he wore on his back. The crowd cheered wildly, giving the young band a well-deserved welcome.

Once things had calmed down a little, the first few notes of the recently released Carry Dawn threw the crowd back into a frenzy. This was an excellent song to open the show with and the crowd instantly got into the spirit of the concert, jumping up and down and singing along. This was followed by HELL, a characteristically heavy song which the crowd seemed to enjoy, after which Mikaru thanked the audience.

The crowd cheered wildly as Mikaru opened Lord’s prayer with a great roar. This song was perfect for the energetic crowd to head bang to and they joined in with the chorus; shouts and screams passed back and forth between the stage and the pit. Mikaru’s voice was just as impressive live as on recordings and the good sound quality meant that he could be easily heard over the heavy music which accompanied him. He was very emotive as he sang, spreading his arms wide and really drawing the audience into the performance. Being such a small, intimate venue, it was easy to make eye contact with individual members of the band, who spent a lot of time at the front of the stage, somehow still managing to play while they were being grabbed at wildly by the hands below.

This song was followed by final call and the crowd nodded their heads in time to the slow, rhythmic intro. It was a much more relaxed song than the ones before it, giving the fans a chance to cool down a little. After playing HAUNTING, the band paused briefly and Mikaru shouted, "Thank you!" He then took a few moments to play with the fans, shouting, "I want to hear your voice!" He was met with a loud shout from the crowd. Mikaru repeated this a few times, shouting "Voice!" with the crowd shouting back louder and louder each time. When he tired of this, he came to the front of the stage to speak briefly with his audience. "I’m very very glad to meet you. Thank you." The crowd cheered and he added "Arigatou. Mikaru desu." A man in the audience cried out "We love you!" to which Mikaru replied "You love me? Well, I love you!" This caused the crowd to fall into rapturous cheering and Mikaru announced the next song, which was GOD forsaken.

This song was obviously a crowd favorite with everybody jumping up and down and it was clear that Mikaru was giving all of his energy to this song as well. On one side of the stage, kei was playing calmly and confidently, occasionally posing for the fans below him, while on the other side, erina was grooving along to the music, swaying from side to side as he played. The twin guitars really shone during Mikaru’s spoken section of the song and the atmosphere was wonderful. After this, Mikaru got the audience to sing the first two lines of the chorus alone, which was a beautiful moment. As the song began to draw to a climax, the ferocity of denka’s drumming made the whole room vibrate and the crowd head banged along. Mikaru closed this song with a cheerful "Arigatou!" and the audience cheered loudly.

After playing Daite nemure zetsubou, Mikaru spoke to the audience again, saying "Next European tour, I will come back, London. I was waiting for this day!" The audience cheered and Mikaru shouted "Dio!" which the audience shouted back. This was repeated several times, getting louder and faster each time. They then followed with PUPPET SHOW, a heavy song led by Mikaru’s vicious growls. The other band members joined in with the pre-chorus shouts and so did the audience, who were jumping up and down and clearly enjoying this song. There was a great atmosphere and the floor was vibrating, especially with denka’s violent drumming towards the end.

Mikaru then played with the crowd a little more, getting them to chant "D - I - O!" over and over before moving into the violent and fast-paced Dokusai. The crowd head banged and moshed along and Mikaru spread his arms wide with a scream, his death growls even more impressive, vicious and disturbing than before. The whole band threw a lot of energy into this song and came to the front of the stage to touch hands with the fans, though ivy remained a little further back, teasing the hands which were reaching up at him. At the end of this song, Mikaru shouted "Arigatou, arigatou!" and bowed before the band left the stage.

It wasn’t long before the loud cheering of the crowd was replaced by cries of "Dio!" and "Encore!" The chants of "D - I - O!" were repeated and at one point, Mikaru could be heard over the speakers joining in as well, to the delight of the crowd. Eventually, snippets of sound and music were heard and an electro-style track began to play. denka came back onstage to the cheers of the crowd and re-took his position. What started off as fairly regular drum-playing gradually built up into a truly impressive and surprising solo, which had the whole venue completely entranced. He built up the pace and energy so much that it became impossible to distinguish one sound from another and the floor trembled beneath the audience’s feet. They watched with reverence as denka thrashed about wildly, never once faltering or losing pace. When it was over, the whole room exploded into cheers and applause and the rest of the band came back onstage for the encore.

Mikaru had shed his wings and long, black waistcoat, instead returning to the stage shirtless, much to the delight of the female fans. He spoke to the crowd once more, but these words were lost in the screams which had been induced by the sight of his bare chest. The final song Coma Gold was really energetic and the crowd joined in with the shouts, making the most of their last chance to reach up and touch the band members, who were more than willing to oblige. At one point, however, erina and kei almost ended up being pulled into the crowd, but they were quickly helped back onto the stage. As the song finally drew to a close, the members bowed and thanked the audience, spending a last few moments with them. Plectrums and bottles of water were tossed into the crowd, along with denka’s drumsticks, which were, after such a stunning solo, extremely desirable items.

It was impressive to see just how much devotion the fans had for the members of Dio, despite their relatively short time in the business. The band was pleased to be there and genuinely delighted by the attention and passion, even though the crowd was small. Dio - distraught overlord showed themselves as true performers and this concert gave fans a taste of what else to expect from them in the future.


Setlist:

01. Carry Dawn
02. HELL
03. Lord’s prayer
04. final call
05. HAUNTING
06. GOD forsaken
07. Daite nemure zetsubou
08. PUPPET SHOW
09. Dokusai

Encore:
10. Drum Solo
11. Coma Gold