voyager band eurovision performance

Australian rock band Voyager power through to Eurovision final – watch

German metallers Lord of the Lost are also in the final

Australian rock band Voyager have secured their place in the Eurovision Song Contest final with a storming performance of ‘Promise’ at the M & S Bank Arena in Liverpool last night (11th May).

Hailing from Perth in Western Australia, Voyager are purveyors of synth-tinged progressive metal and ‘Promise’ serves as the lead single of their upcoming eighth studio album ‘Fearless in Love.’

The semi-final performance in Liverpool saw frontman Danny Estrin enter the vast stage in a Toyota MR2 car while he sang the opening lines amidst swathes of synths.

Two minutes in, the song erupted into a metalcore breakdown with bassist Alex Canion delivering guttural growls amidst crushing riffs, before the track returned to synth rock realms for the euphoric finale.

Watch Voyager perform at 'Promise' Eurovision semi-final in Liverpool:

Fellow rockers Joker Out representing Slovenia also progressed to the final last night alongside eight other acts. Tuesday's first semi-final saw guitar group get eliminated.

The grand final takes place at 8pm on Saturday, and Voyager will be the 15th act to take the stage on the night. Mae Muller, representing the UK, will be last to perform.

Voyager aren’t the only rock act in the Eurovision final – Rammstein -esque German industrial metal act Lord of the Lost will perform their anthem ‘Blood & Glitter’ on the night.

Lord of the Lost have released eight studio albums so far in their 15-year career with December 2022’s ‘Blood & Glitter’ album peaking at Number 1 in Germany.

Lord of the Lord supported Iron Maiden on numerous dates of their Legacy of the Beast World Tour in 2022, and as a thank you they shared a cover of Maiden classic ‘Children of the Damned.’

23 rock bands named after movies, including Iron Maiden:

Black sabbath.

Previously called Earth (and prior to that The Polka Tulk Blues Band), Black Sabbath named themselves after their own song 'Black Sabbath', which took its moniker from the 1963 horror anthology film of the same name starring the legendary Boris Karloff.

Black Sabbath (1963)

A poster for the 1963 Black Sabbath movie starring Boris Karloff.

Northern Irish rockers Them, whose timeless anthem 'Gloria' launched Van Morrison's musical career, named themselves after the 1954 science fiction monster movie Them!

Them! (1954)

A poster for the 1954 horror movie Them!

White Zombie

In 1985, the then 20-year-old Rob Zombie – born Robert Cummings – named his band after the 1932 horror movie White Zombie starring Bela Lugosi. The highly influential movie is widely considered the first feature length zombie film, and it even inspired Cummings' stage name.

White Zombie (1932)

Bela Lugosi and a zombie in 1932's White Zombie.

Five Finger Death Punch

After watching Quentin Tarantino's 2004 martial arts classic Kill Bill: Volume 2, the Las Vegas metallers toyed with calling themselves Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique in homage to the character Pai Mei's fearsome killing technique. Although fascinated with the concept, former drummer Jeremy Spencer told Michigan Live in 2013: "That didn't sound cool. So, we changed it to Five Finger Death Punch."

Kill Bill 2 (2004)

Uma Thurman (The Bride / Beatrix Kiddo) and Gordon Liu (Pai Mei) in 2004's Kill Bill 2.

• Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden bassist and founder Steve Harris came up with the band's name after watching the 1939 movie The Man in the Iron Mask, which featured an iron maiden torture device.

The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

A still from the 1939 movie The Man in the Iron Mask.

The French heavy metallers take their name from Gojira, the original Japanese name for Godzilla. The 1954 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda is widely regarded as a classic of cinema.

Gojira (1954)

A poster for the 1954 movie Gojira – aka Godzilla.

My Bloody Valentine

It's widely reported that the influential Irish shoegaze band are named after the 1981 Canadian slasher film My Bloody Valentine. However, MBV vocalist and guitarist Kevin Shields claims that it was only a few years after they formed that they discovered they shared their moniker with a "really crap terrible Canadian film."

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

A still from the 1981 horror movie My Bloody Valentine.

Glenn Danzig named his highly influential horror punk band after Marilyn Monroe's final movie, 1961's The Misfits.

The Misfits (1961)

Marilyn Monroe in 1961's The Misfits.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Canadian purveyors of apocalyptic post-rock, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, are named after the 1976 Japanese documentary film God Speed You! Black Emperor, directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi. The film follows a group of motorcyclists called the Black Emperors.

