MARCH 13th, 2022
DRAGONFORCE + GUESTS
Review By: Metal Mom Rita
Photo Gallery by: Char Tupper
http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/dragonforce-guests/
Well it has been over 2 years since I have written a review, always fun to get back into the swing of things. Headed into Vancouver to catch these bands, two of which, I have never seen before, but let me tell you about it. (I was kicking myself that I forgot my earplugs too, it was very loud , let's hope I remember in the future once I get back into routine again.)
Two years ago, SEVEN SPIRES played their only show of 2020, on the North American Insomnium tour, now they are back at it. If you haven't heard of this band, the members are Adrienne Cowan/vocals, Jack Kosto/guitar, Peter de Reyna/ bass, and Chris Dovas/drums. Tonight was their first time in Vancouver, and what an excellent venue to play. I don't know the band, sorry, can't tell you the names of the songs, but it doesn't matter, they played well, had an abundance of energy, sadly not an enthuastic crowd. Kind of surprised at that because their performance was something to watch. Although there was some feedback with some of their songs, not their fault. What did surprise me was the use of back tracking for the vocals, I was watching, could hear a woman singing, but she wasn't singing at all, I know some bands use this, but Im never fond of it, I prefer to keep it all to "true live" experiences. If you haven't heard of them, check them out, could be a band you will like.
Next up is VISIONS OF ATLANTIS, and WOW, this band is made up of some extremely talented musicians, and they are Clementine Delauney/vocals, Michele Guaitoli/vocals, Thomas Caser/drums, Christian Douscha/guitar, and Herbert Glos/bass, and they pull it all together with a little pirate style. It was a great visual presence, but to hear them perform, they had your attention right from the start. To see both doing vocals, well that was unique in that they worked so well together, making the vocals a focal point when watching this band. This was also their first time in Vancouver, and I am really glad I was there to witness it all. By the looks of the crowd, they were happy to be part of it, jumping, hands in the air, the crowd enthusiasm grew with this band. There was lots of energy, interaction, great sound too for them, which as you know if you have great sound, you are more likely to watch it all. Don't miss out on Visions of Atlantis, they are truly phenomenal. They even sent us home with homework (if you hadn't watched their latest video, "Legions of the Sea"). I have to say, for me, this is the band that nailed it. I will be there next time too when they come to town.
The headliner tonight is the mighty DRAGONFORCE, and it has been a long time since I saw them play here. There were lots of things on stage, giant arcade video games that played while they performed. Also made for some interesting visuals when the two guitarists (Li / Totman) played on top of them, they shot confetti from canons out towards the crowd, they had giant sparkles going off as well at times, while on top of the games. Dragonforce was obviously the one band that the people came for, the floor filled up, and it was a night to remember. Im sure the die-hards reading this know the band, but for those who don't, Marc Hudson/vocals, Sam Totman/guitar, Gee Anzalone/drums, Alicia Vigil/bass, Herman Li/guitar. They played a variety of songs from their wide range of discography. Sadly for me however, sometimes it didn't sound so great, in fact it almost sounded garbled, but there were times that it sounded prestine, like the moments the guitarists came together to highlight their riffs. Visually very appealing, even a giant dragons head behind the drumkit, it was a lot of visual aid, although at times I found myself watching the video games. They definitely knew how to please the crowd.
My only complaints are security, never really watched the pit area for crowd surfers, one guy sure did (tall and young), right in there and stops it all, and he wasn't even in the pit at the time, others need to take note and move with more efficiently to make sure the safety of the crowd surfers and others within the pit. The sound tonight, overall was all over the map. Commodore is usually known for being one of the better venues in our region, but for Seven Spires, consistently too loud, Dragonforce ranged from muffled to clear, and Visions of Atlantis, I would say was the only one with a happy medium, when it came to audio quality. Sound makes all the difference in the world when watching and listening to a performance, especially when you pay good money for the bigger venue events.
Now there are still tour dates that you can catch all of these bands at, some with Firewind as well. The dates with an * marked beside, doesn't have Firewind on the date. Check out the tour poster above for all the dates. (sure happy they got into Canada)