It's never easy being the support band for a beloved artist, and Edge of Paradise's set opening for Symphony X was plagued by several technical issues that made it hard to fully appreciate their melodic Power Metal. The FOH mix was atrocious and the PA even gave out during one of their signature songs. Despite these woes, the band's enthusiasm never wavered and vocalist's Margarita Monet's compelling stage presence helped the audience get over the sonic difficulties.
What was harder to overcome, however, was the heavy reliance on pre-recorded tracks, whether they be keyboards, vocals or even guitars in some instances. The band is more than capable of playing these songs, and the old excuse "it's to fill out the sound" doesn't work in this case since the sound was abysmal.
"Female-fronted Power-Metal" is an overcrowded genre, and releasing good albums like their latest Hologram might not be enough for the band to stand out in that field. Putting on kick-ass, 100% real live shows, however, just might elevate them from opener to headliner status. Evidently, they still have some ways to go.
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