I believe this is the 3rd time I am seeing WT live and the second time at a heavily packed Brixton Academy from front to back. The support came from a Brazilian modern rock/alternative band called Ego Kill Talent. They weren't terrible but not my cuppa.
WT is all about Sharon. The other guys might as well not be there. Eyes are glued to Sharon's every move. They played a few new songs and all the classics. Best songs were Faster, What Have You Done and Mother Earth. Very good but not an amazing gig and I'd think twice about going to another WT show next time. Here's the set list.
Raise Your Banner
The Reckoning
Endless War
In the Middle of the Night
Stand My Ground
All I Need
Supernova
Shot in the Dark
The Promise
Faster
Mercy Mirror
Paradise (What About Us?)
The Heart of Everything
What Have You Done
Forgiven
Mother Earth
Encore:
Stairway to the Skies
Monday 19 November 2018
Powerwolf LIve Report
My 4th time seeing the mighty Powerwolf live and they did not disappoint obviously. Two support bands both were good but I'm only here for the Wolfies.
Kissin' Dynamite were very good as were main support Amaranthe but I won't say too much about them. Both bands did a great job of warming up the crowd ready for the German legends.
Finally at just gone 9pm the houselights dimmed and the atmosphere started to build as the Wolfie ones got ready and came on to rapturous applause.This was easily their biggest headline show in the UK since they once had a dual headline with Epica in a slightly bigger venue but that doesn't count since a lot of them were there for Epica.
Anyway here they are promoting brand new album Sacrament of Sin and what a damn show they delivered. I had left the floor by now and managed to find a very good spot on the second balcony just by luck as every where was jammed. But my view was perfect and clear. The band opens with the firecracker Fire and Forgive from the new album. A great way to start things and I could see from view point there was already a big pit going on.
Next up was the rousing Army of The Night, then another great newie in Incense & Iron with its folky bouncy chorus going down a storm. Amen & Attack kept the pace on fire before we got the doomy epic Let There Be Night to slow it down to a majestic, seance like style.
After that it was time for a little gothic dance and everyone absolutely loved Demon's Are a Girl's Best Fried.
Then another newie and my personal favourite song, Killers With The Cross. I had to record the whole of that one. Too awesome and rousing!
Armata Strigoi has the crowd sing along wooah woooahs complete with Atilla doing his comedy act on stage with Falk Maria the organist. Those two guys are hilarious.
Back up to speed with Blessed & Possessed and then we got the best moment of the night. An old haunted looking gothic piano was wheeled out and Falk Maria started to play the opening parts to Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone. Atilla sang that amazingly well as the rest of the band joins in for that mesmeric chorus. Stunning performance that. Loud applause and full singing by all in that song to bring goose pimples.
Next up was crowd fave and tongue in cheek tune Resurrection By Erection. Seen them 4 times and they've never not played it. Riotous!
Then we changed the pace to funereal and morose with Stossgebet. Actually sounded so much better live than it does on record. Live it just comes into its own. Epic and brooding.
Next up were the two blood songs. First we need your blood then we drink your blood. The crowd is just going nuts downstairs. The balconies are either clapping or cheering but all are bellowing the choruses of these two.
The main set ends with Lupus Dei. Actually not a huge fave of mine but it picks up pace towards the end. They leave to massed cheers but there's an encore to come and more on stage shenanagins with Atilla and Falk Maria splitting the crowd up into a singing match. Al these things are part of the Powerwolf live experience.
The encore starts with Sanctified With Dynamite, another great energy laden speeding bullet.
Coleus Sanctus follows and is a solid track but not a huge fave of mine and finally we come to the final song of the night. Werewolves of Armenia. There's a great mystey and build in this final track and ends on a rousing note.
The band leaves slowly one by one and finally the two main protagonists Falk and Atilla are left and leading the cheers as the song Wolves against the World blares over the PA as outro. Finally Falk leaves and leads the last and greatest cheer for Atilla, the crazy gypsy man from Rumania. Hails to the Wolf and we'll see you again.
That was some gig. Every power metal fan needs to catch Powerwolf at least once to experience the Holy Heavy Metal Mass as Atilla calls it. Really is a fun experience indeed. Till the next time wolfies!
Kissin' Dynamite were very good as were main support Amaranthe but I won't say too much about them. Both bands did a great job of warming up the crowd ready for the German legends.
