Slash Live at Wembley Arena

Not being a big Guns or Slash fan I was rather surprised at myself for nabbing a ticket for this show but what the hell I went for it anyway. The Arena was rather packed to say the least for this Tuesday night gig. The new Slash album is admittedly rather good if a little patchy as there are just too many songs on it. If he had picked the best 12 it would have been a real ace of melodic rock/metal in 2014.

There were two support bands to get through and unfortunately I didn't like either. First one I don't even know and the second was California Breed led by Glenn Hughes. I like Glenn's vocals but unfortunately I missed their set completely as I don't like the band so I took the chance to mill around and drink a beer or two in the bar until it was time for Slash and co to take the stage at approximately 8.50pm as I noted.

The band broke into songs from the older Slash album first which I didn't recognise to be honest but the band sounded tight and Myles was straight away in fine voice. That guy has a sweet larynx indeed with a cool high pitched tone. Slash has picked a good'un there. The first song I recognised was Night train from GnR which I don't really even remember from way back but it was cool. World on Fire and started playing a couple of tracks from it. I was hoping for Withered Delilah but it wasn't to be. Still the title track was aired and ripped hard.

Of course most of the packed Arena were here for the GnR songs and eventually they got their wish. The band sounded very good and the sound in the Arena was pretty perfect. The bassist in the band took over for two songs from Myles and he had a pretty good voice as well and it was more or less seamless in the transition between the two singers. I was thinking they would play Welcome to the Jungle but they held that one back though I don't quite know why. It's probably my fave GnR song. Slash's solo spot was a bit excruciatingly long to be honest and was starting to really send me to sleep before it finally ended. The band played a long time so the crowd got their money's worth for sure. The band ended with a rousing and hugely cheered Paradise City to send the punters home happy. An ok but not brilliant gig and at least I've seen a GnR alumni at least one in my life.

You're a Lie
Nightrain
(Guns N’ Roses cover)
Standing in the Sun
Avalon
Back from Cali
(Slash cover)
Stone Blind
Double Talkin' Jive
(Guns N’ Roses cover)
Ghost
(Slash cover)
Doctor Alibi
(Slash cover) (Todd Kerns on lead vocals)
Out Ta Get Me
(Guns N’ Roses cover) (Todd Kerns on lead vocals)
30 Years to Life
Beneath the Savage Sun
Mr. Brownstone
(Guns N’ Roses cover)
Rocket Queen
(Guns N’ Roses cover) (Incl. 15min Slash guitar solo)
Bent to Fly
World on Fire
Anastasia
Sweet Child O' Mine
(Guns N’ Roses cover)
Slither
(Velvet Revolver cover) (with "Feel Like Makin' Love" … more)
Encore:
Paradise City
(Guns N’ Roses cover)

Symphonic Queen - At the Royal Albert Hall

A couple of weeks ago now I went along to see this Symphonic rock tribute to Queen's music at the Royal Albert Hall. I wouldn't normally go to a show like this but I managed to somehow win tickets for this event from work and for a freebie it was a pretty enjoyable evening. The show lasted close to 2 hours with an intermission in between. They London Symphony orchestra played all the famous Queen classics alongside a drummer, bassist and guitarist as well as the Metro singers providing vocal choirs.

The whole arranging and undertaking of the Queen back catalogue probably took a hell of a lot of work and the conductor and arranger should be given special mention for their efforts. I don't feel all of the songs really worked in a symphonic setting but the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody were just superb and other renditions such as Radio Gaga with it's anthemic feel were also great. All in all an enjoyable evening and much different than what I am used to. Since this concert I have bought a ticket to see the real thing with Adam Lambert at the O2. We'll see how that turns out in January.

Fave power metal songs from 2014

Well 2014 ain't quite over but I made this play list for a bit of fun. It's a run down of my 20 fave power metal songs from this year. Only one song per band.

Threshold Live Report at the Islington Academy

I believe this is my second time seeing Threshold live. The first time with the wonderful singer Mac who sadly passed away of course and now the second time with the returning singer Damian Wilson. I had been looking forward to this gig quite a lot as I love the new album immensely and was dying to hear how the new songs sounded live and boy did they sound good. But more on Threshold later. There were two support bands to get through one of which I've never heard and the second only fleetingly on youtube.

