Friday night and another four band bill of thrash. The Underworld was pretty rammed all the way to the back. Destruction always draws big. Their new album kills so all the old school thrash heads turned out. Also helps when the support is decent.
Brazillian chicks Nervosa were up first and got a good response from the early crowd. I must admit I've never liked them on record but they sound pretty potent live and are of course a bit easier on the eye compared to old codger Schmier! Not a bad warm up!
Swedes Enforcer were up next. They are always full on and it was no different this time. Energy levels go through the roof. Very similar to Evil Invaders from the previous gig playing a Maidensque take on metal but at three times the speed! Full Metal Racket!
Main support were Flotsam and Jetsam and they were bloody awesome. They stole the night as far as I was concerned. I love the new album and the new songs sound immense live. Eric AK sounded good though a little low in the mix and I couldn't hear him that well at time. The guitars were absolutely blazing with thunderous riff after thunderous riff executed to perfection. Great performance
Finally the crowd was getting excited for the Teutonic German thrashers and they didn't disappoint. They may only be a trio but they make a perfect triangle of metal as far as I'm concerned. Schmier's vocals are as raspy and acid drenched as ever and the new album songs sounds killer live. People still wanna hear the old classics and they do sound super tight and good. Every one leaves happy and with smiles on their faces at the end. Thrash wins!
Friday, 14 October 2016
Suicidal Angels Live Report
Just a few short words about the gig. Four bands were on the bill. Spaniards Crisix were up first and they were pretty bloody awesome. Jumping mental thrash. Great stage moves by the front man and guitarists and neck ripping thrash. Crowd warmed.
Evil Invaders were manic and crazy! Fast as a bullet Maiden on acid! Very very energetic!
Skull Fist were not as good. The singer had a problem with his voice so some other dude was singing and his voice wasn't so great. A bit disappointing but still fun.
Suicidal Angels were tight beyond belief. They played the new songs at absolute maximum breakneck speed and the moshers work themselves up into a frenzy in front of the stage. They concentrated manly on Division of Blood but also of course some great old songs ending with two of their best in Moshing Crew and Apokathilosis, basically their Reign in Blood. Great night of thrashy, classic old metal!
Evil Invaders were manic and crazy! Fast as a bullet Maiden on acid! Very very energetic!
Skull Fist were not as good. The singer had a problem with his voice so some other dude was singing and his voice wasn't so great. A bit disappointing but still fun.
Suicidal Angels were tight beyond belief. They played the new songs at absolute maximum breakneck speed and the moshers work themselves up into a frenzy in front of the stage. They concentrated manly on Division of Blood but also of course some great old songs ending with two of their best in Moshing Crew and Apokathilosis, basically their Reign in Blood. Great night of thrashy, classic old metal!
Sunday, 18 September 2016
Power Quest Live at the Underworld
The return of the mighty Power Quest to the live arena was an event I was never gonna miss that's for bloody certain folks! When I heard that Steve Williams was resurrecting PQ after becoming disillusioned with the scene and the lack of support, I felt pretty happy since I have always enjoyed PQ albums a lot. Steve has a sense for melody that few song writers in power metal possess and I was glad he had gained enough momentum and will in the three years since the demise of the band to resurrect and rise like phoenix from the flames.
When I heard that the new singer would be Ashley Edison from Dendera I was even more happy to be honest. I have been following Dendera for quite a few years now and they kick unholy ass both in their recorded output and live too, so I had no doubts Steve had made the right call in hiring Ashley to sing. PQ has always had a number of singers in the past but I feel Ashley could be the best of the lot and so it proved with his superb performance of the songs, but more on that in a moment.
First support band were Reading trad metallers and of course my big faves, Primitai. The last two albums have seen them knock it out of the park twice in a row. They are fast becoming a live band to be reckoned with and in Guy Miller, they have a front man with the moves and powerful voice to keep up with the best in trad metal circles across Europe. The fact that the band is not bigger across Europe is criminal really. I don't know if that's by choice for the band, or that they just don't get the breaks, but there's bands who are much bigger but have half the talent and song writing ability. They played a short set mainly comprised of those muscular new tunes and a couple of older classics finished off with their set closing anthem Scream When You See Us. As usual they deliver live and then some and a great way to start the night off.
Next up were Norwich thrashers Shrapnel. I've actually been hoping to catch these guys live before but never made it for one reason or another. They have a strong technical bent in their songs and the rage is strong but the overly aggressive screaming vocals tend to draw back from the songs. They also had quite an average sound mix and every song pretty much sounded the same. I am looking forward to hearing their new record, but in the live setting it was a bit disappointing or at least ill-fitting compared to PQ and Primitai even if the singer did have a Rhapsody of Fire shirt on! A better middle support slot would have been the amazing Monument from London or even Savage Messiah but they were in America doing the ProgPower festival.
