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FIREWIND, EDGE OF PARADISE, IMMORTAL GUARDIAN In Houston, TX With Photos!

By Larry Petro, News Monkey
Saturday, May 18, 2024 @ 9:57 AM

The Stand United North American Tour Comes To A Close At Warehouse Live Midtown On May 6th

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All Photos By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography

Usually when you get the last show of a tour one of two things happens; you either get a somewhat lackluster performance as the band is worn out after a long run or you get a great one as the band gets a second wind knowing that's they're done following this last showing. For those of us in Houston, Texas at Warehouse Live Midtown on May 6th, we definitely got the latter.

Support on this run consisted of Los Angeles based rockers EDGE OF PARADISE, fronted by vocal siren Margarita Monet, and progressive-tinged power thrash metallers IMMORTAL GUARDIAN, led by vocalist Carlos Zema and guitarist/keyboardist extraordinaire Gabriel Guardian.

IMMORTAL GUARDIAN took the stage first and provided a rousing, six song set starting with "Goodbye To Farewells", taken from the 2021 full-length album Psychosomatic". The band was tight and on point as Zema led the charge singing into a microphone that was encased in a skull, a touch I had not yet seen prior to this. After the track "Perfect Person" from their latest release "Unite And Conquer, local guitar legend Rusty Cooley, with whom Zema performed with in the now-defunct band OUTWORLD, joined the band onstage as they performed another new song "Echoes". Following their performance of still another new track, "Ozona" and "Aeolian" (from the band's Age Of Revolution release), their tour manager Dani G joined them on guest vocals for the closing number, "Roots Run Deep". I had not seen IMMORTAL GUARDIAN in Houston in quite a long time and it was good to catch them again. A lot of talent runs in this band and they are definitely worth checking out if they come near you.

Setlist:

"Goodbye To Farewells"

"Perfect Person"

"Echoes" (with Rusty Cooley)

"Ozona"

"Aeolian"

"Roots Run Deep"

EDGE OF PARADISE came next and I was really looking for to their show, having first caught them just 6 months ago in November as the opening act for DRAGONFORCE and AMARANTHE at the Houston House of Blues. Their performance then impressed me greatly even though it was a short set, mostly due to the vocal powerhouse in front, Margarita Monet. The band got things started with "Soldiers Of Danger", a track from their 2023 album Hologram, one of 7 such numbers they would play from the new opus. Monet's stage outfits are a sight to behold as well and this time around there was an added twist. Her bodysuit that was adorned with mirrored pieces also had strings of lights in between the patterns that lit up in different sequences throughout the show as she belted out such songs as "Hologram", "Rogue (Aim For The Kill), "The Faceless", "Unbeatable" and set-closer "Basilisk". EDGE OF PARADISE, rounded out by guitarists Dave Bates and David Ruiz, bassist Kenny Lockwood and drummer Jamie Moreno, are a rising force to be reckoned with.

Setlist:

"Soldiers Of Danger"
"Hologram"
"Digital Paradise"
"Dark"
"Rogue (Aim For The Kill)"
"The Faceless"
"This Is Personal"
"The Unknown"
"Unbeatable"
"Basilisk"

Finally, it was time for the mighty Gus G-led FIRWEIND. Of interesting note, my first time seeing FIREWIND live was also as an opener for DRAGONFORCE, albeit on the 2022 tour when DRAGONFORCE were finally able to support the 2019 album Extreme Power Metal. FIREWIND's showing that night left me solidly impressed and so I was completely stoked to see that they were coming to H-Town on a headline run. The band was touring in support of 2024's Stand United record, a real rocker of an album that is already in my Top Ten releases for the year. So I was quite pleased to see that they were performing a whopping 5 tracks from it, starting with the fantastic opening tune, "Salvation Day", which they instantly followed up with the title track to the album. Others played from Stand United included "Destiny Is Calling", "Fallen Angel" and "Chains". The rest of the set was spread across another 7 of the band's releases with "I Am The Anger", "Mercenary Man", "Allegiance" and "Rising Fire" being chosen. Of course a FIREWIND show would not be complete without the Michael Sembello cover of "Maniac" to finish the pre-encore portion of the set.

The band would return for two more songs, the rollicking "Ode To Leonidas" and then as vocalist Herbie Langhans exhorted the crowd to jump up and down, all the members of the other bands joined them onstage for a short jump session as Gus G started jamming the intro to closing track, "Falling To Pieces". You never what to expect on a tour-finishing show and that's the kind of antics that make it a joy to attend and watch. Congrats to FIREWIND for a successful North American tour!

Setlist: