Another jaunt to SWX/Electric/whatever it's called for some more melodic metal stylings.
I'd seen the headliner a few times in the past and they've never captivated me some bands have, maybe it was the venue, being at a festival, who knows but in one of the most tech savvy and best venues in the UK they could only be on top form right?
More on that later as if there was a band who embraced the technology it was Italian mob Klogr (8) pronounced Kay-log-are, they're a band who play a progressively tinged style of alt metal, which deals with a lot of heavy subjects.
Taking their name from a psycho-physical law (S=KlogR) from the 19th Century. Their music is filled with psychology references, as they stormed through a set of groovy alt rock tracks which they've toured alongside acts as diverse as Prong and The Rasmus.
It's catchy and riffy, with passionate vocals and some brilliant use of screens to draw you into an almost hallucinogenic state as the prog creeps in, never overwhelming but adding just enough to keep you guessing. Visually arresting and musically interesting Klogr won over the early crowd on this Monday night.
Though there are few bands that can win over a crowd quite as well as Swedish prog metal heroes Evergrey (9), maybe it's Tom S Englund's enthusiasm, his powerful vocals or his constant thumbs up but the current version of Evergrey won't rest until everyone is involved and enjoying it. Hell Tom even picks out a member of the audience who's a bit po-faced and dedicates a heavy one to them.
Yeah Evergrey decide to focus on the heavier side of things tonight, maybe the addition of current Scar Symmetry and ex-Devin Townsend man Stephen Platt on guitar has given them a bit more aggression. There's King Of Errors for the sing along and new track Oxygen, is a great precursor to new music with a touch of epicness.
The majority of the set has them in heads down let it rip mode, drummer Simen Sadnes leading the charge with some potent double kicks, though he has a touch of the Lars Ulrich's by constantly standing on his drum stool as the bass of Johan Nieman booms though the speakers of the Electric.
With Tom showing off those brilliant vocals (and doubling down on the guitars with Platt), Rikard Zander creates the expansive atmospheres with his keys all of them together displaying Evergrey on top form tonight and I'd be very nervous if I had to follow them.
So then the band most were here to see, the Swedish masters of gloom Katatonia (7), and with Anders Nyström having left the band it leaves just frontman Jonas Renske in full control , which of course means that the set will consist of nothing before 2006's The Great Cold Distance, where they started to shift into the sound they have now.
With clean vocals taking precedence as they shifted away from the death metal beginnings into the downbeat but anthemic mix of doom, alternative, prog they play today. As I see it Katatonia is now just a vehicle for Renske, who is clearly having the time of his life but as a frontman he doesn't really captivate as much as perhaps should have, he also seems very low in the mix which is a shame as his voice is such a key part of Katatonia.
With a 16 song setlist a few stood out as, with Dead Letters, Nephilim, July, Soil's Song and Forsaker, the ones cheered about. Don't get me wrong Katatonia are a slick unit, they play well but for me they've always been much more impactful on record. Still there's always next time and I'm sure super fans of the band loved this Monday evening sermon with the Swedish veterans.
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