White Widdow with Night by Night and Degreed Live Report

This gig was originally billed as a joint headline between WW and NxN but unfortunately NxN had a sudden line up change with their singer leaving their ranks. Of course this could have been a disaster but it seems they quickly hired the services of the New Device singer for this gig. God knows how he learnt the songs so quickly but he did an amazing job but more on that later.

First up were Swedes Degreed. I've enjoyed both albums from these youngsters in the past and was looking forward to see how they would do live. Well the answer is extremely well. They sounded that good bit heavier live than on record but the still had the tunes to back it up. I must admit I haven't heard their songs in quite a while so hearing them live again after a long while meant my enjoyment was somewhat dampened with lack of familiarity at times. But it all slowly came back to me and I enjoyed their set once they hit their stride. Special mention for the Steve Perry cover Captured By The Moment. Black Cat was another highlight. They played a couple of new tunes which sounded much harder hitting than their earlier songs which bodes well for their 3rd album due later this year one would imagine. A really solid start for this night of AOR/Melodic goodness.

Next up were modern AORsters Night by Night whose record I enjoyed quite a bit whilst not finding it amazing or anything. Of course as I explained earlier they lost their singer and would have been well within their rights to cancel but they somehow found a replacement with extremely short notice with the New Device singer Dan. I've seen his main band a couple of times and he's one energetic pocket dynamo on stage and a decent set of pipes on him. The band unfortunately had guitar problems with the mustachioed chap spending a number of songs trying to get his guitar to work which he eventually managed to do. The band sounded like they were enjoying themselves and to even play was a bit of a miracle it seems. A nice cover of Aerosmith's Love In An Elevator was pretty cool. Their own material was decent and they went down well with the rather small Saturday night crowd of about a 100 or so.

Finally it was time for the Aussies who had arrived from Spain only earlier than day and hadn't actually arrived at the Underworld until quite late. I love their Serenade album and am quite a fan of Crossfire as well but it doesn't seem to be quite as good as Serenade but still worthy. Their pompous keyboard sound which is fundamental to the band's sound was in full force and effect but luckily for them it wasn't their own Keyboard! Their gear never arrived it seems thanks to Ryan Air!

The chirpy Aussie banter was flying thick and fast throughout their hour long set let me tell ya! The band still sounded very good indeed and were worthy of headliner status. Jools' vocals are not always to my taste on record but I must admit he was very good live and hit every note. Unfortunately the running theme of the night was technical difficulties and it was no different for WW. The guitarist broke a string and exited stage left as the band continued with more wisecracking and even playing a song or two guitar-less which was actually not that bad. In the end his guitar was not fixed and Degreed came to the rescue again with a working guitar. What we would have down without the Swedes.

WW soldiered on to the end of the gig and thanked the crowd profusely for turning out and apologised for all the problems but it wasn't their fault shit happens. Musically speaking the band is very skilled at playing keyboard led AOR with every song blessed with a memorable 80s style chorus. Oh and a nice cover of Unchain The Night at the end of the night. Of course there will be better nights this year but for a bargain tenner you can't go wrong and home in time for Match of the Day was a bonus!

Death to All live at the Underworld

The Death to All tribute gig was actually down graded from the Ballroom down the road to the smaller Underworld. As it turns out that was probably a wise move. Although I should point out that when the tour came here last they played the Forum and that's a 1000 plus venue so maybe ticket sales went a bit less good this time. Anyhow the Underworld was pretty solid and probably at close to capacity so probably around 400 or so.

There were a couple of support bands first. Loudblast the French tech deathsters were up first and they started off a bit mundane. Maybe they were playing new songs. The only album of theirs I like is Sublime Dementia. They sound a lot like Spiritual healing era Death on that album so an apt support act. They played Presumption from that album and it's a great tune. But they didn't play the awesome Subject to Spirit. Not bad but not great really.

Next up were Abysmal Dawn. These guys were not really my cuppa at all. I couldn't get a handle on any of their songs to be honest. I think I mostly feel the same about them on record if I remember correctly. They are more brutal and punishing than Death so not really a similar band at all. Not terrible but rather boring in the end and I couldn't really enjoy any of their tunes to be honest.

Finally it was time for Death to All and the crowd was super excited to hear them now. This line up consisted of Max Phelps on vocals and guitar and DiGiorgio on bass from the last DTA line up but with two new additions in Bobby Koelble from the Symbolic album and drum God Gene Hoglan. I must admit this line up sounded a bit better to me than the previous line up with Masvidal and Reinert.DiGiorgio's bass didn't distort at all like most bass usually does at the Underworld. The set list was flawless as well with a cool mix of old and new shit. Of course there's always a couple of tunes I would have liked like Flesh and the Power It Holds but damn every song was fucking magic. What a legacy of awe inspiring songs Chuck has left us. And thanks to the organisers of DTA for keeping Chuck's music alive with this awesome touring band. I hope they continue going and come to these parts again as their performance is legendary.

