The Eppard Brothers Live!

September 14th, 2009 at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY.

by Joe Mis
Staff Writer

To the fullest extent of the cliché, it was a dark and stormy night in upstate New York on Sept. 14, 2009. The weather kept the crowds down, and that may have been the best thing. There is no better way to enjoy a live club show than with a peaceful, small (but appreciative) crowd. In the beautiful lounge of Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, the handful of fans were treated to a fabulous doubleheader of progressive music – Elysium Theory from the prog metal side, and the Eppard Brothers from the prog rock side. While neither act is a household name (yet) even among the rock faithful, both were tight and professional, and both sets were enthusiastic and well done.

Elysium Theory is a local upstate New York act on the verge of releasing their first CD, so for the moment, they are still unknown outside of the Hudson Valley, but they have a bright future ahead. The Eppard Brothers, on the other hand, may be better-known performers – Joey Eppard is the guitar virtuoso, vocalist and driving force behind the prog rock band 3, and brother Josh is the former drummer for 3 and Coheed & Cambria, and currently of Weerd Science as well as the Eppard Brothers.

Elysium Theory kicked off the show with a 10-song set. Most, if not all of the songs performed will be on their debut CD (tentatively titled Modern Alchemy) due for an early 2010 release. If there is such a thing as “blue-collar” progressive metal, this five-piece band is the epitome. Formed in 2006, Elysium Theory is not a bunch of kids, and it is obvious from their technical skills that they’ve been playing their chosen instruments for a while. All well established in other careers, the members of the band got together and seem to stay together because of their love of music and performing. Influenced by Dream Theater, Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, Elysium Theory blends elements from each into a cohesive and well-structured whole without being a “sound-alike” or copy band.

Dan Peterson sings lead, and has a solid range and good stage presence. His voice does remind one of Dream Theater’s James LaBrie tuned down a few steps – which works well with their music. Tim Reid (guitar) and Benny Reyes (keyboards) are both fine players, and both know how to take the lead and when to fade into the background as the music dictates. Ted Feeney (drums) and Jeff Fister (bass) make a great bottom end, and both get their chances to show off and have turn driving the music.

Elysium Theory’s songs are put together well and musically solid. Toss in some metaphysical lyrics, and you have a new band that is ready to take the next step. Highlights of their set were “Modern Alchemy,” “Blacklight Reflection,” “Chaos” and “The Source.” The only negative of their performance was probably due to the acoustics in such a small place – at times, it was difficult to clearly hear the vocals over the rest of the band. All in all, this was a great set by a band that with just a little more experience will be ready to dance with the big guys.

Prog Metal fans – check ‘em out at: http://www.myspace.com/elysiumtheory

The Eppard Brothers took the stage and began a totally improvised set of music. Based in Woodstock, Joey Eppard and his brother Josh have been making music together and apart for a number of years. Founding members of 3, they’ve played with some of the biggest names in modern rock – everyone from Coheed & Cambria to Scorpions. 3 has always been a unique band, and in their own wordsk, they are “known as a band apart: Dark yet uplifting, spiritual without connection to religion…” Their music is difficult to describe; blues-based progressive rock maybe. For this gig, Josh and Joey were joined by longtime 3 bassist Daniel Grimsland.

The Eppard Brothers put on a great show. Joey’s voice was in top form – and something very special happens when this man picks up a guitar. He moved from acoustic to electric and back during the course of the show and used his very unique fingerpicking style throughout. His intensity, as usual, was scary – he gets into a “zone” in much the same way as does a pro athlete at the top of their game. Joey plays with the same focus whether he’s in front of thousands at a festival, hundreds at a theater or dozens at a club. Josh played killer drums, and gets an amazing amount of sounds from and extremely small kit – a bass drum, one snare, one tom, a single cymbal and a hi-hat. He plays with incredible enthusiasm, and you can’t help but wonder how he simply does not knock over his gear. Daniel Grimsland brought his five-stirng bass, sense of humor and backing voice, and gave the trio some great bottom end.

The Eppard Brother’s set was unrehearsed, so they spent a good deal of time interacting with the crowd, taking requests, and having a good time in general. Thus the set was a varied one. They went back to some early stuff and played a good deal of 3’s music without missing a beat. Once they decided on a song, they played it at 100 percent and put on a fabulous show. Highlights were “In America,” “Paint By Number,” “Broadway Alien” and “Lay Down The Law.” Joey wrapped the show with his trademark guitar solo “Bramfatura” – an unbelievably complex piece that will astonish anyone who’s ever picked up the instrument (check it out on YouTube – search for JOEY EPPARD BRAMFATURA).