Finally at just gone 9pm the houselights dimmed and the atmosphere started to build as the Wolfie ones got ready and came on to rapturous applause.This was easily their biggest headline show in the UK since they once had a dual headline with Epica in a slightly bigger venue but that doesn't count since a lot of them were there for Epica.
Anyway here they are promoting brand new album Sacrament of Sin and what a damn show they delivered. I had left the floor by now and managed to find a very good spot on the second balcony just by luck as every where was jammed. But my view was perfect and clear. The band opens with the firecracker Fire and Forgive from the new album. A great way to start things and I could see from view point there was already a big pit going on.
Next up was the rousing Army of The Night, then another great newie in Incense & Iron with its folky bouncy chorus going down a storm. Amen & Attack kept the pace on fire before we got the doomy epic Let There Be Night to slow it down to a majestic, seance like style.
After that it was time for a little gothic dance and everyone absolutely loved Demon's Are a Girl's Best Fried.
Then another newie and my personal favourite song, Killers With The Cross. I had to record the whole of that one. Too awesome and rousing!
Armata Strigoi has the crowd sing along wooah woooahs complete with Atilla doing his comedy act on stage with Falk Maria the organist. Those two guys are hilarious.
Back up to speed with Blessed & Possessed and then we got the best moment of the night. An old haunted looking gothic piano was wheeled out and Falk Maria started to play the opening parts to Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone. Atilla sang that amazingly well as the rest of the band joins in for that mesmeric chorus. Stunning performance that. Loud applause and full singing by all in that song to bring goose pimples.
Next up was crowd fave and tongue in cheek tune Resurrection By Erection. Seen them 4 times and they've never not played it. Riotous!
Then we changed the pace to funereal and morose with Stossgebet. Actually sounded so much better live than it does on record. Live it just comes into its own. Epic and brooding.
Next up were the two blood songs. First we need your blood then we drink your blood. The crowd is just going nuts downstairs. The balconies are either clapping or cheering but all are bellowing the choruses of these two.
The main set ends with Lupus Dei. Actually not a huge fave of mine but it picks up pace towards the end. They leave to massed cheers but there's an encore to come and more on stage shenanagins with Atilla and Falk Maria splitting the crowd up into a singing match. Al these things are part of the Powerwolf live experience.
The encore starts with Sanctified With Dynamite, another great energy laden speeding bullet.
Coleus Sanctus follows and is a solid track but not a huge fave of mine and finally we come to the final song of the night. Werewolves of Armenia. There's a great mystey and build in this final track and ends on a rousing note.
The band leaves slowly one by one and finally the two main protagonists Falk and Atilla are left and leading the cheers as the song Wolves against the World blares over the PA as outro. Finally Falk leaves and leads the last and greatest cheer for Atilla, the crazy gypsy man from Rumania. Hails to the Wolf and we'll see you again.
That was some gig. Every power metal fan needs to catch Powerwolf at least once to experience the Holy Heavy Metal Mass as Atilla calls it. Really is a fun experience indeed. Till the next time wolfies!
Monday 5 November 2018
Slayer's last ever London show
A big 4 band bill on a Saturday night. Yes 1000s came for this one. Probably 10,000 I would guess.
Obituary were up first. Saw them back in April. Big stage gigs don't suit them IMO. A club gig in fron of 4-500 nutters going ape and a crunchy sound is much better. A cavernous echo-ey Arena sound is not really suitable. Having said that the Obies were great. Only 30 minutes but their bouncy grooving riffing was easy to nod along to. John Tardy's roaring lion vocals are always a highlight too. Overall I look forward to the Obies in a small venue in the future.
Redneck Stomp
Sentence Day
A Lesson in Vengeance
Visions In My Head
Turned to Stone
Don't Care
I'm in Pain
Slowly We Rot
Next up were thrash veterans Anthrax. I saw them with Slayer a couple of years ago and that was my first time with the New York Legends. This was the second time and the sound was clearly much better than it was for Obituary. I'll admit I'm just not a big Anthrax fan. They are good and have great riffs but the song writing just doesn't do much for me. They only had 30 odd minutes as well. They were pretty good though. Madhouse was my fave track. Nice little Pantera tribute as well.
