When I got to the venue there were not exactly many people waiting outside, and I wondered if the band had over-stretched themselves playing so many UK shows. Thankfully, though, the crowd swelled as the evening progressed - but the slow trickle of punters meant that the first of two support acts was playing to a very small crowd. The venue opened at 7pm and there was a 10pm curfew, which meant that three bands had to squeeze their sets into three hours. Usually 10pm curfews mean that venues open at 6pm, but clearly the Thekla wanted to get done and dusted as quickly as possible - which meant that Italy's Virtual Symmetry went on about five minutes after the doors opened. It was a real shame that they were playing to so few people, though, as their short set was excellent. I had not heard of the band before, but their brand of melodic progressive metal, with the odd hint of bombastic power metal, was right up my alley. I might not listen to this type of music as much now as I did in the past, but I loved my time with Virtual Symmetry. They released their third, self-titled, album last week, which I picked up after their set, but they only had time to play around four songs. Sound-wise, the band played a pretty typical brand of progressive metal - but there was definitely a big focus on hooks. At times they reminded me a bit of Threshold, but they were a bit more bombastic (are Italian bands ever not?) and technical - with both Valerio Æsir Villa (guitar) and Marco Bravi (keyboards) soloing in all of the songs played. The rhythm section were really tight, too, with particular mention going out to Alessandro Poppale (bass guitar) for his fluid and melodic bass playing. Despite a bit of a muddy sound mix (which persisted throughout the evening), Poppale's bass playing stood out - and his atypical melodies added a different dynamic to the band's material for me. Everything was brought together, though, by the dramatic voice of frontman Marco Pastorino (who has sang and playing guitar in a number of other similar bands including Secret Sphere) - who's high-pitched voice was perfect for the band's sound. His vocal lines throughout were very hooky, which complimented the melodic playing of the rest of the band perfectly. Due to Virtual Symmetry's focus on melodic songwriting over excessive noodling, I thoroughly enjoyed their set. I was sad when it came to an end, as they did not have much time to play with at all, but as mentioned I picked up a copy of Virtual Symmetry after their set, which the whole band signed, which I am looking forward to getting stuck into.
After a very quick changeover, which cannot have been longer than about 10 minutes, the evening's second support act took to the stage. By this point there were more people inside the Thekla - so the French band Fractal Universe had more of a crowd to play to. I stood further back for their set, largely as they started whilst I was still chatting to the guys from Virtual Symmetry, and enjoyed their strange sound from behind the sound desk. Fractal Universe are often described as a progressive death metal band, which I suppose they are in some ways, but in my opinion a significant chunk of their set was not death metal at all - as the band also opted to rely heavily on an atmospheric sound that made use of harmonised clean vocals. In truth, I am not really sure what to make of Fractal Universe. On the one hand, they seemed like a genuinely unique band. Lots of progressive metal is such because it follows a certain template or sound rather than it actually being progressive in any meaningful sense, but Fractal Universe have their own sound. On the other hand, though, the songs did not do all that much for me. Given that I am generally more at home with more melodic bands, I actually think that Fractal Universe were at their best when they were at their heaviest. Frontman Vince Wilquin's growls were great, and he powered over the technical riffing of the rest of the band, but I thought that the clean vocals were a bit on the weak side - which meant that the quieter moments fell flat for me. I liked the variety, and the fact that you were never quite sure in which direction the band would head of in, but the songs did not always hang together that well for me. Like Virtual Symmetry, though, the band suffered from a muddy sound - which likely held them back. They are likely one that has a lot of subtleties in their music, which a muddy sound mix can obscure. The quieter moments may have sounded better with a clearer mix - but I am not sure that this would have overcome my concerns with the weak clean vocals. The riffier sections with the growls were generally great, though, and some of the riffs were impressive - with lots of knotty progressions and melodies. A couple of songs took a bit of a left turn into jazzier territories, too, with Wilquin putting down his guitar and picking up a saxophone for a quick burst of soloing. Moments like this will certainly help the band to stand out when looking back in the future - but I am not sure that the saxophone added that much really, as it was never really integrated into the song and purely used as a vehicle for a brief solo.
