Pirage Forsi's Metalopolis

Friday, 18 March 2011

Accept and Wolf Live Report

Can't count myself as a fully fledged member of the Accept fan club but since the comeback album was so immense, I had to venture out to this gig in case the earth shook and boy did it shake! This gig clashed with Turisas down the road so there was competition alright as far attendance goes, however the Accept guys are a big enough draw in their own right now and the Garage was pretty solidly full with I'd guess around 500 or so metal hearted warriors.

First up were killer old school heavy metal heroes, Wolf. Been loving these guys since the first album and the new one is not too far away either. Seen them live before and they were pretty cool. These guys love galloping away in Maidensque fashion and then some of course and that they did for the duration of their 45 minute set. They played songs from their latest albums in the main plus a couple of older songs. The sound was clear enough for a support band although the vocals sometimes got lost. I think they went down well with the older Accept crowd and made for a great pairing. As the singer quipped from stage, "We even named our band after the guitarist in Accept!" which raised a few horns of course. I enjoyed Wolf's set a lot and it was fun to nod along to the cool riffs and gallops.

After they left the roadies got the stage ready for Accept and after a fairly long wait of around half an hour the lights went down and it was time for the old German warhorse to lay waste and what wasting! The sound was absolutely huge and yet crystal clear. It sounded 10 times louder than Wolf and much crisper and I thought the Wolf sound was actually good. This sound completely dwarfed that!

They started the set with new songs off of Blood of the Nations and boy did they rock like a beast. The band looks ultra lean and mean these days and in Tornillo they have a front man who I can stomach much more than Udo to be honest. I have mainly been unable to get into Accept as a band due to Udo's unique and nauseating snarls, but this Tornillo character I find much more palatable. Granted he's not a million miles away from Udo in gruffness but his voice just doesn't grate as much as Herr Dirkschneider does.

Anyway the band was in shit hot form all night. Crisp, groove-some riffs, mean and moody headbanging stares from Wolf and taut angular bass thumping from the bass dude. The bass sound was very tight and high in the mix and almost crunchy. There was a great guitar and bass duel in one of the songs, I forget which and it was very cool to witness that. The new songs sounded immense live as if they didn't already on plastic.

Accept had the crowd eating out of their hands basically and whilst some say this isn't really Accept without Udo, I don't really share that view since the real Accept never meant that much to me in the first place. The more familiar songs such as Breaker, Restless and Wild and the immensely catchy Metal Heart near enough blew the roof of the Relentless Garage. The band just sounds like a tight, well oiled machine with not a note out of place. Son of a Bitch with it's stupid lyrics had everyone singing along with venom and was hellishly fun. Princess of the Dawn was the melodic highlight of the set.

At the main set's end the crowd chanted vociferously for an encore of course and they weren't disappointed. Three of the band's biggest anthems and songs which I suppose are synonymous with the Accept live gig were played, ultimately ending with their most well known song which I actually have never really been a fan of hehe. But heck it was miles better live than it is on record. I still wouldn't call myself an Accept fan but I must admit that they really deserve all the praise coming their way with this comeback. Udo fucked up!

Thursday, 10 March 2011

Lazarus A.D and Bonded By Blood Live Report

First of all Chicken Shish and Chips must be had and then some! Pretty close t Islington Academy there's a nice junk food shop. He does a lovely Shish let me tell you!

Then it was off to the Academy 2 the smaller brother of the main venue. The attendance last night was pretty poor but the place barely holds 200 or so. I'd guess about 60-70 diehards turned up and I was one of 'em of course! Thrash or be damned!

Four bands were on the bill. First up were this heavy as lead groovy swamp monster band called Kill The Machine with a huge bloke on the mic bellowing away. Their riffs were drenched in mud and swaggered and grooved away like there's no tomorrow. They sounded a bit like Crowbar. They were ok for my taste but not that great but solid.

Next up was Abadden. I enjoyed their thrash throwback album from last year. T'was a good'un. They are a young looking energetic bunch and played rip roaring thrash. The sound didn't help them too much unfortunately. Lots of energy and mental head banging and a good response from the 5-6 man moshpit hehe! I didn't get into them that much for some reason. Better luck next time boys.