Caught in a Mosh
(with Pantera 'Cowboys from Hell' intro)
Got the Time
(Joe Jackson cover)
Madhouse
Be All, End All
Evil Twin
Antisocial
(Trust cover)
Indians
(with Pantera "Cowboys From Hell" outro)
Lamb of God were main support and my least fave of the 4 bands that played. I saw them on this very stage supporting Megadeth a couple of years back. Just not fully into LoG these days. However the sound for them was even louder and crisper than Anthrax. Very blistering 50 minute set. Ruin and Laid To Rest were the most memorable songs. The moshpits were obviously pretty vicious for these guys.
Omerta
Ruin
Walk With Me in Hell
Now You've Got Something to Die For
512
Engage the Fear Machine
Blacken the Cursed Sun
Laid to Rest
Redneck
And then finally for the last time Slayer came on and prepared to lay waste. One thing that's easily noticeable is that there is barely any interaction between the guys whilst on stage. Every one seems to be doing theor own thing. They're probably sick of the sight of each other lol. I know there's been some political beef between Tom and Gary Holt. The sound was a bit off for opener Repentless but personally I like that energy filled starter. mandatory Suicide was the next great tune and the sound was also really good by then. War Enemsble is always an insane track. Jihad and When The Stillness Comes are ot my faves. Postmortem was great as was the following Black Magic. Payback I don't like but then Seasons and Dittohead were a nice juxtapose with slow and insanely fast. I loved Dittohead lol. Incessantly manic!
Dead Skin Mask I find boring but people love it. Hell Awaits is a great end to the main set.
The four encore songs are all brilliant. All classics of the Slayer catalogue. Best was Raining Blood which never seems to get old and same for set closer Angel of Death. And then 10,000 people paid farewell to these thrash Titans much loved member of the big 4. Personally I place them 3rd in the big 4 top to bottom. 1. Meg 2. Met. 3. Slayer 4 Anthrax. They are still legends though. I get the feeling Tom's heart isn't fully in it any more although his performance is still great. The band is still tight and sounds very good and could probably go on for another album but maybe it's really time to hang it up. 1000s paid homage to this legend of the big 4 and I get the feeling that many "non Slayer fan" metalheads and rockers came to pay a final farewell judging by the diverse crowd I saw. So there it is. Who's gonna be a member of the big 4 now or is the big 4 now defunct anyway? To me, Megadeth, Testament, Overkill and Exodus should go on a massive world tour... wishful thinking I know.
Repentless
Blood Red
Disciple
Mandatory Suicide
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Jihad
When the Stillness Comes
Postmortem
Black Magic
Payback
Seasons in the Abyss
Dittohead
Dead Skin Mask
Hell Awaits
Encore:
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Chemical Warfare
Angel of Death
Obituary were up first. Saw them back in April. Big stage gigs don't suit them IMO. A club gig in fron of 4-500 nutters going ape and a crunchy sound is much better. A cavernous echo-ey Arena sound is not really suitable. Having said that the Obies were great. Only 30 minutes but their bouncy grooving riffing was easy to nod along to. John Tardy's roaring lion vocals are always a highlight too. Overall I look forward to the Obies in a small venue in the future.
Redneck Stomp
Sentence Day
A Lesson in Vengeance
Visions In My Head
Turned to Stone
Don't Care
I'm in Pain
Slowly We Rot
Next up were thrash veterans Anthrax. I saw them with Slayer a couple of years ago and that was my first time with the New York Legends. This was the second time and the sound was clearly much better than it was for Obituary. I'll admit I'm just not a big Anthrax fan. They are good and have great riffs but the song writing just doesn't do much for me. They only had 30 odd minutes as well. They were pretty good though. Madhouse was my fave track. Nice little Pantera tribute as well.
Caught in a Mosh
(with Pantera 'Cowboys from Hell' intro)
Got the Time
(Joe Jackson cover)
Madhouse
Be All, End All
Evil Twin
Antisocial
(Trust cover)
Indians
(with Pantera "Cowboys From Hell" outro)
Lamb of God were main support and my least fave of the 4 bands that played. I saw them on this very stage supporting Megadeth a couple of years back. Just not fully into LoG these days. However the sound for them was even louder and crisper than Anthrax. Very blistering 50 minute set. Ruin and Laid To Rest were the most memorable songs. The moshpits were obviously pretty vicious for these guys.
