Written by:	D.T. Metal
Published:	November 15, 2012
Event:	Epica: North American Tour 2012
Location:	Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO, USA
Galleries:	Epica, Alestorm, Insomnium - Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO, 07 NOV 2012 by D.T. Metal (54)

Shows with multiple bands of a different genre can be a real drag since sometimes you have to sit through "meh" bands before the one you came to see hits the stage. Luckily this was not the case the other day in Denver at the Bluebird Theater; and the bands who played actually did so in order of "heaviness".

First on the bill was System Divide. With members from all over the world [Israel, Belgium, USA], their mix of technical modern, but yet still somewhat melodic death metal was maybe a bit harsh for the Epica crowd, but the band did a good job with the hand they were dealt that night.

Denver was the last show for System Divide on this tour, since a family emergency already took singer Miri Milman away from them and while they did have a stand in female vocalist, the band decided to go back home to support Miri.

Next up were the Finns from Insomnium; and let me tell you, since this really doesn't happen all that often, they blew me away. Holy crap! It's always different when you listen to a band on CD and then watch them perform live, but I am glad to say that Insomnium sounds live just the same as on CD. Again, WOW.



At this point in the evening, the venue was either sold-out, or at least pretty darn close, so a lot of people got to hear the epic sound of Insomnium. At first I was surprised when I heard that some patrons came out, forked over almost 30 bucks, just to see THEM play. But after watching their set - totally agree. Can't wait for them to do another tour over here, and hopefully with a longer set; 30 minutes doesn't even scratch the surface when it comes to those guys.



Since they haven't been over here since 2007 I believe, their set was mostly songs from their 2011 album One For Sorrow. Understandable, since this album was their recent release, but myself and tons of others hoped for some older stuff to mix things up. Oh well, there is always next time.

Then my favorite pirate metal band Alestorm got ready to take the stage. I have seen them perform plenty of times over the years and therefore developed a solid friendship with all of them. Last time they were in town with Turisas, I met their new drummer Peter Alcorn, and this time I had the pleasure of meeting their keyboardist Elliot Vernon. I swear, dude looks a little like a younger version of Alexi Laiho, but it might just be me.



Opening their set with "The Sunk'n Norwegian" off their 2011 release Back Through Time the guys put down a flawless 45 minute performance which ended with the ever so popular song "Rum". And love 'em or hate 'em, but they sure do put on a fun show. Musically and riff-wise maybe not that adventurous, but some songs do grab you by the balls and you just can't help yourself and sing along with those - funny lyrics.



Frontman Christopher Bowes, clearly NO stranger to the practices of a pirate, aka drinking, sported not only a Kraken rum shirt on stage, but also commenced to drink such fine liquid, during the song "Keelhauled"; priceless.

Epica was next; seen them tons of times over the years as well, and while not a huge fan of their music, the performance the band laid down in Denver that night was without a doubt, one of the better ones I have seen by Simone, Mark and Co.



This was their first tour in North America since the release of Requiem For The Indifferent and the first two songs of the evening were from said album; "Karma" and "Monopoly On Truth". But fans didn't have to wait all too long to hear some older stuff, since "Sensorium" off their 2003 debut album The Phantom Agony was up next.

During their almost 90 minute set, Epica only played four songs off their latest album and I was actually pretty surprised that they did include "Serenade of Self-Destruction", since this song is ueber-long with its almost 10 minute running time. But hey, they do have to promote the new piece and people sure did enjoy every minute of their set.



One thing though, this was by far the most elaborate light show I have seen a) from Epica and b) in the Bluebird Theater. Holy crap, there were lights EVERYWHERE on stage and sometimes it was hard to make out the musicians because of the constant backlighting.

Again, not necessarily a big Epica fan, but I did enjoy their set. So to rank my "listening experience" that night I would have to say my number one band was definitely Insomnium. Alestorm and Epica were a toss, since both bands excelled that night beyond everybody's belief.

I was also able to conduct some interviews with Epica as well as with Alestorm earlier in the day, so check them out as well.