Next up were Hispanic LA crew Bonded By Blood, my main draw for tonight. They had a new frontman and a new bass player and the band seems improved all round. These guy are so fucking tight it hurts. They rip shred and groove like there's a fire in the house and they need to get out! The sound was crisper though not perfect which meant some of the more intricate and technical aspects of their riffing sometimes got lost in the mix.. These guys were still awesome though and got a good response from all the thrash diehards. This is the second time I've seen them and they just get better so hopefully their next album will be ever better still.

Finally it was time for Lazarus A.D. whose new album is so so for me. I like their previous album a lot but the new one has some modern groove elements which sit less well with me. The sound was ok though still a touch too loud and muddy for such a small venue. When these guys play fast I love it but when they groove and slow down it doesn't quite work for me. Their set was well played and pretty tight overall with a couple of stand out highlights that got some frenzied headbanging going on from most of the crowd. The lead singer and bassist thanked those who bothered to turn up profusely and got loud cheers in response. Lazarus A.D. were solid and got the job done on what is the first night of their European tour so I'm sure they'll get better and tighter as the tour goes on.

A cool underground thrash night with a small attendance but who cares cause you can't beat a dose of solid head banging thrash metal!

Tuesday, 8 March 2011

Bought 5 gig tickets

Spent £93 on tickets for forthcoming gigs. An average of £18.60 a gig for a ticket delivered to the door. I can't quite figure out in my mind if this is reasonable value for 5 separate gigs or is it a bit too much. Anyway what's done is done.

Here are the gigs

Thursday, 17 March - Accept + Wolf. Accept for the first time. Seen Wolf before.
Tuesday, 22 March - Symphony X + Power Quest. If a band other than Power Quest had supported I wouldn't have gone I must admit.
Friday, 1 April - Paradise Lost playing Draconian Times + Ghost. Seen PL many times. Playing their best album in full makes this an event worth attending.
Saturday, 23 April - Atheist + Exhumed. Finally seeing the tech death freaks from Florida live.
Thursday, 5 May - Power Quest, Neonfly and Primitai. Two lots of PQ action within a month or so. This time of course their own headline.

Oh and tomorrow I am thrashing it up with Lazarus A.D. and the main draw for me, Bonded By Blood. Wreck necks!

Saturday, 5 March 2011

Houston LIve Report

AOR gigs are a bit odd. So many damn old people everywhere. Most of the gigs I go to I AM the old one but here I'm probably slightly below the average age of all the gig goers gathered for some good old fashioned AOR wimp rock. The funny thing is all three bands on tonight's bill were much younger by far than most of the crowd!

This gig was billed as a one off Houston gig with support from two up and coming UK AORsters in the shape of Serpentine and Vega. However since then a Houston tour has been confirmed with 3 more giants of the AOR underground for later on in the year which should be fun.

Anyway first of all we had a fun Friday night of melodic rock to get through. The Borderline is a venue I have never been to as of yet, so that's one more venue ticked off of my list. It's a rather cosy place that would be packed with 300 or so people in it and to my surprise it was packed to the rafters more or less. It was quite busy already as I walked in around 7.40 and got gradually busier and fuller as each band played and finally I'd say it was a sell out more or less.

Whilst the AOR scene is pretty minute, I'd say it's not completely dead either judging by the attendance here and the band's made no secret of their pleasure at the turn out and said so on more than one occasion from the stage.

First up was Vega who released one of the best AOR albums from last year in Kiss of Life. The band is made up of the Martin bros and Nick Workman. The sound was a little iffy at first but got a little better. The band sounded in fine form and got a good response out of the crowd and more than a few were singing a long. The songs aired were all pretty good and most of the catchier songs from the debut were aired ending with Kiss of Life which went down best of all.

Next up were Serpentine showcasing their first ever live UK gig it seems alongside their brand new singer Matt Black who took over from Tony Mills of TNT/Shy fame. I must admit their Touch of Heaven album from last year didn't make too many waves with me. It was a pleasant enough AOR record but it was a bit sterile and pedestrian sounding and I'm not a huge fan of Tony Mills' vocals but anyhow he was gone and now they had a new young buck on the mic. As soon as he started singing it was pretty amazing to be honest. This young guy had a huge set of pipes on him that's for sure. Sometimes almost shrill and giving our ears a good going over on the high notes but his tone and style in general were perfect for the band. The new song they played called Philadelphia sounded much crisper and catchier than their older material.

