On the evening of May the 3rd I drove roughly one hundred miles south of me, to the big city of Chicago, IL. Within the city's limits is a small club known as the Concord Theater. A venue only heard about for me through reviews, and online advertising for concerts. It is not a large club by any means, but one that had great sounding acoustics from the get go.

Starting things off was local talent, and Prog Power USA alum(and homegrown talent), Divinity Compromised. Led on vocals by Lothar Keller(Sacred Dawn, guitarist for The Skull(with ex members of Trouble). The band plays a powerful blend of progressive power metal. Symphony X meets Nevermore in some ways. Lothar's vocals are matched equally by the outstanding musicianship of all the bands members. A World Torn, the band's 2013 release was self-released and most of the setlist came from the disc. You can check out one of the tracks, Children Of A Dead God, HERE. When it comes to local bands who open shows, this audience got a treat by a band who is not only better then your average opener, but a band that should be headlining around the world themselves.

Next up was the might German Heavy Metal legends, Primal Fear. I was very excited for them because I had not had the opportunity to see them on their last American tour. Known for songs with the word “METAL” in them, the band started with the new In Metal We Trust and ended with the classic Metal Is Forever(which after a brief wait, the encore was actually the classic Running In The Dust), the band started the same way they finished. In the middle they went with new songs off Rulebreaker(including the title track itself), and songs like The Sky Is Burning and Nuclear Fire. I personally enjoyed the whole set, but the grooves in When Death Comes Knocking, got me headbanging. Special mention should be made to Alex Beyrodt's(also of Silent Force, Voodoo Circle) guitar playing, and the technical pyrotechnics he displayed. I always knew this was a diverse musician, with the ability to not play one-dimensional, but it's another thing to see him play live. Also to finally see Mat Sinner live, was big for me, since I had also followed his other band, Sinner(among the other projects he has been apart of) for more then fifteen years. All in all I would love to see them again, as this is a band who comes on stage with the energy level high, and does not let it go down one percent till they walk off stage. Exhausting and awesome, the best compliment I can give!

From exhausting to over the top, bombastic, epic, yes all those would describe Luca Turilli's music, and Luca Turilli's Rhapsody. This is one particular argument, when a band splits, yet both carry the band's name, where it actually works. I have reviewed previous two Rhapsody of Fire's studio albums, and enjoyed them a lot. With Luca I have enjoyed his work from afar, and of course his time, in said band. Always an amazing guitarist, with a flair for the dramatic, and a performer with showmanship in a time, when that isn't the norm. His band, with the very talented Alessandro Conti on vocals. Yes they did their fair share of Rhapsody classics, and Mr. Conti did an amazing job. Some may say, this is not the true band, and blah blah, I am done talking about it, enough said! While Fabio Lione is amazing, to not tell you how Conti's grabs your attention and commands the stage, would be an insult to a very good performer. From early classics like Knightriders of Doom and Unholy Warcry all the way through the end of the set's, Dawn Of Victory, he commanded each song, staying true to their vocal melodies, yet allowing his own personal touch to shine through. The moment that really stood out to me, was Triumph and Agony's Son Of Pain. Conti took the stage, with the prerecorded symphonic/orchestral track playing in the background. A gentle approach, that was equally epic and heartfelt, a moment where Conti himself showed his amazing range. I went back and listened to the original after the show, and honestly it was indecipherable. This was that show stopping moment, for those who were there, will never forget(unless you saw the show more then once on this tour!). Every song was played with precision, every instrument easily heard, this was one concert I will never forget.

So Divinity Compromised, Primal Fear and Luca Turilli's Rhapsody all in one night, three bands, three seemingly flawless performances, all three very different from one another, united under the metal banner! Easily one of the best all around shows I have seen in a long time, and I would make this same one hundred mile(Which feels longer thanks to the fun thing, known as Chicago parking, I mean traffic)trip again, if I could live this concert again.