Two for one of modern prog rock tonight with both London based Touchstone and Wales' own The Reasoning both having headline sets. First up were Cardiff locals Kyshera;
Kyshera
A three piece alternative metal band, they really didn’t seem suited to the night as they were playing slightly progressive alt metal with some very political lyrics that made them have an air of RATM about them. Don't get me wrong they did what they did very much and seemed to have an explosive amount of energy it was just that it really wasn't my thing at all and by the time there set ended they had outstayed their welcome a bit. 5/10
Touchstone
This is where the evening actually began for me with Touchstone hitting the stage with Corridors from their latest album before rocking with Zinomorph which became Shadow and then it's sequel When Shadow's Fall as front woman Elkie told us these three tracks all stem from Keyboardist/vocalist Rob's obsession with killers and assassins (a dangerous man two know obviously!) The band played a mixed set from all three of their albums with Being Hannah, Strange Days and the folky Half Moon Meadow all given an airing. The band were all having a blast on stage with the interplay and between song banter coming to them naturally and bassist Moo seeming to be the cause of most of the mischief. Elkie has developed into a great front woman and her powerful but not operatic voice is a perfect fit for the melodic keyboards and heavy guitars and drums. The band wound up their set with the wonderfully epic Wintercoast before a change over break. With the band on top form and a set of great songs Touchstone laid down a pretty impressive baton for their tour mates.
The Reasoning
The locals were always going to end the night and as they came to the stage to the strains of the Theme From The Great Escape before launching into Hyperdrive which morphed into Dark Angel. Unlike Touchstone, The Reasoning have a new album to promote (the excellent Adventures In Neverland) so the set relied heavily on this however this not a bad thing as it is one of the strongest albums of their career. Omega Point, No Friend Of Mine and the duo of Forrest Of Hands And Teeth/Adventures In Neverland were all cut from the new record and all went down brilliantly with the guitar playing of new boy Keith Hawkins reach Floydian proportions on Forrest Of Hands... the key to The Reasoning's sound though are the unique vocals of Rachel Cohen which weave their magic over the fantastic keyboards of Tony Turrell who is the bands ace in the pack providing slick melodic keys and some excellent co-lead and backing vocals. The band invited Touchstone's Moo onstage for as Bassist Matthew Cohen put it "A beer and a song" which brought their set to an end with the classic Aching Hunger which featured Moo's shouts and cheerleading on the chorus.
This led to a three band pile up with Touchstone and Kyshera all taking Rachel's percussion and all three bands joining in on a group sing-along of Queen's Tie Your Mother Down on which features TT on lead vocals and ended the night with a party atmosphere (what's more fun than Queen?) overall this was a great night of prog rock with two bands currently on the top of their game in a very reasonably priced package. Three bands, two headliners, a pretty packed house and everyone having a good time what more could you ask for on a Sunday night? 8/10
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