Amaranthe
I Prevail
Worcester Palladium
May 15, 2015

Sweden’s Amaranthe are embarking on the Massive Addict Tour, in support of 2014’s album by the same name. Joining them on this tour are Michigan based I Prevail, and Finnish glam metal band Santa Cruz.

---

Santa Cruz

I wasn’t sure what to think of Santa Cruz when they first walked out on stage. Their style first brought thoughts of glam-parody band Steel Panther to mind, but they proved to be much deeper than that.

Santa Cruz certainly have a party feel like Motley Crüe or Guns and Roses, but also the technical skill of bands like Iron Maiden or Avenged Sevenfold. These guys can kick some ass!

Highlights of their set included singles off of 2015’s self titled album, “Wasted & Wounded” and “My Remedy”.

 

---

I Prevail

Detroit’s I Prevail is a new band, who recently released their debut EP, Heart Vs. Mind. They’ve become a viral sensation after their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” was included on a recent Punk Goes Pop compilation. “Blank Space” was included in their set, but not after first covering a portion of Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff.” Their original tracks went over with the crowd well, with songs such as “Love, Lust and Liars” and “Face Your Demons” being high points.

The band was tight and full of energy, jumping in unison during several of their songs. I Prevail does a good job of mixing clean vocals, from vocalist Brian Burkheiser, with dirty vocals, from Eric Vanlerberghe. Brian seemed to be having an issue with his monitor mix, as he kept holding his finger to his ear, but it didn’t appear to affect his performance.

---

Amaranthe

Touring on 2014’s Massive Addict, Amaranthe opened their set with their most recent single, “Digital World.” Amaranthe mixes three vocalists together, with both male and female clean vocals from Jake E and Elize Ryd, and unclean vocals, which on the album are performed by Henrik Englund, however Henrik sat this tour out as he is expecting a child. Filling in for Henrik was Olle Ekman from fellow Swedish band Deals Death.

The crowd seemed to thin out after I Prevail played, but Amaranthe played a solid show and was well received by the crowd who remained.

After their third song, they had some technical problems, which resulted in a pause in the show while these were rectified. Bass player Johan Andreassen spoke to the crowd during this time, trying his best to keep everyone entertained, and explaining who their third vocalist for the tour is. Once the issues were resolved, the rest of the night went off without a hitch.

Other highlights of their set included “Trinity,” “Drop Dead Cynical,” and “The Nexus.”