Armageddon
Designed by Kelly Guille, soundtrack edited by Sean Proctor, FireOne firing with 80 32-cue modules / ~2300 cues
Archangel were lucky enough to have perfect weather during both their setup and the display itself. However, there were some tense moments immediately before the display was due to launch as people could be seen running across ramp 2 – then a light came on in the control room under ramp 4. This usually means there is a technical problem and, indeed, the display did start several minutes late. I was expecting a dramatic start, given the title of the theme, but the display began slowly, exacerbating the fear that there were technical issues.
These fears turned out to be unfounded for the large part, once the display got going. There were a couple of occasions where a track would begin with black sky for what seemed like to be too long, but it seems there were no technical problems except for the 10″ shell that was supposed to start the show (as I was told afterwards).
It was apparent quite early on in the display that the design was very interesting and involved all of the space provided, with some unique firing patterns – particularly the barrage of mid-sized shells left and right, with quite a few volleys of these being fired. The shells also formed arc patterns across the sky at different levels and gave a feeling of both chaos and complexity at the same time. There were some interesting one-shot sequences, but it was the shells that dominated the display.
The soundtrack was interesting, but I tried not to listen to the lyrics too much as they were pretty dark in the most part. The fireworks did compliment the soundtrack very well, save for some “magic carpet” cakes of nautical flares that ended up in loud mines/salutes or shells. Kelly told me afterwards that this had been a surprise for them, but it was too late to change anything. In any case, these did not detract too much.
There was a reasonable diversity of product, but I found there was too much repetition of dim charcoal effects. Quite a few of the firing patterns of the one-shots were also somewhat repetitive, too. However, the pace of the display reflected the music very well with some great intense scenes and others of quiet serenity (save for the recalcitrant nautical cakes). Speaking of nauticals, great use was made of the lake with nauticals of all types: flares, mines, shells, water-ballet fountains (which also turned to comets), salutes and truly chest-thumping massive 5″ shells in the finale.
The finale was truly excellent and lasted a very long time. With multi-break shells of salutes and the tremendous nauticals, it was really outstanding.
All in all, this was an excellent display, especially as Archangel are debutantes. At this point in the competition, this is definitely a podium contender, though I would rate England slightly higher due to a more complex design and a bit less repetition. Archangel definitely have the finale to beat, though!