Stone Free Festival 2018

After last year's Stone Free Festival ended up being such a fun day, it really was a no-brainer to attend this year's version. Especially considering the line up being so enticing. Well mainly the two headliners being Scorpions and Megadeth I should add. Megadeth I've seen countless times but this was my debut with the German hard rock stalwarts.

The day always starts very early at the fest and I got to the Arena at 11.45 am in time to check the first band Nitroville at 12pm sharp. To my surprise and actual delight, the free stage or Orange Amp stage was built outside the main Arena foyer. This was a welcome change as the early comers get to see the early bands with a proper outdoor festival feel.

The lady fronted Nitroville were pretty solid. I actually thought they were going to be a bit better than they ended up being. When I heard them on youtube I thought they were going to be more up my street than they ended up being if you catch my drift.

After they finished I milled around for a while and waited for Killit. I really enjoyed this band. They had great heavy riffs and decent song writing. Really really good rocking stuff and a cool chick guitarist. Good solid, rocking metal all round.

Meanwhile inside the Indigo, two bands had already played. namely Pete Spiby and The Beats Alls and The Picturebooks. Like...who??? Can't see every band so these guys got the heave ho.

My first visit inside the Indigo resulted in catching about 2 song from rousing rock 'n rollers Triggerfinger who it turns out are from Belgium of all places. They were like a heavy rock 'n roll band from the two songs I heard. Not bad and a few people dancing including a group of three ladies doing flower power style dancing. Nice!

There was a technical issue with one of the amps so Anchor Lane got held up until they borrowed an amp from one of the other bands. Finally the very young looking Scots started up with their heavily bluesed up fuzz rock. Not bad at all, though it's not really my style. Nice grooves and plenty of funky riffs.

Next I went inside for a ponder at the many stalls and then back out for Dirty Thrills. They were easily the sexiest and grooviest rock band of the day. The singer had some suave moves and their riffing and bluesy style was totally in keeping with the other bands. Quite fun indeed.

A quick visit inside the Indigo to catch around three songs from alt rockers Warrior Soul followed although their material sounded very samey. Not my thing at all. It has energy but lacks hooks from what I heard.

Another trip outside to watch Daxx and Roxane who followed in the style of all the bands in the Orange Amp Stage being very rock n' roll and in the AC/DC mould. Quite good but very derivative. Still fun to watch with a beer in your hand and nodding along.

Finally it was time to fill up the belly with a burger and fries at exorbitant O2 prices.

After a belly full of grub it was time to check out the UK's premier Nickelback copy band, namely Stone Broken. They were OK but Not that great to be honest. I enjoy them on record though and they'll have better live days for sure.

After that It was time for the proceedings to end outside the main hall with the stoner groove machine Orange Goblin laying waste. Never really been into this band but they have some nice grooves going and a raucous front man in Ben Ward. That guy is a big bear of a man and commands the stage and the crowd to get going. I guess they are used to a more energetic crowd but don't forget Stone Free is an old man's fest in the main. We don't get 'going' so to speak! The Goblin were pretty decent though again their material suffers from being samey live with no discernible difference song to song. Anyway good energy by the Goblin lads.

Time to look at the stalls a little more as I missed the final act on the outside stage. A chap by the name of Aaron Buchanan. He actually sounded quite good from what I heard on youtube but I missed him live.

Next up were Buckcherry inside the main arena. Second time seeing these guys. Not bad but not a band that makes me wanna jump around and go ape. Guns n Roses lite is the theme pretty much. Not bad but it's all about the two main bands for me, though I've heard worse than Buckcherry of course. Plus the arena was pretty empty for them which I'm sure disappointed them a little.

Next up were thrash titans Megadeth. Everyone who knows me, knows Megadeth is a huge deal for me and I've seen them double figures by now since when I first saw them back in '95. I was looking forward to their set and boy did they not disappoint. Some of the recent videos that I saw of live performances were slightly iffy but all my fears were unjustified. Dave and the boys were on shit hot form from the word go.

Hanger 18 is such a fantastic opener and gets the crowd quickly pumped it's such an old favourite. A great tempo and a great chorus and superb solos by both Dave and Kiko. Then we launch straight into the pounder from Dystopia, The Threat Is Real and before long we go into full thrash mode with Rattlehead for the old school headbangers.

Dave hasn't said a single word from the stage as of yet. Heads are down and guitars are being thrashed like there's no tomorrow. And so it continues with the headbang-alicious Wake Up Dead. Slightly slower but so anthemic with a big singalong for the crowd. Especially the superb stomping riffs at the end. "You die! Wake up dead! You die! Wake up dead!"

Finally we slow it down with the classic In My Darkest Hour. The slow building classic is just as good as ever it must be said and builds into an inferno of a thrash classic. Megafans have been loving that for decades. I should add whilst Dave won't win any awards at all for his vocals they were actually ok for someone who can't technically sing. The band was tight as hell as you'd suspect.

Special mention for Dirk on the drums. The guy fits in Megadeth like a glove and to me sounds like a better fit that Chris Adler.

Finally Dave spoke after IMDH and introduced the next song by saying they haven't played it in 18 years. So we weer wondering what it could be...hmmm. Bloody hell it's The friggin' Conjuring! Dave said he's never gonna play this song live ever again 'cause of it's satanic lyrics but maybe Junior persuaded him or he finally listened to fan clamour for the tune. I must admit it's actually not a huge fave of mine but it was so bloody cool to hear it live. I even remembered the lyrics enough to sing a long to most of it. Of all the Satan influenced Megasongs I would have preferred Bad Omen or Good Mourning/Black Friday but The Conjuring was a great and huge surprise.

The next songs in the set or all must haves really. I guess Sweating Bullets can be dropped but people still love it as do I. The next two were just mandatory tracks which I doubt have ever not been played by Dave and co. Namely Take No Prisoners and the mammoth Tornado of Souls. The performance on that was incendiary. Awesome solos by Kiko. Guy's already a mega-legend

Hangar 18 mk2 followed aka Dystopia which was great followed by fan fave Symphony of Destruction to change the pace a little. I love Symphony even though I've heard it a gazillion times. Dropping in This Was My Life or Countdown to Extinction here would have been nice but next time eh lads.

Mechanix followed which personally I am not a huge fan of. This was a very thrash-centric leaning set and I guess Mechanix fitted well. I wouldn't have minded to hear say something more melodic from Youthanasia. You know drop Reckoning Day in there or something to really throw a curve ball at us. But the set like I said was geared purely at ripping your head off with full on Megathrash.