Omerta
Ruin
Walk With Me in Hell
Now You've Got Something to Die For
512
Engage the Fear Machine
Blacken the Cursed Sun
Laid to Rest
Redneck
And then finally for the last time Slayer came on and prepared to lay waste. One thing that's easily noticeable is that there is barely any interaction between the guys whilst on stage. Every one seems to be doing theor own thing. They're probably sick of the sight of each other lol. I know there's been some political beef between Tom and Gary Holt. The sound was a bit off for opener Repentless but personally I like that energy filled starter. mandatory Suicide was the next great tune and the sound was also really good by then. War Enemsble is always an insane track. Jihad and When The Stillness Comes are ot my faves. Postmortem was great as was the following Black Magic. Payback I don't like but then Seasons and Dittohead were a nice juxtapose with slow and insanely fast. I loved Dittohead lol. Incessantly manic!
Dead Skin Mask I find boring but people love it. Hell Awaits is a great end to the main set.
The four encore songs are all brilliant. All classics of the Slayer catalogue. Best was Raining Blood which never seems to get old and same for set closer Angel of Death. And then 10,000 people paid farewell to these thrash Titans much loved member of the big 4. Personally I place them 3rd in the big 4 top to bottom. 1. Meg 2. Met. 3. Slayer 4 Anthrax. They are still legends though. I get the feeling Tom's heart isn't fully in it any more although his performance is still great. The band is still tight and sounds very good and could probably go on for another album but maybe it's really time to hang it up. 1000s paid homage to this legend of the big 4 and I get the feeling that many "non Slayer fan" metalheads and rockers came to pay a final farewell judging by the diverse crowd I saw. So there it is. Who's gonna be a member of the big 4 now or is the big 4 now defunct anyway? To me, Megadeth, Testament, Overkill and Exodus should go on a massive world tour... wishful thinking I know.
Repentless
Blood Red
Disciple
Mandatory Suicide
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Jihad
When the Stillness Comes
Postmortem
Black Magic
Payback
Seasons in the Abyss
Dittohead
Dead Skin Mask
Hell Awaits
Encore:
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Chemical Warfare
Angel of Death
Friday 2 November 2018
Threshold Live
4th gig in 10 days so it's been busy of late. 31st gig of the year I believe though I could be one out. I believe I'll reach 38 or 39 at year's end. Not up to last year's record 44 but could easily have been since I missed a lot of gigs this year.
Anyway so Threshold came along again after just playing earlier in the year. I missed the first gig due to it clashing with another gig which I had a prior ticket for. Only that was a regulat threshold show and this was them playing Legend of the Shires in its entirety.
First up were Swiss heavy rockers Maxxwell. Just ok stuff. Couple of good songs. Singer is a dead ringer for Draiman the Disturbed guy. Not vocally but looks wise.
Next up were Greeks The Silent Wedding. Seen these guys live a couple of times before. They're ok but not my cuppa. Long winded slightly morose prog metal. Singer can wail like a champ though I give him that.
at 9:10 on a Sunday night the Threshold boys strode on the stage and proceeded to play the album in its entirety as promised. Followed by 2 encore songs in Pressure and Slipstream. There were roughly 300 people in attendance which is ok for a Sunday night. And these were hardcore Threshold fans if such a thing exists lol. They were mouthing literally all the words. I was interested to hear how Glynn Morgan sounded live and he was good, but having heard all the Threshold singers now I put him in 3rd place. Mac top, then Damian then Glynn. But he is very good. The band performs the album perfectly with a great crunchy sound. What surprised me was the Morgan sometimes picks up the guitar to provide backing when Karl Groom does solos to make the band sound much heavier and better. Kudos for that. Fave songs were most of side 1 of the disc which I feel features the better songs. Side 2 they go full epic and stretch it out but Superior Machine was excellent from the second half.
They returned for a short 2 song encore with the songs Pressure and Slipstream. They sounded great on those and made me miss not seeing their regular set earlier in the year. Everyone should check them out if they can, they sound so good. Must admit I did miss Damian a little. That dude has such an expressive voice but it's no biggie. Threshold rules period.
Anyway so Threshold came along again after just playing earlier in the year. I missed the first gig due to it clashing with another gig which I had a prior ticket for. Only that was a regulat threshold show and this was them playing Legend of the Shires in its entirety.
First up were Swiss heavy rockers Maxxwell. Just ok stuff. Couple of good songs. Singer is a dead ringer for Draiman the Disturbed guy. Not vocally but looks wise.
