Gamma Ray - Best of the Best Euro Tour

2015 - The year that keeps on giving. That's how I'll remember 2015 when it comes to gigs that is. This year is by far the most shows I've seen in one year and there's a few more to go yet, the latest of which was Gamma Ray celebrating 25 years of metal with the Best of the Best European tour with special guests Serious Black and London boys Neonfly. A three band bill that excites all the way basically.

The Islington Academy is a pretty cool venue that holds probably around 800 or so when packed but thankfully it was nowhere near that on Tuesday night with an estimated crowd of between 4 and 500 at a push turning up to celebrate with the Rays.

First up were local heroes, Neonfly and their very melodic brand of power metal. I've seen them a few times already and they always put on a good show. In front man Willy Norton, they have a very engaging and talkative guy who can gee up the most comatose crowd with his enthusiasm and he can really sing melodically as well. The band's songs are very easy on the ear with a slight AOR bent making the songs very catchy indeed. Although on the recent album they did push the boat out a bit into more progressive and heavier waters which suited them down to the ground. Willy Norton looks way more metal these days with his long hair and beard than a few years ago when he had much shorter hair and was clean shaven. The early comers were treated to a short and sweet 30 minutes or so of Neonfly's finest tunes including a cool medley of three songs. The best songs were The Enemy and Heart of the Sun from the latest album. Props to the guitarist for wearing a roman warrior head feather towards the end of their set. You might as well push the boat out a bit when it comes to stage gear!

Next up were the all international Serious Black. I thought Roland Grapow was supposed to be in the band but he wasn't there and Bob Katsionis of Firewind and Outloud was playing guitar for them. Alex Holwarz of Rhapsody of Fire was on drums with the bass and second guitar being filled by some German guys I believe. Of course you all know who was on the mic, none other singer extraordinaire Mr Urban Reed. Of course everyone knows that Urban can sing up a power metal storm and he did this no problem as his band played most of their one and only album.

Their best songs are hard to gauge and all of them sounded good and immediate as I haven't heard the album in a good while so didn't have good recollection of the songs. Urban was singing great and although the crowd was sometimes a bit lukewarm to the band, they did get a fair response. I just think quite a lot of the crowd were a little unfamiliar with the band apart from the die hards like me that is. Personally I thought they were great all the way and Urban was singing at his best though the sound mix wasn't vocal heavy as the drums were as usual louder than everything else. I don't know why metal gigs have to have the drum louder than everything else but that's the way it's gotta be. SB left to fine applause and soon enough the stage was readied for Kai and co to celebrate their metallic overtures over the last quarter of a century.

When you think about it's that quite a long time to be a leading light in the Euro power metal scene and for the band leader to be considered an all time great and much revered. So well done to Kai and the band for that. The band strides on like they are playing a hometown gig with huge grins and are cheered liked long returning heroes before opening with Ray classic Heaven Can Wait with the whole crowd helping Kai out on the chorus. There's no sign of Kai's new sidekick, Frank Beck as Kai sings the opening numbers alone. He doesn't even sound that bad either and I'm wondering what is the point of the new guy but he's soon introduced on to the stage by Kai and gets a warm response. Although it's rather odd indeed to have someone else on stage singing with Kai as he never really takes over either. He sings some lines but never sings a song in full himself. He'll start a song Kai will help with the chorus or take a couple of the more memorable lines and then Frank will finish the song or the whole band will finish it as there are mix stands in front all the band. It helps that Frank is a pretty decent singer and his voice is quite similar to Kai's and it's all pretty seamless.

The set list is a mixed bunch from the entire breadth of the band's career but for my taste there's a little too much of the old and not enough of the new. The over extended drum and bass solos which must have stretched past or close to 15 minutes was pushing it as well. I guess that's how they pad shows out these days allowing to Kai to have a breather but I thought that's what Frank was there for! Oh well hehe! After the introduction of the band we get an excellent stretch of songs starting from the speedy Dethrone Tyranny leading on to recent material such as Master of Confusion and then delving backwards to unmissable band classic, Rebellion in Dreamland which segues in the middle into the Manowaresque Heavy Metal Universe and ends with Ride the Sky. The band concludes the main set with an extended band jam with Somewhere Out in Space followed by a super long Kai solo. It was cool but it was bloody long too hehe. I'm not really one for extended solo section and I would say a good 30 minutes of the whole 100 minute stage time was given over to solo spots for each instrument.