The main set ended with the anthem Peace Sells with full crowd singalong. As usual the song was introduced by Junior playing the opening bass riff to great acclaim from the packed floor. Dave admonished the crowd for doing a half hearted chorus first time round so the second time people gave it their all for the chorus hehe.

Off they went and of course the one and only set closer Holy Wars followed. So friggin' tight as Dave says this is Holy wars and all hell pretty much breaks loose. Great and only way to end a killer set. Best Megadeth line up since the classic RIP no doubt and band still sounds hot as hell.

Hangar 18
The Threat Is Real
Rattlehead
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
The Conjuring
Sweating Bullets
Take No Prisoners
Tornado of Souls
Dystopia
Symphony of Destruction
Mechanix
Peace Sells

Encore:
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

Finally a bit later than the advertised stage the German legends and Stalwarts, Scorpions took their spots and launched into the big single off their most recent album, Going Out With A Bang. This is my first and almost certainly last time seeing the Scorps. I'll happily admit I actually don't know a lot of the old Scorps classics apart from the odd well known classic of course. But the thing is when you hear a Scorps song it sort of feels like a long lost old friend so you welcome it without much persuasion.

Their set continued with both regular songs and also a medley of songs. Notable stand outs to me were Steamrock Fever and The Zoo.

I also enjoyed the newish song We Built This House. I love that song. Their most famous song soon followed. get your lighters or phones out people it's Wind of Change. It's still a wonderfully whimsical song and people still love it. I'll say a few words about the band. They are all experts at their craft after doing this for decades. Klaus is 70 now and has quite a fair bit of his power it has to be said and he does look quite fragile on stage, but he's still got a great high pitched tone to his singing although his accent is a bit iffy sometimes hehe!

Special mention for Mikkey Dee. He's a real powerhouse drummer and I can't help thinking he could still be drumming in a far harder edged band than Scorpions. His drum solo was immense. Apparently he persuaded Klaus to have a go at doing a Motorhead and they have a decent bash at doing Overkill but the vocals lack the roughness and power required in my opinion.

Last two songs were huge sing along affairs being Blackout and Big City Nights. The singing and dancing got a bit more energetic let's say hehe!

The band went off and returned for the encore of Still Loving You the ballad with full sing along by the crowd and then the band's most famous and final song of the night Rock You Like A Hurricane. I think literally everyone was singing the chorus on that one as the Stone Free Fest came to a close.

Final thoughts - As usual a seriously fun day of music. Megadeth took the honours but it was good to see ancient rockers Scorpions before they keel over! Keep rocking Klaus and co!

Oh PS..
I went to the aftershow party and that was a lot of fun. This cover band called Shot through The Heart played 80s rock covers and it was a really fun way to end the night with another hour of music. You buy a beer, put your fist up and sing Bon Jovi, Kiss, Motley crue and Journey songs like a proper rocker. Not that I had any voice left by then!

Crazy World
Going Out With a Bang
Make It Real
Is There Anybody There?
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Top of the Bill / Steamrock Fever / Speedy's Coming / Catch Your Train
We Built This House
Delicate Dance
(with Ingo Powitzer)
Follow Your Heart / Eye of the Storm / Send Me an Angel
Wind of Change
Tease Me Please Me
Overkill
(Motörhead cover)
Drum Solo
(by Mikkey Dee)
Blackout
Big City Nights

Encore:
Still Loving You
(followed by a capella snippet of "Holiday")
Rock You Like a Hurricane

Graham Bonnet Band Live

I've seen a fair bit of Mr. Bonnet over the last couple of years and this is in fact the third time in that period. I toyed with the idea of giving this one a miss but caved in out of curiosity as he has some new guys in his band.

First support was Evyltyde who also supported Graham the first time I saw him a couple of years ago. This band unfortunately doesn't excite too much. They are like a traditional NWOBHM band with a female voice. They are ok but the songs don't really excite as I was saying.

The main support was a new band called The Brink who I was hearing for the first time. They were an exuberant bunch of rockers with an energetic front man. They were decentish but I never really got a great feel for their songs. The singer said their debut album is coming out in April 2018, so we'll see how that turns out. Not bad overall and worth keeping an eye on. Oh and the band was notable for having a tiny chick guitarist. Well you don't often see a band with a gal on guitar while everyone else is a lad.

Anyway we're all here to see the old codger Graham and his brand spanking new guys show us what they can do. To be honest Graham sounded better than he did on the previous two night that I saw him. He sounded in fine form indeed. He still has a tendency to look like he's struggling for air on the higher notes but the man is 70 soon so we'll forgive him that. The new guitarist is Joey Tafolla and he whips up a storm on the riffs and solos. New Keysman is Jimmy Waldo who used to be with Graham back in Alcatrazz. The new drummer is also some guy or other who's been in loads of bands etc.

The band sounded really good I must admit. They played a very long set of mixed tunes from throughout Graham's career including of course all the hits. Standouts for me were new song California Air and Into the Night, plus classics Since U Been Gone and All Night Long. I was also amazed that Graham played Stand in Line from his time in Impellitteri. The last two times I saw him I was dying for him to play this as it's one of my fave songs from his career and finally he did it! Thanks Graham!

The band played for just over 90 minutes and Graham's shirt was covered in sweat patches by the end! Nice going old man..keep rocking forever!

Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live
(Alcatrazz song)
All Night Long
(Rainbow song)
California Air
Night Games
God Blessed Video
(Alcatrazz song)
S.O.S.
Stand in Line
(Impellitteri song)
Island in the Sun
(Alcatrazz song)
Into the Night
Samurai
Jet to Jet
(Alcatrazz song)
Desert Song
(Michael Schenker Group song)
Rider
Skyfire
(Alcatrazz song)
Since You Been Gone
(Russ Ballard cover)
Assault Attack
(Michael Schenker Group song)

Encore:
Eyes of the World
(Rainbow song)
Lost in Hollywood
(Rainbow song)

Deep Purple Live at the O2 Arena

So this is Purple's Long Goodbye Tour, and well we better say a very long goodbye because they still seemed to be firing on all cylinders. But more on that later. First up were cool cats, well Cats in Space to be precise. And boy did they not disappoint. They are just a great band. Shame that they played to an extremely sparse crowd. The DP crowd didn't give them the time of day which is sad. they missed a great 30 minute set of Cats tunes. Of course I think a club show suits these guys much better but they were fully at home of the O2 stage and sounded truly good. I'll be seeing them again in 2018 no doubt in much cosier surroundings no doubt.

