Once in a while new rock bands are knocking at the door in order to achieve fame in the rock scene. I got the chance to see two of them play live on stage before an audience. eVe and The Odyssey are relatively unknown bands in the Netherlands and they're now making their first steps in the world of recording artists. Both bands delivered their first CD during the period that I watched them in the ever cosy venue strangely titled 't Blok. And of course the usual snacks were present as always.
 

The Odyssey

L to R: Hidde Roorda and Danny van Hek

The band that started to play first on this Sunday afternoon was The Odyssey from the city of Utrecht. They call themselves an alternative rock trio. During their almost one-hour show I could hardly hear any progressive rock influences. The music that Danny van Hek (guitar, vocals), Hidde Roorda (bass, vocals) and Sjaak van Dam

Sjaak van Dam

(drums, vocals) performed has been inspired by bands as Queens Of The Stone Age, Soundgarden and Incubus. Maybe the small passages influenced by Led Zeppelin and The Mars Volta would give them a kind of connection to the prog genre. Especially the pre-recorded keyboard sounds used during some of the intros produced some prog rock sounds after all. Apart from this the compositions are purely guitar orientated. Their music has also a link with the American rock band Rival Sons. This became obvious when they covered the song Pressure Time. The other songs they performed during their set were mainly taken from their first EP, which they recorded in April 2015 together with guitarist-vocalist Dirk Vermeij of Wild Romance.
 

eVe

L to R: Alysia van Horik and Bas Haverkamp

For the second band to perform it was the first concert they did together as a band presenting their debut EP Reverie. Since the musicians of eVe already played in several other acts in the past, I certainly wouldn't call them beginners. The band members didn't have to travel that far; it was more or less a home game for them since most members live in the same place as the venue they performed at. Therefore it wasn't strange that the venue was rather packed with relatives and friends. They were ready to witness a tragic story translated into a musical rollercoaster, because that's what the musical concept had in store for them. You could say that the music contains subtle soundscapes, bombastic crescendos, a kind of prog metal blended with elements of gothic metal. Their musical style could be compared to bands like Within Temptation, Evanescence and Nightwish, since the band is fronted by female singer Alysia van Horik. She seemed to be influenced by Sharon den Adel

Jack Ket

(Within Temptation), but after the show she explained that singers like Kate Bush and Tori Amos had inspired her the most.

Next to the strong vocals of Alysia the band have another strong asset, namely Sebas van Vugt. Apart from the fact that he's an excellent drummer, he's an amazing lead singer as well. Unfortunately the latter cannot be said about the great guitar player Jack Ket. His grunts are something you either love or hate. Well, it certainly wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks to the musical performances of the classically trained keyboard player Erik Schiphorst and bassist Bas Haverkamp, I remained in a positive mood throughout the set. Their musical craftsmanship could also be heard during the covers they did as a kind of encore. They started and ended with Uninvited from Alanis Morissette and in between they performed a part of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall. However, the band's versions of these well-known tunes were rather heavy with a lot of additional guitar parts. In a way I certainly liked them, just like most other people in the audience.

Honestly speaking, I really doubt if both bands would ever become great acts in our country let alone in Europe or the rest of the world. However, you could say that they had fun playing live on stage for those who came to see them. I certainly enjoyed both performances even though the first one had little progressive rock influences. All in all they assured me of having another pleasant Sunday afternoon concert well-organized by the ProgFrog team!

Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen)