Live Report

Live Review: Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW, Genting Arena, UK, 25/06/16; Video

Posted by aliblackdiamond on June 29, 2016

Posted in: Live Report, Reviews. Tagged: Alison Booth, Genting Arena, Ritchie Blackmore Returns, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Ronnie Romero, Uk Show 2016. 7 Comments

Review By Alison Booth
Interview By Mohsen Fayazi

Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW
Genting Arena UK
25th June 2016

Years have passed since I last went to a big show at the NEC, Birmingham, (I think it was MEGADETH in ’92), so what a band to make it back there for, arriving for the gig of the century on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon, to see The Man In Black’s return to rock! The area was packed full of happy looking RAINBOW fans wandering around the Resort World complex, eating, drinking and watching Euro 2016 on the big screen outside.

Walking into the Genting Arena, we were faced with a great band playing on a small stage, going by the name of DAYLIGHT ROBBERY, with quite a crowd watching their set. After of course buying TShirts to mark this legendary event, we went to find our seats, on the side block next to left of the stage was a pretty good view. I hadn’t heard of English rockers MOSTLY AUTUMN prior to them being announced as support for this show, but they put on a great performance at what must have been the biggest show they have played. It’s easy to see why they were chosen for this gig, they fitted in very well with the whole theme of the night and went down really well with the packed out arena.

Slightly later than scheduled, at 8.45pm, the lights went down and ‘Land Of Hope And Glory’ then ‘Over The Rainbow’ started blasting over the PA, signalling the entrance of the band and guitar GOD Ritchie Blackmore! So many fans have been waiting for this ‘return to rock’ moment for the last twenty years and they greeted the band and of course main man Ritchie with deafening cheers as they launched straight into ‘Highway Star’, setting the excellent tone for the night.

Ronnie Romero
25th June 2016

I’ve known vocalist Ronnie Romero since the return of RAINBOW was announced last year and his work with his own band LORDS OF BLACK. Ronnie was a great choice to be the new singer, his voice is exceptional and suits all the material, whether it be DEEP PURPLE or RAINBOW. Ronnie is also a commanding front man and interacted well with the crowd throughout the show.

The other musicians supporting Ritchie consisted of Bob Nouveau on bass, David Keith on drums and Jens Johansson on keyboards, along with two backing singers, one being Candice Night. Even though I know all the previous incarnations of RAINBOW well on recordings, I had never seen the band live before and it did not matter one bit to me that there were no other original musicians playing these shows. I feel the band worked extremely well as a unit and though not very animated (except for Ronnie) that was okay, the musicianship shone through. Not sure if it was just me, but I couldn’t really hear the backing vocals much.
After a few DEEP PURPLE tracks, the band launched into ‘Man On The Silver Mountain’, one of my favourites of the show. Of course nobody could or even wants to replace Ronnie James Dio, but I’m sure would he have loved Ronnie Romero’s vocals on this song, absolutely excellent!

Ritchie Blackmore
25th June 2016

Let’s just get this bit out of the way – as we all know, Ritchie is now 71 years old, so of course combined with his recent surgery, has slowed down since the days of RAINBOW past! Personally, for me it was unbelievable to see such a legend up on that stage, it felt like a momentous and historic occasion where every moment had to be savoured. And Ritchie looked in fine shape, he made his Strat sing all night long! (no pun intended ;)). There were some very cool moments – not once, but twice Ritchie suddenly lay down at the front of the stage and passed a drink to a lucky member of the front row and we heard him speak just once, to introduce Ronnie. He really looked to be having a great time throughout, waving his arm sometimes. The only tiny criticism I have (which isn’t really!) is that he didn’t go to the other side of the stage so I could get a decent photo ;).

‘Soldier Of Fortune’ was another shining moment, full of emotion from both Ronnie and Ritchie, with the crowd singing along in fine voice. ‘Difficult To Cure’ was up next, followed by brilliant bass, keyboard and drum solos.
‘Child In Time’, what can I say, it was absolutely outstanding! Ronnie could easily match Ian Gillan’s voice, this song particularly showcased his amazing vocal range and he has one hell of a scream on him!

Last month we had a special tribute week to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the RAINBOW “Rising” album and as I had listened to it so much recently and gathered other artists thoughts on it, it seemed to make it even more special when the drum intro to ‘Stargazer’ kicked in, then that riff! A definite favourite of the whole show, Ronnie delivered the vocals with all of his heart and soul and Ritchie’s slightly changed solo was brilliant. The icing on the cake was to see this classic performed under the 21st century rainbow lighting rig, just stunning!
The night ended all too quickly (unfortunately without ‘Gates Of Babylon’, maybe next time!) with two more DEEP PURPLE classic tracks for the encores, ‘Burn’ and ‘Smoke On The Water’, I’m sure leaving most people feeling the same way as me – we would love to see more from Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW!

