Priest Feast

Going to see the legendary Judas Priest later on today at Wembley Arena along with the mighty Megadeth and Testament in support. I've never seen the Priest live but I have seen Halford band so I vaguely know what to expect. This is gonna be an exciting show and I can't wait to go and check it out. Three great legends of metal!

Lordi! Lordi! Lordi!

Went to see the Finnish rockmonstars for the first time on Thursday night and they did not dissapoint at all! I have been a fan of theirs for some time now and I managed to miss them last time they came to these shores, hence this opportunity was not one I was going to let go.

First we had two support bands. I didn't catch the name of the first band. They were like a mix of Marlyn Manson and some industrial glam band. They had this girl dancer on stage with them and she was real hot stuff. I thought I'd gone to Raymond's Revue Bar by accident rather than a rock gig! She was gyrating her assets mighty well through out their set. For the record I think the band sucked badly. I am just not into that type of music.

Sweden's Fatal Smile were up next and whilst they are a little more palatable for me than the first band I still couldn't get into them. They bascically want to be Sweden's answer to Motley Crue very damn badly. It worked up to a point and plenty of the crowd enjoyed them maybe but I was pretty bored by their average songs. They had big shout out choruses but the lack of melody was a big turn off for me personally. Anyway I would guess that almost all of the rather large crowd were here for Lordi and them alone.

They sauntered on at around 9.30 or so and bang they went straight into a couple of new tracks off the latest Deadache album which has actually taken it's time to grow on me. But live, I must admit the band are just hellishly fun. Mr. Lordi's vocals were perfect and the band is tight as hell, even playing through the thick weighty monster get up. Song after song the band played damn well with a fun approach. The sound was absolutely crystal clear throughout their set and I enjoyed it immensely. The songs themselves are seriously catchy and bouncy, with Mr Lordi leading the crowd with his funny hand gestures whilst the other members strut around acting ghoulish and no doubt grinning like maniacs underneath their masks. I must admit I enjoyed the stage props in between the songs. Yes it was very cheesy but I didn't expect this. I just thought they would sing the songs but they actually go to some trouble to create some macbre and gruesome though obviously tongue in cheek fun for the audience. I bet if they did a Halloween gig that would be something special and they could really go overboard.

I can't remember a set list exactly but all the hits were present and correct including my favourite Would you love a monsterman? The set of course ended with their Eurovision winning crowning glory, Hard Rock Hallelujah with every one belting out the chorus.

The Finnish monsters are just a lot of damn fun. Don't take it too seriously and enjoy the great catchy songs. High recommended for any rock/metal fan to see at least once.

Dark Moor - Autumnal

This album has blown me clean out of the water. Dark Moor's latest is extremely ambitious and has pretensions to be as over the top as possible and they don't fail either. This is the album Luca should have made with Rhapsody last time. They have the perfect mix between metallic elements and the overblown symphony. The ideas and sounds on display are truly breath taking at times. There is just so much going - so many atmospheres filled with wonder and awe. This is proper film score metal but never at the expense of the song. This is a phenomenal symphonic power metal release and is not fixated with speed as you might imagine. The only slight qualm I have is with the singer, who has a good voice but not a magical voice. There is no problem for the choral arrangements which sound huge but when he's singing the verses, he can sound a little flat at times but I am being super critical when I say that. He's a fine singer but he needs more of a persoanlity to his singing style which would enhance the songs immensely. Someone like a Khan perhaps?

The songs are not throw away or immediate and need repeated plays in order to grow on you but the good thing is that every new listen will bring you that something extra. Swan Lake is a magical operatic opener that borrows the theme from the famous ballet. On the Hill of Dreams borrows a melody theme from Phantom of the Opera and sounds abosolutely wonderful. Don't Look Back is perhaps my favourite song of the album. The operatic backing woaaahhhs are truly mesmerising. The guitar and keyboard interplay towards the latter half of the track are also immensely satisfying. When the sun is gone is very much a homage to Rhapsody with it's dark brooding atmosphere leading to an over the top anthemic chorus belted out like there's no tomorrow. For Her is the next amazing song on offer for us from Dark Moor and what a song indeed. Glorious shards of melody flows and tumbles out of the speakers topped off with a melodic, spine tingling chorus from the gods.

This is the type of album that needs room to breathe before it will reveal it's charms for you - but there is magic in there like you won't believe. The melodies will slowly sink their sharpened teeth into you and you'll be hooked. I doubt you will be able to find anything better in the symphonic power metal style in 2009. The grand haunting melodies are just immensely satisfying alongside the epic symphonic soundscapes. Listen with headphones and prepare for one hell of a ride. What an amazing album!

Ebay Auctions

Please take a look at my Ebay auctions if you happen to pass my blog. I haven't sold CDs on ebay in an age, but I've decided to have a bit of a clear out. I dn't hold out much hope of many bids or sales but you never know. There's also quite a list of all my old VHS tapes which are surplus to requirements as I no longer have a VHS player and I'm not a cellector either so they all need a good home as well. Though once again the chances of many sales are remote but you never know. There's some cool stuff there even in the CDs and well worth a look at least and all auctions start at 99p.

My ebay auctions

End Zone - First Bequest

Came across this cool Russian power/thrash band. Check their debut album - I think it's very good for fans of Helstar styled technical power/thrash metal. They play very fast and pretty melodic at the same time.

http://rapidshare.com/files/192935225/end_zone_-_first_bequest.rar

Snow

The cold white stuff came down a bit....and then some. Couldn't get to work at all. No buses and no trains. Oh well stay home and listen to metal!

Got 3 gig tickets

Got 3 tickets for forthcoming gigs. Lordi, Hammerfall and Hardcore Superstar. The Hammerfall support is the almighty Sabaton who are of course my favourite active power metal band in the world today. What a night that will be indeed. Before then of course I have Lordi for the first time and then Priest Feast at Wembley Arena. I saw Hardcore Superstar at the ULU last year and they rocked damn hard. Therefore the return gig is well worth attending again cause they went down an absolute storm. They are one of the best exponents of modern glam rock that I've ever heard. I don't normally like Glam but Hardcore Superstar are hard to resist.

The Scousers beat the Chelsea 2-0. United sneaked past Everton 1-0 last night so the pressure was on both teams today and the game was heading for a 0-0 stalemate until a Torres double secured all 3 points for the lucky Scousers. The ref made a monumental howler in sending off Fat Frank and even so the game was heading for a no score draw until the 88th minute. I guess that's why the game lasts 90 minutes and the added time. The Chelscum will feel very hard done by though and I get the feeling Fat Frank's red card will be rescinded. It was a truly disbolical decision and laughable. Anyway a draw would have been a perfect result for United but I guess if we win the game in hand we will still be 5 points clear and that's a nice lead at this stage.