First up were Greeks The Silent Wedding. They play a sort of slightly melancholy version of prog metal with crooning vocals and slow to mid paced songs with lots of keyboard flourishes. Obviously I didn't know their songs and it was hard to gauge how they went down but I guess they were ok but not really anything special. The best song of their set was actually a pretty cool and faithful cover of Savatage's Gutter Ballet. Very nicely done and any band that covers Savatage is cool although their own material needs a bit of work to make it more catchy as it tends to meander along without much excitement. Not too bad overall though.



























































































Next up were Italian power metallers Overtures. I've heard a song or two on youtube from these guys and they were decent but nothing that made me go wow. However I must admit that they put on a very decent live show and have an engaging front man who interacts well with the crowd. His constant pleas for the crowd to boo Overtures and cheer Threshold was funny shit. The band sounded pretty spot on and maybe I should give them the time of day with their album to see if it can impress me. The singer definitely sounded very good live although somewhat accented. he did hit some seriously high notes throughout an the rest of his band mates were very impressive. In the end it's all about the songs and I'm not quite sure if Overtures have a brilliant and majestic enough arsenal to impress the power metal hordes out there but they sure made a decent fist of things last night and were a more more than able main support to Threshold although a different kind of style altogether.






































































































Finally at 9.30 or so it was time for the English kings of Prog to take to the stage with a very live wire Damian Wilson at the helm. The guy was on acid all night it seems! He was literally everywhere and he spent a god portion of the set down on the main floor in the crowd. Speaking of the crowd the Islington Academy was probably only half full but that's still around 300 or so which is not too bad at all for an unfashionable prog metal band. The band started with the catchy Slipstream and straight away sound tighter than a chicken's backside. the sound was super crisp and Damian's clean vocals came booming out of the PA with great effect. This was a very supportive and partisan crowd with a lot of singing and it seems Threshold fans are a very loyal bunch and I was surprised how much adoration they actually receive after each song and the amount of singing that goes on as well.

The band continued with The Hours before we got to hear more of the newer songs which I had been hoping for. Ground Control was amazing and very melodic. Both guitarist Groom and Morton were riffing and soloing like bona fide stars of the metal underground. Unforgiven was the first new song aired and was awesome as I suspected it would be in the live setting. Damian's vocals were truly superb on that one. Couple of older songs were aired which I was less familiar with so personally there was a slight mid set lull before Coda, Lost in Your Memory and Watch Tower on the Moon brought things back up to date with brilliant melodic intent.

The epic Pilot in the Sky of Dreams was started by Damian on the main floor as can be seen in my video. Another epic followed that with the amazing song The Box from the new album one of my favourite tracks and was sung to perfection by Damian. Mission Profile ended the main set in catchier melodic fashion before the band returned for a final encore of Ashes having played a near enough 90 minute set and gone past the curfew even.

Even at the end Damian jumped over the ledge and into the crowd to accept the applause and back slaps and took photos with the fans. The guy really puts everything out for the fans and respects the people that come to see his band play. To be honest Threshold were amazing last night and even better than when I saw them with Mac who was a far more reserved and less enthusiastic guy than the madcap Damian. He stole the show with a wonderful performance from start to finish. His vocals were superbly clear and his overall sparks of enthusiasm make the Threshold live experience something to treasure and to look forward to again and again.

Slipstream
The Hours
Liberty, Complacency, Dependency
Ground Control
Unforgiven
Siege of Baghdad
Part of the Chaos
Coda
Lost in Your Memory
Watchtower on the Moon
Pilot in the Sky of Dreams
Mission Profile
The Box
Encore:
Ashes

.

Savage Messiah Live Report

A quick revisit to the Upstairs room at the Garage for a fun evening with UK melodic thrashers Savage Messiah was what lay in store for me on a wet Tuesday night. The room was far more packed for the Vega gig on Saturday just gone than it was for the Messiah boys. Maybe about 60-70 turned up. Not a disaster but not great by any means.