The guys played with big smiles on their faces and I think the audience were very appreciative of the band and they went down very well and much better live than what I remember them sounding like on record. The new album with Matt Black should be something special for AOR fans if this performance is anything to go by.

Finally it was time for Houston. Now I know the Swedes had two members but I was wondering how they were going to round out the band and to my surprise they took to the stage with two girl guitarists yes that's TWO one rhythm and one lead and all members provided backing vocals of course. The sound was the best of the night too. The singer and mainman sounded in fine smooth voice and the band were tight with the melodic guitars and catchy choruses galore. It's hard to pick a best song of the night as all the songs from the debut album are pretty damn catchy to be honest. Some typical slightly awkward Swedish humour from the stage as well and after about a 50 minute set it was all over.

It had been a very fun night of melodic rock goodness proving that this music can still be a draw and it ain't completely dead and buried. On a side note can I say that the most bizarre person was at the show. I couldn't quite believe my eyes to be honest. During the Serpentine set I noticed two girls standing opposite me at the far end, one was a blonde and the other was a brunette. Now I had to take a double take, and screw my eyes carefully cause the brunette stunner was a dead ringer for UK pornstar Lolly Badcock! Very very odd indeed. The blonde girl was also quite familiar to me and I had a feeling she might be in the same game so to speak but what in the hell were doing at an AOR gig??? Anyway I slowly cottoned on to the fact that the blonde one maybe in some way attached to some member of the band in some way and most probably the singer Matt Black. Lo and behold a bit later I saw the blonde girl and Matt smooching away and talking. Lolly and he friend actually walked right past me to get a drink and whilst she's around the same height as me she's as thin as a rake and make no mistake. I was almost gonna pluck up courage and say hello Lolly I've spilt mucho seed over you in my time and can I have a kiss and a picture but it was just too loud and she wouldn't have heard me! Yeah right as if I'd say that! Anyway the whole thing was completely odd and I wonder what she thought of it all. Obviously her friend the blonde one was married to Matt and she's come along for the night. I didn't see he again but she might have been out back blowing one of the guy's from Houston the horny minx!

OK enough about that. I'll probably go and see these guys again in May with Serpentine, Miss Behaviour and a mystery band.

Wednesday, 2 March 2011

Fave albums of 2011 so far

First of all a small post about football. United got beat by Chelsea. The loss was a touch hard to swallow as we played very well for most of the match but we got done in the end by a very dodgy pen. All in all we can't complain that much as we've had plenty of luck so far this season so things even themselves out as the saying goes. Not that Fergie saw it that way - he let the ref have it both barrels and we United fans wouldn't have it any other way!

Anyway on to my fave albums from this year so far. The top 10 as it stands at the moment is listed below that. It's been a great start to the year music wise as per usual.

Abacinate - Genesis
Deviant Syndrome - Inflicted Deviations
Fetal Decay - You Have No Choice
Neuraxis - Asylon
Bad Habit - Atmosphere
ColdSpell - Out from the Cold
M.ILL.ION - Sane And Insanity
Miss Behaviour - Last Woman Standing
Presto Ballet - Invisible Places
Robin Beck - The Great Escape
Ten - Stormwarning
TNT - A Farewell To Arms
Voodoo Circle - Broken Heart Syndrome
Appearance Of Nothing - All Gods Are Gone
Bullet - Highway Pirates
Crowbar - Sever The Wicked Hand
Dalriada - Ígéret
Korpiklaani - Ukon Wacka
Liquid Horizon - The Script of Life
Perihellium - The War Machines
Turisas - Stand Up And Fight
Axenstar - Aftermath
Emerald Sun - Regeneration
Evergrey - Glorious Collision
Hibria - Blind Ride
Power Quest - Blood Alliance
Serenity - Death & Legacy
Skanners - Factory Of Steel
Stratovarius - Elysium
Titans Eve - The Divine Equal
Visions Of Atlantis - Delta
Destruction - The Eternal Battle

10. Stratovarius - Elysium
09. M.ILL.ION - Sane And Insanity
08. Bad Habit - Atmosphere
07. Emerald Sun - Regeneration
06. Appearance Of Nothing - All Gods Are Gone
05. Liquid Horizon - The Script of Life
04. Turisas - Stand Up And Fight
03. ColdSpell - Out from the Cold
02. Ten - Stormwarning
01. Power Quest - Blood Alliance

Monday, 14 February 2011

Uk Thrash Night with Evile, Elimination and Mutant

UK thrash is doing rather well these days so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity of seeing three of the best thrashers from our shores so a ticket was bought and my second gig of 2011 was attended.