Finally after quite a long intro it was time for the all new Power Quest to take to the stage for a home coming show having thrown off the cobwebs the previous night in Derby. The Underworld was surprisingly well attended with a crowd of I would guess around 300 although it was a Saturday night. The sound was immediately much better and it turns out that Steve had flown in their own sound man for the gig. Steve's keys were particularly loud as you would expect, but all instruments were mixed pretty cleanly. The band launched into the one-two attack of Find My Heaven and Temple of Fire, two of their most well known and melodic songs which allowed the quite excited crowd to fist pump and sing along to the choruses.
In Ashley Edison, Williams has basically found the perfect vocalist for the latest PQ line up. The guy has a very clear pronunciation of lyrics and sings the songs with his own slant on things giving the songs a fresher flavour. In fact the band sounds better than ever and this was only their second comeback show and they have basically taken off from where they left off. One thing clearly noticeable was the camaraderie in the band with all members, the twins on guitars, feeding off one another making for a great live spectacle.
The awesome new track Face The Raven was of course played and sounded majestic live and bodes so well for when they finish the new album. They continued with further songs from their back catalogue which were all played with aplomb and perfectly executed. Steve Williams took the mic at one point and spoke at length about the comeback and how pleased he was with the return and honoured that the fans had turned out in good numbers to welcome them back. People from around the world had turned up it seems and even from Japan. Imagine coming all that way for a tiny band from England!
The band finally ended proceedings and were cheered to the rafters. I should point out that the Italian ex members in the band were out in full force and joined the band on stage for various duets and and solos including Alessio the original singer and Andrea the guitarist. Even Ashley's brother and band mate in Dendera, joined him on stage for a song and he actually has a really cool voice oddly enough.
All in all, a great night was had by all and it was a great welcome back for Power Quest. Now get on with the album guys we're waiting impatiently!
When I heard that the new singer would be Ashley Edison from Dendera I was even more happy to be honest. I have been following Dendera for quite a few years now and they kick unholy ass both in their recorded output and live too, so I had no doubts Steve had made the right call in hiring Ashley to sing. PQ has always had a number of singers in the past but I feel Ashley could be the best of the lot and so it proved with his superb performance of the songs, but more on that in a moment.
First support band were Reading trad metallers and of course my big faves, Primitai. The last two albums have seen them knock it out of the park twice in a row. They are fast becoming a live band to be reckoned with and in Guy Miller, they have a front man with the moves and powerful voice to keep up with the best in trad metal circles across Europe. The fact that the band is not bigger across Europe is criminal really. I don't know if that's by choice for the band, or that they just don't get the breaks, but there's bands who are much bigger but have half the talent and song writing ability. They played a short set mainly comprised of those muscular new tunes and a couple of older classics finished off with their set closing anthem Scream When You See Us. As usual they deliver live and then some and a great way to start the night off.
Next up were Norwich thrashers Shrapnel. I've actually been hoping to catch these guys live before but never made it for one reason or another. They have a strong technical bent in their songs and the rage is strong but the overly aggressive screaming vocals tend to draw back from the songs. They also had quite an average sound mix and every song pretty much sounded the same. I am looking forward to hearing their new record, but in the live setting it was a bit disappointing or at least ill-fitting compared to PQ and Primitai even if the singer did have a Rhapsody of Fire shirt on! A better middle support slot would have been the amazing Monument from London or even Savage Messiah but they were in America doing the ProgPower festival.
Finally after quite a long intro it was time for the all new Power Quest to take to the stage for a home coming show having thrown off the cobwebs the previous night in Derby. The Underworld was surprisingly well attended with a crowd of I would guess around 300 although it was a Saturday night. The sound was immediately much better and it turns out that Steve had flown in their own sound man for the gig. Steve's keys were particularly loud as you would expect, but all instruments were mixed pretty cleanly. The band launched into the one-two attack of Find My Heaven and Temple of Fire, two of their most well known and melodic songs which allowed the quite excited crowd to fist pump and sing along to the choruses.
In Ashley Edison, Williams has basically found the perfect vocalist for the latest PQ line up. The guy has a very clear pronunciation of lyrics and sings the songs with his own slant on things giving the songs a fresher flavour. In fact the band sounds better than ever and this was only their second comeback show and they have basically taken off from where they left off. One thing clearly noticeable was the camaraderie in the band with all members, the twins on guitars, feeding off one another making for a great live spectacle.