God Speed You! Black Emperor (1976)

God Speed You! Black Emperor the movie (1976)

The Searchers

The Merseybeat group took their name from the epic Western film The Searchers, starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford.

The Searchers (1956)

John Wayne in 1956's The Searchers.

Scottish post rockers Mogwai are named after the ultra-cute little furry creatures in classic 1984 movie Gremlins, who turn into monstrous gremlins if you feed them past midnight.

Gremlins (1984)

The cute lead Mogwai called Gizmo in Gremlins.

The first of three consecutive acts named after Russ Meyer movies, Seattle grunge pioneers Mudhoney took their moniker from Meyer's 1965 movie Mudhoney.

Mudhoney (1965)

A still from Russ Meyer's 1965 movie Mudhoney

Faster Pussycat

In 1985, a good three years before Mudhoney formed, Los Angeles hard rockers derived their name from the Russ Meyer's movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! about three go-go dancers who embark on a kidnapping and murder spree in the California desert.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

A still from Russ Meyer's 1965 movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Motorpsycho

With Mudhoney and Faster Pussycat having already taking their monikers from Russ Meyer flicks, Norwegian psych-rockers Motorpyscho named themselves in homage to Meyer's ultra-violent 1965 film Motorpsycho.

Motorpsycho (1965)

A still from Russ Meyer's 1965 movie Motorpsycho

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

San Francisco alt-rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are named after Marlon Brando's motorcycle club in the 1953 film The Wild One.

The Wild One (1953)

Marlon Brando and his Black Rebels Motorcycle Club in The Wild One (1953)

American metalcore band are named after the character Atreyu in Michael Ende's fantasy book The NeverEnding Story and its 1984 movie adaptation.

The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Atreyu in The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Bring Me The Horizon

Although not directly named after a movie or character, Bring Me The Horizon took their memorable moniker from a line spoken by Captain Jack Sparrow in the 2003 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, says: "Now, bring me that horizon!"

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the 2003 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Billy Talent

Canadian rockers Billy Talent took inspiration for their band name from the character Billy Talent, played by Callum Keith Rennie, in the 1996 mockumentary Hard Core Logo.

Hard Core Logo (1996)

Callum Keith Rennie (Billy Talent) in Hard Core Logo.

They Might Be Giants

Brooklyn alt-rockers They Might Be Giants are named after the 1971 comedy mystery film of the same name starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward.

They Might Be Giants (1971)

The poster for 1971 movie They Might Be Giants.

Eppu Normaali

One of Finland's most popular rock bands, Eppu Normaali is a Finnish translation of "Abby Normal" from Mel Brooks' 1974 comedy horror movie Young Frankenstein.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

In Mel Brooks' 1974 comedy horror movie Young Frankenstein, the character Igor (pictured) confesses he took the monster's brain from someone called "Abby Normal."

Although the gothic rockers haven't confirmed or denied it, it's reported that guitarist Brian James named the group after the 1969 historical drama movie The Damned.

The Damned movie (1969)

A still from 1969 movie The Damned.

Fine Young Cannibals

The Birmingham pop rockers, who scored chart hits with 'She Drives Me Crazy' and 'Suspicious Minds', are named after the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood.

All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood in All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960).

Duran Duran

Admittedly they're NOT rock (despite being 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees) but Duran Duran are named after Dr. Durand Durand, Irish actor Milo O'Shea's character from the 1968 sci-fi movie Barbarella.

Barbarella (1968)

Dr. Durand Durand in Barbarella (1968).

Listen to Planet Rock on DAB nationwide, on our Rayo app, online or via your smart speaker (“Play Planet Rock”).

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The vibrant quintet choreographs an intricate dance between metal and pop; employ a keytar on stage, and bring forward a positive, uplifting feeling to their music, running head-first into the endless parade of heavy bands who see the world in a different light. Voyager ’s latest album Colours in the Sun exploded like a supernova onto the worldwide stage with their vivid, uplifting, and exhilarating music and live performance, capturing the excitement of existing fans and the intrigue of new ones from all around the world. Frontman Danny Estrin, a long-time Eurovision fanatic is not only an award-winning, multilingual lawyer by day, he also moonlights as a renowned and respected musician. Danny’s signature dose of ‘80s influenced vocals and hook-laden keytar lines over the top of genre-transfiguring, ultra-modern and prismatic hard rock has travelled the world many times over.