The band came out for an encore after considerable encouragement from the crowd and played the title track of the debut Heading For Tomorrow. A song I don't actually know since I've never really heard the debut album at all. It sounded mighty and epic as it segued into Avalon though. The band closed with probably one of the catchiest Gamma Ray tunes ever in Send me a Sign with the whole crowd going for one last hurrah before the Rays leave us to rapturous cheers. A nice way to celebrate 25 years in metal ideed. No mean feat guys, so well done indeed.



Heaven Can Wait
Last Before the Storm
Fight
One With the World
I Want Out
(Helloween cover) (with raggae jam)
Valley of the Kings
The Silence
Drum & Bass Solo
Dethrone Tyranny
Empathy
Master of Confusion
Rebellion in Dreamland / Heavy Metal Universe / Ride the Sky
Somewhere Out in Space
(With extended jam)

Encore:
Heading for Tomorrow / Avalon
Send Me a Sign

Deep Purple - Live at the O2 Arena

It's a good job I've been off work this week as I've been to 3 gigs and 1 sport event in the last four days and it's really starting to tell on my haggard look. Still I really had to give Deep Purple a shot at impressing me with their brand of classic rock. The O2 is a great venue for a gig but obviously way too ambitious a place to book for Purple. This gig should have probably been held at the 12,000 capacity Wembley Arena. The top sections of the O2 were mostly curtained off and the top section where I was sat, was pretty empty. I would guess the audience to be around 10,000 maximum. Although I must admit I'm glad they booked the O2 as it's a nice venue even though you need a head for heights if your sitting in the upper circle!

California's Rival Sons were the support act and they came on promptly at 7.30 sharp. These guys were pretty much a perfect support for DP in every way shape and form. I know their name quite well but haven't paid too much attention to the music but judging by their performance last night I should be giving them more of a chance. The only thing is I'm not sure ow much I'd enjoy in the studio compared to their live performance which was flawless. They had a perfect sound and it was even pretty quiet, so may they weren't given the full power of the O2 PA system. Any how the band was totally cool throughout their 45 minute set. They have big heavy riffs that remind you of Sabbath and then they have these moody melodic bluesy passages to juxtapose the heaviness.

The singer truly has a wonderful voice and showcased it throughout their set. His soulful flair was really nice to hear and he added such an emotional depth to the songs. Even though I don't really know their material the songs were so easy on the ear with melodies sweeping by you and caressing your ear, yet they could also be quite groovy and heavy when they wanted. Very impressed with these hard rocking Cali boys!

Finally the stage was readied and I actually moved to a better seat than my allotted one as I could barely see Rival Sons from my allocated one. Deep Purple came on to rapturous applause from the all seated old fogey crowd, yes, I actually felt young at a gig! The intro played out and the band launched into the speedy and energetic Highway Star. They sounded in tip top form it must be said with a crystal clear sound mix as well. I felt that Gillan was struggling a little with the higher notes and he was tending to over-scream them in the first song but his band mates were on fire especially Don Airey on keys and Steve Morse on guitar but more on them in a sec.

Bloodsucker was next and it's not a song I recognised. Is it new? I don't know but Gillan was starting to warm up now and his vocals were starting to show their undoubted power. He does look a bit like grandad let loose on the karaoke when you see him up on stage but that's just his look perhaps. The guy still has power to spare although he does have a tendency to over-sing some lines and some of the melody maybe gets lost.

Not being a Purple aficionado apart from the hits, the songs that followed I either haven't heard for years or have never even heard of at all. Vincent Price was great, and interesting tune. Can you believe I've never ever heard that song? After that song followed a super guitar solo from Morse. The guy is a super tasteful guitar wizard. Every note is well crafted and drips with clarity. He's not a 1000 notes a second guy at all. His solo captivated the crowd and soon enough it was time for Don on keys to show his massed ranks of keys to great effect in the song Uncommon Man. Keyboard wizards everywhere take note Don is your master!

