Cats in Space

First time seeing the Cats at the Borderline although they seem to be a bit of a fixture at the venue although they did have to cancel a gig due to one member having a dodgy ticker at the start of the tour. This was the last night of the tour and a triumphant end no doubt with a very decent turnout of over 200 with the Borderline pretty full.

First band was Kaato, a young looking bunch with one foot firmly in the 80s glam scene. The singer had a very high pitched voice that was on the sleazy side for my taste. A couple of their songs were pretty heavily riffed affairs and I quite enjoyed those. They they resorted more regular sleazeballs which were not exactly my cuppa. But they weren't actually that bad. I'm not sure they are really a suitable support for the more grown up Cats in Space fans though.

Anyway at 9pm the Cats took to the stage and sounded bloody great almost from the word go. I am not familiar with the band enough to know their names but they sounded like long in the tooth pros who had been doing the rock game for years. Lead singer sounded bloody great too with great vocal melodies. I am not so familiar with the first album and it's only with Scarecrow that I finally became a Cats fan so to speak. I do know Mr. heartache from the debut though and I must admit all the songs from the debut sounded as good if not better than the songs I know from Scarecrow.

The band sounded great no doubt and everyone was enjoying them and singing a long when they could. I love the energetic moments in certain songs like Timebomb and the epic title track Scarecrow. I get a Uriah Heep vibe from them at times. The keyboardist is a bit of a showman too though I couldn't see him too well from my vantage point. Special mention for the great harmony vocals provided by the bass player which were spot on. So there you have it. cats in Space are a great band and make effortless epic pop/rock music that anyone with a taste for classic melody can enjoy.
Don't miss them live if you get a chance.

Too Many Gods
Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Last Man Standing
Unfinished Symphony
September Rain
Scars
Timebomb
Scarecrow
Mr. Heartache
How Does It Feel?
(Slade cover)
Broken Wing

Encore:

The Greatest Story Never Told (inc. Andrew Stewart solo)
Five Minute Celebrity

As Lions Live Report

As Lions is the new vehicle for Austin Dickinson, yes his dad is Bruce in case any one reading this didn't know. His previous band was Rise To Remain and they were a melodic metalcore band. They've fully abandoned that style for a streamlined melodic modern rock motif and they are all the better for it. Of course you might lose the metalcore kids but you'll gain a whole heap of new fans that need melodic hooks in their music. Their new album has some excellent melodic song writing and very solid vocals from Austin himself although he does sound a bit boyish at times.

Two support bands were billed. First was Shadows Into Light. never heard of them obviously. The singer was on the main floor the whole time whilst singing. Sometimes rolling around on the floor in anguish as the band remained on stage. Not knowing their songs proved a bit difficult enjoyment wise but this kind of post grunge angst isn't really my cup of tea.

Main support were Brutai. They've been making a few waves in the underground with their brand of melodic modern metal. They mix vocals from screams to cleans and use stop start djenty riffs and dreamy keyboard swathes as well. They went down a bit better but still this is not the kind of music and old man like me can get into. I need stronger vocal melodies and memorability and was waiting for As Lions to provide that for me.

Finally Austin and the boys came on and launched into opening cut from their new album Selfish Age. The crowd had filled out a little more to a respectable 100 or so by now and so the As Lions fan club was in full show and effect as they sang all the words back at Austin. Of course they played the whole of their debut album in random order plus the EP. The set wasn't long but the album is not long as a whole as most of their songs are radio friendly lengths. Austin sounded very good for the most part but he was sick apparently. The band sounds good but not as amazing as they do on the cd.

Austin himself can't quite capture the perfect melodic vibe that he does on record but the crowd was loving it anyway and Austin has quite a few of his dad's mannerisms with his animated stage presence. He's definitely a confident lad. Selfish Age is a great start for the band too and the next album should be something even bigger and grander. best songs were Aftermath, White Flags, World on Fire and Selfish Age.

One thing I will say though is that Austin needs to cut out the OTT swearing on stage. It's not that cool to drop regular F Bombs like it's going out of style. The album is great but live they have room for improvement but I'll still be playing these songs come the end of the year, they are that good.

Black Sabbath Live @ the O2 Arena

Well this was my first and last time seeing the legend that is Black Sabbath. Granted the opportunities to see them in the past have been fairly few and far in between but I've never purposefully sought them out as a band that I definitely must see. I've always respected BS but I can't say I've really been a huge fan but I have liked numerous songs enough to show great respect to the band.

With this tour billed as The End I thought let me buckle down and go and see them. Sure their best times have long gone but this'll be it and the opportunity will never arise again. The ticket price ended up costing me a hefty £70 in total which was a bit eye watering to say the least but I paid, shut up, and bared witness to some classic riffs.

I missed the start of openers Rival Sons sadly. I thought they were coming on at around 7.40 but they must've already played a few songs as I took my seat. I must admit I liked these guys when they supported another legend, Deep Purple, in this same arena a year or so back. They sounded right at home as an Arena classic rock band and it was no different last night. They have a great soulful singer to boot. They are like Sabbath's less neanderthal and more soulful cousin basically. Strangely when I tried the band's studio material I found it a bit pedestrian and so so, but they come to life in the live arena that's for sure. They have a natty set of tunes and some cool swaggering riffage and some Hammond as well to give you the Purple or 70s angle. Good set!

Finally at the reasonably early hour of 8.15 the intro video was played on the curtain covering the stage and it dropped to reveal that familiar creepy intro to the band's self titled song. The band is fairly static and grim faced it must be said. You won't get too many smiles out of these grim overlords of dark metal that's for sure. But I guess this ain't exactly happy music!

As the band progressed through the doomy opening track I started to believe the hype. This tour has been getting rave reviews for the performance of than band an in particular Ozzy's performance on the mic. I'm not saying he was up to the level of his younger days but for a shuffling old fool approaching his 70th birthday he wasn't half bad at all. he sounded dreary and doomy as his voice boomed across the hall. He still has that dodgy gait about him and some of his kid jumps and stamps are still hilarious to watch but he knows how to work a crowd that's for sure.

The setlist consisted of no new material at all and in fact all these songs were recorded in the 70s. This is understandable since Ozzy is the front man and it wouldn't be the done thing to sing newer material but one track from 13 is not so impossible is it? Not that I like 13 but I just want to hear how it would have sounded.

In any case as I said the band sounded excellent indeed. Iommi needs no introduction from me now does he! The man is the originator and true legend of the riff! Every Sabbath song is blessed with either a monumentally memorable riff or a great rollicking groove. They even played a nice riff medley in the middle which was very cool to hear. The new young drummer is very good too. He had an extended drum solo to show off his skills.

Songs of the night where the intricate and progressive Into the Void, War Pigs with mass sing along by almost the whole of the Arena, Iron Man with it's catchy unearthly riffs and roaring groove and the rollicking, hammering set closer Children of the Grave.

Of course they encored with Paranoid and we said one last goodbye to these legends. They've still got another show to play here tomorrow and two more hometown shows in Birmingham but for my first and last ever Sabbath show I have to hand it to them. Their bodies maybe beat, and the fire for heavy metal maybe diminished somewhat, but they don't half still make a monstrous sound. Farewell to the true originators of heavy metal - Black Sabbath.

Black Sabbath
Fairies Wear Boots
Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes
After Forever
Into the Void
Snowblind
War Pigs
Behind the Wall of Sleep
N.I.B.
Rat Salad
Riff Medley, including Supernaut
Iron Man
Dirty Women
Children of the Grave

Encore:
Paranoid

Iced Earth headling MTV's Headbanger's Ball

My 30th and final gig of 2016 saw a mixed bill celebrating MTV's legendary old show. Four bands made up this tour which had been in Europe and would return after the London show. The venue was one I had never been to before but I would say it's about as big as the Scala maybe a touch bigger.

As I said four bands made up this bill and they were all very different from each other. First up were Unearth, the American metalcore bruisers, followed by Canadian Death metal stompers, Kataklysm, main support were Vikng metal heroes Ensiferum with the bill being headlined by American power metal vets, Iced Earth. Quite a diverse bill indeed and something for most fans.

