The first band was Oceans of Slumber, who combine Progressive, Doom, and other forms of metal. The band is expecting a brand new disc coming out later this year, in winter. Cammie Gilbert, their new singer, has some serious pipes, I wondered how they would sound switching from a male to female vocalist. Her voice was very strong, and really bounced from one end to the other of this small rock club. I’ll be honest I had not heard a lot of this band, but I did see their recent Youtube video of the cover of Candlemass’s Solitude, a classic covered very well with their own spin on it. A short but respectable set from a band, that is starting a new path with a new singer.

Next came a band, I reviewed very recently, Canada’s own Borealis. Purgatory is definitely on my best of list so far this year. Singer Matt Marinelli took the time to answer some questions for an interview, prior to this show, that you can find in the interviews section here on MetalReviews. Starting properly with the the first track, off their latest release, Purgatory came, Past The Veil. Two songs off their four year old album, Fall From Grace followed. The combination of Where We Started/Finest Hour, got the crowd going, and moved the show into my favorite song by the band, My Peace. My Peace, as mentioned in my review, highlights everything that Borealis exceeds at, and they exceed in getting those songs across live. Great musicianship from all involved! The last song Regeneration can be found on Fall From Grace, and its a straight ahead headbanger, that closed their set very well, earning themselves some new fans in the process.

Now after a brief wait for setup, it finally hit me, that I was seeing Voyager live for the first time, and that driving just over one hundred miles, was nowhere near the fifty one plus hours it took them to get to Chicago. They mentioned the five stops they had along the way, and that it was definitely worth it. Songs performed cover all three of their last releases, along with a few surprises in the middle as well. V’s Breaking Down, was followed by the song Lost, which is the song that really got me into the band in the first place. The electro yet rocking intro of Stare Into The Night was followed by the fun Fire Of The Times. This band was constantly smiling, interacting with fans and with each other, just showing that they were happy to be where they were. Then the first curveball, of the night happened, Simone Dow’s, one of the guitarist of the band(Also a good time to mention that MS. Dow is one hell of a guitarist, if you think a woman can’t play as good as a man, you haven’t heard this lady, and she is damn good!), had technical difficulties. I believe her amp head blew, because of her powerful power amp she brought with. This took the band in a different direction, or maybe they are mad geniuses and prepared a melody, that was equal parts tongue-in-cheek and down right funny. First was the Game Of Thrones theme, followed by the theme for Ghostbusters(Yes Who Do You Wanna Call?), and every metalhead’s favorite band, the Backstreet Boy’s “Everybody” with a new lyric thrown in for good measure(Hint! The word just might be the band’s name!) The goofiness ended with a pair of opposites the 80s hit, What Is Love, followed by Team America:World Police’s “AmericanF—K Yeah!” This would be a good time for me, just to state to be able to pull off what they did on top of their already challenging music, shows this band is equal parts mad geniuses and very talented, but most of all are true performers on stage. The trio of V’s Hyperventilating and The Devil In Me, with the title track of their previous disc, The Meaning Of I, ended a set that will always be memorable for me,and not for a technical difficulty, but for a band who has a ton of talent, has fun doing what they love to do!

So the lights dimmed for one last time, and Evergrey came out to Hymns For The Broken opening track, The Awakening, followed by the first single from that disc, King Of Errors. They played an eighteen song set that covered a lot of music from their past discography of over one hundred plus songs. The latest single, Black Undertow was definitely a highlight during the first quarter of the set. The trio of classics, of The Masterplan, Mark Of The Triangle and Blinded followed. The middle of the set also had songs like As I Lie Here Bleeding, from my personal favorite Evergrey disc, Recreation Day. Not long after the song Obedience, Evergrey slowed things down for the pair I’m Sorry(A very nice sing along part with the crowd during this one!) and Missing You, before the speedy When The Walls Go Down followed. Recreation Day the song, Torn’s Broken Wings preceeded The Inner Truth’s A Touch Of Blessing. The Grand Collapse from Hymns For The Broken ended what was a memorable set, and I finally had seen Evergrey for a second time. Tom Englund and Jonas Ekdahl took time to answer questions from me before the show, and I want to thank them again for the time, and the amazing package of bands they helped make possible in the US. For a band with a new disc, and a tour that no one, including the band had an idea would happen, this first night of the tour was a resounding success, and proof that fans want Evergrey, and it’s easy to see that Tom and company want the fans to hear them just as much.