Live Report

Live Report: VADER + Guests MELECHESH, STERBHAUS And W.I.L.D. In Milan On April 25, 2013

Posted by tarjavirmakari on May 11, 2013
Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment

Live Report by Tarja Virmakari

Polish death metallers VADER have just concluded the 2nd part of their European ‘Back To The Black’ Tour; hitting Germany, Denmark, France, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Slovakia – playing their classic albums: “Sothis” and “Black to the Blind” in their entirety. The tour also included several festivals for which VADER had prepared a special concert set. More than a live report, this photo-reportage is from the entire Milan-show, which featured on stage VADER, MELECHESH, STERBHAUS and W.I.L.D.

Vader3

The 14th show on VADER‘s 2nd Part of the Back To The Black 2013 -tour was held at The Theatre in Milan (Italy). Only the night before VADER and guests had played in Rome, so after a long transfer in the tour-bus sunny Milan was appreciated for sure by the whole tour-crew. I arrived at the venue early at 2pm, so as to be able to spend some time with my tour-crew friends, also following how the stage-crew built up and got ready the setting for tonight’s show. Zoe, the “light-girl” had some tech-issues at first when trying to make everything work with the lights, but she sorted everything perfectly right on time, as always! Somewhere in between the buffet and the show, I had a nice chat with Peter and we talked mostly about the current tour; Peter also spoke widely about the band’s upcoming plans (you’ll find the link to the interview, HERE).

The long waiting was soon to be rewarded as French W.I.L.D. went on stage, ready to open the evening. Maybe because of Italy’s National Liberation Day, the crowd wasn’t huge, but that didn’t stop W.I.L.D. for a moment, the guys really gave a fantastic show with their death thrash setlist; short but without mercy, warming up the atmosphere to welcome the next band to conquer the audience; STERBHAUS from Sweden. The guys had a total Blackened Thrash metal attitude right from the first seconds, and with their face-paintings, the show got it’s vicious and nasty flavours that made the crowd even more hungry.

W.I.L.D.

W.I.L.D.

Sterbhaus

Sterbhaus

Check out all the W.I.L.D. photos by Stefano Catalani HERE.

Check out all the STERBHAUS photos by Stefano Catalani HERE.

It was time for MELECHESH! When I met the singer Ashmedi backstage earlier, he had found out I’m from Finland and he greeted me with “Mitä kuuluu?” (“how are you doing?”) … With the first seconds of “Illumination”, the venue was filled up with Sumerian thrashing sounds, it was like a leap onto another continent, and the crowd went crazy. Too bad though, that the venue was more empty than full, but unfortunately its’ clashing with the National Liberation Day had its effects… but regardless, MELECHESH played the show as if they were in front of hundreds of people, with precision and devotion.

Melechesh

Melechesh

Check out all the MELECHESH photos by Michele Aldeghi HERE.

Check out all the MELECHESH photos by Stefano Catalani HERE.

setlist:
Illumination : The Face of Shamash
Sacred Geometry
Ladders to Sumeria
Defeating the Giants
Grand Gathas of Baal Sin
Triangular Tattvic Fire
Rebirth of the Nemesis

… the expectation reached its peak, at the very same moment as the intro to VADER began, the atmosphere was tangible! the crowd was here for VADER, and thanks to the 3 previous bands, it was more than ready for the 70 minutes’ blast! When Peter shouted “Sooooothis” the venue erupted…it was a guarantee, a promise of a show that each of us would remember for a long long time to come! …and as we were only “a few” on that night, Peter said, jokingly: “as we most probably have more songs in our setlist that we have persons in the audience, we can dedicate one song for each one of you”. In fact, the whole show had an intimate atmosphere and it seemed to be dedicated to each of US, and that made it feel so special. Besides the Sothis and Black To The Blind -classics, VADER also belted out songs from their latest “Return To The Morbid Reich”, and Dark Age from their first album “The Ultimate Incantation” and also Reborn In Flames from “De Profundis”. I personally would have liked to have also heard “I’m The One Who Feasts Upon Your Soul” and I also missed hearing “Helleluyah”… but that must wait until the next time and the next shows… and as always, the last song came much too early, the crowd wanted more … but the time had come to say “bye” for now. Although I was not relishing the 4 hour drive home be assured my cd player belted out many VADER classics, with me humming along, too! This was a great show with maximum power, the sounds were perfect, VADER took the audience and brought it to an infernal trip, giving me the awareness that this band should be one of “The Big 4″! \m/ \m/

VaderStage1

Check out all the VADER photos by Michele Aldeghi HERE.

Check out all the VADER photos by Stefano Catalani HERE.

Setlist:
Intro / Sothis
The Wrath
Fractal Light
Heading for Internal Darkness
The Innermost Ambience
Carnal
True Names
Beast Raping
Ultima Thule
Return to the Morbid Reich
Reborn in Flames
Foetus God
The Red Passage
Come and See My Sacrifice
Distant Dream
Black to the Blind
Dark Age
Vision and the Voice

Live Report: VADER + Guests Aborted, Bonded By Blood On January 27th, At Circolo Colony, Italy

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 19, 2013
Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Live Report by Christian Tallone – Photos: Giacomo Cerutti

“Back To The Black 2013″ European Tour, 1st leg:
VADER + Guests Aborted, Bonded By Blood
January 27th, At Circolo Colony, Italy

BONDED BY BLOOD

At 20:00 BONDED BY BLOOD got on to the stage (for me and Tarja this was the first band we heard tonight, as we were interviewing Peter from Vader beforehand). The atmosphere is very intimate due to the venue size (maybe for 200 people in all, but which still needs  to be filled)… but also for the fact that we have been here since the afternoon, so we know all the venue crew at Circolo Colony, musicians, engineers and technical staff of the venue, so it almost has the impression of being at a private party. The stage is small, just enough to allow components to move between the instruments, essential settings, only the blue lights and the banner with the logo of the next band (Aborted).

BONDED BY BLOOD sound good, nothing amazing. In my opinion, they have a sound much more suited to trash than to death and what could be a little out of tune with the rest of the evening. Anyhow the band is very accurate, and the little time they have available they give the maximum of themselves, pounding all the time without getting lost in useless and boring talk, the fact that the public appreciates with the great acclaiming continuously even after the greetings. At 20:30 the band announce the last 2 tracks .. all in all a very good band, only sore point is the singers voice, in my opinion, is anonymous and without any individuality, a shame because the rest of the band runs great! At 20:38 they leave the stage amid demands for encores, which unfortunately aren’t possible because of time limits …. well done, guys!

BONDED BY BLOOD-setlistI Can’t Hear You
Another Disease
Immortal Life
Crawling in the Shadows
The Aftermath
Restless Mind
Left Behind

Bonded By Blood @Colony 27th January

Bonded By Blood @Colony 27th January

Bonded By Blood @Colony 27th January

Bonded By Blood @Colony 27th January

ABORTED

At 21:00 they start with a very bleak intro; smoke invades the stage and a cold light welcome ABORTED on stage… they only nodded “hi” before the violent attack, the genre as you may well guess from the name and the shirts I see around is pure death, style of Cannibal Corpse… with some of the most modern deathcore sound! Honestly it’s not my favorite genre, but the chaos is total, it seems like the bolts are in a washing machine and a pig is to be slaughtered… but one thing I must admit is that they are undoubtedly very good, despite the genre being so extreme whatever they do, they do it good. And fortunately time to time they slow down, making less flat all the unleashing headbanging! At the fifth song the singer incites the circle pit and the request is answered right away!But not yet happy with the mayhem that they are unleashing, at 21.30 with the announcement of the last songs, the singer invites the participants for stage diving … and before he has time to finish saying it, the stage is already filled with people who jumps onto the poor unfortunate ones below the stage, and the band seems to have taken possession of the bodies of all present ! At 21:40 ABORTED leaves the stage .. very professional … and the thing I really liked about them is that the band play with their hearts, having fun, which is quite rare to see! I hope to have the opportunity to see these guys again!

ABORTED -setlist

Omega Mortis
Global Flatline
Coronary Reconstruction
From a Tepid Whiff
Expurgation Euphoria
Fecal Forgery
Vermicular, Obscene, Obese
The Origin of Disease
Sanguine Verses (…of Extirpation)
The Saw and the Carnage Done

Aborted @Colony 27th January

Aborted @Colony 27th January

Aborted @Colony 27th January

Aborted @Colony 27th January

Aborted @Colony 27th January

Aborted @Colony 27th January

VADER

At 22:10  the intro of the highly anticipated VADER begins .. and the venue is now full! All these headbangers are here for them! Low lights and the spooky intro create great atmosphere. The drummer is the first to take the stage and greets the audience, then the other three enter in a row … Peter in the middle, he opens his arms and cries ITALIAAAAA!

VADER attack perfectly, as a disc shot at full volume, and they give right away the best of themselves, showing what they are made of and astounding all the pubic. Without doubt, Peter is the only true frontman today, he is extremely charismatic and is able to muster an incredible anger when he sings and a hypnotic calm when he talks between the songs. Each song starts with  enthusiasm as if it was the first of the set list. The sounds are great, they are precise, the massacre is continuous, the audience responds moshing and stage diving during the whole show. The only flaw is that his voice seems a bit low, but perhaps it is only because i’m on the side of the stage. Like a bolt from the blue VADER announce the last songs, and only now we realize that it’s past 11pm, but it seems that they started only 10 minutes ago!

At 23:15 Vader say goodbye and leave the stage hastily, the lights are low… but it looks more like a classic “fake final”, at least that’s what i hope. The speakers rumble with second intro but the audience don’t fall for it, and continue to call “Vader, Vader, Vader…”! Then, as hoped, VADER came back, attacking with a powerful cover of Slayer, Raining Blood! The audience go crazy and the delirium is total! How better to finish this wonderful evening! Vader greets Italy throwing picks and warm greetings to all! Great show, Vader! Hope to see you again, soon, but with a longer set list, 70 minutes + 10 min of encores aren’t enough! \m/

Check out HERE the interview with Peter, made at Circolo Colony by Tarja Virmakari

VADER -setlist
Intro
Sothis
The Wrath
Fractal Light
Heading for Internal Darkness
The Innermost Ambience
Intermission
Carnal
True Names
Beast Raping
Return to the Morbid Reich
Foetus God
Intermission
The Red Passage
Distant Dream
Come and See My Sacrifice
Black to the Blind
Dark Age
Vision and the Voice
Para Bellum
This Is the War

Encore:
Raining Blood (Slayer cover)
Imperial March (John Williams song)

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Vader @Colony on January 27th

Live Report: JORN LÄNDE – TEODOR TUFF – FROM THE DEPTH – DRAGONHAMMER

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 13, 2012
Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

The Theatre – Rozzano (Italy), 5th december 2012

JornMilanoPoster

by Marcello Catozzi

It was a cold winter night when we arrived at The Theatre of Rozzano, a nice venue, perfect for gigs, in the neighborhood of Milano. Saverio (the kind guy from the Eagle Booking Agency) welcomes us just as the Italian band FROM THE DEPTH is finishing playing.

After a short while the Norwegian TEODOR TUFF hits the stage, suddenly providing a rocky sound. The people raise up their hands, invited by the headbanging of Rayner Haroy, the bass player. The singer shows a clean and strong voice, able to reach very high octaves.

The line-up of this 2012 tour is: vocals: Terje Haroy, guitar: Christer Haroy, guitar: Knut Lysklaett, bass: Rayner Haroy,
drums: Knut Hellem. The band comes from the North and performs  rude scandinavian power metal, with some melodic ingredients:  hard and heavy timing of the rhythmic basement (thanks to Knut Hellem / Rayner Haroy) mixed with the melody of voice and guitars are the characteristic of this young “family band”.

Here is the setlist of the songs, some of them being on the last CD “Soliloquy”:
LAST SUPPER
DENG’S DICTUM
ADDICTION
REDEEMED
TOWER OF POWER
STRANGER

 

Jorn2

JORN LÄNDE

After Teodor Tuff, the time is coming. The technicians are moving fast on the stage, preparing for the headliners: in the dark we can see the shapes of the musicians, while tunes of the intro are rising through the smoky air. Here we go with “Road of the cross” (from Spirit Black”). A sprint starting, with a terrible wall of sounds that invades the ears of the audience with violence, but this is just the spirit of the band (Spirit Black?).

Here is the new line-up after the last change: vocals: Jorn Lände, guitar: Trond Holter, guitar: Jimmy Iversen, bass: Bernt Jansen, drum: Willy Bendiksen

To see Jorn on stage again four years after the last gig in Italy is emotional to all the people, above all to the fans on the front row, who show all their love to the legendary vocalist. The beginning is very strong, the song is powerful and pumped with high volume. Unfortunately, the balance of the sound could be much better….. But the most important thing, in this situation, is Jorn’s voice, as usual, strong and powerful, penetrating the minds of all the rockers.

Jorn_stage

Then we have some tracks from the past, such as as “Shadow People” and “Below”, with which we can understand that the viking will take no prisoners tonight. Next is “Bring Heavy Rock to the Land” (the title track of the last album) the audience join in to form a nice duet with the frontman. Introducing “Time to be King” (Masterplan tribute) Jorn expresses his admiration for that band.

After “The inner road” the drum solo comes, full of strength and energy, by Willy Bendiksen, old fellow of many battles. The heavy “Black song” introduces a fantastic guitar-solo of Trond Holter, new entry who deserves all the respect: a good surprise for everybody. The performance of this blond giant is simply pyrotechnic, with fast scales in a typical “northern style” where technique and speed are mixed together for the happiness of the fans. During the final part of the solo the rest of the band comes again and joins Trond in an exploding ending.

Let’s carry on with the wonderful “We brought the angels down”, where the audience duets with Jorn, whose voice is in incredibile shape. With “I came to rock” the band says goodbye, but after some minutes there is an encore that shakes the walls of the Theatre with a couple of killer songs such as: “Lonely are the brave” and “War of the world”. At this point the show is over, and all the people are satisfied with the performance of this inoxidable Viking hero.

Jorn_setlist

The complete setlist is as follows:

ROAD OF THE CROSS (“Spirit Black”)
SHADOW PEOPLE (“Lonely are the brave”)
BELOW (“Spirit Black”)
WORLD GONE MAD (“Spirit Black”)
BRING HEAVY ROCK TO THE LAND (“Bring Heavy Rock to the Land”)
TIME TO BE KING (Masterplan cover)
MAN OF THE DARK (“Lonely are the brave”)
THE INNER ROAD (“Lonely are the brave”)
Drum solo
BLACK SONG (“The Duke”)
Guitar solo
WE BROUGHT THE ANGELS DOWN (“The Duke”)
I CAME TO ROCK (“Bring Heavy Rock to the Land”)
Encore:
LONELY ARE THE BRAVE (“Lonely are the brave”)
WAR OF THE WORLD (“Lonely are the brave”)

Listening to the comments of the lucky people who were at the show tonight, we can say it has been a total success, without any doubt. The Norwegian team won the match and the glorious captain, Jorn Lände showed a great performance once again, as well as his musicians, in spite of the low quality of the sound.

Anyway, we feel fine after all this good old Rock; the only downside is for the lack of people, because the artists deserved much more, although we know very well that it’s a hard time for this kind of music. But we are proud to sing loud: “I came to Rock”!

Article by Marcello Catozzi – Pictures by Cuore

More pictures at this location.
Jorn1

Live Report: TRIVIUM, AS I LAY DYING, CALIBAN, UPON A BURNING BODY, 12 November 2012 At Live Club – Milan (Italy)

Posted by tarjavirmakari on November 30, 2012
Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Article: Christian Tallone – Photos: Michele Aldeghi

UPON A BURNING BODY:

At 19:30, UPON A BURNING BODY was on stage playing the intro, the band greeted and attacked immediately with full power! The stage setting was very simple, the classic logo on the banner and just the essential lights.The guys were dressed more like for the rehearsal than for a gig, only the singer looked strangely elegant with his suit.The venue was yet to be filled, it was still early, but the sounds were great, and the band played with precision and power! The crowd showed their appreciation with many mosh and circle pits during almost every song! The only flaw is that the songs were monotonous – we seemed to hear the same song all over again. But as it was only a half  hour show, I had no time to get bored, at 20:00 the band left the stage waving “bye-bye.” UPON A BURNING BODY did a great job to open the evening and preparing our ears for what was about to come…

UponTheBurningBody12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_2UponTheBurningBody12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_3UponTheBurningBody12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_1

CALIBAN:

At 20:15 the intro of CALIBAN began.. gloomy as ever, this time the scene was striking in its simplicity .. the most beautiful of this evening .. blue lights made the atmosphere very cold and icy. In particular, in the background there was a banner with dark eyes crying (the cover of the album “I Am Nemesis”) with “CLBN” written and illuminated under the platform of the battery! The band played solid and wild (for me it was the first time I saw the guitarist without a hat .. initially I nearly doubted whether it is him or not), Caliban dedicated the third song to the recently deceased Mitch Lucker, the singer of SUICIDE SILENCE, and immediately was honored the first “wall of death” of the evening! The sound seemed to be less powerful than  the previous ,but Caliban played perfectly in my opinion.The audience went crazy singing every chorus. Unfortunately at 20:51, Caliban had to say goodbye to the audience and leave the stage. The band really deserved to play for longer – promoted with flying colors!

Caliban12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_2Caliban12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_1Caliban12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_3Caliban12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_4

AS I LAY DYING:

At 21:22 started the intro of a band which was the best performance of the evening: AS I LAY DYING. They also had a simple stage setting ..the same lights and a banner with the logo and a moth.Observing the t-shirts that were around me, I could say that AS I LAY DYING were THE main band that the audience was attending for.They rewarded our expectations by offering a performance which was certainly not only memorable, but that left a mark! Unfortunately they had only 40 minutes on stage, but each minute was maximized and played flawlessly, as powerful as a cannon and as fast as a train, involving the audience screaming and yelling and moshing during every single song. All without wasting time on talking, then at 22:09, a hasty escape to leave the stage to the headliner.

Setlist:
Condemned
94 Hours
Anodyne Sea
Paralyzed
Cauterize
Through Struggle
Nothing Left
Confined
A Greater Foundation
Within Destruction
The Sound of Truth

AsILayDying12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_2AsILayDying12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_1AsILayDying12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_3AsILayDying12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_4

TRIVIUM:

The atmosphere was burning, the two huge TRIVIUM logos were on both sides of the drumkit and behind there was a banner with a mushroom cloud. At 22:30 started the intro with a dark stage to hide the entry of the band.This was the fourth time I had seen TRIVIUM live. After the intro, people were shouting and the band launched into IN WAVES! But unfortunately, it could be immediately perceived that  something wasn’t working as it should. The sounds were confused, and the band was not in great shape, Matt was subtoned and the rest of the band was lacking in precision and cleanliness, perhaps the fault of the earphones? (I’ve always said that the monitors are the best friends of the musicians). But the band continued to falter. However the audience was cheering with enthusiasm and warmth, probably due to the fact that many young fans were fascinated by the context, without being able to give an objective assessment. I’m sorry to say, even though I really like Trivium, they were playing bad that night! Between the songs, the band overdid things with long and boring speeches, and then they performed the songs in a hasty way as if they were eager to leave the stage. When Trivium dusted off some wonderful songs from “ASCENDACY” I hoped to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel… but this hope vanished when Trivium attacked with DYING IN YOUR ARMS, which is one of the most beautiful songs they have written so far, but honestly it seemed to be played by a cover band of average skills. So, after this punch in the stomach, and the 4 hours drive back home ahead of us, we decided to leave the Live Club shortly before the end of the show. After seeing hundreds of concerts in last 13 years, to leave before the end of a show had never happened to me.

