Eyefear Live At The Espy
It was a day of record heat, then bushfires broke out threatening some friends homes, I really should have had more to eat and for many reasons I wasn't as organised as I'd like to be. Without doubt the worst preparation for a gig ever, however it didn't stop me from seeing Eyefear. After all they were launching their new effort The Unseen and considering how much I rated their previous album launch for A World Full of Grey I knew it couldn't be missed.
Obviously metalheads were suffering more from withdrawal symptoms than the heat, because the Espy was packed. The usual suspects were there and all were in agreement that it had been too long between gigs.
Somehow I managed to be there for In Malices Wake. This was not planned as I've seen them plenty of times and never been that impressed. Surprisingly I did find myself enjoying their set this time. Maybe their old school thrash is growing on me or maybe I was that desperate to see a gig that anyone would have sounded decent. Whatever it was I thought that their instrumental again went well and Metallica's Metal Militia was a nice inclusion.
Kicking off with Illusions from The Unseen, Eyefear displayed what an amazing band they are. Simply they're progessive/power metal at its finest. Their performance had plenty of highlights. Frontman Danny Cecati's screams during Lost Within alone were worth the price of admission as was the track Searching for Forgiveness. The defining moment though had to be Always Reasons, which saw a violinist join them on stage.
As superb as they were Eyefear did not eclipse previous album launch for A World Full of Grey. This set was nowhere near as comprehensive and there was no Breathe Again. Having said all that I don't believe there's a band out there right now that does this music any better than Eyefear.
This night came and went very quickly. Thankfully the metal was well worth seeing because this gig will forever be associated with the tragedies that occurred. There has been more than enough written about that but I will say that the words "every morning is a victory" now have greater meaning.