I broke my duck with Europe which is one of the reasons I gave this gig a shot. I need to hear The Final Countdown live at least once haha! To be honest I am not a fan of this more bluesy incarnation of the band but I gave them a good shot live. Joey's voice doesn't go as high as the old days which is understandable but he was in fine form as was the band. They were the perfect foil to Purple in fact. Coming across as very Purple-y at various points. They were also pretty heavy at times. John Norum is a great guitarist no doubt. I loved the song Last look At Eden. That was a great tune. Scream of Anger was a full paced heavy metal tune that was for the diehards out there. Ended with of course those parping keys for The Final Countdown. Finally seen it live. Europe were cool but not amazing.

Finally it was time for the grand daddy's of classic rock to show us what they could do. To be honest last time I saw Purple here 2 years ago I thought they were good but not amazing. On this night I really DID think they were amazing! They were on shit hot form. Ian's voice was great, although I do find some of his shrieking a bit OTT, Granddad screaming to the kids "shut up!" but when he does more of his normal singing he sounds pretty great.

The band all sound great especially Steve Morse. Guy, is a six string maestro of coolness. The set list was a bit mixed. No Highway Star was a bit strange also no Child In Time which left a few old timers groaning. However they played to perfecting for a full 90 minute set. I love the new track The Surprising. That was a huge highlight for me. The rest was pretty standard classic Purple performed flawlessly with pristine sound.

Judging by this show the band is still at the top of its game so I don't know why they are slowly quitting to be honest. Let's hope they are just toying with quitting. They never embarrass themselves for a nano second on stage. They all still have it and them some although Ian looks more and more like a shuffling Granddad standing up at the karaoke after a few too many sherries! Keep standing and rocking old man, you still got it!

Heat Live Report

Always good to see the energy enthused Swedish rockers again after a good while. Two support bands to get through. Black Diemonds are a Swiss hard rock band with a slight glam edge. Pretty apt support for a gig like this. Their album is ok but not anything that special. It's pleasant though. Live they were merely OK IMO. They just don't quite have the catchiness and edge that I need in my hard rock.

Next up were Heat's fellow Swedes, Degreed. They are a much better proposition indeed. Their new album is their heaviest but I'm not sure it's their best song wise. However they were very good live if not spectacular. This was the last night of the tour so they were drinking on stage etc and having a lot of fun. I seemed to enjoy the older tunes more than the new ones, however I have no complaints for them as a warm up act for the great Heat.

And then it was time for that ball of energy aka Erik Gronwall to let us know yet again what it means to really rock. Opening with Bastard of Society is a wise move indeed with it's killer opening riff and full on energy. When Erik yells "let's go!" well he, his band mates and everyone in the crowd does just that! You can't beat that immediate rush that you get from a Heat show that's for sure.

The lads played a lot of new songs from Into The Great Unknown which was fine with me. I even enjoyed the so called more poppy tunes. They sounded great live and Erik's voice was top notch all night, even though it was the last night of a month long Euro trek for the guys. I loved the classic AOR of 1000 miles as did most no doubt. No "Best of the the Broken" from the new album was a slight disappointment as that simply rocks you to hell and back. However I can safely say there really wasn't a moment that wasn't great. A nice tribute to Malcolm and AC/DC with Whole Lotta Rosie snippet complete with Erik crowd surfing to the bar and starting the song off standing on the bar and then running back and completing it on stage. Typical of that crazy dude. he really is a live wire.

With it being the last night of the tour the stage became a free for all with members of others coming and going as they pleased singing bits and playing bits and filming it all on their mobiles. It may have only been a Tuesday night but a Heat show feels like a Saturday night and then some! One of the most fun and energetic bands from Sweden these days that's for sure. Heat, Eclipse and Work of Art. I swear by this trinity of melodic magic!

Alice Cooper Live Report

Had to see Alice at least once before he finally gives up the ghost didn't I. A night at the Wembley Arena was a no brainer thoughts like this don't exactly come cheap but alas the Coops needs the money before he finally retires and lives out his days playing golf non stop.

Anyway we digress. Two support bands were listed neither of which I had ever seen so three birds were killed with one stone last night. First up were somewhat legendary and cult band The Tubes. A sort of 70s hybrid of rock, funk and AOR. Fee Waybill their singer is bloody ancient. he's probably as old as Alice though I have no idea how old he actually is. But he does sound very very old with a voice as rough as a tramp's arsehole. Their songs are mildly entertaining but it's their semi comedy garb that entertains the folks closer to the stage. Sadly I was about as far away from the stage as it was possible to get. But the sound was very good indeed and the bass and drummer for The Tubes were both excellent. Not really my thing overall but the last song was really catchy in an AOR kinda way. It turns out that this band supported Alice in the 70s hence their long lost return.

Next and main support were Brit gothy doom popsters, The Mission. In the early 90s this band used to bother the charts regularly with their twangy dark goth pop. It's a bit of a strange support slot for Alice but maybe he hand picked them and likes them a lot. I must admit I probably haven't heard a Mission tune in 25 years and then only once or twice. I was always a Sisters of Mercy fan me haha! Never got into The Mish meself! Anyway they played about 8 songs including all their biggest hits. They actually sounded really quite good but if slightly droning on and on and yet still danceable. A few old goths were I'm sure in nostalgia heaven with these guys.

I started to recognise a few snippets of their songs and they were toe tappingly gloomy and pleasant on the ear. Not a bad little set from these guys but overall I find them just good and not something I'll get all nostalgic about and go and seek their songs on youtube all over again or something! I enjoyed them for what they were though. I can imagine a bill with them Sisters and Fields of the Nephilim going down a storm with all the nostalgia gothsters!

At 9.20 sharp the house lights went down and the current Alice Cooper band launched into the heavy and semi-industrial sounding Brutal Planer, the title track of the album from a few years back. That was a heavy start indeed. Alice's voice is a bit rougher live than I was expecting but he still sounds good. Unfortunately whilst the gig was taking place in Wembley, I was actually sitting in the next borough down the road and all facial expressions and band interaction were rendered by midgets in the distance as far as I could tell. I really wanted to see guitarist Nita up close for she is a bit of a shred queen. Sadly the Arena doesn't have TV screens by the side of the stage either.

Not being a huge Alice aficionado I didn't recognise the next few songs. Lost in America stood out most. Great tune. Dept of Youth was also very catchy. Enough for me to go and seek out a studio version of it from the Welcome to my Nightmare album. Woman of Mass Distraction was funny and catchy too.