As I walked in Unearth were already well into their set. The crowd was sparse and about a 1/3 full but I guess many hadn't bothered with Unearth. I recall liking an album from these yanks many moons ago but now I'm not bothered. It's just metalcore, I have no real interest. They actually sounded ok but they used all the metalcore cliches to the full so I wasn't fussed that I only saw three songs from these guys.

Next up were Canuck heavy bruisers Kataklysm. I think I have liked a few of their songs in passing with their heavy barrage of riffs and double bass but I wouldn't call myself a fan at all. They played solid but their songs don't excite really but they have that heavy, slow headbanging groove thing down to a fine art and when the main man says "Bang your fuckin' heads!" Everyone does more or less. They went down well with the filled out crowd but it wasn't really my cuppa.

Main support Ensiferum is a band I've seen a couple of times at least over the years and they never disappoint live. This year's album didn't really move me but they are a great live act to be sure as the Irish say. They have a much cleaner and more melodic sound and it's easy to be taken in by the sing along tunes like In My Sword I Trust and the general grin inducing music. They got a great response from the pretty packed crowd as they finally left to much applause. Ensiferum is one of those Viking bands that you're always guaranteed a good time with and it was no different on this occasion.

Finally at just about 9.45 the Iced Earth intro begins and it's time to Travel in Stygian! Well we didn't actually get that song of course but you get my drift! Iced Earth sounded very heavy and much louder than the other bands. The bass especially was booming and jarring. I'm gonna sound old here but there's a point when music is so loud it just sounds a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless the band sounded very good especially on the thumping great Burning Times.

Stu Block does his usual best Barlow impersonation whilst Schaffer gets the riffs pumping and the other guitarist does the leads. Highlights of the night were The Hunter, which never fails with its insistent melodic chorus. Pure Evil was played at breackneck speed and was another huge hihglight. Dystopia was also a rapidfire work out in power/thrash mayhem. The band ended with Watching Over Me which was dedicated to a friend of the band that had died so was quite emotional and was sang by the whole crowd. I missed hearing the band's namesake song Iced Earth which they normally end with but this was a curtailed set due to time constraints. A good if not amazing end to a long gigging year.

Last year I managed 42 gigs which for me was a colossal amount that I couldn't match this year but 30 gigs is still pretty good going. Roll on January and more live action!

Axel Rudi Pell live at the Underworld

I've been looking forward to this gig for a long long time since I am a huge fan of Axel's singer Johnny Gioeli from his early days in Hardline and his now quite long tenure in the ARP band. The guy has the kind of hard hitting, hard rock voice that few can match in the modern age in my opinion. Before arriving I had it in my mind that the show would be rather averagely attended but how wrong I was! The Underworld was I would say more than 3/4 full though not rammed. Probably close to 500 at a guess which is a very healthy turn out for a Sunday. I guess the melodic hard rock loving crowd have been starved of this kind of band and turned out in impressive numbers to show their appreciation.

I had my usual pre-gig Chicken Shish opposite the venue beforehand and it always goes down a treat and sets me up nicely for the rest of the night so to speak. I entered the venue at 7.30 and saw that Mad Max, the only support of the night, were due on at 8pm sharp so I settled on a decent vantage point stage right, as I'm looking and waited for Mad Max. To be honest I've only heard a few of their songs and have yet to hear any music from their new album Another Night of Passion. The German old timers strode on at 8 sharp and started off on their typical Germanic hard rock without much aplomb. Their basic chugga chugga hard rock riffs were ok but nothing really excited me too much. They were solid and an able warm up for Axel and co no doubt but not knowing the songs well hinders one's enjoyment somewhat. However the new tunes aired were cool enough for me to investigate further. Their guitar sound was rather heavy and perhaps a touch heavier than the head liners even, who of course are a one guitar band. Mad Max were decent but they just don't have the big melodic hooks that ARP has though they were enjoyable like I said.

