It was my first time back at The Chance Theater since Covid and nothing has changed, other than the entire building being up for sale. The line to get in was long, and it appeared it would be a close to capacity show for Yngwie Malmsteen, Images of Eden, Sunlord, and School of Rock. It was a cold wait outside and the doors opened around 7:30pm, as I could hear sound check running late. The School of Rock families brought a lot of next generation rockers out to see their siblings on stage and also some incredible bands.
School of Rock started off the night with some hard rock and heavy metal songs including Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” and Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction”. They did a great job representing the future of live rock. It’s great to see School of Rock teaching not only how to play the instruments, but also how to perform in front of a live audience.
Next up was Sunlord, a Heavy Metal/ Punk Band from New York City. They started out as a Slayer/Pantera cover band and have since came out with 2 original albums, the most recent being dubbed 222 and is available at Bandcamp on Vinyl or CD. Currently a three-piece band fronted by Alfonso Ferrazza, their lineup has changed a few times and sometimes have another guitarist too. They have a hint of Metallica, with a lot more Slayer mixed in. You can expect lots of growling vocals and headbanging from this band.
Sunlord is:
- Alfonso Ferrazza – Vocals, Guitar
- Mike Reynal – Bass Guitar
- James Jones – Drums
Setlist:
- Miserable Gods
- Like a Champion
- Burning Saint
- The Vigilante
- Do Your Push-ups
- Forbidden Witch
- Turn Me Loose
Next up was Images of Eden. I was lucky enough to catch these guys 2 years ago at the same venue on tour supporting Doro and Metal Church. I have since stayed in touch with the band who have some amazing new music out. A video just came out for a song on their current album, Angel Born, called “Animation in a Still World”. Their seven-song set started around 9:15 with “Shield Me” and Godless off of their 2018 release, Soul Rise. Gordon sings with 110% passion on every song as can be seen in the photos below. These guys have a prog-rock sound. Kind of Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Judas Priest molded together. Although there was no keyboardist playing live with the band, they did invite their friend and guitar tech, Michael E. Wolff, on stage to play acoustic/electric guitar on 2 songs. This band is a well-oiled machine and will go far. They present a message of positivity in their music. The set ended with a cover of Truimph’s “Fight the Good Fight”
Images of Eden is:
Gordon Tittsworth – All Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
- Steve Dorssom – Drums, Percussion
- Eric Mulvaine – Bass Guitar
- Victor Morell – Lead Guitar
- Dean Harris – Piano, Keyboards
Setlist:
- Shield Me
- Godless
- My Promise
- Serenity Reign
- Twice Upon a Time
- Harvest Day
- Fight the Good Fight (Triumph Cover)
Yngwie opened his set with “Rising Force”, probably one of his most popular songs. The keyboardist takes on the vocals on this tune and does a killer job at it. The first thing I noticed was that the drummer was set up near the center of the stage. In the past, when I’ve seen Yngwie, the band was off to one side. Through the tons of smoke and saturated lighting, Yngwie’s guitar madness shined, screaming through his Marshall stacks. His setlist has changed up a bit, playing songs spanning his career, including “Relentless Fury”, “Wolves at the Door”, and “Si Vis Pacem (Parabellum)” off of 2021’s Parabellum album. Throughout the set Yngwie does his signature kicks and throws lots of guitar picks to the crowd. Somewhere in the middle of the set Yngwie broke out into “The Star-Spangled Banner”. The crowd responded with cheers. It was great to see many next generation rockers stay to see this guitar virtuoso probably for the very first time. And, based on their reactions, it probably won’t be the last. If you like shreddy melodic guitar, prog-rock, and heavy metal, this is one tour not to be missed. Yngwie will be on tour through the middle of December.
Yngwie Malmsteen is:
• Yngwie Malmsteen – guitars, vocals
• Nick Marino – keyboards, vocals
• Emilio Martinez – bass, vocals
• Brian Wilson – drums
Setlist:
- Rising Force
- Top Down, Foot Down/No Rest
- Soldier
- Relentless Fury
- Valhalla/Baroque
- Like an Angel
- Wolves at the Door
- Si Vis Pacem
- Badinerie (Johann Sebastian Bach cover)
- Paganini Violin Concerto No.4 in D Minor
- Far Beyond the Sun
- Seventh Sign
- Overture/Arpeggios from Hell
- Evil Eye
- Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple cover)
- Trilogy (Vengeance)
- Blue
- Fugue-Noise
- Drum Solo
- You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget
- Black Star
Find Yngwie Malmsteen:
Find Images of Eden:
Music photography is my passion! Live in the moment, Capture the moment.
