VOYAGER - Livestream 2021
A Voyage Through Time
Written by: Rod Whitfield - Independent | Monday 06 September 2021
The Livestream
The livestream. The new phenomenon in live music, especially during the pandemic. This humble writer has seen and reviewed a few now, and they’ve all been highly enjoyable, and very, very different.
Perth’s mighty VOYAGER take a very different approach again, injecting some comedic interludes into the set, which are hilarious and only add to the overall experience. This is a band that, for well over two decades now, has never taken itself too seriously, but has produced nothing but premium quality music and live shows nonetheless.
The Voyager livestream is more than just a live rock set beamed into your loungeroom via the interwebs. It is an entertainment package. And a damn superb one at that.
Of course, the performance of the band’s tunes is the centrepiece of the stream, and despite being in a Covid-inspired hiatus from the road for quite some time now, this set finds them in scintillating form.
First up, the production. The band and their team have gone absolutely all out to create an eye-popping and ear-pleasing show. The staging is about as grandiose as can be imagined on an Aussie heavy band’s budget, the lighting, the rear-screen projection segments, they’ve even got pyro! The sound quality is slick and lush but still very much live. Whoever designed and executed the sound and visuals for this stream is to be congratulated.
Then there’s the music. The concept for this evening is ‘A Voyage Through Time’. There is a chronological setup to the set tonight, a retrospective feel. Starting way back with their debut in 2003, Element V, the band work through their back catalogue, album by album, cherry-picking a couple of tracks from each, so it’s a true crowd-pleaser. They smash out ripping renditions of The Eleventh Meridian, Sober, White Shadow, The Devil in Me, The Meaning of I, I am the Revolution, this humble writer’s favourite VOYAGER track Hyperventilating, Ghost Mile, Seasons of Age and more, closing proceedings with the inspiring, uplifting Runaway. Every song a classic. Every song iconic. All delivered with the top-shelf musicianship we expect from these guys and gal.
It’s interesting to trace the development of this band’s sound over the years as they progress through the set in this manner. Starting life as somewhat of a ‘power metal’ act, the band gradually grew heavier over time, without losing a single skerrick of their famed melodic sensibility. The most dramatic shift in sound came with their fifth album V. Here they morphed from a classic, if quirky heavy sound into a more djent-inspired progressive metal act, with great success, creatively and commercially. It’s no coincidence that they mark this transition with the interval segment of the set, and several hilarious ‘messages from their sponsors’.
And as is the case with every VOYAGER live set, the band members all appear to be having an absolute ball doing what they do. They do it all with big ear to ear smiles on their faces, and so we in the e-crowd can only smile as well.
The Verdict
It’s hard to imagine a more entertaining livestream. It’s a joyous, 100-minute celebration of this band’s long and illustrious career. They may not be one of the best known, in the greater scheme of things, but these Perth legends are one the best bands this nation has ever produced.
4.5/5
More from VOYAGER…
Pictured: Alex Canion, Scott Kay, Daniel Estrin, Simone Dow + Ashley Doodkorte - VOYAGER
Image courtesy of Simone Dow