Live Review : Evergrey + Klogr + Inner Vitriol @ Rebellion, Manchester on December 16th 2024

The golden rule of music journalism is to remember that no matter who the act is and no matter how lowly the circumstances that you are covering them in, for someone somewhere they are their favourite band ever. Evergrey svengali Tom Englund is the first to admit that tonight’s showing is rather disappointing. “Next time we come you bring your wives, your girlfriends, your boyfriends, your drug dealers, your lawyers, bring anyone” he deadpans during the set. However, despite the attendance being at a level where everybody needs to keep their coats on (including a fellow with a remarkably multicoloured jacket that captures Tom's eyes), the atmosphere is exceptionally buoyant and scintillatingly succulent. This is because for those who have made it out to central Manchester on a cold Monday night, Evergrey are either their favourite band or at the very least making great swipes at holding that accolade.

Inner Vitriol have been knocking around for quite a while. Last decade, under their previous moniker of simply Vitriol, they gained quite a head steam being very much viewed as one to watch in the prog world. Since their proverbial moment in the sun, there's been substantial lineups shifts and the addition of a word to their name. Being shoved on at 7.00 PM for a show that won't set any attendance records, means that they are playing to a rather sparse room. The band don’t seem in any way daunted and work exceedingly well with what they've got. Vocalist Gabriele Gozzi and guitarist Michele Di Lauro are both smooth operators and skilfully seduce the crowd with dollops of Italian charm. The former oozes continental charisma, he banters with the crowd, mischievously berating himself for the length of their songs. The latter operates as the band’s hype man. He urges crowd participation and doesn’t seem particularly keen on letting up until he gets it.

Musically, they are dark luxurious prog. It is chock full of luscious tempo changes and intricate guitar noodling. It has a feel of quality and emotional depth. It is not hastily constructed music, you can almost see the hours of painstaking design that has gone into the interlinking riffs and musical refrains. Whilst their own material is sung in English, they retreat to their native language for a cover of ‘Impressioni di Settembre’ by cult 70s Italian proggers Premiata Forneria Marconi. By the time they reach their final number, they are on first-name terms with the small gathering upfront and no doubt on the verge of swapping telephone numbers. There are cries of more but once again Gabriele bats them away with an irreverent and self-derogatory acknowledgement of the length of their songs. A really competent opening salvo.

Klogr have brought with them an impressive amount of clopper. They set up widescreen tellies on either side of the drumkit (sadly not a ruse to show the Bournemouth - West Ham match) and Gabriele Rustichelli has a strident ornamental mic stand that quite frankly resembles a scratch pole for a cat.  They get the posturing elementally right. There is lots of shape-pulling and Gabriele spends a good deal of time standing on his monitor striking poses. His choice of chic leather coat, John Lennon glasses and goatee makes him look like a supervillain and he has the air of a man very comfortable in his own skin, if not about to pull off some dreadfully despicable act. Musically they operate in some interesting netherworld between grunge and prog. It all feels rather ground and organic, but it is offset with lush orchestration and intricate guitar work.

Whilst not particularly well versed in the material, the crowd seem genuinely interested and aroused by Klogr. There is a noticeable movement towards the front of the standing area as the set proceeds, as heads nod and feet tap in appreciation. Gabriele seems quite keen to talk about the new material and also threaten to give us three hours of Klogr. The latter turns out to be a product of his Italian sense of humour and they do stick within their allotted fifty minutes. He becomes very spirited at the end of the set, guiding us towards the images on the screens and speaking animatedly about the injustices we are doing to nature. Final track ‘Guinea Pigs’ is a prerogative call to arms, again treading the fine line between granular grunge and a more elaborate modern take on prog. Interesting.

Tom Englund is to great pains to state that this is show forty-one of their mammoth forty-seven date tour of mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. If fatigue and world-weariness has begun to set in, then Evergrey do a fantastic job of not showing it. Tonight, they are excellent and full of vim and vigour. Instead of draining them, this arduous and seemingly endless tour has invigorated them and created a close harmonic unit. Tom and long-standing second guitarist Henrik Danhage interlink spectacularly. They operate on a telepathic level, seamlessly swapping guitar solos and continually playing off each other. Towards the end, Tom is, Bowie like, draped over Henrik and the comradeship is achingly obvious. Close quarters for over two months seem to have brought the band together rather than splintered its cohesiveness.

Most other bands would have treated the forty-first show in a quarter-full room in a railway arch underneath an adult strip club with a level of disdain. But Evergrey give it every ounce of their being and the atmosphere this evening is astonishingly rich with adulation. There are not that many of us here, but God do we all love Evergrey. There is a tight bundle of expectant fans four or five deep at the front and the ecstasy and euphoria imprinted on their face just tells the story of the evening. Evergrey are their favourite band and they sing every lyric and live every verse. This heightened emotion reverberates around the room and this evening feels special because for those loving every moment, it is special. This is Evergrey’s crowd, and whether there is four, forty or four hundred present they are going to love every moment of it.

They make a strong statement of intent by starting with two songs from new album, but they then start a long-winded wander through their considerable back catalogue. With fourteen albums to choose from it is always going to be a Herculean task to please everybody. They stay within relatively safe waters by concentrating on their last six albums and it is only with encore opener ‘A Touch of a Blessing’ do they wander into deeper depths beyond 2014’s “Hymns for the Broken”. If anybody is taking umbrage with the set selections, then they keep that firmly to themselves. Every track is greeted ferociously, and the words are sung back to Tom with passion and pathos.

Evergrey operate within a considerable grey area of power metal. It retains the scale and sumptuous melodic refrains of the genre but ditches the pomp and self-indulgence. What you are left with is a beautiful tender version of metal that is high on emotional intelligence but low on decadent theatrics. Evergrey are not flight of fantasy fantasists, they are real world auteurs cultivating real stories about how it really is. They do this with great flourish and creative perfection. There is great light and shade in their material and they evocatively whip up a beautiful tapestry of melodic maudlin wonder that enrapts the listener. Our small but dedicated band of disciples upfront are in absolute ecstasy as they are spirited away by the passion of the material and how it is played.

Tom is honest with the room that he has six more shows to do and then he needs to go back home to learn how to be a dad once again. But rather than in their minds already be within the bosoms of the family, the band show great and stoic presentism giving Manchester everything that they've got. This includes relative new boy Simens Sandnes who has been struck with food poisoning and pulled from his sick bed just to play tonight's show. As he slumps over his kit Tom playfully commands us to call an ambulance, which seems to rouse the exhausted drummer. Tonight is a wonderful example that less can very much be more. 

Evergrey are wonderful because they feed off the anticipation and wonton desire of those who love them. They give a hundred percent even in a circumstance where they could be well forgiven for dialling in a performance. Evergrey illustrate a bond between fan and band that is warm, mutually assured and strident. Tonight proves to be fantastic because Evergrey and their followers combine together to bring the euphoria and concoct the atmosphere. Very much a gigantic victory clutched from the jaws of defeat,

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Evergrey + Klogr + Inner Vitriol