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Australian Act Voyager Have Made the Eurovision Final

Perth synth metal band Voyager have progressed to the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool after being voted through alongside nine other countries in the semi-final on Thursday. They’ll now face off against 25 other countries in the grand final on Saturday night (UK time).

The group performed their bolshy track ‘Promise’, a classically Eurovision track with blasting synths and a keytar solo. You can see the music video for the track below.

Voyager: ‘Promise’

For the first time this year, the grand finalists were determined solely by the votes of the public, not by a selected jury. In the past, the votes have just been taken from the participating countries – in 2023, any country around the world can vote in the contest. A jury from each Eurovision country will still participate in determining the winner of the grand final.

“You are fiercely competitive in some ways but in other ways, you’re just all there to have a good time and perform to the best of your abilities and it’s all about the music for the end of the day,” lead singer and Danny Estrin told AAP, as per The Guardian . “Does it mean we don’t have what it takes to win it? I think we do.”

“We’re a progressive metal band from Perth, Western Australia, playing Eurovision in Liverpool,” said Voyager’s bassist Alex Canion. “I mean, how could we ever consider ourselves losers in this.”

Eurovision is being held in Liverpool this year on behalf of Ukraine, who won in 2022 with their Kalush Orchestra. You can watch the grand final on Sunday, 14th May live at 5am AEST, or 7:30pm AEST – on SBS and SBS On Demand.

Further Reading

Perth Prog-Pop Band Voyager Will Represent Australia at Eurovision 2023

Sheldon Riley Will Represent Australia At The Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Perth Metal Band Voyager Unveil Their Eurovision Song, ‘Dreamer’

The post Australian Act Voyager Have Made the Eurovision Final appeared first on Music Feeds .

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• Voyager Insist This Year’s Eurovision Is ‘A Celebration Of Heavy Music’

The Eurovision submission of progressive metal five-piece Voyager is a history-making moment

Danica baker, danica baker's most recent stories.

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The Eurovision submission of progressive metal five-piece Voyager is a history-making moment, as it marks the first time ever that an Aussie band has represented the country.

Voyager – made up of Daniel Estrin, Simone Dow, Ashley Doodkorte, Alex Canion and Scott Kay – know just how monumental their submission is and they aren’t taking the honour lightly.

“I’m really, really excited that SBS went out on the limb and shook things up and decided to send Voyager,” Estrin told Rolling Stone AU/NZ.

Speaking of the iconic upcoming performance where they will play “Promise”, Estrin shared some insight on how he believes this year’s Eurovision will vary from previous years.

“I think this is the year for heavy music and rock music to really shine like it probably hasn’t really ever before at Eurovision. So I’m very, very excited from that perspective,” he said.

Voyager has a distinct sound, which even Estrin struggles to define himself, but the band’s music is generally referred to as progressive metal.

“We’re technically progressive metal in the true sense of the word [but] the pro prog metal purists will say, ‘oh, it’s not progressive enough, because you’ve got verse, chorus verse and your songs are not 15 minutes.’

“But, I think if you’re talking to metal nerds or people who are in the know with metal, yeah, it’s progressive. It’s like an 80 synth metal, progressive kind of electro metal type. Whereas if you’re talking to people who really don’t understand a lot of the subgenres of metal, I guess it’s kinda like saying it’s eighties pop.”

During the interview, Daniel drew attention to Germany’s submission Lord of the Lost, which he says is a great example of why he believes this year’s Eurovision is “the year for heavy music”.

“Germany was announced, which is another metal band, [but they are] vastly different to us. People have been saying, ‘That’s your biggest competition at the moment.’ I don’t really see it as competition. I’d see it more like a celebration of heavy music.”

The vocalist says that Voyager is concentrating on performing the best they possibly can, rather than on their competition. “I don’t think our style has a direct competitor,” Estrin insists. “I think we’re different enough to be in a league of our own.

“I don’t want to sound maniacal or ego artistic, but I think we’re different. What we do is vastly different to what any other artist is doing, I think.”

If you haven’t already seen Voyager play live, you should probably head over to YouTube and check them out immediately. The band manages to expertly tie in all the showy parts of a performance, like lights and choreography, while still delivering, pure, raw talent. Daniel warns that Voyager’s performance at Eurovision, which airs from May 10th-May 14th on SBS and SBS On Demand, will be “what we do normally live but on steroids.”