By the way, Alice never says a word in between songs. No talking not a word. He just lets the music do the talking it seems but he does say the odd "thank you London!" but apart from that no anecdotes just singing and a nice stage show. I just wish I was closer so i could see it better! Any how the show carried swiftly on with a Nita guitar solo followed by his first big 80s hit that I know. Obviously Poison is sung by literally 1000s in the Arena as Alice commands. Halo of Flies I don't know but then Feed My Frankenstein followed with a running Frankestein monster on stage running round like what Eddie does with Maiden. Great tune anyway and Alice puts feeling in that chorus! Cold Ethyl sees him carrying a lifeless rag doll around trying to inject life into the damn thing but she remained cold to no avail. Only Women Bleed followed. No doubt a classic but would you believe I have never ever heard this song before in my life? Not even by accident. I didn't even know that it was mostly a ballad lol. Oh well you live and learn eh Alice!

Paranoic Personality, the immensely catchy new track was given an airing and I think it went down very well. WHo can not love that chorus eh? Then we reached the theatrical section of every Alice show with the balld of Dwight Fry and the beheading of your man Mr Cooper. Now sitting where I was I could hardly even tell what was going on with my poor eyesight. All I could see was some gal in ghoulish white holding up Alice's severed head! Hey hold on he's got to the rest of the songs..anyway the songs segues into Killer and I See The Dead. I don't recall too much of the musical value as I was concentrating on what the hell was going on stage. Youtube will help me there no doubt.

There the main set ends and Alice finally returns with the original AC band doing 5 of the band's biggest hits. I'm Eighteen believe it or not I have never heard! Can you actually believe it? It's a good song though and I can see all the bald drunkards with their pints shoved in the air screaming "I'm Eighteen!!!" Nah mate you WERE 18 haha!
Billion Dollar Babies followed again not massively familiar to me but it was good and got everyone off their feet to sing. Then it's my fave AC song of all time. Who can not love NMMNG? That song is just made to be sung along with. Alice's old band plays it a bit slower than I'm used to. I only first heard the song when Megadeth done it decades ago and they speeded it up for the better. But Alice sings it the original way of course. Everyone loves it anyway and is in delirium by now!
Next we have Muscle of Love another song I have never ever heard. Damn it was quite catchy though! The set ends with all the old band and all the current band on stage as Alice goes through them all and introduces them one by one before a rousing School's Out complete with pretty cool Brick in the wall snippet in the middle.

Alice has still got it no doubt for an old timer. His movements maybe a bit slower and the voice not as clean as earlier times but the man can entertain pure and simple. How much longer he'll go is anyone's guess but he's far from shaming his legacy and whilst he's still enjoying it then long may it continue and who knows maybe I'll go to another AC show if he returns. On a side not the merch at this show had unacceptably high prices. Even higher than the Metallica show and the ticket price was already quite expensive. I don't know who sets the merch prices but if it's Alice's management then they need to have a word with themselves haha! Anyway keep rocking Alice till the grave!

Spend the Night intro
Brutal Planet
Under My Wheels
Lost in America
Pain
Department of Youth
The World Needs Guts
Woman of Mass Distraction
Guitar Solo
(Nita Strauss)
Poison
Halo of Flies
Drum and Bass solo
Feed My Frankenstein
Cold Ethyl
Only Women Bleed
Paranoiac Personality
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Killer
(partial)
I Love the Dead

I'm Eighteen
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
Billion Dollar Babies
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
No More Mr. Nice Guy
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
Muscle of Love
(with original Alice Cooper Band)
School's Out
(with original Alice Cooper Band) (with 'Another Brick in the Wall Part 2' snippet by Pink Floyd)

Helloween - Pumpkins United

Well it had to happen I guess. Everyone in Helloween past and present buried the hatchet and not in each others back! Well at least put the hatchet away for another day and took the money and had a lot of fun for two and a half hours of happy happy Helloween.

No support, just a whole night's worth of happy metal at the Brixton Academy. The venue was rammed pretty solid with easily over 3k people at a guess but could be way more. There were a lot of people on stage as the curtain goes up and the band launches into the epic Halloween with both Kiske and Deris handling vocal duties.

The sound took a while to settle down and was a little incoherent at first but once our ears had adjusted it was a pretty decent sound with both vocalist's booming voices piercing the sky. Let me be honest here. Old school Helloween never really floated my boat at all. I came on board with The Dark Ride. I liked some songs here and there but never a full album and to be even more honest I don't really even recall half of these classics. Whilst I love the new material.

However I am far in the minority judging by the huge sing along's the classics muster up among the happy Helloween faithful. I guess seeing Kai, Michi and Weiki and Marcus all on stage together is the stuff of legend and the fans were lapping it up with a big spoon.

There was plenty of on stage banter with the boys with especially with Kai and Andi joking and taking the piss out if each other's age and ability to still perform. But perform well they did and Kai even sang one song, namely Ride The Sky. They played a very long time but had lost of short little intermissions with a cartoon video backdrop to entertain us. Two characters by the name of Seth and Doc with Pumpkin heads doing inane stuff. The videos during the songs were actually really funny and cool. Especially the character during Dr Stein was hilarious!

Each song had an effective video back drop to suit the song with even lyrics at times for these that fancied a sing along but had forgotten the words. Both Andi and Miki sang great to be honest with Andi more than holding his own. The rumours had been that Kiske had been having vocal trouble but he seemed great to me. Of course his warbling falsetto is the stuff of legend and he tested it to the max on a couple of ballads.

Believe it or not I actually missed the last two songs Future World and I Want Out as I was feeling dead after more than 3 hours of straight standing and bailed out. Even walking was preferable to standing at that point!

So the Pumpkins were United but I don't know if their heart was fully in it but they played with a lot of smiles apart from Weiki, he mostly never smiles of course. The cash was too good to turn down no doubt and the tour has been doing great business around the world. Oh and Kai's look is something else. Looks like a washed up glamster from the 80s still trying hard to be very 80s! You're not in Motley Crue dude!

Anyway an enjoyable night of classic Helloween material interrupted with the odd newer song. Good stuff if not amazing and for long time fans of the band, just a must see really.

Dying Fetus Live

Haven't been to a death metal gig for ages. Let's break that cycle with 4 bands of technical brutality. First band up was the least technical of the lot. They were Disentomb from Australia I believe judging by the singer's accent in between songs. They were the most brutal band of the night. Just sheer savagery from blasts to stomping riffs and grooves. Heads were banging for these guys but they know nothing about subtlety and that's just the way the nutters down the front like it. I've never heard the c-word as many times as I did from a singer either. We were called "sick cunts" regularly and often haha!

