Nick van Dyk and Redemption are out to promote This Mortal Coil live in Europe and they took Kingcrow with them. In Essen the opening slot was taken by Dortmund-based band Solar Fragment. When Solar Fragment entered the stage it was still early and people arrived during their set, so slowly the crowed got bigger. As I haven't heard of Solar Fragment before I can't tell you much about them. They opened up with the title track of their latest album In Our Hands and Man Of Faith, a song of their 2007 album A Spark Of Deity. Musically the quintet is offering power metal with some progressive elements and structures. As In Our Hands was released earlier this year they focused on this album, but with about 30 minutes stage time you're quite limited.
Time for a quick change over and when Italian progsters Kingcrow kicked off their show I met Nick van Dyk for a short chat. When I joined the crowd Kingcrow were playing for a bit, I only saw part of their show. If they stick to their set list they played Evasion and Islands and they just did Lovocaine - all off their latest album Phlegethon - when I got back. But the Spanish guitar at Fading Out Pt. 3 combined with the Oriental sounds really caught my interest. The Italians closed their set with the title track Phlegethon, a 9+ minutes long tune. I would say that Kingcrow is less technical then Dream Theater - even if they are very good musicians -, more song orientated like e.g. Porcupine Tree... Singer Diego Marchesi has a unique voice and so gives the Kingcrow sound an edge.
The change over took longer then expected, but finally the room darkened and the Redemption guys get in place to kick off with Threads off Fullness Of Time. Mainman Nick van Dyk, guitarist Bernie Versailles and bassist Sean Andrews focused on their playing and so Fates Warning singer Ray Alder had to entertain the crowd. Mr. Alder's voice got a bit more raspy through the years, but he's always in motion and doesn't show a sign of aging. "We are Redemption! I'm here for the 3rd time this year, hope you're not growing tired of me..." Ray introduced the band and continued "This is from out new album This Mortal Coil, this is Dreams From The Pit!" Back to Snowfall On Judgment Day, time for Walls. The fans celebrated Redemption and so Alder stated: "Thank you, I'm impressed. Thank you very much!" Fall On You was another one from The Origins Of Ruin, Ray Alder had some problems with his mic which was dropping out, but he's a professional and just keeps going. And nobody really cared, coz the problem was solved soon. They were presenting some more of This Mortal Coil, but keep adding some older tunes to the set. A good balance of old and new which gave everybody the chance to enjoy Redemption. Songs like Black & White World and The Death Of Faith And Reason which they closed their set with. At 11PM they left the stage and left the fans wanting more. It seemed that the guys enjoyed playing live and might have played some more tracks, but due to the travel to Copenhagen had no more time...
If they will return for some more shows to promote This Mortal Coil is uncertain, so everybody who saw them on this run might be lucky to catch them... But I guess that when they return to Europe one day everybody who saw this show will be back for more Redemption!