Starting the night off was Ethereal, finalists of TNL onstage 2012, who had a thrilling set list.Tthe band must be commended on the progress they have made within the last year. They sound far better than when I first heard them at onstage. Front man Hemal speaking to Life Online says “it’s great that gigs like this are taking place, hats off to the organizers for putting such a brilliant show”

 

 

 

 

Ethereal was followed by 2nd runner up of the solo round of TNL onstage 2012, Prabodhya Fernando. He and his family are no strangers to the music industry; the son of Keerthi Fernando, of Rattlesnake – a band that set the stepping-stones for rockers in Sri Lanka- and brother of former TNL onstage  winner Chatz Fernando.

 

Prabhodya’s set list comprised of Evil That Men Do by Iron Maiden, Enter Sandman by Metallica, High Way to Hell by AC/DC, Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi which his sister joined him onstage for, and Afraid to Shoot Strangers by Iron Maiden. Prabodhya’s performance was exceptional and was executed to perfection.

 

 

 

 

Following this energetic performance the stage was handed over to Circus Cult who had a fantastic time onstage, which obviously led to the audience having an even better time. Frontman Jermaine’s charismatic stage presence and hilarious antics made their performance quite entertaining. Guitarist Bernard Boteju was nothing short of a treat to watch onstage. He made sure he utilized every single bit of the stage while playing some pretty complicated riffs with much ease. 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking the stage next was Angel Down, a band that has come quite a long way since their inception early this year. Starting with things off with a cover of Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark,  the band made the crowd go wild. Frontman Lasith did quite well on vocals leaving little or rather no room for error.

 

Guitarists Kusal and Lahiru had excellent chemistry between them which led them to sharing lead parts in almost all songs which the band played. The band as whole worked fantastically together and are most surely paving the way for themselves to be marked as legends of  Rock and Roll in Sri Lanka.

 

 

 

 

Up next was a band that needs no introduction having clawed their way to being one of the most sort after outfits in the Sri Lankan metal scene. Crywolf’s mere presence on stage signaled that they were about to cause some serious damage! Fantastic make up on the faces of band members and costumes to go along was just the tip of the iceberg. When Crywolf begins to play sitting down and listening is not an option.

 

The body of the listener becomes possessed and before you know it, you will be bobbling along to the tunes. The band’s original The Wind stands justice to this as one of the most phenomenal songs that have come across the writer’s ears. The bands performance that night was nothing short of jaw dropping and they certainly have made their mark in the Colombo music scene!

 

 

 

 

Wrapping things up that night was R.A.G.E another metal outfit that has made a name for themselves. The band put on a unique performance with bassist Suren de Kauwe having a complete bash onstage with guitarist David. 

 

Sounds and lights that night were simply phenomenal and it was after quite some time that I left a gig where local artistes perform without complaining about sounds and lights. Showbiz had made an extremely good effort to make Electric Funeral an experience like no other.

 

The stage although small, was made good use of and the sets were fantastic. All in all no complains whatsoever.