The next few songs I didn't really know but they all featured either stellar musicianship from all members including an amazing drum solo from Mr Paice during the end of one song which the set list doesn't indicate, but as drum solos go it was one of the more memorable ones I've witness from the legendary skinbasher. A further keyboard solo followed from Don after his keyboard acrobatics in Uncommon Man his own solo was even more over the top than before. He brought the place down nearly his fingers were ripping here there and everywhere.

From here on in until the end I knew every song thankfully. Perfect Strangers was awesome and I'm glad they played it as I'm not sure it's a live staple or not. It was one of the best received songs of the night from the packed floor that's for sure. Space Truckin' was a grooving sped up tune that got a few people off their feet and dancing down below. An extended intro with a guitar between Morse and Scott Holiday led into the most famous riff in the world and everyone was air guitaring around me and standing up down on the floor beow. The band goes quiet in the middle to allow Gillan to orchestrate the crowd during the chorus and the whole of the O2 was singing of course. A pretty cool site to be a part of and of course my first time hearing Smoke live.

The band waved and said thank yous and left but of course the night was not over as the two song encore of Hush and Black Night followed. Hush is a tune I've never really been that much of a fan of but it's one of their most popular. I don't think they could leave the Arena without playing it. They'd get lynched!

And finally we had a bass solo from Mr. Glover. Everyone else in the band had extended solo sections so we can hardly begrudge the legendary 4 stringer his moment in the spotlight which he took with much aplomb. He had a very nice clean bass tone I must say and had some fancy grooves and bass licks before the full band joins in and Morse plays the iconic riff to Black Night and Gillan joins and everyone is rocking out one last time. The band left to huge cheers and Ian thanked the crowd profusely for turning out and waved the fans goodbye.

For a first time Purple show I must admit I was surprised at how good and vital they sound. I'm not a huge fan of the band or anything but their status as legends is fully cemented and not in any way dented when they put on performances such as these. I hope they keep going for a while yet and maybe I will see them again who knows. Anyone who has doubts about Deep Purple rest assured that they still know how to rock pretty damn hard!

Mars, the Bringer of War
(Gustav Holst song)
Highway Star
Bloodsucker
Hard Lovin' Man
Strange Kind of Woman
Vincent Price
Guitar Solo
Uncommon Man
The Well-Dressed Guitar
The Mule
Lazy
(with Stephen Bentley-Klein)
Demon's Eye
Hell to Pay
Keyboard Solo
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin'
Smoke on the Water
(with Scott Holiday)

Encore:
Hush
(Joe South cover) (with "Green Onions" by Booker… more )
Bass Solo
Black Night

Judas Priest - Live at Brixton Academy

Little more than 24 hours passed and I'm back in Brixton this time for the kings of British metal Judas Priest. This is only the second time I've seen the mighty Priest. Last time I saw them was with KK Downing but now of course he's retired and they have a flashy new guitarist in Richie Faulkner. Let's see if they can deliver the goods again so to speak!

I decided to sit on the balcony again as with Slayer last night. Age, fatigue, wussiness, etc...

This time I sat on the opposite side to where I was last night so as to get a slightly closer angle. Unfortunately the angle of the seating in the Briton Academy is not quite steep enough to give a better view of the stage and if the performers come to the very front of the stage your view is slightly obstructed by the front rows and the hand rail. But I digress let's talk about the music and it was an ace night for sure.

The only support band of the night was Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock with Scotland's finest, Doogie White on vocals. Now I must admit I haven't heard Herr Schenker's latest album but I do hear good things about it on the web and that he's now a reformed character who's rocking to maximum effect. As Doogie explained they are playing a 45 minute set so they would be sticking to the hits in the main from Schencker's past in the Scorpions and UFO and a couple of new songs. They started with the legendary Doctor, Doctor with Doogie's vocals sounding mighty fine and crystal clear. Schenker was leaning over his Flying V at the side and rocking out riffs and smiling to the crowd. The sound was almost too perfect for Temple of Rock I must say. Michael's guitar was of course loudest and clearest but the rest of the band were crystal clear too. They continued with further tracks which included extended melodic solos from Michael especially in the final track Rock Bottom where he goes through his full repertoire. I'm not one for extended solo sections, but Schenker's was so tasteful and melodic and not just a flurry of notes. The guy is a real classy melodic player to my untrained ears that's for sure. The songs were catchy and very melodic. I really need to remedy the fact that I haven't heard the Temple of Rock album, there's really no excuse on my part. As for a support act, Temple of Rock were indeed the perfect warm up and got a great response and the crowd duly sang along to the hits such as Rock You Like a Hurricane with full gusto. I think I'd pay to see a full set by Schenker and co on this form.