Steffen from Obscura took over from Max on 3 songs late in the set and to be honest those three songs were amazing and the spirit of Chuck flowed long and hard through those songs. Highlights of the night for me were Symbolic, Without Judgement, Zero Tolerance and the completely amazing Bite The Pain. There wasn't a wasted note although the night was slightly hindered by technical difficulties with Bobby's guitar which meant the night ended about 20 minutes after curfew but I don't think any one was complaining. What a gig this was. Death lives on with DTA and long may it continue!

The Philosopher
Leprosy / Left to Die
Suicide Machine
Overactive Imagination
Trapped in a Corner
1,000 Eyes
Without Judgement
Spiritual Healing / Within the Mind
Flattening of Emotions
Lack of Comprehension
Symbolic (with Steffen Kummerer)
Zero Tolerance (with Steffen Kummerer)
Bite the Pain (with Steffen Kummerer)
Encore:
Zombie Ritual / Baptized in Blood
Crystal Mountain
Pull the Plug

13 videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHYbVPU71kE&index=6&list=PL5lr1ObqZqBStMNvDmKXfa2j0ow86dqWP

Eclipse - Armageddonize - Review

I've felt the anticipation for Armageddonize building and building when I first heard that it was in the works for early 2015. As far as I'm concerned main songwriter and lead singer Erik Martensson can do very little wrong when it comes to hard hitting melodic rock. The last Eclipse album, Bleed and Scream was a complete monster of a record with no let up. To say this band don't do fillers would be doing them an injustice. I'll say it in a positive way - they only do ball busting, mountain moving, sky scraping anthems!

An EPK was released on youtube which hinted at the glory contained within the new disk with both Erik and guitarist Magnus indicating that they felt this was their best work to date and jam packed with melodies and heaviness. Magnus said that it was heavy as possible for straight rock whilst more melodic than ever. Boy was he ever right! I had high hopes for this disk of course and to be honest they have almost been surpassed. I never thought they could possibly top Bleed and Scream but by Jove they've come perilously close if not done it by a smidgen. This band just gets better and better with every note sang by Erik and every guitar riff and lick by Magnus bursting with pure energy all wrapped up in a fat juicy production providing pure ear candy.

This is an in depth review so I will rank each song separately in the next section.

I Don't Wanna Say I'm Sorry - Any Eclipse album has to have an incendiary start and this bad boy ain't no back burner! The opening riff near takes your face off with its mean and burning riff before Erik takes over with his tales of love gone wrong which seems to be quite a theme in Eclipse songs. The chorus is melodic as hell and is easy to pick up on and you'll be singing as you're air guitaring in seconds. The solo is understated and perfect from Magnus before the song soars headlong to a smooth conclusion with some nice woaah woahs to end. A brilliant start 9/10

Stand On Your Feet - After the opening chords - Woah - a stomping monster heavy opening riff bursts out of the speakers. One of the heaviest Eclipse riffs ever! Totally awesome and then here's Erik with one of his most impassioned vocals about believing in yourself after you've hit rock bottom. A chorus so brilliant and heartfelt with melodies to die for and riffs that pound like all hell. Eclipse in a nutshell. 10/10

The Storm - Starts off acoustically before Erik comes calling in with the line "This is an emergency..." giving you a small inkling to the hookline of the chorus. The song's first verse is so melodic it's almost unbearable and then that famiuliar this is an emergency hook reappears with other plaintive lyrics with a melody so sublime you can hardly believe he came up with it. A mid paced pounder of a song but totally incredible in my eyes. 10/10

Blood Enemies - This bruiser of a song starts off with a gorgeous, soaring lead solo and keys backing before all hell breaks loose with a grinding rock and roll type of riff and Erik screaming "Holy Mother" like his life depends on it and then repeating the chorus hookline Blood of the enemy a touch later. The melodies build up on one another like bricks and you just lose track of parts that you love. The lead solo returns for an awesome re-run a touch later whilst Erik rounds the song off with his awesome vocals. I can't find fault. 10/10