A few others likely snuck in whilst Fractal Universe were playing, but the crowd did not grow significantly after the initial swell. Following the French's band's set and a 20 minute or so changeover, the lights went down again and Evergrey took to the stage - launching into the melodic Save Us from their latest album A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament). I have seen bigger crowds at the Thekla, but I have also seen smaller ones. For a Monday night though, and on a day that was heavily disrupted at short notice, I did not think that the turnout was too bad. I am sure that the band would have liked a few more to turn up, but it was certainly not the disaster that it could have been given that Evergrey are not known for their UK tours. The atmosphere throughout, though, was great. Everyone who turned up was clearly very much into the band, which meant that every song of the band's 90 minute set was warmly-received - and there was plenty of singing at appropriate moments. The band's current tour is promoting both A Heartless Portrait (The Orphean Testament) and 2021's Escape of the Phoenix - which never received its own tour due to it being postponed. Seven of the 14-song set comprised of cuts from these two albums - with only two numbers played coming from the band's past (i.e. from albums not released by the current line-up). Evergrey's recent run of albums is great, though, so it is fitting that so much attention was lavished on them throughout the night. Save Us proved to be a strong opening, with its gang vocals and emotional chorus, whilst Weightless then showcased the band's hookier side with some dry riffing and a soaring chorus. Despite sometimes fighting the very loud band, frontman Tom Englund was on fine form vocally throughout. He has always been one of the standout vocalists of the progressive metal genre, and he sounded great at the Thekla - but it would have been nice if the sound engineer had not opted to try and deal with the muddy sound by just turning everything up. Sometimes this meant that Rikard Zander's keyboards were buried in the mix, but things did level out somewhat as a set progressed.
As things moved on, hookier numbers sat side by side with more technical numbers. Distance showcased the band at their most bleak, where as the newer Midwinter Calls allowed for some crowd participation - with the crowd rising above the band to sing the chorus melody with ease. Another highlight for me was the epic A Silent Arc, which is one of the most progressive cuts of the band's recent catalogue. It is a longer-form piece which opens with a lengthy keyboard build - before chaotic riffing from both Englund and Henrik Danhage (guitar/vocals) takes over. It came across really well live, too, with the chorus being another big moment in a set full of them. The ballad-esque In the Absence of Sun allowed Englund to be at his most emotional, with a strong piano backing, whilst one of the hookiest moments then reared its head in the form of Call Out the Dark - which has a very simple chorus that the crowd got behind. By this point, though, the main set was coming to a close. The weightier My Allied Ocean allowed for a bit more technical riffing, whilst the band brought things to a close with one of the two older cuts played: A Touch of Blessing. The song has always been a live favourite, and it was brought to life effortlessly by the band. The twin guitar leads throughout have always been one of those standout moments of the band's cannon, whilst the big chorus sounded great with the whole band backing Englund up vocally. After a brief break, in which the band all changed into white shirts, Evergrey came back out for a three-song encore. The heaviness of the newer Blindfolded was the last out-and-out riff-fest of the night, and it energised the crowd for the home straight. The second older cut was then played, with the anthemic Recreation Day getting an airing. This was another song which prompted some crowd participation, and the whole crowd sang back at the band - which led to another memorable moment. Jonas Ekdahl's marching drums then heralded the arrival of the night's final number, the epic King of Errors - one of my favourite Evergrey cuts. It has been used as a show-closer at all of the previous Evergrey shows that I have been to, and it works really well in that context. It has possibly the best chorus in the band's catalogue, and it was another that was sung by everyone in attendance. That and the great guitar solo trade-off between Englund and Danhage ensured that the evening ended on a high - and the band took their bows to large cheers from the enthusiastic Bristol crowd. The setlist was:
Save Us
Weightless
Distance
Eternal Nocturnal
Midwinter Calls
Where August Mourn
A Silent Arc
In the Absence of Sun
Call Out the Dark
My Allied Ocean
A Touch of Blessing
-
Blindfolded
Recreation Day
King of Errors
I had decided to get a t-shirt at the end of the show, but as I was queuing up I noted that the tour shirts did not include the Bristol date! Every other show was accounted for, but for whatever reason the Bristol show had been left out. As such, I decided against getting a shirt, and headed out into Bristol to find something to eat. Despite this disappointment, and a rather muddy sound mix throughout, I really enjoyed my time with Evergrey last night. It was great finally getting to see them as a headline act, and the setlist was a great mix of the band's excellent recent albums. Whilst I am sure that some would have preferred some more older cuts, I like how forward-looking the band are at the moment. They have been very prolific of late, so I would not be surprised if another album from the band is not too far away - and I hope that more UK shows follow, as I would definitely like to see them again.
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