Living just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA, I headed 120 miles south(roughly 193km for our friends in other parts of the world) to Joliet, IL. Joliet is thirty to forty five minutes southwest of Chicago, away from the chaos that is downtown. I arrived unfortunately late for the first two local bands. The thrash/death metal band Cryptic Oath played first, and the second band I missed was Dissona, from what I can hear on their Bandcamp page they are truly talented, and I am sad I missed them. They are a progressive metal band, with a very diverse yet distinct sound that is all their own. Chicago legends Ion Vein, were the last of the local bands to go on. I really enjoyed their set, and can't wait to listen to their latest disc.

The first national act of the night, was Atlanta, Georgia based Halcyon Way. I was lucky enough to see them, open for Fozzy and Saxon only a few months earlier. The guys in the band, are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, they will take the time to talk to anyone who approaches them. They played a strong 8 song set that featured a majority of songs from their 2010 disc, Building The Towers. I had owned this particular disc, for almost 2 years, so I was familiar and singing along to these songs. I think that most of the crowd had no idea who they were, but by the final song, Desecration Day were headbanging, and feeling the energy from the very talented lead singer, Steve Braun. The tone of his voice is very unique, and he can reach higher octaves as the songs asks for it. Lead guitarist, Jon Bodan, is a monster on stage, and has great stage presence. Whether he is soloing, singing backup or moving around, the guy is one hundred percent all the time. If your looking for a great melodic(Modern) heavy metal band, definitely check out Halcyon Way, you won't be disappointed. Check out their new video from their upcoming disc, Conquer.

It was roughly 10:15pm(22:15) local time when Fates Warning hit the stage. As a huge Fates Warning fan most of my life(I am in my mid 30's), I was looking forward to see what older songs had been mixed into the set list. One Thousand Fires opened the show, and its also the first song you can hear off their latest release, Darkness In A Different Light. This song encompasses everything that been has done since A Pleasant Shade of Gray(we will call it APSOG from here) with a mix of Parallels and Inside Out thrown in. Speaking of Parallels, the next song was that disc's opener, Life in Still Water. It easy to hear that singer Ray Alder does not have the same range he used too, but that didn't change the experience. He still sings the song with the same amount of passion, he has in the past. Musically speaking, the band sounded flawless, as they would be the entire rest of the evening. Mixing songs from APSOG, FWX(the song Another Perfect Day) and Down to the Wire from Inside Out, made up the middle of the set. Next was Pieces of Me from 2000's Disconnected, the second song off that disc. Two classic tracks from Parallels, The Eleventh Hour(One of my favorite FW songs) and Point of View, were sandwiched between two newer songs, I Am and Firefly. The classic Through Different Eyes was next, followed by Part 9 from APSOG. The prog-a-thon known as Monument was the last song of the set, and the sheer amount of musicianship that goes into this song, has amazed me since Inside Out's release in 1994. Every note, every solo was played as I remembered listening to it, it was a definite highlight of the night. After a brief break, with the crowd cheering for more, Fates Warning returned to the stage, to deliver two more songs. The mammoth Still Remains, from Disconnected, and the always popular Eye To Eye, finished the out the night.

With quality local support, the amazing performance of Halcyon Way and Fates Warning, I got a concert that was great from start to finish. This was a concert I did not want to miss, and would have driven farther, had I needed too. Also as an added bonus, it was the first night of the tour as well! If your a fan of Fates Warning, or have heard of Halcyon Way, its a show you won't want to miss. This tour will be going on throughout the month of November here in the states, before Artizan (See my review from last week to learn more about the band), will be taking Halcyon Way's spot in the lineup.