Set List:
Recordings – Land Of Hope And Glory
Over The Rainbow
Highway Star
Spotlight Kid
Mistreated
Since You Been Gone
Man On The Silver Mountain
Soldier Of Fortune
Difficult To Cure
Catch The Rainbow
Perfect Strangers
Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll
Child In Time
Stargazer
Black Night
Encores:
Burn
Smoke On The Water

Show Rating: 10/10

Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW
25th June 2016

Also, you can watch this short video below, conducted by Metal Shock Finland Chief Editor Mohsen Fayazi, to find out my opinion on the show:

Live Report: VENOM INC./NECROPHAGIA Reigned Hell On Philadelphia’s Underground Arts – January 7th

Posted by tarjavirmakari on January 13, 2016

Posted in: Live Report, News. Tagged: Venom Inc.. Leave a comment

(Article by Tim Shearn from The DarkSide – Photos below by Metal Fortress Radio)

Last Thursday January 7th, I had the humble pleasure of greeting VENOM INC, before their show at the Underground Arts in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. VENOM INC. is the reincarnation of legendary British Extreme Metal pioneers Venom. Venom Inc. features the line from the late 1980’s/early 90’s Tony Dolan era. Which consists of Tony “DEMOLITIAN MAN” Dolan, Vocals & Bass, Tony “ABADDON” Bray, Drums, and Jeff “MANTAS” Guitars. This was indeed a night well spent in the dark depths of Hell, with three awesome bands who in support of the mighty Venom Inc. included Infernal Stronghold and Necrophagia.

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VenomInc-Philly-show-2-by-MetalFortressRadio

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Infernal Stronghold opened the show with a fast and furious set of beautifully chaotic music clearly inspired by Austrian Death/Black Metal pioneers Sadistik Exekution. Ohio’s Necrophagia were second to take the stage. Highly influential in the development of the American Death Metal in the mid 1980’s they nailed their set with some highly intense and mind bending Classic Death Metal at full speed highlighted with frequents moments of their signature slow Doom inspired breakdowns which do well to create a larger and darker experience. The show climaxed when the furious three DEMOLITION MAN, MANTAS, and ABADDON took center stage to begin their reign of infernal terror. As eagerly expected, the three came out with “ALL GUNS BLAZING”. The set contained a steady mix of the bands entire uncatalogued. DEMOLITIAN MAN Dolen fronted perfected as the natural showman he is known to be with his percesion sinister growl, which adds a further Blackens the bands audio onslaught. He of course did all of this while nicely handling the bottom end at the same time. MANTAS shredded with his natural hellish fury, not missing a single note. Needless to say, he’s MANTAS ! ABADDON hit the drums with such a conviction that it clearly reminded the audience VENOM is still firing on all engines.

The show seemed to pass rather quickly looking back although in the mist of Venom Inc. set it was as if time stood still. I remembered listening to these Metal Titans as a young child playing my tennis racket to “Don’t Burn The Witch” and, here I was standing face to face with the gentleman who changed the trajectory of Heavy Metal Music forever. It is with great honor and respect that I write of this amazing experience. Even more, after decades of touring and making music, these gentleman have not forgotten their most important connection with their devoted fans. For those in the path of the remainder of this US tour, get out and see this show. ENOUGH SAID \m/

See More Tour Dates Below

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Live Report: BLACK STAR RIDERS, WHITESNAKE, DEF LEPPARD; Sheffield Arena 2015

Posted by aliblackdiamond on December 24, 2015

Posted in: Live Report. Tagged: Alison Booth, BLACK STAR RIDERS, DEF LEPPARD, Sheffield Arena 2015, Whitesnake. 1 Comment

Report By Alison Booth

It was an exciting time mixed with nostalgia, when back in March of this year heavy rock giants WHITESNAKE and DEF LEPPARD announced a joint headlining tour, along with special guests BLACK STAR RIDERS. I hadn’t seen either headliner for years and as both bands featured predominantly in my musical formative years, you could say that I was looking forward to the show in Sheffield!

This date on Saturday 19th December was the last of a run of ten shows in Ireland and the UK, fittingly of course ending in DEF LEPPARD‘s home town, where they formed way back in 1977. The Arena was packed, being a sold out show and the atmosphere buzzed! I must mention, as I was there with my friend Di, also my Metal Shock Finland team mate, that we used the facilities for disabled people – from the car parking to the help received from staff, especially a member of the Showsec security team, was brilliant, nothing was too much trouble.