The awesome new track Face The Raven was of course played and sounded majestic live and bodes so well for when they finish the new album. They continued with further songs from their back catalogue which were all played with aplomb and perfectly executed. Steve Williams took the mic at one point and spoke at length about the comeback and how pleased he was with the return and honoured that the fans had turned out in good numbers to welcome them back. People from around the world had turned up it seems and even from Japan. Imagine coming all that way for a tiny band from England!
The band finally ended proceedings and were cheered to the rafters. I should point out that the Italian ex members in the band were out in full force and joined the band on stage for various duets and and solos including Alessio the original singer and Andrea the guitarist. Even Ashley's brother and band mate in Dendera, joined him on stage for a song and he actually has a really cool voice oddly enough.
All in all, a great night was had by all and it was a great welcome back for Power Quest. Now get on with the album guys we're waiting impatiently!
Saturday, 6 August 2016
Sunday, 17 July 2016
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.
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.
Sunday, 3 July 2016
A day out at Wimbledon.
Unfortunately the day was spoiled by rain, but I saw some play and spent a day sampling the atmosphere at the exclusive All England Club. Pimms set me back £8.30 for a cup! It tasted bloody good when the sun came out though! Some photos from the day.
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Testament Live at the Brooklyn Bowl
This gig was billed as Thrash n' bowl as it basically took place at a bowling alley which happens to have a large stage and standing area. The concept behind the venue is to have live music playing whilst groups of people bowl and have drinks. This actually took place whilst Testament was playing at ear splitting volume on stage! And the bowlers weren't metalheads either. Not sure they could actually enjoy their bowling whilst metalheads were going ape next to them.
A little bit about the venue. The Brooklyn Bowl as it's called is a very Americanised place with beers such as Brooklyn Lager and other novelty house beers. The BB is situated inside the O2 Arena complex underneath one corner of the 20,000 seat venue which just happened to have the legendary Barry Manilow headlining. Obviously there were lots of older clientele in the Arena looking disapprovingly at the Metalheads queueing up for Testament! Quite funny really hehe!
Two supports were listed first was a band I've never heard of called Broken Teeth and the main support being local heavyweights Savage Messiah who I was looking forward to see again immensely. Broken Teeth came on and were surprisingly OK by opening band standards. They had some decent nodding grooves going on and whilst the singer was just a regular tuneless growlers, he was actually quite cool to watch with his rocking moves. I need to check a song from these guys out on youtube.
Local heroes Savage Messiah were up next and the crowd had pretty much filled out to its maximum of about 500 or so which was by no means capacity. Savage Messiah sounded ace from where I was watching and they have songs like Cross of Babylon and Hellblazer in their arsenal so you can't go wrong there. Dave Silver the golden maned front man looks more and more like Dave Mustaine every time I see him and he even adopts Mustaine like poses all the time. I was waiting for someone to make a quip about Manilow and Mr Silver duly obliged, as he questioned whether we were at the right gig and shouldn't we be watching Mr Manilow next door! With the gig being on a momentous day for us with the in/out referendum taking place, Dave also said: "Today is a momentous day for our nation! Barry Manilow plays his final gig in the UK!" Gotta a few laughs that one hehe. SM got a very good reception for their short support slot as they finally left and the roadies got the stage ready for Testament.
I've seen these legends many times in the past and the live shows have always been incendiary. I found a very cool spot at the side of the stage but on a raised platform which allowed me a great view of the band. Over The Wall is a classic energetic opener and the band soon picked up the pace of the song whilst Chuck screams his nuts off belting the lyrics out. I always look forward to the cool and old classics whenever I see Testament and they never fail to deliver. DiGiorgio on bass is very audible in the mix and adds quite a subtle bit of melody to some of the thrashier tunes. The Preacher was superb as always mass woooaahss from the crowd to the guitar melodies. Dog Faced Gods was a monster heavy tune and perhaps the heaviest of the night.
Practice What You Preach and The New Order can never a fail a rabid thrash crowd and they bloody well don't this time either.
One of my absolute fave Testa tracks, Into the Pit followed with large pit action as always. Everyone head bangs and enjoys that one, it's just too much fun. Newer tracks were played which also went down as well but I'm not such a huge fan of though I really like Native Blood which Chuck always dedicates to his indigenous heritage and by the way it was also his birthday and he thanked the crowd for making it a great day for him. The main set ended with Disciples of the Watch, which is perhaps my fave Testament song of all time, well apart from maybe Trial By Fire which was sadly missing from the set.