Wide Open - Surely you'd think they'll take a breather now and slow the pace or throw in a power ballad but not quite. Wide Open kicks in with pounding riffs and Erik's usual first verse magic blows you away before a more sedate chorus comes and the melody chills your spine like you won't believe. The "wide open, wide open" line is one you'll be humming in your sleep let me tell you. I marvel at Erik's ability to come up with choruses that are instantly memorable and Wide Open is no different. 9/10

Live Like I'm Dying - Finally a power ballad. It had to come after the intensity of the first five songs. However don't think that this song isn't intense in it's own right. Erik's vocals plead and yearn for breath like he's being emotionally drenched from his soul. The guy surely knows how to deliver an angst ridden vocal. The chorus is once again very memorable and you feel the passion seeping through every note. Personally not my fave type of song but every Eclipse album has a couple or one. The solo is tremendous though. 8/10

Breakdown - A slight departure for Eclipse going into bluesy Whitesnake territory. Erik does his best Americanised vocal stylings with a bluesy acoustic guitar for backing before a thunderous guitar riff breaks it up and the chorus is a catchy little ditty with Erik pleading humanities constant battles in life and facing breakdowns. This song reminds me of the recent H.E.A.T album which had a similar flavour. A nice chorus but not my fave song on the album by far, but it will have it's fans for sure. 7/10

Love Bites - Oh yeah back to fast paced riff mongering and attitude galore. I've said it before and I'll have to say it again Erik grabs you by the balls from the first syllable he utters. The first verse is chock full of melody already and then you get that oh so familiar Eclipsized rasp "Love Bites!!" chorus thundering into view with Erik sounding meaner than all hell. The solo that turns up towards shred like Yngwie but is far too short. It's all about the song with Eclipse not showing off musical skills. The song is all about energy, power and melody encapsulating the Eclipse sound to the full. 10/10

Caught Up In the Rush - A mid paced pounding riff before I'm repeating myself again. The first verse grabs you by the proverbials again and we're off into joyous melodic Eclipseland yet again. The song pounds a long with another juicy chorus with some nice backing lines to spice things up a little. Once again a very short and tasty solo from Magnus towards the end of this 3 minute gem. Im running out of superlatives now.. 9/10

One Life - My Life - I knew this was going to be a huge song from the title alone before I heard the song. The first verse is quiet before Erik's melodies fully kick into gear and the soaring One Life- My Life hook drags you kicking and screaming along with it's monster anthemic feel. A song to play loud and punch the air to. The Brilliance and simplicity captures the heart and sends your head spinning round and round. Another gorgeous Magnus solo at the end of course. 9/10

All Died Young - Surely you go out with a bang and yes they didn't let me down. Possibly the heaviest song on the album with the opening riff sounding almost power metal heavy before Erik does what he's been doing all album long. Kicking ass! The chorus thunders out with a singable melody and a mystical look at living life too fast and biting the dust. This song somehow reminds me of recent Helloween believe it or not though much more concise with all the fat trimmed off. Only the short length stops me from giving this a final 10/10 as I would've liked a more epic track to end on but as far as melody and heaviness goes it's up there on this masterpiece of an album. 9/10

The bonus track is an acoustic version of The Storm which is very good and sang with great emotion by Erik. Not as good as the electric but it's nice. Would've preferred an all jamming Eclipse monster but I'll get over it!

My final words for this album: Entering with expectations set to maximum and leaving astounded! Bleed and Scream was already unreal but this is one of the best melodic rock albums recorded in modern times. I really don't how they can ever top this. Have a good try though!

Wolf Live Report at the Underworld

Sunday night gigs are never my favourite but I didn't want to miss Wolf this time as I'm a huge fan of their current album Devil Seed so a ticket was purchased with much glee on my part. Finding out that Primitai would be the main support was also also a pleasant surprise as I'm a huge fan of theirs as well.

First up were a band I haven't heard of called The Heretic Order. Not knowing a band's songs is always quite a big hindrance to enjoying a band's music in the live arena and it proved no different on this occasion either. They were competent and played a dark sort of melodic death with cleanish vocals as well. They were some sort of satanic band or occult band as well. Playing a cover of Mercyful Fate's Black Funeral should reflect what angle they were coming from. Not a disaster.

Next were local Brit heroes Primitai. Second time seeing them although the first time was in the tiny Our Black Heart pub, this was a much better venue for them to flex their not inconsiderable muscle. Front man Guy Miller has a really powerful voice and showcased that to great effect. They played songs from all three of their albums but I only came on board with the latest CD. The earlier songs are ok but they don't do a huge deal for me. I was a bit bummed they didn't play more newer songs but ending with Scream When You See Us go the metallic juices flowing nicely. A good direct support to the Swedes make no mistake and a band that went down pretty well to the gathered 200 or so crowd.

