This is no surprise, as their recent albums have graced the lofty heights of the Top 10 charts with their epic lush sound.
It has only taken the band twenty-eight years, in this incarnation, to make a soft landing on the stage of one of the world’s most prestigious venues. And they played a blinder.
With a set split into two halves, the first set was dedicated to playing their latest hit release F.E.A.R. in its entirety. And what ensued was an hour and fifteen minutes of musical movements executed to a transcendental level of expertise.
From the opening notes of first song Eldorado – one of many long adventures in sound and musical texture – the reverence and mutual appreciation between band and audience took on a prescient force.
It is worth remembering that Marillion is one of the first bands who pioneered the release of their albums through the pledge support of their fans. Not forgetting that Marillion has also won many music industry awards for their annual fan music conventions.
It was then that the audience and band connection became as tight as singer Steve Hogarth’s many changes of jackets during The Leavers, with the animated 61-year-old singer bellowing his lungs to bursting point.
Hogarth has a fidgety stage presence as he seems to be pleasantly lost in his own thoughts and actions when not singing.
These reveries go as far as to strapping on a cricket bat as though it were some kind of novelty bat-guitar.
Also, let’s not forget the jaunty wearing of a plastic tiara and waving a fairy wand to conduct the audience as it carried on singing the chorus of the song long after it finished.
But it is the band of players whose interplay and individual abilities create a wondrous wall of sound.
There are many moments where guitarist Steve Rothery plays a searingly constructed solo, underpinned by Pete Trewavas’ silky, woody bass lines and Ian Mosley’s solid and precise drumming.
Even so, it is keyboardist Mark Kelly’s intelligent soundscapes and delicate synth textures that define the sound of the band.
A small symphony of players joined the band as the second set promised to get underway. With a tense flurry of violin and cello strings the band launched into The Space from 1989’s Season’s End album, which was Hogarth’s first as the lead singer.
The cacophony of onstage sound, mixed with their fans euphoric response, was as though they had just lifted the FA Cup. This was further evidenced by majestic takes on Afraid of Sunlight and The Great Escape.
The latter song is taken from their Brave album which marked a sea change in the band’s sound to a more dense and cinematic approach.
So it was Easter which reminded one and all of the band’s ability to craft a shorter, melodic song. It was especially memorable for Rothery’s scintillating solo and homage to prog guitarists David Gilmour, Steve Hackett and Andy Latimer.
This was almost the show-stopping moment of the night.
However, that accolade was reserved for a band/fan co-ordinated moment on Go. At a pre-arranged moment, organised over social media, the 5000-strong audience switched on the multicoloured finger lights left on their seats and shone them around the arena.
This breathtaking light show blended in beautifully with the auditorium laser show and was simply stunning.
Encores included a rumbling Neverland, performed as a misty dry ice effect crept over the stage and found a Poseidon like Hogarth pretending to swim in it.
A surprising final burst of confetti cannons firing ticker tape over the arena during a reprise of The Leavers brought this sonic celebration to its ultimate climax.
As a movement that has stealthily gathered pace on the outer limits of sound, progressive music has been going through a glorious renaissance of late.
It was fitting that tonight belonged to Marillion and their fans, who remain the torch bearers and the vanguard for modern progressive music.