espite having a highly melodic sound that's arguably more suited to metal's European heartland, Perth progressive crew Voyager have begun to make some serious inroads in North America. The band recently returned from an extensive US and Canadian run supporting power metal favourites Rhapsody Of Fire, which vocalist/keyboardist Daniel Estrin is still buzzing about. “It was the best thing we've ever done, hands down,” he enthuses. “It was really intense, really full on; we did 17 shows pretty much in a row, very little time off in between. We drove about 16,000 kilometres all the way across those two countries. But the crowd response was absolutely incredible. The highlight was probably Quebec, Canada. After our set we had about ten minutes of the crowd chanting, 'Voyager! Australia!' So that's a pretty good feeling, when you've come all that way.”

Prior to heading off on the tour though, Estrin was dubious of the band's chances in the US. “I didn't actually think that we'd go down really well in the States, but we've actually got a really solid underground fan base over there. I never thought there'd be any sort of market for us [in the US], because they seem to like their pretty heavy Lamb Of God-type of stuff. But I was wrong. We've developed a really good, solid fan base in the US. It's a small market, but there is a market for melodic metal out there. I think the US I have a love-hate relationship with. You drive through and have experiences and think, 'What the hell is wrong with this country?' And then on the other side you meet these amazing people and you see the countryside; you're driving through New Mexico and yeah, there's just a magic about it. It's weird that it's become rather US-centric in the last year but hey, I'm not complaining about it at all. As long as I'm sitting in a tour bus and playing somewhere, I'm happy.”

Aside from planning further overseas touring for 2013 and writing the follow-up to the excellent The Meaning Of I, the quintet will no longer be neglecting their East Coast cousins, with loads of dates throughout New South Wales and Victoria. That Voyager can slot neatly onto a variety of festival bills, whether their focus is power/thrash/trad-metal, extreme metal or progressive music, is a testament to their musical breadth. As are their popular live cover medleys spanning metal, pop and mainstream rock hits. Punters are welcome to make requests – just try not to be too obscure.

“We put a thing up on our Facebook to get people to suggest medley songs and we had some absolute crackers,” Estrin laughs. “I think one or two are definitely going to make it in – it's pretty cool. We probably had about 150 comments and requests, and I'd say 90 of them were like, 'Really?' I can just see one person in the crowd going, 'Yeah!' and the rest of them being like, 'What the hell is this song?' You can tell that one fan is going to have the time of their life, while the rest of the crowd will just do nothing. I think every person out there can find something to like in a Voyager show; whether you're into death, grindcore, powerviolence or pop music, I think you'll really enjoy it.”