Next up were Greeks The Silent Wedding. Seen these guys live a couple of times before. They're ok but not my cuppa. Long winded slightly morose prog metal. Singer can wail like a champ though I give him that.
at 9:10 on a Sunday night the Threshold boys strode on the stage and proceeded to play the album in its entirety as promised. Followed by 2 encore songs in Pressure and Slipstream. There were roughly 300 people in attendance which is ok for a Sunday night. And these were hardcore Threshold fans if such a thing exists lol. They were mouthing literally all the words. I was interested to hear how Glynn Morgan sounded live and he was good, but having heard all the Threshold singers now I put him in 3rd place. Mac top, then Damian then Glynn. But he is very good. The band performs the album perfectly with a great crunchy sound. What surprised me was the Morgan sometimes picks up the guitar to provide backing when Karl Groom does solos to make the band sound much heavier and better. Kudos for that. Fave songs were most of side 1 of the disc which I feel features the better songs. Side 2 they go full epic and stretch it out but Superior Machine was excellent from the second half.
They returned for a short 2 song encore with the songs Pressure and Slipstream. They sounded great on those and made me miss not seeing their regular set earlier in the year. Everyone should check them out if they can, they sound so good. Must admit I did miss Damian a little. That dude has such an expressive voice but it's no biggie. Threshold rules period.
Saxon Live
Not sure how many times it is now that I've seen Saxon live but it's definitely the 3rd that I can remember and it might be even the 4th or 5th but when you go to as many gigs as me it's all a big blur. Anyway I missed Saxon last time so this time with the great Thuderbolt album to play songs off of, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and boy did they deliver!
First up were Wayward Sons. I like these guys. Ballsy English rock. Catchy tunes. Look forward to their next album. Gonna sound old as the hills again but the volume was tooo loud for these guys. Turn it down a bit so we can hear better! They played 30 minutes and were politely received though I don't think to many of the old bastards in the packed Roundhouse knew who they were.
Now Y&T were supposed to be the main support but Dave Meniketti did his back in and they cancelled the whole Euro tour. I was actually looking forward to Y&T when I booked my ticket as it's one of those old timers I can tick off my list but alas that will have to wait for another day or probably never lol, but who knows. Not a big Y&T fan but just to say I've seen'em once at least anyway. So yes they were replaced with ever reliable stalwarts of English AOR, FM. Ok so they were much lighter than the headliners but they just have a perfect sound and Steve Overland is a top notch crooner. I guess some of the old codgers were a bit non plussed by Saxon and the response was a bit muted but I was loving it. Nice bit of dadrock! Second times I'm seeing them this year too. They never disappoint and their songs are all so good. FM FTW!
Finally at dead on 9 the intro for Saxon kicked in and were off....with Thunderbolt the title cut and heavy pounder from their latest LP. Great stuff. It was getting pretty damn sweaty at the front and I was not too far from it about 7-8 rows back. The sound was about twice as loud as it was for FM and I could feel my rib cage rattling to the booming bass. The band sounds as bloody heavy as ever. Biff is 67 but he still commands the stage although the movements are perhaps a little slower hehe! Not to worry they are on tip top form. Both guitarists crunch out the riffs whilst bassman Nibbs Carter is the serial metal lunatic in the band. That dude is a real nutter I tell ya. Playing that rumbling finger bass and head banging for all he's worth non stop whilst mouthing lyrics. A raging ball of things rumbling and bassy!
The songs flowed heavy and fast, slow and moody and pounding. I didn't get my fave track Lionheart but I didn't expect to. I was merely hoping for a deep cut but they mainly play classics and newer cuts. Solid Ball of Rock was a standout for me. Love that banger. I also loved the new cuts most. Sons of Odin and the Motorhead tribute They Played Rock n Roll. Great rocking. They played longa dn I mean long. Just slightly over 2 damn hours and they even squeezed in an extra song.
Saxon still brings it live and look how old Biff is. They've already stated they'll be releasing another album in 2019 since you never know what's round the corner healthwise. They looked ok and I think they can do this for a few more years but once Biff hits 70 well the old bones maybe creaking just that bit too much even if the brain is willing you know what I mean??? lololol!
This setlist is not exact 'cause they played a couple more tunes hence running over but it's close enough.