First up were London based Beneath Dead Waves from whom I actually bought my ticket saving me £3 on the door price. So cheers for that guys. Musically they are OK but the gruff grunting of the front man I can't really take to at all. The riffing is fine and dandy but the songs are pretty hard to follow. Also the volume of tonight's gig was astronomical. Are you trying to make us deaf sound man? Beneath Dead Waves is just not my cuppa.

Next up were unheralded UK melodic thrashers The More I See. I actually really like these guys. Their album from last year was good but the one before was even better. They play very well and in Gizz Butt they have a shredding lead guitarist able to match the best in the thrash field. I enjoyed their voluminous set, thanks again sound man, quite a lot and at least the vocals didn't defer to stupid growling/screaming. Musically they were a very able and suitable support to the headliners being a band made of similar ilk.

I've seen Savage Messiah a few times now and they never disappoint. This was the first time as a headliner though so I was expecting their best show yet. The Fateful Dark is their best album by far and the biggest hits all played to blistering affect. Cross of Babylon is my fave and Hellblazer of course never fails to get the adrenaline pumping and necks snapping.

Front man Dave Silver is an engaging dude whilst the lead guitarist Joff Bailey shreds and pulls mean faces galore. The best songs were all the new ones although they did play a few older ones as well. The sound was once again monster loud and I was getting blasted in the front row but it was fun to see the band cutting loose with thrashing melodic abandon right in your face. They played a new song as well which fitted right in to their current set so it all bodes well for their next effort which could be their best yet although they'll have their work cut out trying to top The Fateful Dark. Savage Messiah are one of the UK's best metal bands these days and they deserved a far bigger turn out than they got but I guess thrash on a cold Tuesday just didn't appeal - oh well their loss!

Vega/Newman Live Report

Time for some prime time British melodic rock on a horribly wet Saturday night. But hell it's not an outdoor gig so we're ok! A near enough full little room for the Vega and Newman boys as well so I'm sure they were very pleased with the turn out and I must admit I was a touch surprised but I guess it being a Saturday helped on that score.

Anyway first up were British newcomers Shaft of Steel. The name of the band has you thinking heavy true metal but instead they play a breezy twin guitar led melodic rock/aor with slick guitars and high pitched vocals. They only played five tracks four of which are also on their Ep. They sound good live but the singer's voice is a touch on the whiny side for my taste. I prefer a slightly less nasal delivery myself. Musically they are spot on with nice flurries of melodic twin guitar and crisp solos all over the shop. Song wise they are fine too but they need to get the songs a touch shorter in my opinion with more memorable choruses. A good but not great start and they were pretty well received by the crowd.

Next up were Newman who are of course ably led by Steve Newman who is a stalwart of the UK melodic rock scene for many years now. I've always been a bit so so on Newman but I was completely won over by the two albums The Art of Balance and lately the awesome CD, Siren. I was perhaps looking forward to their set a little more than Vega's even and boy were they on top form. The guitarist had a punchy guitar sound and really let rip a few tasty solos. Front man Steve has a great tone to his voice and sang perfectly all night. The band is heavied up by the powerhouse drumming of Pete Newdeck and his added backing vocals help harmonise the songs really well. I enjoyed their set very much although I don't think they played any songs from Siren which is a shame although they might have done so don't quote me on that. They did finish quite late though at around 9.15pm.

Speaking of set times, something went drastically wrong somewhere as Vega's set started at around 9.20 and ended at 9.50 as there was a very strict curfew. I am not quite sure what happened but obviously the headliner slot should play for more than 30 minutes and it was disappointing but I enjoyed their short and sweet set. They rushed through as many songs as physically possible and Nick said they'd play the songs at double speed just to get through them! I actually think Nick Workman's vocals work better live than they do on record if I'm honest  and he did a sterling job and the band sound tight as hell too. I like the right hand side guitarist's lead style a lot, very cool indeed. I would have loved to have heard some more songs from Stereo Messiah but it wasn't to be. The venue's strict 10pm curfew put paid to that.

What we did get was performed well and with gusto but I could tell the band wasn't so happy to have such a short stage time. This was my first time seeing Newman and second time with Vega and I hope to see both again soon. Newman won this battle but Vega's day will come!