Reflections: This exhibition of Trivium could have been judged very positively if they were an emerging band .. but from a band like them, and as I know what they can do, I expected a lot more! The evening began in a great way, with the bands that did well on their part, but when it was the turn of those who supposed to be the icing on the cake … hmmm, let’s hope this was only a single case and caused by some tech issues. I’m hoping that next time I will see Trivium as we all know, professional and full of pure blasting energy!

Setlist:
Capsizing the Sea
In Waves
Like Light to the Flies
Rain
Into the Mouth of Hell We March
Down From the Sky
Entrance of the Conflagration
Black
The Deceived
Watch the World Burn
A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation
Ember to Inferno
(Corey on lead vocals)
Built to Fall
Dying in Your Arms
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis
Throes of Perdition
Leaving This World Behind

Trivium12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_2Trivium12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_3Trivium12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_4Trivium12nov2012byMicheleAldeghi_5

Live Report: SABATON Show, Tel Aviv Israel, August 30th 2012

Posted by sagiv2 on November 29, 2012
Posted in: Live Report. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

by Sagiv Shaniv

It is the third time in four years that SABATON are parking their war machine in Tel Aviv; Only this time it was a very special visit of theirs’, with record-breaking affection the crowd showed them whether if it’s in the traditional pre-concert signing session in the local metalshop, news about their visit here before the show spreading live throughout the internet, or during the concert itself in which you solemnly think for yourself that perhaps the crowd is actually louder than the band…

SABATON released their latest album “Carolus Rex” in May 23rd 2012; It gained great success, and was supported by the world wide Swedish Empire Tour 2012, from which the show was a part of.

The opening act were no other than DESERT, a local dark power metal act who are very close (personally and musically) to SABATON and opened for them on their previous visit in Israel as well. During the show a special surprise Desert had promised was fulfilled, when Joakim Broden (Sabaton’s vocalist) came onstage to sing a duet with Desert’s frontman Alexei Raymer on the song “Lament for soldier’s glory”, just like in the original recording. That was a great warm up for the main show of the evening, and Desert made their best to make the crowd bang their heads in the power metal constant rhythm.

Between Desert and Sabaton there was an interval of about 20 minutes that was ended by the song “The Final Countdown” by the Swedish hard rock band Europe. The crowd sang along with the recording with occasional feelings of “What the hell”… all until there was complete silence. A minute later, Sabaton stormed the stage and just like in their 2010 show in Israel, started playing the powerful song Ghost Division, getting the crowd into total ecstasy that lasted for an hour and a half. The show went on and on with the well-known to the crowd hits the band writes so well. The show was a one long high point, spiced up with some talking of Joakim and odd reactions of the crowd to the band (Who throws a teddy bear onstage? Dudes…).

It’s hard for me to pick the song I enjoyed the most in the evening, but I’ll go for 40:1. I think it’s the second song of theirs I heard, and a superb one in my opinion since. I’ve got nothing bad to say about the concert; the sound was sharp and bright, the playlist was diverse covering their most popular material and the crowd was simply AWESOME. I hope they’ll come back a few years from now for the fourth time, perhaps with some more bands for some sort of a mini-fest… Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Setlist: (by Setlist.fm)
(The Final Countdown – Europe song)
The March To War
Ghost Division
Uprising
Gott Mit Uns
40:1
Cliffs of Gallipoli
Dominium Maris Baltici
The Lion From the North
The Price of a Mile
Into the Fire
Carolus Rex
Poltava
Attero Dominatus

Encore:
The Art of War
Panzer Battalion
Primo Victoria
Metal Crüe

Encore 2:
Counterstrike
Dead Soldier’s Waltz
Masters of the World

Ghost Division + Uprising

Panzer Battalion + Primo Victoria

Joakim speaks to the crowd Before Counterstrike

Counterstrike

Live Report: EVILE/WOLF/SEPTIC FATALITY – The Corporation, Sheffield – 24/10/2012

Posted by Dylan Raine on November 7, 2012
Posted in: Live Report. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

Reported by Di Parkes

Masters of Thrash, Evile, alongside the mighty Swedish Heavy Metallers, Wolf at the Corporation in Sheffield, most definitely an unmissable gig for me! Ali Blackdiamond and I therefore caught up with them mid-way through their latest tour. Despite it being a cold, rainy, mid-week (work/school) October night many more obviously thought the same way too as the turnout wasn’t too shabby at all for a Wednesday evening!

First on stage were local band Septic Fatality, but alas I cannot comment on their performance as it clashed with us being backstage interviewing/filming the lovely Wolf guys.

Wolf – Century Media Records

Band members:

Niklas Stalvind: Lead vocals & Guitar
Simon Johansson: Guitars & backing vocals
Anders Modd: Bass Guitar
Richard Holmgren: Drums

To quote Wolf themselves from their Facebook autobiography section “WOLF is a recording and touring band that doesn’t give a shit about the flavour of the day. They play loud and make no excuses”! What you see is most definitely what you get with these four fabulous guys from Sweden; full-on, traditional, retro heavy metal is what these ‘lupine lads’ are about, think Maiden/Priest……keeping the spirit of the 80’s very much alive.