“When Voyager plays live, we have a great time. We have fun and we love the music, we love the audience, and we love the people that we play music with. When you get a chance to do that on the biggest stage on earth with the biggest musical song contest on the planet, you have to step it up and you’ve gotta amplify whatever you do by a thousand,” he said.

“I want people to have the same [excited] feeling, whether they’re in the crowd or watching it on tv. At the end of it, I want people to go ‘That song took me on a journey, that staging took me on a journey, and I’ve come out of it feeling elated and happy that this music is in my life.'”

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“We were just a progressive metal band going about our business… the next minute we’re on the world’s stage!” But playing to 160 million people hasn’t changed Voyager

Eurovision Song Contest was deep in the Australian heavy synth-prog quintet’s DNA from the start

Many artists would follow a mainstream moment with the most accessible music of their career. However, weeks after finishing in the Top 10 at the Eurovision Song Contest, Voyager have doubled down on their heavy synth-prog with new album Fearless In Love . Ahead of the last-minute cancellation of their 2023 European tour , Singer Danny Estrin, guitarist Simone Dow and bassist Alex Canion tell Prog about life after playing to more than 160 million people.

It’s early June when Prog video-calls Voyager frontman Danny Estrin, guitarist Simone Dow and bassist/singer Alex Canion, and the trio are midway through being smashed back into reality. This time last month, the Perth-based band (rounded out by drummer Ashley Doodkorte and Dow’s co-guitarist Scott Kay) were jet-setting in luxury. They were traipsing across Europe and getting interviewed by countless glossy magazines, all part of the run-up to them representing Australia to more than 160 million TV viewers live at the Eurovision Song Contest. Now they’re back home – and getting hammered by a storm so violent that it routinely wipes out their internet connection and freaks out Canion’s dog, Seamus.

“We played the WA Day festival [in Perth] yesterday,” Dow tells us, camera off to put less stress on the struggling WiFi, “and our booking agent sent us a video of the backstage area after we left. You should have seen the flooding! It was insane!”

Although Mother Nature is trying to quite literally rain on their parade, there’s no denying that Voyager became progressive music’s newest superstars this spring. Eurovision is touted worldwide as an international celebration of top-shelf songwriting (despite it frequently showcasing the most OTT pop possible) – and the synth-prog quintet had been chasing that rainbow from the moment Australia joined, in 2015.

They came tantalisingly close with their pop-prog anthem Dreamer in 2022, finishing second in Eurovision: Australia Decides , the nationally televised competition to select the country’s representative. This year, they finally got sent to the semi-finals when they were held in Liverpool, thanks to the electro- rock singalong of Promise .

Voyager advanced to the grand final and – after an 80s-throwback performance, replete with sequinned jackets, keytar solos and larking about on a Toyota MR2 sports car – finished a massively respectable ninth out of the 20 finalists.

The band couldn’t overcome the litany of public votes for Finnish rapper Käärijä, nor the jury’s collective passion for Sweden’s now-two-time winner Loreen. However, for five people playing prog in the isolation of Western Australia, it marked an underdog triumph.

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“It’s pretty incredible!” Estrin exclaims. “We were just a progressive metal band from Perth going about our business and, the next minute, we’re on the world’s stage! The comedown’s been real, but it’s been dampened by the insane amount of publicity we’ve done. It’s kept that spark of Eurovision alive: we’re selling out shows, particularly in the UK. Eurovision has given us the platform to continue doing what we were doing on a much bigger level.”

The numbers certainly agree. At time of writing, Promise is Voyager’s biggest song, with more than eight million Spotify streams. The music video’s been watched two million times on YouTube, with the footage of that grand final performance firmly in the seven-digit mark.

Estrin’s vow of his band sticking with what they’ve always done going forward isn’t hollow, either. A week before Voyager played Eurovision, they released another single called Prince Of Fire . It was every bit as proggy and high-energy as longtime fans would expect. Plus, with its leaps from synthy verses to sturdy rock choruses, it was powerfully dynamic. No kowtowing to the masses with simpler songwriting or a saccharine ballad here, thank you very much!

“It showed that we hadn’t vastly changed,” Canion says. “I did see some comments when we released Dreamer: people were worried that we were gonna change our sound. But Prince Of Fire is an indication that we’re still the same band. We still have the same melancholy and dark heaviness about us.”

The single, alongside Eurovision entries Dreamer and Promise , appears on Voyager’s eighth album, Fearless In Love . And said album doesn’t just mark Voyager continuing to be Voyager despite the newfound mainstream intrigue: it contains the most out-there and genre-agnostic music of the band’s career.