Finally the roadies got the stage ready and the Wolf boys strode on and launched straight into Overture in C Shark before smashing headlong into the amazingly raging Shark Attack. Whilst the guitars were set to stun I unfortunately couldn't hear a single vocal from the right of the stage in the front row. I was hoping this would be a first song problem but alas it seemed to continue. When the guitars were pumping the vocals could barely be heard. This was the last night of the tour so I don't know if Niklas was having vocal issues or not but I could barely hear a word he was singing at times which dampened my enjoyment somewhat.

Musically speaking the band were spot on. The riffing was taut and precise with a lovely thick and crisp Underworld sound. They played a mix of tunes covering recent albums and going as far back as the brilliant Evil Star and Black Wings. I enjoyed the guitar interplay and fast riffs of songs like Genocide and the epic chorus of the mighty Evil Star immensely. I enjoyed the new songs most of though as they are the ones I am most familiar with at the moment. My Demon is just a wickedly catchy mid paced tune. Killing Floor is awesome as well with a chorus made to be sung out loud. The band sounded very tight indeed it's just a shame that from my vantage point I found the vocals almost inaudible at times though I don't quite know what the issue was in the end.

The singer Niklas is quite an engaging little dude with quite humorous stage banter, as I find with most Swedes, although some of their humour doesn't always translate so well to an English audience hehe. The guy is a wiry little whipper snapper as well when he takes his top off and you see he hasn't got an ounce extra on him as he's riffing and head banging away like a maniac. Wolf are quite an interesting band to watch and enjoy themselves thoroughly whilst on stage as well.

Overall a night of true metal goodness and riffs galore from all 3 bands. Wolf is a band I will catch again no doubt when they come calling this way once more. I am sure they are capable of much more on another night when the vocals are a bit better and more audible with the band firing on all cylinders.

Overture in C Shark
Shark Attack
The Bite
Skeleton Woman
My Demon
Voodoo
Night Stalker
Evil Star
Frozen
Hail Caesar
I Will Kill Again
Full Moon Possession
Skull Crusher
Venom

Encore:
Speed On
Genocide
Killing Floor

The Heretic Order

Primitai

Wolf

Queen with Adam Lambert at the O2

I finally stumped up the big wedge to go to the O2 for this one. I wanted to see if the boy Lambert could cut the mustard live. Well to be honest, whilst he obviously ain't no Freddie, he was pretty bloody marvellous. The only thing I would say is that his voice was a bit too clean even at times. Some of their rockier songs need a touch more grit that Freddie was able to deliver to make them more manly sounding. Adam's voice lacked that slight rasp but he truly is a fantastic young showman and with time can become a true rock singer should he choose that direction. For the record the band played a packed out 20,000 crowd for two nights in a row. I attended the second night and it was hell of a lot of fun believe and well worth the money which was £60 and I was only 3 rows from the top of the highest tier. 

Adam doesn't sing the whole show by the way. Brain May sings a couple of tunes acoustically and Roger even sings These Are The Days of Our Lives. Brilliantly I might add. Overall it was worth the price although I was sitting in the Gods as you can see by the pictures below. Anyway young Mr Lambert, you proved you belong on that stage with these legends of English rock and then some! Oh and one more thing I have to mention - Brain May - what a brilliant melodic guitar player he still is. The man has fantastic feel on his leads and never ever overplays. And finally Roger Taylor's son is also in the band and covers the songs Roger can't play cause he's either singing or tired. I said and finally but I should point out the stage and light show throughout the more than 2 hour set was superb. Great laser work. Actually reminded me of a Jean Michel Jarre show. The best songs were Opener One Vision which was brilliantly rocking, Bohemian, Another one bites, I Want it All, Radio Gaga(amazing lasers in this song) and plenty more.

One Vision 
Stone Cold Crazy 
Another One Bites the Dust 
Fat Bottomed Girls 
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited 
Seven Seas of Rhye 
Killer Queen 
I Want to Break Free 
Don't Stop Me Now 
Somebody to Love 
Love of My Life 
'39 
These Are the Days of Our Lives 
Bass Solo 
Drum Battle 
Under Pressure 
Save Me 
Who Wants to Live Forever 
Last Horizon 
(Brian May cover)
Guitar Solo 
Tie Your Mother Down 
I Want It All 
Radio Ga Ga 
Crazy Little Thing Called Love 
Bohemian Rhapsody 

Encore:
We Will Rock You 
We Are the Champions 
God Save the Queen 

Sabaton with Delain and Battle Beast Live Report

What better way to start the gigging year than with the mighty Sabaton and two great support bands in tow. This gig was a huge sell out and by the time the Swedish war machine hit the stage at 9.30 or so the downstairs was rammed and the balcony was similarly full. I had probably one of the best seats in the house for this gig, being sat in the front row at the top with a fantastic view of the stage. I had been looking forward to this gig for quite a while and I can safely report report that it was a stellar night all round.