Always greeted with enthusiasm and friendship by these awesome guys, the pre-show interview with Simon, Andy & Richard (Nik was off warming up his voice but still made time to say hi and pose for photo’s) got off to a cracking start when beer was handed out to all present. Always eloquent and open, the content of the interview ranged from the new material they are working on for the next album, touring (especially their obvious excitement for the upcoming ‘Headlining’ visit to India) and even things for the fans to get involved with – alas too top secret to be spoken about just yet! They did however divulge to us their new merchandise product; “Wolf’s Blood Hot Sauce” (Click HERE)….hotter than Tabasco apparently and, according to Andy, “it will make you HOWL” Not for the lily-livered amongst us then, and by that I mean ME!!!

I have had the honour of knowing the Wolf guys for some time now and it has to be said that they always give 110% on stage; with razor-sharp vocals from Nik, awesome guitar riffs from Simon (the newest member of the band but that means NOTHING, it is like he has been there from Day 1) the pounding rhythm section coming from Richard on Drums and Andy on Bass, striding around the stage and shaking his ample locks like a blonde Viking warrior!

With whirling hair, awesome stage presence, memorable lyrics and audience interaction I feel positive that apart from the die-hard fans such as Ali and myself, they also gained many new followers that night; people who were there to see Evile, and quite simply became ‘Wolf’s Prey’ in the process!

Catch Wolf next at:
ProgPower Oslo/Norway – November 10th 2012
Headlining Harley Rock Riders III – Bangalore/India – November 24th 2012

Setlist:
Make Friends with your nightmares
Hail Caesar
Full Moon Possession
Voodoo
Steelwinged Savage Reaper
Skull Crusher
Evil Star
The Bite
K-141 Kursk
Genocide
Venom
Speed On

Links:
www.wolf.nu

https://www.facebook.com/officialwolf/info

www.myspace.com/wolfheavymetal

http://metalshockfinland.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/interview-with-wolf-discussing-new-material-india-illegal-downloads-and-wolfs-blood-it-will-make-you-howl/

Evile – Earache Records

Members:

Matt Drake: Vocals & Guitar
Ol Drake: Guitar
Ben Carter: Drums
Joel Graham: Bass Guitar

The last time I saw Evile live was yet again at the Corporation, in October 2011, on their Five Serpents Teeth tour, which was, despite it being a total sell-out show, due to a Halloween Party booking, was only held in the smaller room/stage at the venue; so to see them finally promoted to the main stage was a metaltastic treat indeed. Alas, due to the Wolf interview and time constraints there was no interview with these guys this time around – although we did bump into, and have a quick chat with, Matt backstage.

Being a huge Metallica and thrash metal fan myself I have great admiration for these four guys, who back in their ‘pre-Evile’ days were called Metal Militia and concentrated mainly on Metallica tracks. To me, you can still hear the Metallica influences screaming out, along with other influences they cite in their Facebook biography, including Testament, Sepultura and Slayer.

The show at the Corporation was mid-way through their recently ended UK/Ireland Tour 2012, they certainly tried to include a show for just about everyone: with gigs as far afield as Glasgow, to Dublin, London to Newcastle, to the finale of the tour on their own stomping ground at the Picturedrome in Holmfirth.

Evile, as always, played a cracking mix from Enter The Grave, Infected Nations and Five Serpents Teeth, it was ‘Heavy Metal Utopia’ indeed, with aggression, testosterone aplenty and guitar riffs pounded out by frenzied fingers. The enthusiastic crowd were loving it – from flailing hair to a brutal looking mosh pit near the stage….this was thrash at it’s very best!

With thirteen thunderous tracks of extreme metal these four guys from Huddersfield both look and sound every inch the top class thrash metal band that they are. In my humble opinion Evile easily rank alongside any of the top thrash metal bands out there today. A word of warning perhaps for the likes of Megadeth and Metallica (whose members are all now hitting middle age) that the Brits can do thrash too; and these young guys from the UK are snapping at their heels!

Catch Evile next at:
Headlining Amnesty’s all Day Metal Fest. Leicester – in aid of charities: Amnesty & The Sophie Lancaster Foundation

Setlist:
Hundred Wrathfull Deities
Enter The Grave
Cult
In Dreams of Terror
Centurion
Man Against Machine
Metamorphosis
In Memoriam
Thrasher
Eternal Empire
Five Serpents Teeth
Infected Nations
Schizophrenia

Links

http://www.evile.co.uk/


http://twitter.com/evileuk


http://www.atmoapparel.co.uk/bands/evile/


http://evile.tumblr.com


http://www.myspace.com/evileuk

BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE Tear Nottingham A New One

Posted by Dylan Raine on October 15, 2012
Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: . Leave a Comment

Heavy thrash metal band BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE sent a wave of absolute destruction upon Nottingham supporters ears this evening 13/10/2012 at the Salutation Inn in support of the mighty FALLEN FATE. Bull-Riffs bassist Rod Boston commented “how great it was to see such support from our Nottingham crowd”. Blasting in with 5 waves of absolute hell BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE gave Nottingham something to think about whilst really rocking the crowd with powerful, face ripping metal.

