Thursday 26 February 2009

More Auctions

Latest Auctions

More CDs up for auction. Check it out.

Also the next gig is Sunday. Hammerfall, Sabaton and Bullet. What a bloody great night it is going to be! Pure power metal cheese - love it!

Sunday 22 February 2009

Priest Feast Report

3 legendary heavy weights of metal each with their own style descended upon us last night to bring a night of pure heavy metal to the masses. The Wembley Arena holds 12,000 apparently and it's hard to say how full it was but I would say 3/4 so not a bad attendance. Apparently some of the earlier shows have been less well attended.

Testament were good but not great. I think they do better in club shows and hence I am going to see them again on the 25th of March on their own headline show where they will play the first 2 albums back to back. the sound for them was not too good. Best songs were New Order and Practice what you Preach. The Formation of Damnation songs they played didn't sound too good at all.

I lost my reasnably close position for Testament through having to take a call of nature break and on my return I could not get as close as I wanted and was previously for Testament. Megadeth absolutely killed hard. Though I would say that wouldn't I being a huge 'deth head. This was their set list. This was I think either my 6th or 7th time seeing the mighty 'deth. Their sound was miraculsously improved compared to Testament. Well actually it still sucked a bit on the first song but sonn got much better and crystal clear. The only problem is why do they turn the bass up so loud on gigs so that you can hear it pounding in your chest? Is this somehow supposed to make it better and more lively?

Anyway Megadeth were awesome. They are just a well oiled machine although I heard some people were moaning that they don't like their stage manner. Can't pleae every body. me and the people round me were pretty delirious singing along to all our fave deth tunes so we could care less what anyone else thinks!

01. Sleepwalker
02. Take No Prisoners
03. Wake Up Dead
04. Skin O' My Teeth
05. Washington Is Next
06. In My Darkest Hour
07. Hangar 18
08. Tornado of Souls
09. Symphony of Destruction
10. Peace Sells
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11. Holy Wars

This is my first time seeing Priest but not my first seeing Halford. Saw him with his solo band in '99 just after Resurrection came out. By the way Halford was awesome that night and 10 years later old Rob has changed much and not for the better. However having said that I am not a massive Priesthead anyway. I like Painkiller the album, who doesn't but it's the only priest CD I own and that ain't gonna change any time soon. Still this was a rather large event and worth to see some good old British Heavy Metal at it's best. Well Rob has a demeanour of an old man around the stage with his lumbering movements but he's not quite as bad as some of the reviews would have you believe. Sure he's a bit clunky and robotic but he actually looks quite cool.

By the way for the Priest set I found myself only 5 rows from the front which was pretty cool. The rest of the guys played well although they all looked pretty old as well and age has caught up with those guys as well as Rob. Still they don't have to sing and remember words do they!

To be honest I was pretty well impressed with Priest. They put on a good show. Not sure how much more they have left them though as the tank is running dry. The live Maiden experience is totally different than the Priest one for example. The Priest one feels OLD in every respect whilst the Maiden one still has this youthful energy although age is catching up with them as well, they hide it much better than Priest do. The sound for Priest was good but some times far far too much bass and drums again. In the song Painkiller Rob was doing his bending over thing and absolutely screaming his lungs out and all I could was drums and bass bashing into my chest. There were some great songs like Leather rebel with Rob in full leather gear atop a Motorbike at the start.

Of course some new songs were played and they sound much better than the damp squib of a production on the actual CD which has one of the weakest guitar sounds I've ever heard a big band get. They did not play Nostradamus title track which amazes me to be honest. I think that track would go down a storm live and be given real power with it's big hooky chorus. Between the Hammer and the Anvil was good but it took me until the chorus to actually recognise it! Dissident Aggressor was pretty great I though but the best song was Hell bent for Leather. The ballad Angel was sung briliently by Rob even though I don't like the song I admit when the man sings it perfectly. They missed a lot of classics. No Victim of changes, Beyond the realms of death, living after midnight, diamonds in the rust etc. Overall an enjoyable night for metalheads in London.

01. Intro: Dawn of Creation 02. Prophecy 03. Metal Gods 04. Eat Me Alive 05. Between the Hammer and the Anvil 06. Devil's Child 07. Breaking the Law 08. Hell Patrol 09. Death 10. Dissident Aggressor 11. Angel 12. The Hellion Electric Eye 13. Rock Hard, Ride Free 14. Sinner 15. Painkiller 16. Hell Bent for Leather 17. The Green Manalishi 18. You've got another thing coming

Saturday 21 February 2009

Priest Feast

Going to see the legendary Judas Priest later on today at Wembley Arena along with the mighty Megadeth and Testament in support. I've never seen the Priest live but I have seen Halford band so I vaguely know what to expect. This is gonna be an exciting show and I can't wait to go and check it out. Three great legends of metal!

Saturday 14 February 2009

Lordi! Lordi! Lordi!

Went to see the Finnish rockmonstars for the first time on Thursday night and they did not dissapoint at all! I have been a fan of theirs for some time now and I managed to miss them last time they came to these shores, hence this opportunity was not one I was going to let go.

First we had two support bands. I didn't catch the name of the first band. They were like a mix of Marlyn Manson and some industrial glam band. They had this girl dancer on stage with them and she was real hot stuff. I thought I'd gone to Raymond's Revue Bar by accident rather than a rock gig! She was gyrating her assets mighty well through out their set. For the record I think the band sucked badly. I am just not into that type of music.

Sweden's Fatal Smile were up next and whilst they are a little more palatable for me than the first band I still couldn't get into them. They bascically want to be Sweden's answer to Motley Crue very damn badly. It worked up to a point and plenty of the crowd enjoyed them maybe but I was pretty bored by their average songs. They had big shout out choruses but the lack of melody was a big turn off for me personally. Anyway I would guess that almost all of the rather large crowd were here for Lordi and them alone.

