EVIL MASQUERADE - Live at Metal Night
Sundsvall/SWEDEN (July 16, 2011)


The setting is at Bergsåker, and the view of the mountains in this bright summer night makes a cozy and pleasant impression. High mountains and pink clouds are not precisely the setting that one may expect to find in a night of Heavy Metal. It is precisely that though, a heavy metal event named accordingly - "Metal Night."

During the evening, the picturesque image transforms. The fog slowly envelops the mountains providing an almost magical setting for the entire event. When tonight's indisputable main attraction, Evil Masquerade enters the stage at midnight, the fog around the mountain's tracks had long become quite dense.

As the opening intro sounds, followed then by "Third Act", The serene atmosphere suddenly alters to one of heightened anticipation and enthusiasm that can only be found at a Metal concert. As a live band, Evil Masquerade is both tight and professional. They are experienced musicians on stage and it shows. From the moment they reveal themselves until they get off the stage, it is full speed ahead and spiced up with a catchy musical joy. These guys really like to play together! Even as an audience, one can feel how good and true the chemistry they have together as a band. It almost ignites sparks around them, and, when guitarist Henrik Flyman disappears in a puff of smoke, it almost makes you wonder if it really is a smoke machine and not the real thing. In front of the stage the audience shows its appreciation and they headbang in delight to the heavy tones coming from the band.

This night, Evil Masquerade consists of Henrik Flyman (guitar), Apollo Papathanasio (vocals), Thor Jeppesen (bass), Artur Meinild (keyboards) and Jens Berglid (drums). The latter could also be seen on the band’s last appearance in Copenhagen, a little over a year ago, and has been honoured to replace regular drummer Dennis Buhl who was unable to participate due to an injury.

Henrik Flyman has promised on the band’s Facebook page that tonight’s setlist will consist of both old and new material. The promise was met. There was nothing but hard candy served, including “Hollow Soul”, “The Darkness Within” and “I’ll Make you Burn”. The audience this evening also got an exclusive preview from the upcoming album Pentagram: “Unholy Water”. It is hard to resist not to associate a song like this one with heavier metal in the style of Black Sabbath. At the same time, the song has an unmistakable Flymanesque hallmark which makes the entire song sound fresh and new. If this song is representative of the upcoming album, the fans of the band can expect an album heavy as lead and one that should not have any problems finding its way to many metal fans’ record collections. Even outside the loyal fan base, it shouldn't be too difficult to find many potential buyers.

Evil Masquerade's live performances have been scarce over the years. Last time they played live was, as it has already been mentioned, only a little over a year ago at The Rock in Copenhagen. The appearance on Metal Night was historical. This was the band’s first gig ever on Swedish soil. This premiere took place in Sundsvall, which seems only obvious because the bands founder, Henrik Flyman is originally from this area. He is currently living in Denmark, where he has resided for several years now.

Given that Evil Masquerade is tonight's headliner, it is sad that the first two or three songs suffered from poor sound. As if this was not bad enough, delays in the playing schedule and time constraints brutally ended the band’s performance with just a few songs remaining of their set. It was not only the big favourite “Black Ravens Cry” which failed to materialise, but also two new songs.

The end of this historic evening can only be described as an anti-climax. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, Evil Masquerade managed to show how a metal gig is properly done, as well as proving that they are one of the best live bands on the heavy metal scene of today. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we see them in Sweden again.

Jenny Persson
ROCKNYTT.SE