Next up were Canadian tech death wizards Beyond Creation. These guys upped the tech ante to a whole new level, especially the bassist whose fingers constantly moving up the fret board to widdle away. The band is very tight but I found they lost some of their clarity trying to over brutal. They were still tight as fuck and it makes for quite a spectacle watching them wrapping their spidery fingers up and their axes. Tasty tech death!

Main support was yet another Aussie band with Psycroptic. I've sort of gone off them of late but I swore by their Scepter of the Ancients album. I must admit to me they were absolutely wicked sounding on the night. The sound was not as ball bustingly brutal as for the previous two bands but very crisp and tight. The guitarists were absolutely locked into a tight as hell groove but with lightning fast notes at warp speed drilling into your brain. A very killer performance from these guys even though the singer said his voice was fucked at the end of a long tour.

Finally my first time seeing the Fetus guys. I could have sworn they were a 4 piece but it turns out they are only a 3 piece. The bald dude on the riffs and main vocals with the bassist on vocals as well. These guys have monster monster grooves. This is why everyone seems to love them so much. They can play like pretty tech but then lock into a jamming groove to get the moshers rocking. There weer loads of stage divers and one drunk idiot got thrown out for refusing to leave the stage haha! The band was greeted with pure frenzy by the packed crowd. Death metal fans are very fucking loyal in their fandom that's for sure and the Fetus are treated like all conquering heroes as every note is worshipped. A very savage and tight performance from the New Yorkers. The bald dude thanked us for coming and the "Fetus Fetus!" chants soon drowned him out before they launched into the final savage song. A night of brutal and technical death metal - once or twice a year it's not so bad!

Orden Ogan Live

A really cool triple bill of power metal on a Tuesday night to keep the diehard metalheads happy. First up Unleash The Archers from Canada. I forget the girl's name but her voice was superb. The songs were enjoyable too being speedy or fairly mid paced. I enjoyed the faster tunes more but it's all about the chick and her booming voice piercing the sky. Good start and perfect opener for this bill.

Next up were Rhapsody of Fire which is now solely Alex Staropoli's outfit these days with Fabio having jumped ship. People question the need for their existence but to be fair they were pretty amazing. Their set featured all great and classic Rhapsody tunes sung brilliantly by new singer Giacomo. I'll whisper this slowly so no one hears me...Giacomo > Fabio!
The guy is superb all night and sings the songs perfectly. Their set was nigh on perfect. Distant Sky was from the latest album but the rest of the songs were from the classic era. Dawn of Victory was completely awesome as was Holy Thunderforce and the rousing band anthem Emeral Sword was the pinnacle of the night with mass singalong by a very healthy crowd of 500. Yes, people loved Rhapsody of Fire!

Distant Sky
Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain
Flames of Revenge
Dawn of Victory
The Magic of the Wizard's Dream
Holy Thunderforce
The March of the Swordmaster
When Demons Awake
Emerald Sword

At 9.45pm the intro song Orden Ogan played over the PA as the Ogan lads took to the stage whilst main man Seeb was loitering backstage ready to launch into opener To New Shores of Sadness. The sound was crisp and loud but not annoyingly so as I've noticed in gigs lately. No point having it so loud but I guess I'm old! Anyway the band sounded great and looked the part all with the Gunman look. There's even a Gunman statue pointing a gun at the audience on the riser at the back. A nice stage set up indeed linking in with the western theme. Seeb's voice was in fine form as they launched into FEVER and every one's fist was pumping and voice was raised.

Gunman was the first new track we heard and a chance to raise our voices once again. What a great tune indeed. Sorrow is Your Tale, was a personal fave tune followed by my absolute fave from the new album Fields of Sorrow. A very emotional tune indeed and sung brilliantly by Seeb and the crowd too I should add. Come With Me To The Other Side was another magnificent track. Last two songs were brilliant once again. All their songs have this fantastic majestic quality that really sound great live. Though I will admit those massive choirs you hear on the records are somewhat lost in the live sound even though the rest of the band do a sterling job backing Seeb up, it's not quite as huge sounding obviously unless you had a 50 strong choir on stage!

A 4 song encore was a big bonus and they saved some of their epic tunes till the end with We Are Pirates particularly getting everyone dancing. The Things We Believe In brought things to an epic end and the band left to loud cheers from the crowd ringing in their ears. A great night for London's power metal fiends and a very decent turn out for a Tuesday night.

To New Shores of Sadness
F.E.V.E.R.
Here at the End of the World
Gunman
Deaf Among the Blind
Sorrow Is Your Tale
Fields of Sorrow
The Lords of the Flies
Come With Me To The Other Side
Forlorn and Forsaken
One Last Chance

Encore:
To the End
Angels War
We Are Pirates
The Things We Believe In

Fozzy Live Report

I was supposed to see Fozzy once way back in the mid 2000s or something. I had a ticket booked etc but I fell very ill and couldn't go. Here were are a decade later and finally seeing Y2J and his chums Rich Ward etc. Three bands were listed as supported. In fact I should point out this was a dual headline gig with Hardcore Superstar both getting an hour on stage.

First band was called The Last Band but strangely they were on first! Let's get the crap jokes out of the way. They were fairly average for me and held no interest so I just milled around and got a beer and went up to the balcony to sit down and see them from above. They were a sort of heavy groovy nu metal/aggro metal band. Not my cuppa really but I guess they were ok for this kinds modern metal crowd.

After that were a band called Madame Mayhem fronted a by dark haired chick. There's a lot of bands around these days playing modern metal with a hot gothy chick fronting them. It can be ok but mostly it's not. MM were ok but not great, but the gal IS great. Great looker and a nice focal point for her band. They need to work on making the songs more catchy like say in Skarlett Riot. Not too bad though and like I said the gal is watchable haha!

Next up were joint headlines, Hardcore Superstar and their souped up glam metal. I am a big fan of one of their earlier albums although I find their most recent stuff a bit average sounding. I've seen them live before and they blew the roof off the stage. I don't think they quite managed it this time. The floor was still bloody packed for them though and I couldn't get anywhere near the stage so I could get a better feel for them. They sound good though but for some reason not as OTT animated as I remembered the last time I saw. I guess they were solid though and played all their best and most memorable tunes. THey are a good band as far as Swedish glam goes though and I far prefer them so say someone like Steel Panther.