Doctor Doctor
Live and Let Live
Victim of Illusion
Vigilante Man
Lord of the Lost and Lonely
Rock You Like a Hurricane
Rock Bottom

As the support troops left the white curtain dropped as it had done the previous night for Slayer, this time with the Priest logo highlighted in fluorescent blue. It took about 20-25 minutes to ready the stage as Priest were supposed to hit dead on 9pm which they met with precision accuracy as the War Pigs intro was played and the curtain dropped as the band launched into opening cut Dragonaut from their latest album. I must admit I am not too fond of that song as it sound a bit dull to me, but I had to eat my words as it sounded amazing live. The riffs were superb and immediately I could tell that this incarnation of Priest was on fire. They are getting very old barring Richie of course but the blood is coursing through their veins with much vigour these days it seems.

The sound was once again almost perfect. Not fantastically loud and very clear indeed. Rob's vocals were indeed much better than I could have imagined. The guy obviously never runs when he can walk and he walked on with a stick for the opener in his full leather gear. For a second there I was thinking oh no Rob's really old he needs a fucking walking stick now and then I realised well it's just a stage prop.

Metal Gods plod followed after the opener with Rob doing his robot walk at the end of the song which was rather funny and cool to witness. His voice sounded superb during it though. As each song was played the album cover of where that song was coming from gave clues to the audience as to what song was coming next.So loud cheers went up on a regular basis as the fan's old faves were played. Desert Plains was awesome indeed and very melodic.

A point about Ian Hill on the bass. The guy is something else. He just stays rock solid on the spot throughout the night as either Glenn or Rob go up to him but that guy ain't moving for nothing. He just stays there rocking out that top string on the bass like his life depends on it!

Victim of Changes was a wonderful of old epic with Rob's vocals reaching the stratosphere on the high notes. Maybe he even over does it a little bit or maybe he's trying to prove a point like "hey I can still do this you motherfuckers!"

I was a bit surprised to hear the glammy Turbo Lover but the crowd participation on the chorus was full so I think it went down a storm pretty much.

The title track Redeemer of Souls which is my fave song from the latest CD was awesome and very melodic.

Beyond the Realms of Death was monumentally epic and sang with so much emotion by Rob. The guy was something else on that song I tell ya.

Three more urgent classics followed with the best song of the three being Hell Bent For Leather where Rob rode out on a Harley and sang the song with full crowd back up once again during the choruses.

Two separate encores followed although I must admit I thought the first one was just a little mini break and not actually an encore hehe. Electric Eye is one of Priest's most loved tunes and everyone loves singing it and it was no different this time either.

The second encore as it turns out features of course Priest at their heaviest and most melodic as well namely with Painkiller and the catchy Living After Midnight, a perfect song to end any Priest set. Halford really bust his guts out during Painkiller though. I was thinking Rob take it easy man, you'll get a burst blood vessel in a minute! Painkiller was lead heavy and Living After Midnight brought the night to an end with a rousing sing along.

The band thanked the fan profusely as they slowly left the stage and it was left to Rob to leave the stage last as he milked the applause and lead the "Priest! Priest!" chants as he pointed to the bands logo on the big screen.

People have been saying Priest needs to pack it up since KK left but on this showing there's a few years left in the old dog yet! Whilst Rob can still do it they need to keep going. A very strong showing indeed by the legends and I must admit I enjoyed Priest much more than I did Slayer.

War Pigs
(Black Sabbath song)
Battle Cry (Intro song)
Dragonaut
Metal Gods
Desert Plains
Victim of Changes
Halls of Valhalla
The Rage
Turbo Lover
Redeemer of Souls
Beyond the Realms of Death
Screaming for Vengeance
Breaking the Law
Hell Bent for Leather
Encore:
The Hellion
Electric Eye
You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Encore 2:
Painkiller
Living After Midnight

Slayer - Live at the Brixton Academy

I've finally completed seeing the big 4 live after all these years gigging! Wonders never cease...