Thunderbolt
Sacrifice
Nosferatu (The Vampires Waltz)
Motorcycle Man
Predator
Strong Arm of the Law
Battering Ram
Play Video
Power and the Glory
Solid Ball of Rock
The Secret of Flight
Dallas 1 PM
They Played Rock and Roll
And the Bands Played On
Never Surrender
747 (Strangers in the Night)
Sons of Odin
Crusader
Princess of the Night
Encore:
The Eagle Has Landed
Heavy Metal Thunder
Encore 2:
Wheels of Steel
Denim and Leather
First up were Wayward Sons. I like these guys. Ballsy English rock. Catchy tunes. Look forward to their next album. Gonna sound old as the hills again but the volume was tooo loud for these guys. Turn it down a bit so we can hear better! They played 30 minutes and were politely received though I don't think to many of the old bastards in the packed Roundhouse knew who they were.
Now Y&T were supposed to be the main support but Dave Meniketti did his back in and they cancelled the whole Euro tour. I was actually looking forward to Y&T when I booked my ticket as it's one of those old timers I can tick off my list but alas that will have to wait for another day or probably never lol, but who knows. Not a big Y&T fan but just to say I've seen'em once at least anyway. So yes they were replaced with ever reliable stalwarts of English AOR, FM. Ok so they were much lighter than the headliners but they just have a perfect sound and Steve Overland is a top notch crooner. I guess some of the old codgers were a bit non plussed by Saxon and the response was a bit muted but I was loving it. Nice bit of dadrock! Second times I'm seeing them this year too. They never disappoint and their songs are all so good. FM FTW!
Finally at dead on 9 the intro for Saxon kicked in and were off....with Thunderbolt the title cut and heavy pounder from their latest LP. Great stuff. It was getting pretty damn sweaty at the front and I was not too far from it about 7-8 rows back. The sound was about twice as loud as it was for FM and I could feel my rib cage rattling to the booming bass. The band sounds as bloody heavy as ever. Biff is 67 but he still commands the stage although the movements are perhaps a little slower hehe! Not to worry they are on tip top form. Both guitarists crunch out the riffs whilst bassman Nibbs Carter is the serial metal lunatic in the band. That dude is a real nutter I tell ya. Playing that rumbling finger bass and head banging for all he's worth non stop whilst mouthing lyrics. A raging ball of things rumbling and bassy!
The songs flowed heavy and fast, slow and moody and pounding. I didn't get my fave track Lionheart but I didn't expect to. I was merely hoping for a deep cut but they mainly play classics and newer cuts. Solid Ball of Rock was a standout for me. Love that banger. I also loved the new cuts most. Sons of Odin and the Motorhead tribute They Played Rock n Roll. Great rocking. They played longa dn I mean long. Just slightly over 2 damn hours and they even squeezed in an extra song.
Saxon still brings it live and look how old Biff is. They've already stated they'll be releasing another album in 2019 since you never know what's round the corner healthwise. They looked ok and I think they can do this for a few more years but once Biff hits 70 well the old bones maybe creaking just that bit too much even if the brain is willing you know what I mean??? lololol!
This setlist is not exact 'cause they played a couple more tunes hence running over but it's close enough.
Thunderbolt
Sacrifice
Nosferatu (The Vampires Waltz)
Motorcycle Man
Predator
Strong Arm of the Law
Battering Ram
Play Video
Power and the Glory
Solid Ball of Rock
The Secret of Flight
Dallas 1 PM
They Played Rock and Roll
And the Bands Played On
Never Surrender
747 (Strangers in the Night)
Sons of Odin
Crusader
Princess of the Night
Encore:
The Eagle Has Landed
Heavy Metal Thunder
Encore 2:
Wheels of Steel
Denim and Leather
Kamelot Live
So another gig. Not huge into Kamelot any more but the ticket price was reasonable so I went to this to make it a gig night double after PF.
The gig had 2 support acts. One of them was for tonight’s show only and one was throughout the tour.
First up were Leaves’ Eyes who were supporting throughout the tour on this the penultimate night. I must admit they were fantastic. Seen the band before but always with Liv. This was the first time with the new younger more energetic front lady. She was perfect both in voice and energy shown. The band’s songs translate so well live. A very good 45 min support slot indeed.
Next up were Cellar Darling. One of the dreariest and most boring bands I’ve ever seen. To be honest I just went and got a beer and sat in the lounge area near the bar. You can hear the band being piped in still from there and what a dreary mess of a noise they made.
At the early time of 8:10pm due to a 10pm curfew, Kamelot came on to a hugely packed main floor. 1000 plus crowd easy and last night PF could only half sell the venue they were in. Seems people love Kamelot more and more. It has to be said Tommy is just a great fit for the band and is a godsend after Khan left.
