It was the first time that I saw Fractal Universe live. Their music is not easy to get a grip on although their compositions are of a very high level. From booty shaking grooves to blast beasts with some grunts to the more jazz fusion inspired stuff. The vocal style of  singer Vince Wilquin on these parts reminded me a lot of Daniel from Pain Of Salvation. A surprising element was that the singer switched his guitar to play some saxophone during the songs. These french dudes know how to play and how to make music, Fractal Universe is a band that we should keep an eye on.

And then it was time for the Swedish proggers of Evergrey. The audience was ready for it , you could feel the tension rising. Tom. S.  Englund hasn’t lost a dime of his attitude and magical music crafting,  although he describes himself as an old bastard dying on stage. Well, making music for over 30 years is quite an achievement. Evergrey isn’t the typical progressive band. They bring progressive, groove and melodeath elements to a very unique combination that just no other band is capable of. From the beginning tunes of ‘Save Us‘, the crowd and the band were in for a memorable night. The crowd couldn’t stop singing along to each song throughout the set, which is also typical Evergrey. Their verses are so nice and catchy, as can be heard in songs like ‘Eternal Octurnal’ and ‘Where August Mourns’ amongst others.

Of course, with 13 albums in their backlog it was not easy to choose some ‘golden oldies’. With ‘A Touch Of Blessing‘ and ‘Recreation Day‘ they touched a bit their of their “best of”. Evergrey aren’t some kind of rockstars as you could tell that Tom is down to earth enough to joke around about his age and all. The gimmick with the bassist playing the wah of Tom because he’s always asking  to the play the guitar was a nice welcome interchange. The evening was hot, the band was satisfied, the crowd was satisfied, could we ask for more? Maybe they should play bigger venues… though on the other hand these small venues is kind of where they belong and thrive. Thank you Evergrey, you made a lot of people happy.