At around 8.40 or so their set ended and the roadies got the stage ready for ARP. I must say that Mike Terrana's drum kit was one of the most extensive and impressive I have seen on the tiny Underworld stage. It took some assembling but finally the intro music started over the PA around 9.20 or so though I wasn't checking my watch exactly. The band took to the stage to a warm welcome from the rather packed Underworld before Johnny Gioeli finally ran on to the stage like the Tasmanian Devil himself! The guy was like a whirling, air guitaring ball of fired up energy as he got stuck into opener Ghost in the Black which was not a song I immediately recalled to be honest, but it was a cool as hell ripper anyway. The sound was pretty heavy and crisp and Johnny sounded immense and cut through the mix sharp as a pin with a slight echo effect on the mic which was pretty cool. Mr Pell cut an understated figure in comparison to Johnny and had the odd smile but he mainly settled down to play the riffs and solos to perfection. Ferdy and Volker on Keys and bass respectively looked happy especially Ferdy who is a bit of a character to say the least. Terrana on drums was a complete powerhouse. The guy is just a pounding machine on his drums with cymbal slams and snare blasts galore and he looks like he jumped in a swimming pool there's that much sweat pouring off the guy. He really nails the songs to perfection and gives them the heavy backbone that they need.

Having said all that this show and band is all about front man Johnny Gioeli. They guy's performance as a singer and happy go lucky front man was really something to be hold. Constantly smiling and gesticulating and air guitaring when not singing, and when singing pulling out heart stopping powerhouse vocals which are even better live than they are on record. He has quite a different tone when singing live than in the studio with a more acidic bite to his vocals which makes the songs sound much heavier and better still. Strong As A Rock is one of the best and catchiest ARP songs of the Johnny fronted era and was sung back at Johnny very loudly indeed. Before I die from the new album was awesome with it's slightly funky groovy vocal lines. Awesome stuff indeed! The Masquerade Ball was the first epic of the nigh which was turned into a sort of medley with two other songs in between. The chorus of TMB is deadly awesome and was sung loud and proud by the crowd. The end of the song saw a few bars of Whole Lotta Love which was kind of cool and unexpected.

Then we had Terrana's drum solo with him going nuts and sweating like the chief sweater at world sweat championships! I'm not into drum solos but I guess it's not rock'n'roll unless you have one. The title and brilliant track Mystica from the album of the same name was up next with it's brilliant, awe inspiring chorus sung with spine chilling power by both Johnny and the crowd. The end of the was turned into Purple's Mistreated which was again a slight surprise but the crowd seem to love it or at least the Purpleheads did.

Next up was the epic title track of the new album and was again very cool although the song is not really my fave on the new album as I need to listen to it a little more although the repeated chorus does get under your skin after a while. Fool Fool was brilliantly catchy and sung damn well and with a large contingent of the crowd singing along to it's happy chorus. The last song of the set proper was one of the best and most anticipated ARP songs ever, namely Carousel with it's wonderfully catchy chorus and glorious tempo and general brilliance. Johnny's voice on this epic was stupendous I must say. What a sheer brilliant display of melodic hard rock vocals from Yankee boy!

Not one but two encores followed with Tearing Down the Vocals providing us with a great energetic fast paced rocker which was followed by I guess the oldest song of the night with the catchy title track from Nasty Reputation back when Rob Rock was in the band I believe. Very catchy song that I haven't heard in a long time although I do own that particular CD.

They left the stage again but the crowd asked for more and the band returned to hit us one more time with the anthem Rock The Nation with it's super catchy sing along chorus with full crowd participation of course.

My only gripe about the whole evening was that some of the solo spots could have been shortened and the extended medley with covers lessened or dropped to allow a couple more of their own tunes to be played. Other than that this was an awesome gig no doubt and the ARP band is one I highly recommend seeing live as they really play from the heart and in Johnny Gioeli they have a hard rock vocal God to be proud of and for me the best singer there's ever been in the ARP and there's been some great ones with JSS and Rob Rock. Johnny's live vocals are something else, being full of emotion, with power to spare and a great showman to boot, making the ARP live experience one to remember.

Set list and photos:

The Guillotine Suite 
Ghost in the Black 
Strong as a Rock 
Before I Die 
The Masquerade Ball / Casbah / Dreaming Dead 
(incl. snippet of 'Whole Lotta Rosie' by Led Zeppelin)
Drum Solo 
Mystica / Mistreated(Deep Purple cover)
Circle of the Oath 
Fool Fool 
Keyboard Solo 
Carousel 

Encore:
Tear Down the Walls 
Nasty Reputation 
Encore 2:
Rock the Nation