I think this was a Fozzy crowd even though it was a dual headline show and that's one of the reasons HS didn't really ignite. However Fozzy did as the intro played and the band took their spots before the man himself, Mr Jericho burst on stage and they launched head on into opening cut Judas. The crowd sing along during the chorus was pretty impressive as the fans lurched forward to get a bit closer. Seems Mr Jericho creates some excitement with his fans. The chants of "Fozzy! Fozzy!" soon start up between every song as the man soaks up the adulation. Seems people really like Fozzy lol, never knew! The band continued with all the big hits from current album and a few classics and played 11 songs in total in their allotted one hour. Which to be fair made for a disappointingly short set. People could have easily had another 30 minutes of this but it was a dual headline so that's what we got. Enemy was my particular highlight. Always loved that tune and it had an extended Ward solo spot too. Jericho's live vocals are a little more gritty and dirty live than they are in the studio but I guess every tries to singer tougher live than in the studio. It's an understandable trait when you're competing with all these massively loud instruments. I should mention the ABBA cover SOS which was really quite fun. The night ended with Sandpaper that catchy tune from the previous album.

Chris seemed genuinely pleased and thanked the crowd for coming and the attendance was very good considering there was another rock gig down the road with MSG. Although I'm not too sure if MSG shares too many fans with Fozzy but to be fair there were a fair number of old school rockers at Fozzy but the crowd was mainly made up of youngsters below 30. Fozzy was fun live, Rich Ward's guitar sounds heavy as fuck and he's actually a really good singer too and provided nice back vocals to Y2J. They left with the crowd's cheers ringing in their ears. Till the next time dudes!

Power Quest Live

After their great support slot with Dragonforce, it's time for the Quest to have a chance to shine all for themselves. A Sunday night gig is always a bit of a drag but I didn't really wanna miss them as the new album is really so good after all. Two support bands were billed. Nightmare World led by ex Threshold guitarist Pete Morton and Death Valley Knights who I saw earlier in the year at the Stone Free Festival.

NW played their entire album in full in their allotted 40 minutes. It's a good album but not amazing for me. Pete Morton only sings in this band and leaves the instruments to the other chaps. They definitely have a nice line in heavy and melodic riffage. Not sure the songs really capture the moment well enough but they are all fairly decent. A nice start.

Next is was DVK and their testosterone fuelled old school heavy metal. Just a straight up bally metal band really with little subtlety. They turn it up to 11 and pound away on the riffs whilst the singer screams his nuts off. They play excruciatingly loud too and blasted the audience. I guess that's what metallers love! These guys are cool and have a mean attitude and tick all the true metal boxes. Their songs are mainly good but not amazing. Could do with the choruses being a bit catchier but if you wanna head bang and pump your fist then DVK will help your cause.

Finally the PQ guys took to the stage and played a 90 minute set of classic new and old Power Quest. The new tunes were great and well received by the crowd of around 150. Everyone seems to love the happy go lucky nature of the songs. New singer Ashley is a great fit for the band. The "Power Quest!" chants between songs are a regular feature throughout their set. All the songs are very catchy. The band plays with huge smiles and everyone enjoys themselves and hails the might Quest on their journey. The band ends with their super hit Temple of Fire with that unbelievably catchy chorus that everyone loves to sing a long to. Ashley said they'll be back in 2018 with Freedom Call. Obviously these 150 diehards will be there! Till then!

WASP Live

My first and last time seeing them basically. I've never really been a fan bar a few tunes. Just needed to tick them off the bucket list so to speak.

They played the whole of Crimson Idol live. I've never heard the album in full as I recall. The band sounds good it must be said. Blackie's shrill voice is pretty much the same as the old days. He's not really singing lower or more controlled like some old dinosaurs. He's just moving slower I guess and he's not so animated and shocking like what I've seen in old videos.

There is a touch of going through the motions about the songs. That's the feeling I get though I could be wrong but I'm not familiar with the tunes. A video or film has been created to go with the songs which is quite cool as you get more involved in the story of the album about a hot shot guitarist's rise from poor beginnings to the trappings of success and his ultimate downfall and demise. I never actually had really any clue about the story of the album. The video backdrops put into context the story nicely for a total noob. WASP's music tends to be slightly grating on my ears but it does have something about it that separates it from the other bands of that shock rock era. It's sort of more substantive especially when they get to the moodier parts. Special mention for the drumming. Literally the best thing of the night to be honest. The drum parts on the album seem to be very complex and difficult and the drummer played them with ease.

I didn't know who he was last night but tonight I checked him out and it turns out o be Aquiles Priester the Brazillian dude from Angra. The guy was playing fast and very skilfully from my non-drummer amateur perspective with constant lightning fast fills. Dread to think how fast his feet were moving. He was basically the star of the night for me.

The main set of Crimson Idol came to a momentous and rousing end as our hero takes his own life. Blackie never talked between the songs as the album has a lot of narration explaining the story. He only talked after a short 5 minute break as the band regrouped for a little greatest hit set to end things off. He mentioned that in some previous show there was moshing in a slow number in one of the songs and that he didn't like that at all. he prefers you to absorb and watch during the emotional parts lol. He also thanked the crowd for coming and it was pretty packed indeed. Probably a couple of thousand easy seeing as it's a Friday night.

Wild Child is basically the only really great song I like from WASP and everyone but everyone belts that one out. I made a hasty exit half way through the final song to beat the crowds. Not a gig that will live long in my memory, but at least I can say I've seen the band once at least! :-)


The Titanic Overture
The Invisible Boy
Arena of Pleasure
Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)
The Gypsy Meets the Boy
Doctor Rockter
I Am One
The Idol
Hold on to My Heart
The Great Misconceptions of Me

Encore:
The Real Me
(The Who cover)
L.O.V.E. Machine
Wild Child
Golgotha
I Wanna Be Somebody

Dragonforce Live

Ok how many times is is watching Dragonforce live now? I actually dread to think and here I am yet again. To be honest I wouldn't have bothered if I didn't enjoy the new album so much plus the mighty Power Quest was the support and it's a Friday so what better way to start the weekend!

First up were the PQ guys. They were awesome plain and simple. New Front man Ashley from Dendera fits like a glove. The melodic riffing and super happy memorable choruses go whirling round your head. I was quite close to the stage for PQ but I had a slight foot problem and retreated to the side for Dragonforce. Anyway I loved PQ. The couple of new songs sounded ace but the song of the night was final track Temple of Fire which was sung and played brilliantly. I'll be catching these guys on their own headline date in 2 weeks at the Underworld.

Finally at the earlier time of 8 sharp due to a Friday curfew, da 'Force hit the stage and the usual barrage of energetic notes started up and we were off and running with new track Ashes of the Dawn. Damn it sounded good and much ballsier and heavier than they've ever sounded. I guess that's what happens when you let the death metal guy in the band write most of the tunes. Anyway the band sounded dead on and are by now almost veterans at this game. They are still complete goofballs though and fuck around on stage like 10 year old let loose in a toy shop! The set list these days is very difficult but I guess there are some songs that they just have to play.

