So the other day I was sitting at home wondering what colour to knit my next pair of socks, when I received the news that I was to review one of my favourite bands, Voyager. Needless to say, a jig was danced and I had a celebratory cup of tea to calm my nerves.

After that I ironed my best white t shirt (I like to be a rebel) and headed off to The Amplifier Bar for a night of metal magic.

First cab off the rank was the melodic death metal outfit Meridian. This awesome foursome + 2, rained fury upon the crowd in a brilliantly brutal display of talent and skill. Max Ward’s growls played off superbly against the virtuoso guitars and the rapid fire staccato drumming of Daniel Harper. These guys have it all….. enough talent to fill 6 or 7 olympic sized swimming pools, stage presence to match it with the best of them, a bass player who fashions his own custom singlets and songs that instantly capture your attention and get your head bouncing up and down with no regard to Occupational Safety and Health regulations.
If you haven’t caught there act yet, grab your favourite Be’lakor t shirt and go catch them at a venue near you… your ears will thank you.

Next up were the hard rocking Over Unity. Another young local band with more talent than you could poke several sticks at.

Over Unity bought the pace down a tiny bit, but added in a funky bass beat to their lush sound. Led by Joe Dignon and catered to by Luke Ferguson, Over Unity are an absolute joy to listen to. I’ll definitely be back for second helpings.

If you peruse the bio of the next act, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving list themselves under the genre heading of “Other” and whilst it may be hard to pin a label on these guys (definitely a good thing) it isn’t hard to see that they have formed into this incredible musical organism that flows organically through genre to genre with obvious ease. If you took equal parts of rock, classical, jazz, metal and a touch of Steady Eddie and mixed it all up in a pot, you would come close to the wonder that is Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Playing an almost entirely instrumental set, they put on a show of power and precision in a complex and chaotic set that had me hooked.

By the time Voyager hit the stage I could hear the ants in my pants complaining loudly about unhygienic working conditions.

Last year, I watched Voyager support Soilwork and I was an instant fan. Their mixture of searing guitars, brutal drums and Daniel Estrin’s incredible voice are a sure-fire recipe for success. With thoughtful songs and superbly crafty musical arrangements, it is not surprise that the lords of the Perth metal scene are soon heading off to conquer America.

It was clear the majority of the crowd were here to see Voyager and from the second they started playing the audience were right into it. (most singing every song word for work…. some even had hand actions for accompaniment)

I once compared Estrin to Morten Harket, such is the quality and range of his voice and after Friday night the only thing I would change is to say that Morten Harket sounds a lot like Daniel Estrin.

Estrin should be the poster boy for lead vocalists, prowling the stage like a caged lion, engaging with the audience and driving them into a frenzy. Beside him the rest of the band put on a masterful display and show the way music should be played and the way musicians should engage with their audience.

If you like great metal, then go see Voyager

If you like musicians, who give their all to put on a performance for you, then go see Voyager

If you want to see some of the best hair whipping next to Willow Smith, then go see Voyager

If you want to hear one of the greatest metal medleys of all times, including tunes from renowned metal stalwarts such as Michael Jackson, John Farnham, Deep Forest and Harold Faltermeyer, then go see Voyager

F@ck it……. JUST GO SEE VOYAGER!!!!!!

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