Keep ya eyes peeled for BULL-RIFF STAMPEDE as they make their way across the UK destroying towns and cities as they go. Nottingham has been torn a new one following this mass onslaught of metal, who’s next!?


http://www.bullriffstampede.com/


https://www.facebook.com/bullriffstampedebandpage

Fan Live Report: Metalfest Italy 2012 – Hypocrisy

Posted by metalshockfinland on June 10, 2012
Posted in: Live Report. Tagged: , , , , . 2 comments

by Elsa Piazzini
(translated by Sylvi Taürie)

Metalfest 5 june 2012 at Alcatraz, Milan (Italy)


This is Elsa Piazzini‘s fan live report of the first stage of the Metalfest:

I was arrived to the Alcatraz very early, shortly after 4 and a half am, and I started my long waiting. Before 8 am we were more or less in four or five and the security has delimited the entrance with very advance, to understand better how to channel the people during the course of the morning and to permit the passage to the employees with the equipment. I waited until one pm when I could finally go inside with the long line of people that had arisen during the morning. Result: Front row, quite rightly with a good dose of curiosity!

To summarize quickly:

First band: Skull Fist
Explosive performance! With a sparkling, powerful and contagious Rock. A little bomb!

Second band: Fueled By Fire
American thrash metal band that has continued to warm up the audience, giving the start the first mosh pit and wall of death.

Third band: Tryptikon
The most “dark” band of the evening, able to let fans get into the atmosphere of the songs. The lyrics with special attention to black melodies.

Fourth band: Alestorm
Right ones to turn the audience with their piratical and revelers songs, always of course in metal style, creating choruses and pure fun.

Fifth band: Legion Of The Damned
Powerful riffs and scratchy voice, a heavy live at the right point the end of which the singer also gave to me and to another guy as a gift the t-shirt of the band.

After more than 5 hours of music, it was time for me more important: HYPOCRISY performance that I had waited for almost 14 hours! A short but intense set list full of famous songs such as Fire in the Sky, The Eraser, Valley Of The Damned and of course Roswell 47 that has closed a very powerful show and felt, both by band’s members and the public. A suffered front row with so much headbanging and bruises because of the moshpit, but I guess it’s needless to say that every time it’s worth it.. it’s just passion, a healthy madness..

After this little struggle, I quietly left the space for the elated fans of Blind Guardian and Anthrax (the headliners) that, by veterans, have had the opportunity to attract attention and to blow up the adrenaline of all the fans in there. While I was near the exit with some other metalheads, I met again the singer of Hypocrisy, after seeing him perform last March with the Pain in Västerås (Sweden) and a month and a half ago with both of his bands in Karmøygeddon Festival in Haugesund (Norway).

An Italian Metalfest really to remember.
Elsa

Metal 2 the Masses 2nd heat

Posted by Dylan Raine on May 6, 2012
Posted in: Live Report, News. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

In a little place just north of Nottingham (The Intake Club, Mansfield) congregated a mass of metal fans for one special evening of heavy metal. This was more than just a metal night, this was the second heat of the “Metal 2 the Masses” in which 6 bands would compete for a place at the final on June the 30th at Rock City, and the overall winner from that will go on to play a set at this years ‘Bloodstock Open Air’ festival.

With Cacodaemonic kicking off the evening with their mass explosion of Technical Death Metal, blast beats and growls from frontman Patrick Macdonald this was possibly a little too much to bear for some of the nicer folk with sensitive ears. Next up were the unstoppable Airstryke with an unrelenting pounding of high octane music and vocals to keep the crowd on their toes. Onto our 3rd band for the evening Hellrazor took centre stage and stormed their way through with manic progressions, crowd pleasing anthems and moderate mayhem throughout. Our forth band gave us Methysis who took stage and near knocked people over with the fiece rumble of vocals, from screams to growls with the music just being as heavy as humanly possible. Next up, Aonia came blasting in with their female fronted operatic metal, great vocals from the wonderful Mellisa Adams combined with a great collection of instruments. Our final band for the evening were Plague of Angels who like many others before them left the crowd in an utter state of shock, with their combinations between Thrash and Death metal just blew people away.

Upon hearing one of the judges outside saying “This is one of the most difficult one’s to judge” says it all really. It really was an interesting show, mixed with some very talented musicians, a fantastic crowd and great prices on the beer (not forgetting that of course!).

And so, the judging, the final result of all the bands hard work and effort came down to this. The next 2 bands who will be joining the rest at the finals on June the 30th at Nottingham’s Rockcity for a place at BOA are:

Hellrazor
Airstryke

Congratulations to them, and commiserations to the other 4 bands who really put on a great show. I hope to see them back next year for another shot at this great event.