The Best Intentions opens Fearless In Love with a pulsing dance beat, joined by Estrin’s graceful vocals before the band dive into some heavy, off-kilter rocking. Submarine smacks you into a wall of guitar hefty enough to belong in a TesseracT or Devin Townsend tune, before Twisted ’s synths and irresistible hook feel comparable to Signals -era Rush . That’s all before semi-title track Gren (Fearless In Love) wraps these 45 minutes up with an atmospheric and guitar-powered symphony. It’s arguably the most nuanced, evocative song Voyager have ever put their name to.

“ Fearless In Love is one of our synthiest and most melodic albums, but it’s also the heaviest,” Estrin summarises. “It was during the Eurovision process that we wrote it, so I guess we had a bit more focus on song structures and making sure there’s no extra fluff. We’ve got playful guitar solos and more prog than was on the last album [2019’s Colours In The Sun ].”

Dow adds: “We started writing around the time of Australia Decides and [the release of] Dreamer , and the writing process was very different. We did it all at Scott’s little studio in his house. That way we could edit and change things as we went along, rather than doing it all in the rehearsal studio. Then, when we recorded the album, everything was all done. It’s been a huge process, but it was one of the most rewarding and creative processes we’ve gone through with an album.”

It comes as no surprise that Eurovision hasn’t changed Voyager since Estrin, who formed the band in 1999, says that the contest was one of his very first musical inspirations. He was born in the North German town of Buchholz In Der Nordheide before his family relocated to Perth, and while growing up in Germany, Eurovision and classical music were his two greatest musical loves. “That knack for melody and a really catchy chorus came very early on and stayed with me from the very beginning,” he says. “It’s why I’m the catchy chorus guy in Voyager!”

Estrin started the band at just 18 years old – by which point, he says, “I was living and breathing metal.” As a result, their 2003 debut, Element V , packed more high-speed power metal drumming than later albums. However, it also flaunted a love of operatic melody, prog and keytar playing that still defines their sound to this day.

“The goal was to make music sustainable: to write and record music and tour around the world,” Estrin remembers of the early days. “Living in one of the most isolated cities in the world has made that very, very difficult because, wherever you go, it’s very, very expensive. It’s even more difficult when you play a niche form of music.”

Making things even harder was an Australian underground that seemed more smitten with extreme metal than anything else, as well as Voyager’s revolving-door line-up. Dow (friends with then-guitarist Mark De Vattimo) joined in 2005, six years after the band formed, and is today the second-longest serving member. Canion, who played with Dow in a thrash act called Psychonaut, joined in 2007.

“I immediately recognised that Voyager were one of the top bands in the scene,” the bassist says. “Danny had this X-factor that no other band had. He was driving forward a sound that was almost too daring for the metal scene to adopt.”

By 2012, Kay and Doodkorte had completed the line-up, which hasn’t shifted since. Three years later, with the announcement that Australia would become an honorary competitor in Eurovision, the band began campaigning to represent their country. They started the Twitter hashtag #VoyagerForEurovision and submitted songs every year, to no avail. Even after being the runner-up to singer-songwriter Sheldon Riley on Australia Decides in 2022, though, they were never disheartened. “It was never like, ‘We have to do Eurovision or we’re a failure!’” Estrin says. “It was more like, ‘However far we can get, that’s awesome!’”

Australia Decides was canned in 2023. Instead, Voyager were simply told over the phone by broadcaster SBS that they’d be going to Liverpool. When there, they had the same outlook: a win would be nice, but simply representing prog and band-made music to millions of people is already brilliant enough. “If you’re a Eurovision fan, you know the juries don’t like heavy music, or bands in general,” says Estrin. “So the fact that we came sixth in the jury vote is incredible.”

That casual attitude made its way on screen. When Voyager won the second round of Eurovision’s semi-finals, they sprayed people around them with water that they’d put in a champagne bottle. During the final, almost as talked-about as Promise was the fact that, when the band were given top marks by the Portuguese jury, a camera caught them snacking on some ham sandwiches. Cue memes aplenty across social media.

“It was Marks & Spencer’s, so it was a quality sandwich,” Estrin chuckles. “We were told off after the semi-final for the splash incident, so we thought, ‘If we can’t drink, we’re going to eat something.’ These are gruelling nights and days, so there’s nothing like having a little sandwich in your pocket.”