I've somehow always managed to avoid Slayer for some reason when it comes to the live arena. Mainly due to the fact that I am not actually a huge Slayer fan. Their recent material hasn't really excited me to be honest but Repentless is a return to form. It's not an amazing thrash record but it will do. When I saw that Anthrax was the man support for this gig, I thought let me kill two birds with one stone as I've never seen Anthrax live either. I'm not a huge fan of theirs either to be honest. There was a third band on the bill Kvelertak from Norway. I've read a lot about these guys and they are very big in their homeland and Scandinavia in general but this type of black n' roll just ain't my cuppa. They played ok got a decent response although I couldn't tell you how the crowd was as the people sat on the balcony can't see the people down below at Brixton Academy.

The sound was a bit mushy for the Norwegians but they play with energy but when you can't tell one song from the next the enjoyment factor is reduced heavily. I suppose if you like a harder edged and rougher version of Motorhead this band would be up your alley. Not me though.

Next up were New York veterans Anthrax. To be perfectly honest I don't actually know the songs very well. All I can see is that Charlie on the drums is very fast and powerful, Scott Ian swings round like a loony playing fast riffs whilst Bello on bass pulls shapes. I don't know who the other guitarist is. The singer Joey is on top form energy wise and rips and round like a man half his age. It helps that he ain't carrying much timber! To be honest I found Anthrax a little bit boring. I don't own one Anthrax album apart from a best of comp so that should just about explain it. They played their allotted 50 minutes or so before leaving to rapturous applause. They must've obviously gone down very well downstairs in the hall. The new song Evil Twin didn't sound that great either although Scott was saying that if you like thrash you'll love it. Not sure about that Mr. Ian! Anthrax were ok or even great but I'm just not a huge fan but at least I've seen them live now.

And finally the band the rabid 2,500 crowd had come to see lay waste. First of all it was a nice touch by the Brixton Academy to bathe the upper stretches of the Academy in the colours of the French Tricolore in unison with France and their troubles. It took a while for the roadies to ready the stage whilst a white sheet was draped across the stage to cover their work and before long the house lights went down and you saw the band's silhouette behind the drop as the band launched in to current single Repentless. They sounded super tight and I must say Tom's vocals were pretty spot on all night. The guy has always been a slightly bit annoying but he was pretty much awesome all the way tonight. The floor must've been a heaving mass of humanity down below and even the upper seated section was packed solid with people looking for every single viewing spot.

Gary Holt on lead guitar was having a whale of a time, headbanging like his life depended on it. Kerry was doing his famous crouch down and head nodding style on the other side whilst churning out those classic Slayer riffs. Like I said the sound was much better for Slayer than the other bands as expected and they were playing like men possessed. Tom was not so animated since he can't head bang any more but more than made up for it with a perfect vocal delivery.

The stage set featured hanging upside down crosses which I find almost laughable with the lead singer being a practising Catholic! They should start acting their age and forget about the satan shit hehe. Highlights of their set were frantic opener Repentless, War Ensemble, oldies Black Magic and Die By The Sword and the final two cuts Raining Blood, Angel of Death. The set list in between was a mixture of old and new all played to perfection. People love the menacing Dead Skin Mask but I've always found that tune a bit boring but I guess it sounded pretty cool live. Some songs are not my faves and I found myself getting slightly bored during those as I don't even recognize them but when a familiar evil riff comes along the urge to head bang is strong. The final two songs of the night were the best and what a one-two combo. The perfect end to any Slayer set no doubt. So I've finally got them out of my system gig-wise, I doubt I'll ever see them live again but I did enjoy the evil thrashing machine that is the Slayer live experience.

Delusions of Saviour
Repentless
Postmortem
Hate Worldwide
Disciple
God Send Death
War Ensemble
When the Stillness Comes
Take Control
Mandatory Suicide
Chemical Warfare
Die by the Sword
Black Magic
Vices
Seasons in the Abyss
Hell Awaits
Dead Skin Mask
World Painted Blood
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Angel of Death