Review by Matt New
Photos by Angie New
Eager music lovers flocked to Crowbar Sydney on Friday for a jam-packed night of interstate prog prowess. Headliner Voyager have been riding the wave of recent success, having only just missed out on representing Australia in Eurovision this year. They were beyond keen to share their new tracks with their adoring fans, bringing along Acolyte and The Stranger as supports.
The Stranger opened the night with The Eleventh Hour where they took the audience on a journey through dense riffs and delicate melodies. This band brings a tight and powerful sound that has all the promising hallmarks of other successful Brisbane based acts in their DNA.
They flowed through their set with great precision and control, even engaging in some comedic banter with the crowd in relation to the blend of coffee they required to function to play this show. A very enjoyable set and the quality of musicianship on show is only a small indication of the future potential of this band.
Up second for the evening was Melbourne’s symphonic progressive rock outfit Acolyte. A welcome sight to see this band again for the second time this year after recently concluding a tour with Caligula’s Horse.
Firing straight into the epic title release Entropy from their 2021 album, they swooned through a set of carefully crafted masterpieces. One of which was the maiden live rendition of Clarity with its gradual hypnotic crescendo. After a few small technical issues with the front of house sound, they presented a very polished performance that was infectiously involving.
Notably an integral absentee from the band was their keyboardist David Van Pelt, who is awaiting the birth of his first child. The band made a strong point of celebrating the imminent arrival of the newest member to the Acolyte extended family. It was a pleasure to spend some quality time after their set with front woman Morgan Leigh-Brown, who is a ray of sunshine and one of the most genuine and friendly people in the heavy music scene. She even hinted that we may see a new Acolyte album in the near future.
Finally, the mighty Voyager!! A band that has endured for the past few decades and is constantly evolving their sound in a clever and exciting manner. The Perth quintet kicked off their set with the highly infectious Colours matched with a mesmerising build up of energy.
A warm and welcoming glow was present within all band members, as it had been a long time since they had had the opportunity to share their new wave infused progressive metal with a Sydney audience. We were left gobsmacked by countless big riffs, keytar solos and mountainous drum fills.
Voyager even had fun with dress ups to emulate the kooky music video of their most recent track Submarine, another live debut for the night, which was equally amusing as it was entertaining. Their set consisted of a broad snapshot of their illustrious career, playing tracks off every album they have released since 2003. This evidently gave new fans, who may have only first discovered them from their recent Eurovision efforts, an education into everything they are as a musical act. A faultless set that matched their professionalism and charisma. Hoping for new music and more east coast tours in the future, as they have a fiercely loyal fanbase that would love more than anything to have them back.