They sauntered on at around 9.30 or so and bang they went straight into a couple of new tracks off the latest Deadache album which has actually taken it's time to grow on me. But live, I must admit the band are just hellishly fun. Mr. Lordi's vocals were perfect and the band is tight as hell, even playing through the thick weighty monster get up. Song after song the band played damn well with a fun approach. The sound was absolutely crystal clear throughout their set and I enjoyed it immensely. The songs themselves are seriously catchy and bouncy, with Mr Lordi leading the crowd with his funny hand gestures whilst the other members strut around acting ghoulish and no doubt grinning like maniacs underneath their masks. I must admit I enjoyed the stage props in between the songs. Yes it was very cheesy but I didn't expect this. I just thought they would sing the songs but they actually go to some trouble to create some macbre and gruesome though obviously tongue in cheek fun for the audience. I bet if they did a Halloween gig that would be something special and they could really go overboard.

I can't remember a set list exactly but all the hits were present and correct including my favourite Would you love a monsterman? The set of course ended with their Eurovision winning crowning glory, Hard Rock Hallelujah with every one belting out the chorus.

The Finnish monsters are just a lot of damn fun. Don't take it too seriously and enjoy the great catchy songs. High recommended for any rock/metal fan to see at least once.


Tuesday 10 February 2009

Dark Moor - Autumnal

This album has blown me clean out of the water. Dark Moor's latest is extremely ambitious and has pretensions to be as over the top as possible and they don't fail either. This is the album Luca should have made with Rhapsody last time. They have the perfect mix between metallic elements and the overblown symphony. The ideas and sounds on display are truly breath taking at times. There is just so much going - so many atmospheres filled with wonder and awe. This is proper film score metal but never at the expense of the song. This is a phenomenal symphonic power metal release and is not fixated with speed as you might imagine. The only slight qualm I have is with the singer, who has a good voice but not a magical voice. There is no problem for the choral arrangements which sound huge but when he's singing the verses, he can sound a little flat at times but I am being super critical when I say that. He's a fine singer but he needs more of a persoanlity to his singing style which would enhance the songs immensely. Someone like a Khan perhaps?

The songs are not throw away or immediate and need repeated plays in order to grow on you but the good thing is that every new listen will bring you that something extra. Swan Lake is a magical operatic opener that borrows the theme from the famous ballet. On the Hill of Dreams borrows a melody theme from Phantom of the Opera and sounds abosolutely wonderful. Don't Look Back is perhaps my favourite song of the album. The operatic backing woaaahhhs are truly mesmerising. The guitar and keyboard interplay towards the latter half of the track are also immensely satisfying. When the sun is gone is very much a homage to Rhapsody with it's dark brooding atmosphere leading to an over the top anthemic chorus belted out like there's no tomorrow. For Her is the next amazing song on offer for us from Dark Moor and what a song indeed. Glorious shards of melody flows and tumbles out of the speakers topped off with a melodic, spine tingling chorus from the gods.

This is the type of album that needs room to breathe before it will reveal it's charms for you - but there is magic in there like you won't believe. The melodies will slowly sink their sharpened teeth into you and you'll be hooked. I doubt you will be able to find anything better in the symphonic power metal style in 2009. The grand haunting melodies are just immensely satisfying alongside the epic symphonic soundscapes. Listen with headphones and prepare for one hell of a ride. What an amazing album!

Sunday 8 February 2009

Ebay Auctions

Please take a look at my Ebay auctions if you happen to pass my blog. I haven't sold CDs on ebay in an age, but I've decided to have a bit of a clear out. I dn't hold out much hope of many bids or sales but you never know. There's also quite a list of all my old VHS tapes which are surplus to requirements as I no longer have a VHS player and I'm not a cellector either so they all need a good home as well. Though once again the chances of many sales are remote but you never know. There's some cool stuff there even in the CDs and well worth a look at least and all auctions start at 99p.

My ebay auctions

Monday 2 February 2009

End Zone - First Bequest

Came across this cool Russian power/thrash band. Check their debut album - I think it's very good for fans of Helstar styled technical power/thrash metal. They play very fast and pretty melodic at the same time.

http://rapidshare.com/files/192935225/end_zone_-_first_bequest.rar

Snow

The cold white stuff came down a bit....and then some. Couldn't get to work at all. No buses and no trains. Oh well stay home and listen to metal!

Sunday 1 February 2009

Got 3 gig tickets

Got 3 tickets for forthcoming gigs. Lordi, Hammerfall and Hardcore Superstar. The Hammerfall support is the almighty Sabaton who are of course my favourite active power metal band in the world today. What a night that will be indeed. Before then of course I have Lordi for the first time and then Priest Feast at Wembley Arena. I saw Hardcore Superstar at the ULU last year and they rocked damn hard. Therefore the return gig is well worth attending again cause they went down an absolute storm. They are one of the best exponents of modern glam rock that I've ever heard. I don't normally like Glam but Hardcore Superstar are hard to resist.

The Scousers beat the Chelsea 2-0. United sneaked past Everton 1-0 last night so the pressure was on both teams today and the game was heading for a 0-0 stalemate until a Torres double secured all 3 points for the lucky Scousers. The ref made a monumental howler in sending off Fat Frank and even so the game was heading for a no score draw until the 88th minute. I guess that's why the game lasts 90 minutes and the added time. The Chelscum will feel very hard done by though and I get the feeling Fat Frank's red card will be rescinded. It was a truly disbolical decision and laughable. Anyway a draw would have been a perfect result for United but I guess if we win the game in hand we will still be 5 points clear and that's a nice lead at this stage.