Find out more about Joey Eppard and 3 at http://www.theband3.com or http://www.myspace.com/officialbandthree

The refreshing part of this whole show was the intimacy of the club. Both bands were there not to sell merchandise or promote themselves, but to make music for their hometown friends and families. The Eppards were hanging out in the crowd during ET’s set, and the guys from ET did likewise while the Eppards were on – a great show of mutual respect and support. If you have the opportunity to catch either of these bands live, you will not be disappointed.

Evarest Fear

by Joe Mis
Staff Writer

Evarest is the latest entry into the now somewhat overcrowded field of female-fronted power metal bands. Fear is the Czech band’s debut effort, just released on Farvahar Records, and in all honesty, it is a fairly strong debut.

The nucleus of the band got together back in 1998 and went through a number of gyrations before settling into the current lineup, now called Evarest. Olaf (bass, backing vocals) and Pepa Fiser (lead guitar) added Honza Cinert (keyboards), Tomas Matula (rhythm guitar) and Eva Markvartova (lead vocals). They recorded and released a CD under the band name Candela in 2007, but added new drummer Zdeno and changed the band’s name to Evarest after landing their current label.

Musically, Evarest is mostly power metal, but there are some tracks that are distinctly straight-up rock, and some are heavily tinged by blues rock and pop. This mixture of styles makes for an interesting listen and sets the band apart from some of the other new power metal groups. Their songs are varied in style, and fortunately, the band changes tempo and key, so the music is never dull or repetitive.

Eva is a very good singer, but occasionally a little rough around the edges – which is fine for the style of music. She doesn’t seem like she is there simply because she is a woman, rather she is the lead singer and just happens to be female. Honza Cinert plays very understated keyboards – and plays very well without dominating the band’s sound. He teams very nicely with the Tomas’s rhythm guitars and plays lead along with Pepa. The guitars are well done and clean, with great crunchy and aggressive rhythm lines and nice soaring leads. Olaf, besides being a good vocalist, is a great speed metal bass player, able to give the others in the band a solid foundation to build upon.

“Intro” kicks off the CD with a big majestic sound – almost orchestral, and leads right into the high-energy “Searching For Lost Times,” a power-metal track with some great guitars and the required tempo changes. “Fear” follows next and drops in with a soft keyboard intro that immediately explodes into a true progressive metal track. The guitars and keys step back and allow the bass, drums and vocals to carry most of the song. “Lost Race” allows Olaf to share some of the lead vocals with Eva, and the two play off each other very well without actually singing a duet. This track also lets Zdeno show off his massive double bass drumming skills, and Olaf manages to keep up with him on the bass. “For Goddamned Love” is, for the most part, a rock power ballad with an amazing keyboard opening and fabulous vocals and lyrics. “Hero’s Fate” opens with some amazing and aggressive guitars and bass, and features a number of nice tempo changes and instrumental harmonies, making it one of the stronger tracks on the CD. “Requiescat” also features some nice keys, aggressive guitar work and more of Olaf on lead vox. “River of Death” is pure power metal with manic double bass and soaring guitars. “Go Away!” is a real change of pace – it is almost a late ‘80s /early ‘90s feel pop rock tune, very up tempo and a lot of fun. “Victory” wraps up the official release and is a fairly muted and low key instrumental. Bonus tracks are a demo version of “For Goddamned Love” and a Czech language version of “Requiescat,” called “Porhoma.”

The production and engineering are very European/power metal: Crisp and clean, with all instruments well balanced and precise. Much like many of Lacuna Coil’s recordings, the vocals are not emphasized enough, sometimes getting buried in the music, making it tough to pick up all of the lyrics. Considering the vocal talents of both Eva and Olaf, Evarest could have done more with backing vocals or dubbing.

Fear is a very solid debut, and an enjoyable listen overall. While not perfect or groundbreaking, it is good fun, and the music is melodic and performed with a lot of energy and spirit. It would have been a better album had Eva’s vocals been mixed louder, but then nothing is ever perfect. If you are into European power or speed metal, don’t be afraid of Fear.

Label: Farvahar Records

Web: http://www.farvaharrecords.com/music/?id=2, http://www.myspace.com/evarestczech

Track Listing:
01 – Intro
02 – Searching for Lost Times
03 – Fear
04 – Lost Race
05 – For Goddamned Love
06 – Hero’s Fate
07 – Requiescat
08 – River of Death
09 – Go Away!
10 – Victory
11 – For Goddamned Love (Demo Version)
12 – Porhoma (Czech version of Requiescat)

Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10