He has the crowd eating out of his hand. There’s a chick singer on stage at times. She does the odd growling vocals needed in the songs and cleans here and there. The band sounds good but it was so bloody packed I was just catching glimpses of them here and there. It was not a perfect gigging experience by any means but I got the gist. The band is solid and Tommy can do live everything he does in the studio. Best songs to me were actually the newer tunes.
Overall I’d have to remind myself to think hard about seeing Kamelot again. Seen twice with Khan in the glory days and twice with Tommy. Probably enough don’t you think?
Either way this same 1000 if not more will be back for them next time as the band seems to be getting only bigger. Leaves’ Eyes were easily the band of the night for me. Next weekend has another 2 gig combo. Namely Saxon and Threshold.
The gig had 2 support acts. One of them was for tonight’s show only and one was throughout the tour.
First up were Leaves’ Eyes who were supporting throughout the tour on this the penultimate night. I must admit they were fantastic. Seen the band before but always with Liv. This was the first time with the new younger more energetic front lady. She was perfect both in voice and energy shown. The band’s songs translate so well live. A very good 45 min support slot indeed.
Next up were Cellar Darling. One of the dreariest and most boring bands I’ve ever seen. To be honest I just went and got a beer and sat in the lounge area near the bar. You can hear the band being piped in still from there and what a dreary mess of a noise they made.
At the early time of 8:10pm due to a 10pm curfew, Kamelot came on to a hugely packed main floor. 1000 plus crowd easy and last night PF could only half sell the venue they were in. Seems people love Kamelot more and more. It has to be said Tommy is just a great fit for the band and is a godsend after Khan left.
He has the crowd eating out of his hand. There’s a chick singer on stage at times. She does the odd growling vocals needed in the songs and cleans here and there. The band sounds good but it was so bloody packed I was just catching glimpses of them here and there. It was not a perfect gigging experience by any means but I got the gist. The band is solid and Tommy can do live everything he does in the studio. Best songs to me were actually the newer tunes.
Overall I’d have to remind myself to think hard about seeing Kamelot again. Seen twice with Khan in the glory days and twice with Tommy. Probably enough don’t you think?
Either way this same 1000 if not more will be back for them next time as the band seems to be getting only bigger. Leaves’ Eyes were easily the band of the night for me. Next weekend has another 2 gig combo. Namely Saxon and Threshold.
Primal Fear Live
The first time with PF for me and what a real solid night of true heavy metal.
First band were Frenchies Existance. I missed some of their set as they were already on stage as I walked in. Not bad. I think I've dismissed them in the past on their studio output but they were a good livener to start things off.
Next up were Riot or Riot V to use this incarnation of the band. THey were truly excellent. Todd Michael Hall screamed like a banshee although he made it all seem so effortless as he strode around the stage doing true metal poses and moves etc. The band was on great form with both guitarists cracking out top leads. I must admit I'm not super huge on the Riot back catalogue but they played songs both old and new. Very enjoyable set of galloping true metal indeed. Oh and special mention to Frank Gilchriest aka The Kraken. The ex Virgin Steele skin basher was a true beast behind his kit. Pounding them to kingdom come!
Finally at 9:25 or so the German powerhouse that is Primal Fear strode confidently on the stage with main man Ralf striding on last as the band launches into opener Final Embrace. This was teh 11th show on the tour so far as Ralf would proclaim later on and the band was in tip top shape. Riffs were scything and cutting through the PA like sharp razors.
Second song Chainbreaker took us back in time to the band's very first classic with song along by the crowd with urgings by Ralf. The crowd was not huge by any means probbaly around 300-350 or so and the venue holds double that easy. Of course that meant there was a bit more room to be comfortable however I was at the front about 3rd row and about 10 or so boisterous guys started moshing and were bumping into the old people trying to enjoy their power metal in peace! I have nothing against moshing at thrash death but at power metal shows it seems a bit stupid to me but I am fucking old don't forget. Problem is I ended up having to fend some drunk idiot who kept slamming in to me all the time. Fucking drunk dickhead. Good job he was eventually taken out to the side by security but that didn't stop the non drunk moshers.
So after about 5-6 songs of watching out for my glasses coming flying off I bailed to the safety of the back to enjoy the rest of the gig. Leave the stupid moshers to it. Even Ralf said from the stage that the moshing was getting a bit out of hand as lots of people were getting bumped into heavily and couldn't really enjoy the show and that they need to be more careful.
Anyway enough complaints and bullshit from me, the rest of the show was there to be enjoyed. Ralf sounded on top form live and it's the first time I'm seeing him as I said. He really channels his inner Halford at times and even uses the same hunched over pose when hitting the highs..
I enjoyed every song played pretty much. Eye of the Storm the epic from Apocalypse was brilliantly sung and played especially the climactic ending. King of Madness from Apocalypse another highlight. Main set closer Metal Is Forever was a rip roaring way to end the show too.
They returned for a 2 song encore featuring the epic Face The Darkness which was a great song and then ending with another pounding oldie in Running in the Dust. I left as the last strains of the last song ended and didn't stay to cheer them off as it was time to leave. It was good to final see the 'Fear live. It's been a bloody long time coming...Hails to Ralf and the boys!
Final Embrace
Chainbreaker
Blood, Sweat & Fear
Face The Emptiness
Hounds of Justice
The Ritual
Under Your Spell
Nuclear Fire
Eye of the Storm
King of Madness
The End Is Near
When Death Comes Knocking
Metal Is Forever
Encore:
Fighting The Darkness
Running In The Dus
First band were Frenchies Existance. I missed some of their set as they were already on stage as I walked in. Not bad. I think I've dismissed them in the past on their studio output but they were a good livener to start things off.
Next up were Riot or Riot V to use this incarnation of the band. THey were truly excellent. Todd Michael Hall screamed like a banshee although he made it all seem so effortless as he strode around the stage doing true metal poses and moves etc. The band was on great form with both guitarists cracking out top leads. I must admit I'm not super huge on the Riot back catalogue but they played songs both old and new. Very enjoyable set of galloping true metal indeed. Oh and special mention to Frank Gilchriest aka The Kraken. The ex Virgin Steele skin basher was a true beast behind his kit. Pounding them to kingdom come!
Finally at 9:25 or so the German powerhouse that is Primal Fear strode confidently on the stage with main man Ralf striding on last as the band launches into opener Final Embrace. This was teh 11th show on the tour so far as Ralf would proclaim later on and the band was in tip top shape. Riffs were scything and cutting through the PA like sharp razors.
Second song Chainbreaker took us back in time to the band's very first classic with song along by the crowd with urgings by Ralf. The crowd was not huge by any means probbaly around 300-350 or so and the venue holds double that easy. Of course that meant there was a bit more room to be comfortable however I was at the front about 3rd row and about 10 or so boisterous guys started moshing and were bumping into the old people trying to enjoy their power metal in peace! I have nothing against moshing at thrash death but at power metal shows it seems a bit stupid to me but I am fucking old don't forget. Problem is I ended up having to fend some drunk idiot who kept slamming in to me all the time. Fucking drunk dickhead. Good job he was eventually taken out to the side by security but that didn't stop the non drunk moshers.
So after about 5-6 songs of watching out for my glasses coming flying off I bailed to the safety of the back to enjoy the rest of the gig. Leave the stupid moshers to it. Even Ralf said from the stage that the moshing was getting a bit out of hand as lots of people were getting bumped into heavily and couldn't really enjoy the show and that they need to be more careful.
Anyway enough complaints and bullshit from me, the rest of the show was there to be enjoyed. Ralf sounded on top form live and it's the first time I'm seeing him as I said. He really channels his inner Halford at times and even uses the same hunched over pose when hitting the highs..
I enjoyed every song played pretty much. Eye of the Storm the epic from Apocalypse was brilliantly sung and played especially the climactic ending. King of Madness from Apocalypse another highlight. Main set closer Metal Is Forever was a rip roaring way to end the show too.
They returned for a 2 song encore featuring the epic Face The Darkness which was a great song and then ending with another pounding oldie in Running in the Dust. I left as the last strains of the last song ended and didn't stay to cheer them off as it was time to leave. It was good to final see the 'Fear live. It's been a bloody long time coming...Hails to Ralf and the boys!
Final Embrace
Chainbreaker
Blood, Sweat & Fear
Face The Emptiness
Hounds of Justice
The Ritual
Under Your Spell
Nuclear Fire
Eye of the Storm
King of Madness
The End Is Near
When Death Comes Knocking
Metal Is Forever
Encore:
Fighting The Darkness
Running In The Dus
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