The night is young as darkness descends with every drop of thin rain upon the valley. Fog rises from the plains around, and from the pub, a train of 80s tunes makes its way to those outside, temerarious music lovers that fight the January cold to enjoy the last cigarette or the last moments of calm.
The place is unassuming. The night’s act tends to go unnoticed, to those with an untrained eye. Grace Darkling – without Nocturna – is preparing backstage for the last of a string of “Unplugged” concerts: just voice, acoustic guitar, and cajón. That’s why I say the night’s act risks going unnoticed, because it appears like one from every other night, someone that doesn’t dare standout, silently lingering in the dark and waiting to grace your ears with tunes from another era.
But instead, when she walks up on stage and the 70s rock playing from the speakers fades away, the pub stills. The lights lower and Grace’s face is lit up by a green beam of light that captures all her essence: that playful flicker in her eyes, contoured by defying bangs and two strings of grey hair, the determined composure, the confidence of who knows perfectly well what they’re doing, and how well they will be doing it.
So she looks around a couple of times, greets the crowd, smiles knowingly at the musicians, and then starts singing. It’s that simple. And her voice dances through songs like the air does my hair in this winter night. Flowing and smooth, it moves through the listeners and enchants them, commanding the crowd like a pied piper. Sat like she is, on a high stool, one instrument on each side accompanying her in a concert that is magical because of its own simplicity. Because of its own structure.
Covers, songs by Metallica, by Iron Maiden, by Bon Jovi, acoustic versions of Nocturna’s best hits, a Depeche Mode medley, and every person in the crowd sings, and for a second it feels like it’s not a small province pub we are in, but an exclusive jam session with a great artist. Because maybe it’s what it really is. To its core. Even some of my friends, completely unfamiliar with the metal scene, walked away with a sense of satisfaction and a positive impression that pushed them to look Grace and her band up.
Some of the standouts of the night definitely are “Love You to Death” (Type 0 Negative), “Enter Sandman” (Metallica), “Army of the Night” (Powerwolf), and “The Bard’s Song” (Blind Guardian). Together with Nocturna’s “Daughters of the Night”, “New Evil”, and “Seven Sins” for sure.
Grace Darkling is a star in the making, an artist who basks in the glory of being able to switch up her own acts continuously, refractory to being shoved in only one, restrictive box. And Unplugged Sessions really is a place where she shines, a hymn to her own chameleonic nature, that lets her blend through genres and famous songs all-the-while still allowing her to stand out in her own accord. I really do think she should register these Unplugged Sessions in the studio. With her band, if that is something agreeable with Nocturna’s vision, or even on her own. I know for sure I would listen to it in a loop.