On Friday, February 4th the “A Valediction Tour” came barreling into the Nile Theater in Mesa AZ featuring Interloper, Vale of Pnath, and German technical death metal masters, Obscura. It was a brisk winter evening and the unassuming streets of downtown Mesa maintained their quiet bustle, unaware of the approaching onslaught of some really aggressive heavy metal. First to the stage was Interloper, a three-piece progressive metal outfit featuring former members of Rings of Saturn and The Faceless. Now fully dedicated to their own project, Interloper, they are out supporting their debut full-length record Search Party. As they began setting up on stage I was surprised by the bare-bones nature of their setup. In a world where more and more bands are taking to the stage with massive drum kits ...