First up were the brilliant Battle Beast, a band I have grown to love since the last album. It seems the Sabaton boys love them too as they covered a song of theirs on the last album as a bonus and now they've taken them out on tour. Quite right too as they are an amazing band and they proved it tonight in their short but sweet second support slot. Lead singer and gorgeous gal Noora has a set of pipes that would be the envy of many a man let alone woman singer in power metal today. I swear that chick can belt it out like a female Halford at times! The new album Unholy Savior is a great piece of work and perhaps not quite as good as the previous self titled album as yet, as it needs a little more time to work it's magic.

In the live format they actually aired quite a few new songs and all of them went down very well including even the controversially poppy Touch in the Night which I personally love and loved even more having heard it live now. Other new songs like Far, Far Away and especially the awesome Lionheart also really blew the roof off with Noora letting out some piercing roars and screams. Black Ninja always works well with it's slow pace and amazingly powerful vocals. They are already a great live band and I hope to see them do a headline date one day in a smaller venue where they can play a bit longer and really flex their muscles. For now, they were near enough the perfect warm up act for the mighty headliners.

Direct support to the headliners were Dutch symphonic metallers Delain. I must admit the latest Delain album whilst good is not exactly earth shattering for my taste but they are a very good live unit and have a divine singer in Charlotte Wessels make no mistake. And she proved it too with a quite awesome live performance in this show. Her vocals are a mix between operatic and normal singing depending on what the song calls for but they are always pretty much note perfect. The vocal mix was very loud as well allowing her to be heard as clear as a bell over her band mates. They got a good response from the crowd but I slightly sensed that this was definitely a Sabaton kinda crowd and some of the niceties and lalala symphonic elements were slightly lost on this crowd although they did go down well with a more than warm response in the end.

However much the crowd appreciated the supporting cast, the atmosphere was fully charged as the stage was readied and everyone was pumped and ready for the Swedes. We soon reached fever pitch as the parping keyboards of The Final Countdown started indicating we were at near lift off for the war machine to lay waste.

The stage set up was pretty elaborate with a drum riser that represented the front of a panzer tank and a huge Sabaton back drop and mass lights on either side. In fact this was one of the best lit stage shows your likely to see. The band is now big enough to spend a good deal of money on their show and it showed in Monday night's performance. The Sabaton set list is pretty much set in stone although with them having so many albums a couple of fan favourites had to get the cull this time. Particularly my fave tine Cliffs of Gallipoli which didn't make it this time but I've heard that live enough times not to worry too much. Of course they were also touring their latest album so we got plenty of tunes from that including my fave Soldier of 3 Armies which was plain awesome.

All of the other Sabaton anthems were aired with majestic gusto and the usual Sabaton gleeful abandon. There was plenty of Swedish goofing around as well but I think the band were genuinely very happy to be playing to this adoring crowd and the mass chorus singalongs were constant and non stop. The constant "Sabaton!" chants that erupted in between songs seemed to take Joakim aback but I know that he knew it was coming and he played up to the crowd somewhat, as the fans love for his band is pretty much endless. There's just something about this band that other bands seem to lack which makes them unbeatable in the live arena and the fandom and adulation shows no limit. They just seem to feed off the energy of the crowd and vice versa the crowd seem to get more frenetic and enthused as the gig goes on.

The gig continued to it's conclusion with the usual rendition of Metal Crue before the band took a final bow and left with the crowd's mass cheers still ringing in their ears. Many bands are loved by their fans but I don't really know of any other band which connects to this extent with their audience and generates so much joy and happiness for the ninety minutes that they are on stage. Altogether an awesome threesome of melodic heavy metal for the 1200 strong crowd and a great way to start the new year off and the weather was bloody horrible outside but who cared eh!

Setlist:

Intro - The Final Countdown
The March to War
Ghost Division
To Hell and Back
Carolus Rex
Soldier of 3 Armies
Gott Mit Uns (in Swedish )
The Art of War
7734
40:1
Far from the Fame
Resist and Bite
Smoking Snakes
(Chosen by the audience over Lion From the North)
Swedish Pagans
(Not on setlist, audience request)
Uprising
(Chosen by an audience member over White Death)
Encore:
Night Witches
Primo Victoria
Metal Crüe