First up was a young band called Bleeding Oath who had apparently won the right to open the night up in an online contest. These guys were barely out of their nappies but they seemed to have ideas well above their station. They played a sort of progressive black death metal with some melody and also rather flat clean vocals. They sounded like a mix between Akercocke and Morbid Angel but with weaker music and zero song writing ability. However their instrumental skill was actually quite good for such a young band. They got an OK response from the mostly very young crowd but since they weren't thrash the kids mostly tolerated them and waited for the head banging feast to come.

Next up were the UK's best kept secret as far as thrash metal goes. I can't figure out how these guys are not signed and releasing albums to be honest they are that good. I've seen them a couple of times already and I was hoping they were gonna do some new tunes and that they did. The new songs sounded completely immense. Technical jamming riffs with torrents of groove and a clean as a whistle delivery. Apparently they are releasing 2 new songs soon so I look forward to that but what they need is an album damn it! Anyway their 30 minute set went by in a whirl of stage divers and moshpit mayhem and I think they got the best response of the night. The last song "The Rauncher" which is their anthem so to speak got the kids into a total frenzy with it's rampant riffs and melodic grooves. These guys deserve to be BIG!

Next up were Elimination whose album I bought direct from the band last year. It's not a fantastic thrash album but it's really solid over all. In the live setting the crowd's response was a little more muted due to the songs not being quite as catchy as Mutant's. Still they know a solid head banging riff or two and wound out plenty of 'em for the healthy Sunday night crowd. The singer's voice was a touch annoying for my tastes but these guys were solid thrash mongers and got some nice wind milling riffs going on. They just need to work a little more on their songs to make them more catchy or memorable.

Finally it was time for head liners Evile. It is the first time I am seeing since the death of the bassist as I missed the tribute shows last back end. It's the second time I am seeing the band and they don't disappoint. The young crowd went pretty apeshit for Evile. Their songs have bounce, groove and thrust and memorability, all the elements required to make quality thrash. Their songs are pretty dynamic, lurching from manic thrash assaults to slower and groovier riff attacks. The sound was sometimes a bit muddy and Matt Drake's vocals got a bit drowned out at times but the band is still super tight and this with literally half the audience on stage either diving or head banging with the band!

Evile played for about 70 minutes and went down a complete storm. They played a new song which was mid paced and had a massive groove to latch onto and saw almost the whole of the Underworld rocking out within seconds of the main riff starting up. The title track from current album, Infected Nations, got a massive response with mass mosh participation.

As for tonight's gig - well it was a fitting tribute to the UK thrash metal scene and a very enjoyable way to spend an otherwise boring Sunday evening. Just goes to prove thrash metal is perhaps the most fun metal genre of all especially in the live setting.

Evile is now taking time out to record their third album and it should really be something special after the brilliant Infected Nations. I just hope Mutant can release a full debut album soon as it will be a monstrous effort and make no mistake!

Saturday, 8 January 2011

Firewind @ the Garage

Pretty soon into 2011 and one of my favourite power metal bands were in town to kick off the new year in style. Before the all conquering power metal geniuses known as Firewind blew us all away, we had two support bands to get through. Namely Breed 77 and Primitai. Actually Primitai who are a local band were not listed as being part of the show. I guess they are one of those local warm up add ons that aren't listed for some reason.

Anyway I missed the start of their set but caught about 4 or 5 songs in the end to get the picture. The band is merely ok in my book. They are not a horrible screamo band or a metalcore band thankfully. They are a modern heavy metal band with influences ranging from say Maiden to Pantera to some heavier power metal bands. The singer's voice is ok but he didn't have any great charisma about him or any really catchy melodies of note. The guitarist's are no slouches though and they played well. They finished at 8pm and got some "Primitai! Primitai!" chants from a few kids and quite a few headbangers.