A note about the security at this place. It was basically non existent. I don't think they are used to a metal crowd. Normally you have security standing in front of the barrier ready to catch crowd surfers. A guy crowd surfed to the front and there was no security to catch him. He literally fell in the photo pit as there was no one to catch him. I saw all of this as the guy fell he must've caught his head, as he finally walked down the photo pit and in front of me the guy's head was covered in blood and yet he was still going back in the pit! I tried to catch site of the guy later but I never saw him again. How can you have a thrash gig and have no security to catch people at the front?? And yet another fucking nutter still surfed but luckily for him he landed on his feet.
To end on a positive note I really liked this venue although the beers are typical O2 pricey but it's a nice spacey venue and I'd go again maybe next time I'll even bowl!
Over the Wall
Rise Up
The Preacher
Dog Faced Gods
More Than Meets the Eye
Practice What You Preach
The New Order
Into the Pit
Dark Roots of Earth
D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)
3 Days in Darkness
Native Blood
Disciples of the Watch
Encore:
The Formation of Damnation
A little bit about the venue. The Brooklyn Bowl as it's called is a very Americanised place with beers such as Brooklyn Lager and other novelty house beers. The BB is situated inside the O2 Arena complex underneath one corner of the 20,000 seat venue which just happened to have the legendary Barry Manilow headlining. Obviously there were lots of older clientele in the Arena looking disapprovingly at the Metalheads queueing up for Testament! Quite funny really hehe!
Two supports were listed first was a band I've never heard of called Broken Teeth and the main support being local heavyweights Savage Messiah who I was looking forward to see again immensely. Broken Teeth came on and were surprisingly OK by opening band standards. They had some decent nodding grooves going on and whilst the singer was just a regular tuneless growlers, he was actually quite cool to watch with his rocking moves. I need to check a song from these guys out on youtube.
Local heroes Savage Messiah were up next and the crowd had pretty much filled out to its maximum of about 500 or so which was by no means capacity. Savage Messiah sounded ace from where I was watching and they have songs like Cross of Babylon and Hellblazer in their arsenal so you can't go wrong there. Dave Silver the golden maned front man looks more and more like Dave Mustaine every time I see him and he even adopts Mustaine like poses all the time. I was waiting for someone to make a quip about Manilow and Mr Silver duly obliged, as he questioned whether we were at the right gig and shouldn't we be watching Mr Manilow next door! With the gig being on a momentous day for us with the in/out referendum taking place, Dave also said: "Today is a momentous day for our nation! Barry Manilow plays his final gig in the UK!" Gotta a few laughs that one hehe. SM got a very good reception for their short support slot as they finally left and the roadies got the stage ready for Testament.
I've seen these legends many times in the past and the live shows have always been incendiary. I found a very cool spot at the side of the stage but on a raised platform which allowed me a great view of the band. Over The Wall is a classic energetic opener and the band soon picked up the pace of the song whilst Chuck screams his nuts off belting the lyrics out. I always look forward to the cool and old classics whenever I see Testament and they never fail to deliver. DiGiorgio on bass is very audible in the mix and adds quite a subtle bit of melody to some of the thrashier tunes. The Preacher was superb as always mass woooaahss from the crowd to the guitar melodies. Dog Faced Gods was a monster heavy tune and perhaps the heaviest of the night.
Practice What You Preach and The New Order can never a fail a rabid thrash crowd and they bloody well don't this time either.
One of my absolute fave Testa tracks, Into the Pit followed with large pit action as always. Everyone head bangs and enjoys that one, it's just too much fun. Newer tracks were played which also went down as well but I'm not such a huge fan of though I really like Native Blood which Chuck always dedicates to his indigenous heritage and by the way it was also his birthday and he thanked the crowd for making it a great day for him. The main set ended with Disciples of the Watch, which is perhaps my fave Testament song of all time, well apart from maybe Trial By Fire which was sadly missing from the set.
A note about the security at this place. It was basically non existent. I don't think they are used to a metal crowd. Normally you have security standing in front of the barrier ready to catch crowd surfers. A guy crowd surfed to the front and there was no security to catch him. He literally fell in the photo pit as there was no one to catch him. I saw all of this as the guy fell he must've caught his head, as he finally walked down the photo pit and in front of me the guy's head was covered in blood and yet he was still going back in the pit! I tried to catch site of the guy later but I never saw him again. How can you have a thrash gig and have no security to catch people at the front?? And yet another fucking nutter still surfed but luckily for him he landed on his feet.
To end on a positive note I really liked this venue although the beers are typical O2 pricey but it's a nice spacey venue and I'd go again maybe next time I'll even bowl!
Over the Wall
Rise Up
The Preacher
Dog Faced Gods
More Than Meets the Eye
Practice What You Preach
The New Order
Into the Pit
Dark Roots of Earth
D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)
3 Days in Darkness
Native Blood
Disciples of the Watch
Encore:
The Formation of Damnation
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