Marc Hudson sounded very good for the most part but he has a tendency to go full whine at times which can be a little grating but his voice is pretty much crystal clear and I don't think the ZP fanboys are missing him that much and have accepted Marc as the voice of the band. The stand out song of the night is epic newie The Edge of the World. A big departure for the band with it's mid paced epic feel and use of death growls and heavy parts. Obviously again written by bassist Fred who is responsible for most of the new album. Fury of the Storm is a manic melodic song that always gets the juices flowing from the rabid crowd. Cry Thunder got every one bouncing and singing and brought the main set to rousing finale though it did include a somewhat tedius and prolonged crowd sing along which all bands seem to do these day, before a three pronged encore after s short period off stage.

I've heard people decrying the Ring of Fire cover but I quite like it. Their signature song Through The Fire and the Flames ended proceedings at not far off 10 pm after nearly 2 hours on stage. Mind you they did waste 20 minutes with a medley of music to give Marc a rest no doubt but nearly 20 minutes of that was stretching it. oh and I should mention that the Electric Ballroom was absolutely rammed to the rafters front to back. Easily a 1000 in there if not more and a vast mix from young to really old haha. Dragonforce maybe be old news now but their popularity amongst metal heads is still something and Marc mentioned a couple of times that the band is as big as it's even been and thanked the fans for the huge turn out. Will I go again? If I said "nahhh" you'd call me a fucking liar anyway!!! :-)


Reaching Into Infinity
Ashes of the Dawn
Operation Ground and Pound
Judgement Day
Seasons
Curse of Darkness
Fury of the Storm
Guitar Solo / Drum Solo
(Fred on Guitar and Marc on… more )
Heart of a Dragon
The Edge of the World
Cry Thunder

Encore:
Valley of the Damned
Ring of Fire
(Merle Kilgore cover)
Through the Fire and Flames

Ross The Boss Live Report

Going to this gig is literally based around me having never seen Manowar live. They played Brixton a few years ago but I refused to pay what they were asking for and gave it a miss.

Now with RTB being an original Manowar guitarist is not really a big deal for me to be honest. All I'm interested in is hearing some Manowar classics live for the first time. This tour was plainly a Manowar based tour with Ross only playing tunes from the albums he appeared on and nothing else. No songs from his great album New Metal Leader etc. just plain classic Manowar tunes!

There was a support band to get through first which was Melbourne's Elm Street. A decentish trad band musically but vocally too aggressive. Live however they were rather good. The rough vocals didn't irk me as much as they did on record. I liked the galloping true metal music and the Maidenesque bass lines a lot. Good warm up act.

Finally at 8.30 on the dot it was time for Ross and his troops to play the dam shit outta some classic 'war! Any boy did they do that. The Thursday night crowd had filled out nicely to probably around 250 or so rabid fans. Obviously plenty of Manowarriors in attendance and even a guy with a plastic hammer! Yes you have to come to these things prepared for battle!

The band had a perfect sound going on with a very solid touring line up of Rhino ex drummer, Mike LePond on bass and Mark Lopes on the mic. I don't know Lopes well but the dude is a perfect fit. he maybe not quite as good as Eric Adams but he'll do alright and is a great front man for the band. These mano classics sounded beastly I tell you. LePond on bass was great although he seemed less into it than the others hehe, or maybe that's just his regular demeanour. Picking out faves is easy. Hail Hail to England which is apparently only being played on our shores and not the rest of Europe on The Discipline of Steel tour as it's titled. Ross the Fucking Boss himself was on fire man. His solos cut through glass shards and his riffs bludgeoned! The Oath was sung by all. Kill With Power was blistering with the crowd offering up and insanely loud "Die! Die!" in the chorus.

Dark Avenger slowed it right down before a rousing end. The main set ended with two absolute monsters with Fighting the World and Metal Daze. Fighting The World especially provoking near mass bedlam down the front with fists and voices raised!

Nutters down the front lapping it all up with a big heavy metal spoon! Two joyous odes to metal to end the main set before an encore of band anthem Battle Hymn and then the beck and call build and attack of Hail And Kill. Magnificent stuff if you ask me. Fists were raised, horns were given, voices were mighty, the metal was true and Ross was the fucking Boss!

Blood of the Kings
Death Tone
The Oath
Blood of My Enemies
Kill With Power
Thor (The Powerhead)
Each Dawn I Die
Gloves of Metal
Sign of the Hammer
Hail to England
Dark Avenger
(Preceded by Bass Solo)
Drum Solo
Fighting the World
Metal Daze

Encore:
Battle Hymn
Hail and Kill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9itu1pz4bc

Epica/Powerwolf Live Report

Obviously the main draw in this gig for me was the chance to see the mighty Powerwolf for the third time. This gig was billed as a dual headline set with both top bands getting roughly 90 minutes each. This is actually a great way of doing things which allows both bands an equally long time on stage and not short change their fans.

We also had an initial support band for a 30 minute slot just to warm things up nicely. That band were Germans Beyond the Black and their female fronted progressive metal. I actually quite like this band on record although it's always a bit hit or miss with these Euro female fronted bands for me. I tend to like some songs where they get the catchiness and melody right and then other stuff gets all convoluted and boring. Musically the band is pretty tight whilst the front gal is easy on the eyes and has a decent but not amazing set of pipes. personally I would've preferred a regular German power metal band as initial support but BTB proved to be a fair build up to the two main acts and were received politely by the crowd.

Let me just quickly mention that the show was almost completely sold out. The Shepherd's Bush Empire was rammed from back to front with not a lot of space to move at all even from very early on as BTB where playing and it only got more packed as the night wore on. I must admit the crowd was kind of mixed with a lot of people obviously there for Powerwolf mostly and lot of the Epica, Delain,Within Temtation wearing shirts waiting at the back before venturing to the front for their particular favourites.

As the two bands are completely nothing alike this made for a very diverse show and attendance which can be seen as a good thing really and probably was a reason why the show was sold out more or less.

After BTB was over I got ready and excited to see the German Wolf crew for the third time. I'd been looking forward to this as I guess many 'wolf fans were too. The band plays and sounds so cool and get right into it from the word go. However Atilla is really the star of the show with his booming great voice louder than almost everything else. By the way this is how I like my live music mixed with vocals way louder than everything else especially drums and bass. Thankfully Powerwolf don't even have a live bass player and he isn't even missed not by me on any case. It makes the vocals guitar and keys sound much clearer.