BLACK STAR RIDERS released “The Killer Instinct” album back in February and have had a busy year, as have all the bands on the bill. The last time I saw them was a few years ago in Manchester, just before they changed from THIN LIZZY and this performance was just as great, going down well very with the crowd. It was fantastic of course to hear some Lizzy tunes in the set and guitar legend Scott Gorham looked in very relaxed mode, whilst frontman Ricky Warwick jumped around the stage full of energy! Naturally, the last song just had to be the ultimate classic ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, which sent shivers down my spine and got the whole crowd moving and singing!

Following an interval, one of my all time favourite bands were up next, WHITESNAKE! Kicking off their hour and twenty five minute set with the DEEP PURPLE classic ‘Burn’, the band exploded onto the stage in fine form, looking extremely at home as you would expect with a band of this calibre, plus their longevity thrown in for good measure. Guitarist Joel Hoekstra who joined the band in time to record their latest release, “The Purple Album”, fits into his role like a glove. Joel is an extremely accomplished guitarist who looked as if he was having a whale of a time through the whole performance, judging by the wide grin on his face! Keyboardist Michele Luppi was introduced by David Coverdale singing the opening lines from the Dean Martin classic ‘That’s Amore’ to rapturous applause! We were treated to many hits spanning the career of ‘Lord Coverdale’ (as described by Joe Elliott) – classics such as ‘Fool For Your Loving’, ‘Give Me All Your Love Tonight’, ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger’, ‘Is This Love’ and many more rang around the arena, rolling back the years!

DEF LEPPARD‘s and of course ex-WHITESNAKE guitarist Vivian Campbell appeared on stage to join in with ‘Still Of The Night’, which was a real crowd pleaser! David Coverdale is showing no signs of letting up, which is great news for the fans! Of course as any reasonable person would expect, after extensive touring and with advancing years there’s the odd bit of strain in some vocals, but that said, there is still that deep rich voice belting out the songs, and the genuine big friendly personality shines through on stage as it always has done. On the whole Mr Coverdale still has what it takes and the band delivered one hell of a show, complete with a stunning drum solo from Tommy Aldridge. WHITESNAKE closed their show with David telling fans “don’t let anyone scare you”. My favourite band of the night!

Whitesnake, Sheffield Arena, December 2015

Another interval, then last but not least, the final band of the night, Sheffield’s own DEF LEPPARD. The band received a tremendous welcome from their home crowd, running onto the stage with their trademark various adornments of the Union Jack flag. Vocalist Joe Elliott showed plenty of enthusiasm about being back on home turf, telling the crowd stories from back when the band started out in the 1970’s. Again, it was brilliant to see their big hits such as ‘Rock Of Ages’, ‘Animal’, ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’, ‘Armageddon It’ and ‘Love Bites’ performed in the same venue I last saw them in quite a few years ago! DEF LEPPARD also released a new self-titled album in October and have been touring the world since April, though the performance was as fresh as ever.

Plenty of stunning lights complimented the sets of nostalgic old band pictures shown on the screens throughout some of the songs, with tributes to the departed Steve Clark. Drummer Rick Allen was close to tears with the fans’ reaction at Joe‘s request to give him a cheer, the request was met with an overwhelming response. About an hour and a quarter after hit following massive hit, DEF LEPPARD concluded their set with one of their best known hits from the early days, the archetypal ‘Photograph’.

So came to a close what felt like a huge Christmas party for rockers – even in a place as large as Sheffield Arena, if you have the right mix of a friendly atmosphere and excellent bands, the camaraderie can prevail! A fantastic night! Check out a gallery of photos from the night below.

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Live Report: W.A.S.P. + LUCKY BASTARDZ At Live Club in Italy – November 6, 2015

Posted by tarjavirmakari on November 21, 2015

Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: "Golgotha", LUCKY BASTARDZ, W.A.S.P.. Leave a comment

WASP-15

Live Rebort by Christian Tallone

Due to hellish traffic on the bypass of Milan, we arrived at the Live Club only a few minutes before the performance of tonight’s opening act, our compatriots LUCKY BASTARDZ, started. To be honest, I didn’t know this band, but I was very impressed by them. Solid rhythm sections were precise, while the guitarist and the frontman took control of the stage in a remarkable way. Nine tracks were performed, taken from their third full length album. LUCKY BASTARDZ played energetically and with enthusiasm, and I hope this band will have a long and successful road ahead. From time to time the band was laughing and joking with the audience, while their crew crossed the stage, forming a little train. Excellent performance, and after their show, they joined the audience to enjoy the Legends who were to go on stage next… W.A.S.P.!