Voyager were far from the first heavy rock band to play Eurovision. Rock’n’roller Freddy Quinn represented the genre (and Germany) at the inaugural Contest in 1956. Then Finnish masked monster mash Lordi and Italian glam bunch Måneskin won the whole thing in 2006 and 2021, respectively. Even this year, Voyager were contending with German gothic metal quintet Lord Of The Lost, who sadly finished in last place.

However, competing in a mainstream programme mostly reserved for pop singers/songwriters has led to purists sometimes denouncing bands as ‘Eurovision groups’, like it’s a derogatory term. Dow claims Voyager haven’t weathered any such pushback, though.

“The feedback we had during the whole process was super-supportive,” the guitarist says. “People were stoked that we were putting progressive metal on the map. Now, we’ve got sold-out shows across Europe and Australia. You could not ask for anything more than that.”

Currently, Voyager are only weeks removed from Eurovision, but they already have a full touring cycle directly ahead of them. Eager to see their litany of new fans in the flesh, Estrin, Dow and Canion are all impatient to get onto the road. “I hope Eurovision will allow us to keep upgrading with each subsequent tour,” the bassist says. “I hope it’ll let us craft the kind of show that I’ve wanted to put on with Voyager since I joined.”

Looking beyond this year, they want to have a legacy as the band that brought both fearlessness and consistent quality to not just Eurovision, but the broader rock and prog scenes. “I want us to go down as a band that doesn’t sound like anyone else, regardless of at what point you pick up a Voyager album and listen to it,” Estrin states.

“We’ve always done things differently, but we’ve always sounded quintessentially Voyager,” Canion adds. “I think that, now we’re eight albums in, that’s never going to change.”

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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Australia's Voyager through to Eurovision grand final

Australia's voyager made it through to the eurovision song contest grand final with their performance of promise..

Australian band Voyager is through to the Eurovision finals. Source: AAP / Sanjin Strukic/PIXSELL/PA/Alamy

• Voyager's song Promise won over fan votes from the 37 countries competing at this year's song contest.
• They will compete in the grand final on Sunday 14 May at 5:00am AEST.
• If they win they would be the first Australians to do so.

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Metal Band Voyager Advance to Final Round of 2023 Eurovision Contest

The synth-laden Australian progressive metal band Voyager  have advanced to the final round of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest , as The Guardian  has reported. Eurovision is same competition that helped make the Italian rockers  Maneskin a household name .

On Thursday (May 11), Voyager performed their submitted song " Promise " for Eurovision's second semi-final  in England. They now find themselves ready to represent Australia at the May 13 final against artists and songs from 25 other countries. Voyager's eighth studio album, Fearless in Love , led by the single " Prince of Fire ," arrives July 14.

Near the bottom of this post, see the album art and track list for Fearless in Love , followed by Voyager's "Promise" music video and upcoming tour dates.

Speaking to the Associated Press this week, Voyager lead singer and keyboardist Danny Estrin explained how the band's success has already exceeded their expectations, and how they're hoping to let their love for the music shine through onstage in the final.

READ MORE:  This Week's Best Rock + Metal Songs

"You are fiercely competitive in some ways, but in other ways, you're just all there to have a good time and perform to the best of your abilities," Estrin said. "It's all about the music [at] the end of the day. Does it mean we don't have what it takes to win it? I think we do."

Get more Voyager on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , Twitter and Bandcamp .

Underneath the album info, video and upcoming Voyager tour dates, find a list of other bands touring in 2023. Get  Loudwire's newsletter and  Loudwire's app  for more.

Fearless in Love Album Artwork + Track Listing

1. "The Best Intentions" 2. "Prince of Fire" 3. "Ultraviolet" 4. "Dreamer" 5. "The Lamenting" 6. "Submarine" 7. "Promise" 8. "Twisted" 9. "Daydream" 10. "Listen" 11. "Gren (Fearless in Love)"

Voyager, "Promise" (Music Video)

Voyager, "prince of fire" (music video), voyager tour dates 2023.

June 9 – Brisbane, Australia @ The Zoo June 10 – Melbourne, Australia @ Stay Gold June 16 – Adelaide, Australia @ UniBar June 17 – N. Perth, Australia @ Rosemount June 23 – Sydney, Australia @ Metro June 24 – Belconnen, Australia @ Basement Oct. 1 – Cologne, Germany @ Euroblast Oct. 3 – Hamburg, Germany @ Headcrash Oct. 4 – Berlin, Germany @ Cassiopeia Oct. 5 – Warsaw, Poland @ VooDoo Club Oct. 7 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Futurum Oct. 8 – Budapest, Hungary @ Durer Kurt Oct. 9 – Vienna, Austria @ Szene Oct. 10 – Munich, Germany @ Feierwerk Oct. 11 – Milan, Italy @ Legend Club Oct. 12 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Komplex Oct. 14 – Lyss, Switzerland @ Kulturfabrik Oct. 15 – Paris, France @ Les Etoiles Oct. 16 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Kavka Oct. 17 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ Poppodium Oct. 18 – S. Holland, Netherlands @ Cultuurpodium Oct. 20 – Manchester, England @ Academy Oct. 21 – London, England @ The Dome

Your Guide to Rock + Metal Bands Touring in 2023

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Voyager's lead singer Danny Estrin reveals cancer diagnosis and cancels European tour

Australian progressive metal band Voyager's frontman, Danny Estrin, has revealed a "life-altering" cancer diagnosis, as the band cancels its upcoming European tour. 

Key points:

• Estrin, who is the Perth band's lead singer, shared his "life-altering" cancer diagnosis 
• The band has cancelled an upcoming European tour with hopes to reschedule in October 2024
• Its last performance will be at the America's Cup Event in Fremantle on Sunday

Estrin, who is the Perth band's lead singer, shared the announcement on the band's official Instagram account on Friday. 

"Last week I was dealt some life-altering news: I've been diagnosed with cancer that requires immediate treatment," he wrote.

"I am absolutely devastated that we cannot perform on our forthcoming European tour, especially after this incredible Eurovision year we've had.

"I am on strict doctors' orders to not take this lightly, put my health first and get this sorted so we can be on stage again as soon as possible." 

Estrin said it had been an "extremely hard decision to make" and the band's upcoming European tour would be rescheduled to October 2024. 

"Voyager will perform our last show for a while at the America's Cup Event in Fremantle, Western Australia this Sunday 24 September 2023, so come and party with us before I start treatment," he added.

"I'm surrounded by my incredible bandmates and team who are navigating all things Voyager whilst I am out of action."

The band was  Australia's lead contender at the 2023 Eurovision , making the grand final and eventually finishing ninth. 

The band has had its fair amount of changes throughout its lifetime. 

Voyager parted ways with bass player Jennah Greaig in 2004 and his replacement, Melissa Fiocco, was later replaced with Alex Canion after the release of the album uniVers.

In June 2008, guitarist Mark De Vattimo quit Voyager due to personal and professional differences.

Guitarists Chris Hanssen and Scott Kay and drummer Mark Boeijen soon followed.

A June Australian tour saw sold-out shows nationwide, with the Perth performance needing to move to a larger venue to accommodate demand.

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Voyager cancel all 2024 live shows

A ustralian prog Eurovision stars  Voyager  have announced the cancellation of all 2024 live shows as singer Danny Estrin continues to undergo treatment for cancer.

The band announced Estrin's shock illness back in September 2023, initially postponing their headline European tour , and later reshceduling some Australian live dates from February to June of this year.

In a new statement the band have stated their decision to cancel all live shows as Estrin's treatment and recovery continues.

"Dear extended musical family," the band announced. "We have to share some bittersweet news with you all today. The good news is that Danny's chemotherapy is working, the bad news is that we have made the decision to cancel all 2024 live performances in order to allow the chemo to continue working its magic, with the hope that Danny can continue to #fvckcancer and regain his strength. You've all been incredible, and we didn't make this decision lightly. We will continue to be active as a band in other ways and we appreciate your continued support. While we can't tour right now, we have many other things in the works and 2024 still promises to be an exciting year for us as a band, and the creative juices are flowing.

We apologise again for not being able to make it to a city near you this year. We love you all.

Team Voyager. xx"

The band plan to remain active this year. With Eurovision exhibitions at various museums, media appearances and growing Patreon, as Estrin attributes much of his positivity to the support from the band's fanbase over the last few months and Voyager extends their thanks to everyone for understanding this very difficult decision.

All tickets will be refunded automatically. Money will be refunded to the original payment method that customers used when purchasing their tickets. For credit card purchases, it will take 3-5 days before the money returns to the account. 

Fans can continue supporting the band by joining their Patreon or purchasing merchandise from the following stores. 

Voyager Patreon .