Special mention to insane keysman Falk Maria Schalgel. That guy is something else as the band's cheerleader supreme. It's basically him and Atilla conducting the crowd into a frenzy with their showmanship from the stage. The Greywolf brothers meanwhile flesh out the memorable tunes with their riffs, solos and gurning at the fans, whilst the drummer nails it all with thunderous drum beats on his huge drum riser. 

Every song they play is blessed with anthemic chorus after anthemic chorus until you're left with a hoarse voice trying to make yourself heard above the music! Great joyous stuff! I don't think a time will ever come when I'll think to myself I'll give a Powerwolf gig a miss! I even like them more than Sabaton now and I never ever thought such a band would ever come in to existence. The band played a good 90 minute set or just below and departed to huge cheers by the fans. They really inspire a slight hysteria in their fans that's for sure. 

The deafening "Powerwolf! Powerwolf!" chants start up after literally every song and were so loud that the band is stunned and milks it to the last drop. Fave songs were the hilarious Resurection by Erection, We Drink Your Blood, the mass singlong Armata Strigoi, the wonderfully melodic Sacred & Wild and the rabble rousing warrior anthem Army of the Night and the darker slower paced epic, Let There Be Night, but there wasn't really a wasted second if you love Powerwolf as much as I do. Come back soon please!

Blessed & Possessed

Army of The Night

Amen & Attack

Coleus Sanctus

In The Name Of God

Sacred & Wild

Armata Strigoi

Dead Boys Don't Cry

Let There Be Night

Resurrection By Erection

Werewolves of Armenia

Sactified With Dynamite

We Drink Your Blood

Wolves Against The World Outro

Finally at 9.30 the stage was ready for Epica and the band took to the stage one by one as the intro played followed finally by the star of the show, Simone Simons. It's easy to see why Epica fans worship the ground she walks on. She's blessed with an amazing voice, amazing looks and the highest possible confidence as the front woman of one of Europe's biggest progressive, symphonic Goth bands. I have seen Epica once before as I recall at the old Astoria and I remember them being very tight and very good live. Nothing much has changed I can report.

If anything the band sounds more confident in their extravagant material and plays with that much more gusto than before. Their recent album The Holographic Universe was very solid but the progressive nature of the songs meant that it didn't end up being one of my favourites of 2016. Not to say that it wasn't a classy slab of epic female fronted prog though. The band has many supporters here in the UK and they were all out in force.

Because of the lack of a sing along nature to the Epica material, I didn't connect as well to the songs and just enjoyed the atmosphere and power they created as a whole. With Powerwolf I connect more to the memorability of the songwriting. With Epica you marvel more at the epic soundscapes and the grandeur that they create whilst Simone goes through her whole repertoire of voices to add flesh to the tunes. I found that their sound was perhaps a bit too complex at times for the PA and some of the subtleties got lost in the mix. Plus they also piped in the choir vocals as Simone can't do it all obviously. Not saying that as a criticism, just that it's hard to recreate everything you do in the studio in a live setting.

The band played until almost 11pm, their allotted curfew time and were received extremely well by their fans but perhaps slightly less enthusiastically than all the Powerwolf nutters in the house. A real solid dual headline and a very diverse evening's metal for the sold out crowd to enjoy and boy was it fun especially of course the mighty wolfy ones!

FM - Live at the Islington Assembly Hall

Just a very quick report on this great gig. My first time seeing the mighty FM so late in their career but boy was it worth the wait. First up was Bernie Marsden ex Whitesnake guitarist doing his acoustic thing. Actually it was surprisingly very good indeed. The crowd sang all of Ain't No Love In The Heart of the City as Bernie requested. Might have been acoustic but this was an excellent warm up.


I've read a lot of good things about the live FM experience and boy did they live up to it. They were absolutely pristine live with a perfect sound mix and the golden voice of Steve Overland in spectacular form. Of course they played the whole of the classic 30 years old Indiscreet live with some songs from Tough it Out and newer tunes mixed in. They were absolutely glorious and the old fans were lapping it up with a decent Saturday night turn. Very oddly enough, English porn baron Ben Dover was there with an Indiscreet 25 shirt. Obviously a big fan! I didn't actually know who he was until someone pointed it out to me though!

It's hard to pick out stand outs as it was all so perfect. Bad Luck always rocks as does the sing along That Girl. Let Love Be The Leader another massive highlight. Steve Overland is a vocal genius and he proved he can do it live as well. Utterly loved this show. It was one of the year's best. I'll go and see FM again in a heartbeat!

Armored Saint with Savage Messiah and Dendera Live Report

I must admit my attendance at this gig was based solely on the fact the two awesome local heroes were on the support bill and not because of the slightly legendary American headline act. I say slightly because to me they've never really been a big name in the US metal scene and more of an underground act. To be honest I am not even really familiar with even their most famous material.

I was up close for both the two Brit bands and went to the back and on the pub area for AS. Dendera were first up and they were awesome. The material from the new CD sounds bloody great live. Very heavy and yet still very melodic too with a very confident vocal delivery. They played a rapid fire 30 minutes and soon were gone. I'd like to see a headline show with these guys soon if possible. The best song was the awesome galloping The Daylight Ending from the latest CD.

Next up were Londoners Savage Messiah who I'd only seen a couple of weeks back supporting Testament at the Brooklyn Bowl. Their speedy delivery and enthusiastic front man Dave Silver excites the front rows and then some. The riffs are ripped out with superb precision and a nice sound mix helped bring the tightness of the band to the fore. They played around 40 minutes before a pretty healthy Thursday night crowd indeed. SM never fails to impress live. I look forward to their next studio output immensely.

Finally at around 9.30 or so it was time for the Saint to take to the stage and rip out some classic American power metal for the highly healthy 400+ crowd. I must admit I thought AS would be far less recognised here in the UK but I was wrong. John Bush is a great front man with a pretty cool melodic voice and he was in fine form. As John explained they were using this gig as almost a rehearsal for their upcoming festival appearances in Europe so expect a little rustiness.

But we needn't have worried. They sounded pretty tight and cool especially the great bass which added a funky vibe to the heavy riffing. I am not a big fan of their latest CD Win Hands Down but plenty are it seems and they played a fair chunk of it as well as a lot of old classics which I am not familiar with. I did enjoy the song Chemical Euphoria a lot though I don't know if it's old or new to be perfectly honest. I left just about 10.45 and the band was still on stage but I'd had enough by then and was feeling tired.

A cool gig, not the best of the year but good to see two killer local bands who have a lot to offer.