Soon the stage was ready for Breed 77 - that's Breed Seven Seven and not Breed Seventy Seven by the way! They are a London based melodic modern cum nu-metal band from Spanish descent. They are basically like the UK's answer to Ill Nino or something along those lines. These guys have been around quite a long time in and around the London scene but I've never seen them not being a nu-metal fan but someone had obviously seen it fit to book them as support to a full on power metal band so here we are.

The sound was immediately much better for them than it was for Primitai which was a plus point. Their songs were built around jerky and melodic mid paced riffing with sometimes crooning vocals and other times Panteraesque screams. In fact to sum up the band they were like a more melodic Pantera with Spanish Flamenco influence with nice lurching grooves. The punters were sort of lukewarm to them. Some were totally getting it and headbanging and moshing furiously but the older power metal loving throngs were like yeah yeah get this nu-metal crap off.

I was sort of in-between to be honest. I thought they were quite good and had some tasty riffage which a power metal fan could enjoy but then they had the jump da fuck up nu-metal posturing to go with it which was like ok that's not good at a power metal gig is it lads! Anyway Breed 77 were in my eyes not too bad at all and their cover of the Cranberries Zombie was immensely fun and heavy actually and perhaps the most enjoyable song of their set. They played nearly and hour which is quite good for a support slot.

Finally at around 9.30 or just before the intro to Firewind's set started and the Greeks took to the stage fully revved up and raring to go. As you may know Bob plays both guitar and keyboards whilst on stage and he'd probably have you believe that he plays them at the same time but that's pushing it but on many occasions he has guitar hanging from his neck whilst tinkling the keyboards and switching quickly back and forth which is quite fun to watch. Gus G was wearing his privateer looking tunic or jacket as they burst into the opening cut from the new album, The Ark of Lies. Apollo ran on and he had much longer hair and looked much more metal than in the older days shall we say. They have a new drummer since the bald guy quit but good power metal drummers are probably ten a penny so no one really noticed the difference probably.

Appollo sounded in fine voice as second song Head Up High started up and it's familiar catchy chorus soon had the very healthy Friday night crowd bellowing along. I don't know what happened to the air conditioning in the Garage but that floor was wet and steamy last night from all the sweaty headbangers and song after incessant song of power metal bliss only made matters more steamy still. The new single World on fire was played ferociously by the band and sounded much better and heavier live than it did on record. Amazing performance on that one.

There was a slight lull shortly into the set were we had the all instrumental the Fire and The Fury followed by drum solos and Gus's guitar solo and basically no vocals for about 10 minutes or which I must say was a bit much. Is it possible to go to a gig and not have a drum solo please? It's fucking BORING!

Finally that useless skin bashing was over and we got back to the songs and what songs they offered up for the punters. The infectious Apollo vocal melodies were bursting out here there and everywhere song after song. I loved the new track Chariot - a pure highlight of the set. My Loneliness which followed slowed things down a touch but was nevertheless absolutely perfectly sung and played. Easily one of the best songs of the night as was Mercenary Man which followed.

Towards the end of the set we had the dance hit Maniac given the Firewind treatment which got the punters er flash dancing is it? Well anyway it was fun. At one point whoever was on the stage smoke generator got carried away a bit as well as the whole floor was swamped with smoke and you could barely see your next door neighbour never mind the stage. Bizarre! Tyranny was the last song of the main set and was greeted rapturously and played mightily fast by the guys.

They left but of course the encore was still to come. Firstly it was Into the Fire which is not a huge fave of mine but the following track is the ultimate Firewind song that I'd been waiting all night for and that's I am The Anger which was shredded from beginning till end and sung powerfully as always by Apollo. Finally at just gone 11pm they finished with one of their more melodic and less speedy hits Falling into Pieces which was a nice way to end.

I've seen Firewind 3 or 4 times now and they never disappoint in the live setting. Mind you when you have so many cool tunes how can it possibly go wrong eh? They played around 90 minutes and on a Friday night that's a great way to start the weekend and on the plus side the rain had stopped and it was actually mild outside! Bring on the weekend!