PROGPOWER EUROPE 2008

DATE:

VENUE:

Friday 3rd October - Sunday 5th October 2008

Sjiwa in Baarlo, Netherlands

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

CYNIC; ZERO HOUR; ALARUM; WOLVERINE; SUN CAGED; CILICE

SUNDAY

THRESHOLD; WOLVERINE; SUSPYRE; THE AURORA PROJECT; PATHOSRAY; 21 EYES OF RUBY

PAGAN'S MIND; ATROX; DIVISION BY ZERO

CLICK HERE FOR SUNDAY PART 1

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

CLICK HERE FOR SUNDAY PART 1

Reviews & Photography by Mark Holmes

21 EYES OF RUBY

Dutch prog-rockers 21 Eyes of Ruby, largely unknown outside of their home country, open the final day of ProgPower at around 1:45pm. Citing influences such as Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, and The Mars Volta, their musical stylings make them quite different from most other bands on ProgPower's 2008 bill. Emerging on stage to atmospheric intro music, the three-piece have a novel formation which sees drummer Martijn Soeterbroek located at the front-right side, frontman Antoine ‘TuWann’ Pütz on the left, while bassist Alex van Damme occupies the middle space which he fills with a wildly energetic performance. Pütz, with a progressive 2-tone hair-do, is a likeable frontman, although has a few tuning issues on some vocals as he is sporadically flat/sharp throughout the band's set. He also demonstrates ignorance to the festival's wide international attendance by opting to speak to the audience in Dutch between each song which leaves many blank faces in the crowd. Otherwise, the band provide a solid opening to the day's proceedings with a impressively dynamic stage presence in their early afternoon slot.

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SUNDAY 5th OCTOBER - PART 1

PATHOSRAY

Next up are Italian prog-metal act Pathosray. Formed back in 2000 under the monicker N.D.E, the band changed its name in 2002 with the release of their first demo, 'Strange Kind of Energies'. After another demo, 2006's 'Deathless Crescendo', Pathosray released their self-titled debut album the following year. With a compositional style that is largely derived from generic prog-metal, the songs are also interposed with elements of traditional metal riffing and sympho prog-rock. While I initially find the band quite engaging, perhaps aided by bassist Fabio D'Amore's highly animated performance, I tire of their music after 3 songs as it all becomes rather samey and derivative with little stylistic variations between each track. In terms of musical abilities, I cannot fault Pathosray and, judging by the positive crowd reactions, they impress those present with their competent displays of musicianship. However, for me, it's a style of music that I've heard many times before by many other bands. That said, I guess I'm in a minority in the Sjiwa this afternoon as generic prog seems to be popular with much of the audience as many nod their heads and clap along when prompted to do so by frontman Marco Sandron. A great performance, although Pathosray are not to my taste.

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THE AURORA PROJECT

Announced onstage as first appearing at the festival in 2006, this was actually at ProgPower 2005 just prior to the release of their debut album where they opened the Sunday. Today sees them higher up the bill as they were recruited as a last minute replacement for Tunisia's Myrath who disappointingly cancelled their long-planned appearance just a few days prior to today. Apparently, some Aurora Project members would have been attending the festival as spectators anyway, so I guess the band were an obvious replacement at such short notice. And it must be said a great replacement, as I was very impressed with their set at ProgPower 2005, so was curious as to how this progressive band had progressed. With self-proclaimed influences similar to Riverside, it is no surprise that The Aurora Project have a sound that is reminiscent in places of the festival's favourite Poles, although the Dutch sextet have an overall different sound that is quasi-progressive in its own right. This afternoon, the band have a less gimmicky appearance than in 2005 (where they had fuzzy tv screens on the stage, and frontman Dennis Binnekade's face was painted with stripes), so today is purely about the music which is strong enough on its own merits. Binnekade has noticeably matured as a vocalist and developed a tonally richer sound to his voice which resonates powerfully throughout the Sjiwa with every note-perfect lyric he sings. Collectively, the entire band look a lot more comfortable on stage today than in 2005, often affording each other smiles as they are evidently enjoying this second opportunity to perform at the prestigious ProgPower. Material from debut album '...Unspoken Words' such as 'Event Horizon' with its Floydian style intro sits comfortably in the set alongside new tracks played today from forthcoming sophomore release 'Shadow Border'. 'Within the Realms of a Dream' is particularly memorable and demonstrates progression in the band's songwriting from '...Unspoken Words'. With a near-perfect sound and mix through the PA, The Aurora Project win over ProgPower's audience with ease, and as they wind up their performance, have undoubtedly widened their fanbase further with such an accomplished performance.

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