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The show starts with Tales Of Destiny (formerly known as Destiny), five young men from Beaupré area like Hanker. They play some power metal covers like Future World by Helloween and many compositions. Tales Of Destiny's style is pure European power metal. The band has improved a lot since last time I saw them, specially the singer, but they still lack of experience like stage presence. However, they are young talented musicians and might be a very good outlook in the future.

Next is Prophecy, a band which I saw a couple of time as an opening act for Hanker. Their style can be compared to old-Metallica with Slayer-style vocals. They played many songs off their Nostradamus 1999 album and some new compositions. The lead guitarist has a very weird style on stage! Nevertheless, he plays very well and accurately. They finished their set with two very old Metallica songs, No Remorse and Hit The Lights, the latter sung by the lead guitarist. The band plays very tight and very well within their genre and it's always a pleasure to see and hear that band.

The intro of the album In Our World announced that the band we were waiting for is finally coming in! Hanker enter the stage slowly but with conviction under the acclaim of the crowd. Hanker kicks off with I'd Like To Know and The Pardoner. The band is in very good shape and seems very happy to be back on stage.

Hanker played songs off their three albums. In the middle of their set list, Pascal finally announced that they were going to play a new song from their upcoming album! This tune is called EMPOWER and talks about how the world has changed since the September 11th events in 2001. Empower is a power metal style fast tune with many great melodic guitars harmony and lead breaks and lasts more than five minutes. The vocals are superb in this new composition! The fans seem to dig the song a lot and applauded loudly at the end! It's a great tune and a very good appetizer of their next CD (ahhhhhhhhhh, I can't wait!!!!!) (-:

The charismatic lead singer and guitarist Pascal Cliche talks a lot with the fans between songs and launches some cracks about the Quebec musical industry (very well said in my opinion)! (-: Hanker never follows the trends and still stick to their guns after all these years. Instead of doing three minutes songs in French with no solos and no distortion to be exactly like everyone here in Quebec and receive airplay from radios and government grants, they play with their hearts and souls and released three fucking awesome albums acclaimed by the fans AND the metal press. I will stop here but I could carry on for many other paragraphs! (-;

Pascal also announced some great news to the crowd, like the release of the Hanker vinyls in Europe by Cult Metal Classics, a possible future live album and the new CD released later this year! Also, he jokes a lot all the evening between songs!

They finished their set with the great This Could Be Heaven, the crowd sing along the guitar harmony at the beginning. Pascal seems amused by the fans trying to reach the high notes of the guitar harmony! (-:

The crowd wants some more! Hanker return on stage with the intro of the album The Dead Ringer, which announces Unsung Hero followed by a very emotional Staring At The Rain. The song starts off with only Pascal and his guitar (no drum like on the In Our World album). It was magic to hear the crowd sing along all the lyrics of the song. Awesome! Pascal seems to appreciate it very much. The band finished their set with their fast-paced song United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

The sound was very good all evening for all three bands. It was a great show with talented musicians. Hanker prove without a doubt that in 2002, they are still kicking ass and are more than ready for the big league. As usual, they were tight and very intense on scene. They're still there after all these years and despite all the snakes they met on their path. With all the great things coming soon, 2002 will surely be a huge year for Hanker. Keep it up guys!

Set list:

1. I'd Like To Know
2. The Pardoner
3. Disturbing The Brain
4. Hail To You
5. You Won't Live Eternally
6. The Eternal Struggle
7. Confidence Man
8. Empower
9. In Our World
10. Gardeners Of Pain
11. Ad Patres
12. This Could Be Heaven

Encore:

13. Unsung Hero
14. Staring At The Rain
15. United We Stand, Divided We Fall