Aegaeon and Dark Sermon: The Opening Act

by mmontalto | March 9, 2013 7:45 am

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The band was highly anticipating their first big show on March 4, in Deer Park, NY. They would finally have the honor of playing alongside well-known death metal bands Aegaeon[2] and Dark Sermon[3]. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the band discovered that they would have to wait a bit longer for their big break.

Ocean of Illusions[4] started out with a full head of steam, successfully booking shows and recording their EP. After failing to advance past the second round[5] of the battle of bands for the Eat Your Heart Out Festival[6] in Poughkeepsie, NY, the band booked a big show on our own with Aegaeon and Dark Sermon.

“We were really bummed out about not advancing to the festival,” Ocean of Illusions vocalist Zach Howard said. “But when we booked this show we thought of it as a consolation prize.”

After failing to advance to Poughkeepsie, the band decided to fight even harder and landed a big show on their own with Aegeon and Dark Sermon. Unfortunately, they learned less than a week prior to the event that Aegaeon, the headliner, would drop all remaining scheduled tour dates due to a fall out with their vocalist.

Following this news, Ocean of Illusions received a message from Matt Donnelly, the event’s coordinator, explaining that the venue of the show had been changed from The Spotlight, in Amityville, NY to 1 Stop Media in Deer Park, NY.

THE SHOW

After a two-hour drive through heavy traffic, the band finally arrived at the venue only to discover that it was a small stage in what seemed to be a warehouse room. There were no stage lights, just two bright florescent lights in the middle of the venue.

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“It was not quite what we were expecting,” Ocean of Illusions lead guitarist Aaron Guzman said. “We thought that when Aegaeon found out about this venue they dropped the show.”

Despite the setback of the venue not being nearly as big as they thought, the band still performed to their usual high standards. Ocean of Illusions took the stage after two other little known bands, Amidst the Emancipated and Inside the Cipher[8],  and did so with a goal in mind, to shock the crowd with both music and stage movement while performing.

“I told the band that the theme of the day was psychotic,” said Howard.

After playing the songs, B.E.A.R.S.[9], Upon The Shore, Era of Heresy, Into the Abyss[10] and Death of a Siren, they met their goal and impressed a decent crowd.

Afterwards both the guitarist and vocalist of Dark Sermon complemented the band on the quality of the music and stage performance.

“It was really cool to hear that,” said Guzman. “They are one of metal’s better up and coming bands and it really seemed like they were impressed by our set.”

Despite the show not being as big as the band anticipated, they still put on a energetic show and introduced an entirely new crowd to their music.

THE NEXT BIG SHOW

Ocean of Illusions will not have to wait long for a chance at another big show. On Saturday, March 30, the band will play the S.K.A. Nation Presents: ATA Spring Break Show[11] in Passaic, NJ. They will go on just before the show’s headliner, Sirena[12].

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“It’s another chance to play at a bigger show and to reach more people,” Guzman said. “Playing right before a band with over 30,000 likes on Facebook is a huge opportunity.”

Source URL: https://class1.ramaporecord.org/?p=12572

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