Knight Area

Official release "Hyperdrive"

Distorted Harmony & HeKz

November 7, 2014 - De Cacaofabriek, Helmond (NL)


Three years ago I visited the release party (see review) of Nine Paths (2011, see review), the fourth studio album of the Dutch prog rock outfit Knight Area. Since that time much has happened. Guitarist Mark Vermeule and bassist Gijs Koopman left and were replaced by Mark Bogert and Peter Vink. People who already have heard the new album Hyperdrive (see review) know that these new band members are largely responsible for the current sound of Knight Area. In my opinion the music changed from neo-progressive to a more prog metal style. I was curious to find out how this change in musical style would sound live on stage. However, before I could find out two support acts were performing in order to bring the audience in the right mood.
 

Distorted Harmony

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Misha Soukhinin
The Israeli prog metal band Distorted Harmony played for the first time abroad. Their two studio albums Utopia (2012, see review) and Chain Reaction (2014, see review) already got some positive reviews on our website. On their debut prog rock more or less dominated the band's music, but on their latest effort the musical style changed a bit in favour of prog metal. I wondered if this musical change could be noticed during the live performance, because I was a bit worried that their 45-minute set would only contain the heavier pieces. But fortunately that wasn't the case although they only played songs from Chain Reaction. The musicians managed to find the right balance between the two genres.

Right from the start all band members were anxious to
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Iggy Cohen and Guy Ladau (r)
deliver a good performance without making any mistakes. Only the excellent singer Misha Soukhinin mixed up the set list beforehand, but I could hardly see that as a mistake. Those things just happen once in a while. My personal highlight of the show was the instrumental piece Nothing (But The Rain). On this track drummer Yogev Gabav and keyboardist Yoav Efron showed their love for great instrumental prog tunes. Without being assisted by the other musicians, they succeeded in leaving me speechless! This piece was followed by As One on which the entire band could shake off their aggressive feelings provided that they had such feelings. Distortion Harmony may look back at a great debut on stage outside their home country. Well done, indeed!  

HeKz

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Matt Young
Before playing live at De Cacaofabriek, the British band HeKz was only a name for me, although I had listened to the track Disconnect The World from the sixteenth sampler of New Species issued by The Classic Rock Society. This track certainly drew my attention. During their 45-minute set they performed Vendetta and Hashashiyyin, two songs from their debut album Tabula Rasa (2012). Beside these songs they played Progress And Failure, Disconnect The World and The Black Hand, three pieces from their recently released second album Cearus. Well, from the beginning until the end the band blew me away. I think the Canadian band Rush had been a major influence of HeKz. The voice of the band's bassist and lead singer Matt Young not only often sounded like Geddy Lee, but he also moved around the stage just like Mr Lee does. The twin guitar parts by Al Beveridge and Tom Smith are a great asset to the band's sound. Sometimes they played in unisono, at other times one of them played an excellent solo while the other accompanied him by playing a fine riff.

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HeKz

With James Messenger the band has a great keyboard player who can play outstanding synthesizer solos, but he also creates modern keyboard sounds. It's hard for me to tell which song was my favourite during their show, but afterwards I guess it was The Black Hand, the final song of the set. This piece contains many different moods. The track often reminded me of the music of their fellow-countrymen of Haken. For the audience it was sometimes difficult to conclude whether a song had ended or not. Twice they applauded while the song hadn't finished yet. Just like Distorted Harmony HeKz may look back at a strong live debut on a Dutch stage. Well done as well!
 

