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Live Reviews : Voyager, Klone, Mish & Dawn Heist @ The Factory Floor, Sydney 23/05/2015

By on May 24, 2015

It’s almost a feeling of déjà vu at the Factory Theatre this Saturday. Voyager are playing at the Factory Floor again, almost 10 months since their last show at this venue. The release party for V back in July last year was the first gig I ever reviewed for Metal Obsession, and it was a very memorable night to say the least.

But let’s start from the beginning. I arrived at the Factory Theatre just early enough to have a beer before the doors opened. It is a cold night in Sydney, but the people in the outside bar area don’t seem to mind. The Angels are playing upstairs at the same time this evening. If there was ever a time where I wish that I could have been in two places at once, this would be it.

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The first band to hit the stage is Sydney melodic metal outfit Dawn Heist. Being the first band out of four they do a pretty decent job and while the room is nowhere near filled yet, the turnout for the local openers is quite good. This band sounds a fair bit like Soilwork, that’s the best comparison I can think of. The mix of clean vocals and growls work well together with the eerie and groovy guitars and while it isn’t ground-breaking metal that is being played, it’s a solid set for an opener and the thirty minutes went by quickly.

Next up is another local act, Mish. I think this is where things started going wrong. I am not quite sure what happened before their set, but I think the power went on stage or something like that. There was a slight delay either way, and Mish started their set about ten minutes late. This led to a shorter than expected set, which is unfortunate, but things like this happens sometimes. While Mish were on stage however, they brought some real energy to the table. Bassist Nathan Kenna looks like he’s slaying invisible demons rather than playing the bass, which is fun to watch. The crowd is also a bit bigger now, and people are warming up slightly finally.

Mish plays groovy prog metal accompanied by psychedelic projections on the wall. The sound is tight and it is obvious that the members of Mish are great musicians, however after a while I started to find the music a bit one dimensional. They are interesting to watch and even though it is not my favourite kind of music it was an entertaining set. At the end of their allocated time, they wanted to play another song, but it just wasn’t meant to happen because of the delays.

Speaking of main acts, the next band to hit the stage is the French band Klone. Looking back, I really wish that I had looked up their music beforehand. I’ve been meaning to ever since they were announced for this tour, but I never got around to it.

It is easy to notice just within a few seconds that this is next level stuff. The professionalism and the vibe is just completely different on stage. It is a small stage and a small venue, but Klone makes it feel like they’re playing at the Enmore. I think it might be due to the lighting as well, Voyager’s lighting guy really knows his stuff.

Yann’s vocals are what really astounds me, he possess some of the most powerful vocals I have ever heard. That in turn makes everything sound a lot better. The music itself is part heavy, part psychedelic and part groovy. I can hear a wide range of influences ranging from Opeth to Porcupine Tree to Devin Townsend. The time really flies by and Klone’s 40 minute set feels more like 10 minutes. They gained at least one new fan tonight!

And so it was time for the highlight of the evening. When it comes to Voyager the question is: how awesome will they be tonight? For me personally it was the third time I’ve seen them, and I thought that they were at their very best last night. However, for some reason, the same magical feeling that was present the last time at the Factory Floor wasn’t quite there. But that’s more to do with the audience than anything. It was a pretty slow night from the very beginning and while the room was almost packed by the time Voyager started playing, for the most part only the first couple of rows got really into it. Still, Voyager’s performance was stellar as always. I’m not quite sure what it is that makes them such a good live band, but I’m suspecting that it’s the sheer joy that’s being displayed on stage. Every band member look like they are having the time of their life and that there’s no other place in the world they would rather be than here.

There’s not much downtime between Voyager’s songs, backing tracks are making the transitions really smooth and the set is really well-planned. After a couple of songs however, drummer Ashley Doodkorte’s pedals are acting up a bit, which forces the rest of the band into a funky jazz medley while the problems are being fixed.

The setlist of the night is quite varied. Audience favourites such as Lost, Stare Into The Night and Breaking Down are some of the obvious ones. I’m not sure how many of the tracks that were decided by fans beforehand (Voyager asked people to vote for which songs they wanted to hear on the tour) but songs like Sober, Devil In Me and Broken were included in the set and people really seemed to appreciate them. There’s also a medley (of course there’s a medley!) In the space of seven or so minutes the audience is treated to (in order): Game of Thrones theme, Ghostbusters theme, Breathe by Prodigy, Beds are Burning by Midnight Oil, Du Hast by Rammstein, and Simply the Best by Tina Turner. Need I say that this was epic?

It is simply put a set of raw quality. Everything from the lighting to the sound to the performance is close to perfection. It seems unfair to other bands that Voyager have not just one, but two truly brilliant guitarists (Scott Kay, Simone Dow) in their lineup. Add a bearded beast of a drummer, and one of the best bassists (Alex Canion) I’ve seen live ever and you have a band that stand above most others when it comes to musical ability and quality. And then you add Daniel Estrin to the mix. A man who not only plays the keytar, but also has some of the most unique and brilliant vocals that I have ever heard. Then you have one of the best live bands in the world.

Voyager’s Season of Age tour resumes in Melbourne this Friday, May 29, followed up by gigs in Brisbane, Perth and Bunbury.

About

Martin is an aspiring music photographer/videographer. He is originally from the southern parts of Sweden and now he's living in Sydney, Australia. Thanks to his older sister, he got into Rammstein at the age of 9, and since then he's been into all types of metal/rock. He loves to combine photography and music, but also filming concerts and produce live material. Follow him on Twitter and check out his website.