Below are some of the video’s from last nights performance and links to the bands music and fan sites. Check them out, they’re all great bands full of potential.
Support British Heavy Metal!
Show your support by checking out their pages and music!

Cacodaemonic –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cacodaemonic/109724994721

Airstryke –
https://www.facebook.com/airstrykeuk

Hellrazor –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hellrazor/149270051757640

Methysis –
https://www.facebook.com/Methysis

Aonia –
https://www.facebook.com/aoniauk

Plague of Angels –
https://www.facebook.com/PlagueofAngels

Review: Hammerfest IV – Hammer Of Thor

Posted by Mohsen Fayyazi on March 28, 2012
Posted in: Live Report, Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment

Hammerfest IV was my first time at the Hammerfest Festivals so I was not sure what to expect when i arrived at the gates of Pontins in Prestatyn Wales for the Thursday Pre Party. As I got closer to the main reception there was a group of guys one of them dressed up as Thor on stilts with his mighty hammer swinging in the air greeting everyone that went past. As I walked into the Reception I was met by a wall of people queuing up to be checked in. The guy who checked me in was very pleasant he explained to everything that i needed to know then I signed my life away for the sake of metal and he gave me my keys to my chalet.

A View From The Chalet At Hammerfest IV, March 2012.

On my way round to my chalet I went passed the Queen Victoria Pub (e.g.: Stage 3) the first band of the weekend was playing. So I picked up pace so I could get into my chalet and put my stuff down so I could get out and doing some serious rocking. When I got to the chalet it was clean and tidy I was quite happy with what I got really as I was not going to spend much time in there only to sleep and have a shower. So then I put my stuff down and proceeded straight back out of the door to go to Stage 3.

 When I got there the security guard asked to see my wristband and then he held the open the door so I could in. Once in and I was hit by a wall of sound which was music to my ears as this is what I have been waiting for since I booked up. I proceeded to the bar area and grab my first pint which went down rather well after a long journey and settled into the crowd to hear the band which was Firebrand Super Rock who is a female fronted band from Scotland.

They soon got my foot tapping and my head a rocking with their classic heavy metal sound and the thundering riffs and the singers top quality vocals if you have never seen these before you are in for a real treat. Near the end of the set the guitarist (Jamie Gilchrist) mentioned that it was the Singer (Laura Donnelly’s) birthday as soon as he had said that the crowd burst out with their rendition of Happy Birthday for which the singer was clearly very happy with. At the end of their set the crowd roared happily with what they had heard.

The next band on was A Thousand Enemies from the Midlands a unsigned band but with a big future in front of them they belted out great material like And Nothing Remains and ? with Bane’s instantly recognised voice and that with the great solo’s this band could go all the way. They are a band to watch out for in the coming years and yes they were the band of the day for me without a shadow of a doubt. Finally the band that closed Stage 3 was Flame Fracture a Melodic Death metal band from the south east with distinctive vocals and harmonised guitars. Their on stage persona was very energetic and kept the crowd entertained as they powered through their set.

Friday

Friday was the day I was looking forward to there were a few bands on that I have been told by people to check out. The first band was Arthemis from Italy a true heavy metal / thrash style with very impressive vocals and rip roaring guitar riffs made for a great start to proceedings. The next band was Sci Fi Mafia these guys really turned my head with their electronica / industrial sound and their on stage persona with fire eaters and sparks flying everywhere made for a eye catching performance.

Anthrax, Hammerfest IV, 2012.

The Headliners Anthrax never disappoints with their classic thrash sound playing favourites like Antisocial, Indians and Metal Thrashing Mad to name but a few. With a high energy performance also banter from Scott Ian made for a great Headline Act one that when they tour again you do not want to miss.

Saturday

David pearce and Chemicals Of Democracy

Saturday for me was all about a handful of bands Starting on Stage 2 with Chemicals of Democracy these guys from Arizona with their Metal / Hard Rock sound made a great opener for the day with there hard rocking guitar riffs and really great vocals. I would definitely see them again. Straight after them was Severenth from Chester a hard hitting metal band with powerful guitar riffs and vocals that switch between clean toned vocals to hard heart hitting screams these guys know how to put on a show they were intensity at its best.

Johan Hegg, Amon Amarth. Hammerfest IV, 2012.
Photo by Ali Blackdiamond

Amon Amarth from Sweden was the band of the day for me personally with their powerful performance. Johan’s gruff vocals were  just so intense the guitar riffs was an assault on your ears and the melodic harmonies were a joy to behold they really know how to grab the fans by the balls and get them rocking. The Headliners Skindred was as normal a high intensity show with a lot of crowd participation Benji as normal was running all over the stage like a mad man getting the crowd going playing tracks like the Doom riff and Wanted.

All in all Hammerfest is well worth the money if you like great music and a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Skindred, Hammerfest IV, 2012.

Paradise Lost, Hammerfest IV

Arthemis, HammerfestIV

 

  • Review by:  David Pearce
  • Photos by: David Pearce except those  mentioned