I hadn’t seen a W.A.S.P. show for three years, the last time was in 2012 at Alcatraz (Milan) when they opened for Megadeth. I must be honest, I wasn’t too excited about their show that night, also because they had only a short time available on stage, i.e. only nine songs played hastily and Blackie was not on top form. But after listening to their latest album “Golgotha”, I really started to believe in this band again!

But let’s get back to tonight… the show wasn’t sold out, though it was very close. Exactly on schedule, at ten o’clock, W.A.S.P. went on stage, with maxi-screens instead of the classic banners, showing their video clips, plus dazzling lights as a backdrop to a perfect performance. Blackie, the frontman and the only original member still present, was in perfect shape in every way, and he seemed to have found his voice again from the earlier years. The band was excellent on stage, the bass and drums seemed to be one, and guitarist Doug didn’t just play his part, but he was a real protagonist, a true monster on stage!
The crowd was wild and the hour long show soon passed by. In total there were 14 songs and medleys, including three from the latest album. I feel many nostalgic fans would have preferred to hear songs such as ‘Sleeping In The Fire’, or ‘Hold On To My Heart’, myself included, but the setlist was fair enough, of course promoting the new album. The sound was great and the atmosphere really exciting. A pity for those who missed this gem… tonight was also the last show in Italy on this tour, but to describe the performance of W.A.S.P. in two words: Fantastic and Timeless!

W.A.S.P. setlist November 6, 2015 (source: Setlist.fm)
– Intro
– On Your Knees / Inside the Electric Circus
– The Real Me (The Who cover)
– L.O.V.E. Machine
– Last Runaway
– Crazy
– The Titanic Overture
– Arena of Pleasure
– Miss You
– Thunderhead
– Hellion / I Don’t Need No Doctor
– Golgotha

Encore:
– Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)
– Wild Child
– I Wanna Be Somebody

See the video-clip from Milan show HERE (courtesy of Live Club).

VENOM Inc. Exclusive Tour Blog on Metal Shock Finland, Day 2. – Baroeg Open Air Festival

Posted by tarjavirmakari on September 19, 2015

Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: "Iron And Steel Tour 2015", DIVINE CHAOS, Tony "Demolition" Dolan, Vader, Venom Inc., WITCHES. 22 Comments

venominc-2015-tour-blog-1

UK’s extreme Metal Masters VENOM Inc. are currently touring on their extended European tour “Iron And Steel Tour 2015”, together with the Polish death metal icons VADER and UK thrash metallers DIVINE CHAOS, supported by WITCHES.

Tony “Demolition” Dolan, is releasing their tour blog, in video clips, pictures and messages, daily (or as often as possible), exclusively to Metal Shock Finland.

Check out below his “Day 2” video clips (in .avi) of today, on the second tour day at Baroeg Open Air Festival:

Clip 1 – Clip 2 – Clip 3 – Clip 4 – Clip 5

Here’s Day 1. tour-blog.

Comments Tony: “Great show great crowd great atmosphere!!!!thankyou the crew, the bands, the crowd!!!!! Resigning in HELL!!!”

Also check out below some backstage pictures of today:

Stay tuned for new updates! \m/

To listen to our recent chat with Tony Dolan, go HERE.

For VENOM Inc. Merch, please check the online shop HERE.

More information at https://www.facebook.com/IronSteel-Venom-Inc-1629661823931140 – https://www.facebook.com/mpireofevil

Tour Trailer:

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Photo-Report: Metalitalia.Com Festival 2015 – TESTAMENT And EXODUS In Pictures

Posted by tarjavirmakari on June 21, 2015

Posted in: Int. News, Live Report. Tagged: 2015, Exodus, Metalitalia.com Festival, TESTAMENT. Leave a comment

Photos by Stefano Catalani

Metalitalia.com and Eagle Booking Live Promotion, in collaboration with Live Nation, organized the fourth (and sold out) edition of Metalitalia.com Festival, on May 30th 2015 at Live Music Club in Trezzo Sull’Adda (Milan, Italy).

Metal Shock Finland was there and made a photo-report of the two co-headliner performances: the legendary TESTAMENT, whose new studio album is currently being written for a tentative early 2016 release, and EXODUS, for the first time in Italy after the reunion with singer Steve “Zetro” Souza and the release of the acclaimed new record “Blood In, Blood Out”.

Watch the galleries below. Copyright @ Stefano Catalani

EXODUS: