“Epic” is the only word that adequately describes the experience of spending ninety minutes in the company of Edge of Paradise. This cinematic rock band is about as far from “ordinary” as their home city of Los Angeles is from Plymouth. Their music paints futuristic and dystopian soundscapes in your mind, and their fanatical fans absolutely adore them. As the house lights dim, the crowd is transfixed, staring at the centre mic with breath held, eyes wide and pulses racing. You can almost hear their
collective thoughts, “Where is she…? Where is she…? THERE SHE IS!!!” As the earthly embodiment of a divine rock goddess slips gracefully into the spotlight, the crowd goes crazy and our journey begins.
Opening with “Prophecy Unbound” from their 2025 album Prophecy, the drums of Jamie Moreno, bass of Kenny Lockwood and keyboards of Alex Nasla combine with the gloriously heavy guitar work of Dave Bates to create a towering mountain of sound that only a vocalist with Margarita Monet’s
supernatural abilities would dare to climb. Trust me, if you ever decide to go searching for the top end of Monet’s vocal range, you’re going to need crampons and an oxygen bottle!

Straight away, it’s obvious that this is not just another band; this is an all-out blitz on the senses; a deep dive into fantastical worlds of imagination, the sounds flood into your ears projecting a barrage of mental imagery directly on to your brain. Even if your ears are fully occupied, you still have your eyes, and if you look carefully you’ll see that Margarita is now wearing a set of spiked shoulder accessories with embedded LEDs, creating her very own personal light show; I mean… why wouldn’t
you?

To be honest, she could put on a bin bag and clogs, and she would still look utterly stunning, still have that glorious voice. This is a woman who sets the room on fire simply by walking through the door. Everywhere she goes, she’s followed by a line of people trying to get something signed or hoping to grab a selfie with her.
Luckily for them, she is fantastically generous with her time. There’s none of your diva-like nonsense here, Monet is open, friendly, and still firmly in touch with the band’s audience.

Anyway, I digress!

Taking care not to walk straight through the band’s logo which floats magically in mid-air above the stage, Monet quietly utters one word, “Hologram”, and the title track of their 2023 album immediately flies from the stacks. Full of dramatic twists and turns, “Hologram” kicks off with the sound of air raid sirens and heavy, deep staccato chops on Bates’ seven-string weapon of choice, signifying some sort of apocalyptic countdown, and reinforced by the hauntingly whispered intro from Monet… “Three, two, one, zero!”
The tempo doubles as the song enters its first verse and the audience has a chance to shake off the goosebumps that had them temporarily paralysed. A couple of verses in, the tempo slows again as the song drops into its darkly menacing bridge. Amid Monet’s tortured, whispered vocals and deep, threatening guitar strikes, a slowly-building escalation of tension pulls the audience towards the looming guitar solo. By this point, everybody’s musical “spidey senses” are totally freaking out and every atom in our bodies is leaning forward in anticipation. Finally, an explosion of guitar ensues, and we get a good look at Bates’ shredding abilities. No problems there then!