Knight Area

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Mark Smit in special outfit
Finally the headliners entered the stage to play the fifth studio album Hyperdrive in its entirety. This was done in the same order as on the album. The musicians on stage succeeded in entertaining their fans throughout the show. Not only by playing the album tracks excellently, but also by doing something extra on stage like the humorous remarks between guitarist Mark Bogert and bassist Peter Vink of whom the latter constantly jumped around the stage. By doing so he provided the band's performance more dynamics. However, the most active musician was without doubt lead singer Mark Smit. His voice sounded great and his stage presentation was outstanding. Without having his usual mobile keyboard around his shoulders he had more freedom of movement. As always he changed his outfit during the concert. At first he was dressed in Union Jack pants and a shirt, but during Running Away he put on a rather weird but interesting outfit that must have made it difficult for him to sing his vocal lines. Many people with a smartphone or camera moved forward to the stage to take some pictures. For the strong ballad Songs From The Past he undressed to the waist to sing behind the piano. Toward the end keyboard player Gerben Klazinga and guitarist Mark Bogert accompanied him on their instruments. However, when he put on a kind of leather outfit, he didn't notice that the zipper wasn't completely closed, but fortunately someone in the audience pointed out that a possible problem could occur...

Unfortunately Arjen Lucassen had rejected the invitation to play the guitar solo he did for Stepping Out, but the audience could enjoy Mr. Bogert playing this solo of his self-written composition. It was a joy to see him play. Afterwards
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Mark Bogert
I realized that the album wasn't presented by a pure prog metal band. The neo-progressive elements were still present, maybe even more than on the album. What to do after performing a completely new album in its entirety? Playing songs from the band's back catalogue, but which one? I guess the musicians didn't know either what to do and so they decided to start a medley of old tunes. They had a medley that lasted half an hour, but that was way too long and instead they created a 15-minute medley. Wow! It was really something special to hear bits and pieces of Conspiracy, Mastermind, A Million Lives, Dark Souls, Angels Call, Ever Since You Killed Me, Dreamweaver and A Different Man II! After that it was time for an encore. Of course nobody would leave the building without Mortal Brow had been performed. Before this amazing piece was played the audience could enjoy a great version of Forever Now. During Mortal Brow Mark Smith introduced the band members. He announced that guitarist Mark Bogert would be playing the last solo of the concert, which was of course an outstanding one.

People who showed up to see the official release of Knight Area's fifth studio album Hyperdrive saw during ninety minutes a band in great shape. As a fine bonus two other bands could be enjoyed that both gave excellent performances as well. Sure, not all people in the audience liked their musical style; they probably found it too heavy. But, hey, that was also my first thought upon hearing the new Knight Area album! But gradually I got into the compositions and started to like them. Anyway, it's not easy to make everybody happy since we all have a different taste, haven't we?

Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen) 

Setlist Distorted Harmony:


Hollow
Every Time She Smiles
Nothing (But The Rain)
As One
Misguided
Natural Selection



Pictures Distorted Harmony by Arthur Haggenburg

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Line up Distorted Harmony:

(left to right)
Iggy Cohen:
bass
Misha Soukhinin:
lead vocals
Guy Ladau:
guitar
Yoav Efron:
keyboards
Yogev Gabav:
drums
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Setlist HeKz:


Progress And Failure
Disconnect The World
Vendetta
Hashashiyyin
The Black Hand



Pictures HeKz by Arthur Haggenburg

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Line up HeKz:

(left to right)
Matt Young:
bass, vocals
Al Beveridge:
guitar and backing vocals
James Messenger:
keyboards
Tom Smith:
guitar
Kirk Brandham:
drums
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Setlist Knight Area:


Afraid Of The Dark
The Lost World
Bubble
This Day
Crimson Skies
Avenue Of Broken Dreams
Living In Confusion
Stepping Out
Running Away
Songs From The Past
Hypnotized
Medley: Conspiracy / Mastermind
A Million Lives
Dark Souls
Angels Call
Ever Since You Killed Me
Dreamweaver
A Different Man II
Encores:
Forever Now
Mortal Brow



Pictures Knight Area by Arthur Haggenburg

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Line up Knight Area:

(left to right)
Pieter van Hoorn:
drums, backing vocals
Gerben Klazinga:
keyboards, backing vocals
Peter Vink:
bass
Mark Smit:
lead vocals, piano
Mark Bogert:
guitar
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