Live-Report by Christian Tallone (Proofread by Rich Davenport)
We arrived at Alcatraz at 4pm; the queue outside the doors was considerablely long, which already gave an idea that ahead of us was surely one of the “best-seen-shows” of late. Unfortunately, and because of some last-minute-chances with interviews, we missed almost the entire show of Israelis ORPHANED LAND, seeing only their latest songs on stage. The audience was ecstatic and the band left the stage in triumph after being immortalized in a photo with the Milanese public behind them.
To listen our face-to-face interview with ORPHANED LAND, just before the show, go HERE.
Orphaned Land pictures by Michele Aldeghi
But now to the real protagonists of the evening, the Teutonic powermetallers BLIND GUARDIAN! I hadn’t seen them on stage for 14 years so I admit I had a fear of getting disappointed, but around 9pm, as soon as the galvanizing intro started with “The Night Wave”, my fear was wiped away… the stage set was simple but apt, and the nearly sold-out Alcatraz went crazy with the entry of Hansi Kursch, in top shape. The first part of the concert was a bit understated, dedicated to latest tracks “Banish From Sanctuary” and “Nightfall”, but the guys played impeccably. Hansi was like a moving train, an exceptional frontman, laughing and joking with the audience, who were calling out for “Majesty” almost from the beginning of the set. However the guys knew how to keep the tension high, so after an acoustic intermezzo with “Miracle Machine” and “Lord Of The Rings”, for which there were lighters and emotions, what we all really wanted began; going back over the years to “Traveler in Time”, “Journey Through the Dark” and finally the highly acclaimed “Majesty”. The audience got wild in a constant mosh, under the spell of a performance without respite! This is the BLIND GUARDIAN that I remembered! With “And The Story End” the band left the stage, but we all know this story, the best was yet to come: in fact, after a few minutes, they were back with the first of the two encores, “War of Wrath” as an intro, and then with “Into The Storm” the hell was unleashed, followed by the more recent “Twilight of the Gods”. And then our necks really felt the strain with the fantastic “Valhalla” which the crowd didn’t stop singing even after the last chord faded, “Wheel Of Time”, “The Beard’s Song” and then finally, the wonderful “Mirror Mirror”!
BLIND GUARDIAN left the stage at 11:20pm after giving us more than two hours of thrills with a concert that was also recorded for release on an upcoming live album, which retraced the entire history of a band that absolutely does not feel the weight of time. A concert that turned out beyond my expectations, very great BLIND GUARDIAN!
To listen to our face-to-face interview with BLIND GUARDIAN, just before the show, go HERE.
This second edition of Frontiers Rock Festival was my first experience at this AOR based 2-days label festival at Live Club(on 11-12 April 2015 in Trezzo – Milan, Italy). But I must say right away that it’s difficult to express with words the emotions that those days provoked in me… Here, we’re not talking just about a label festival; it felt more like a family gathering! People, Friends, before and in between the band performances, gathered together in smaller groups to fill the venue all over, talking about the latest news, even with me, who right at the beginning felt a bit like a fish out of water. However, as soon as the first tunes filled Live Club, I found myself fully immersed as if I had always been there. I will not try to put into words the turmoil of various feelings and emotions I had inside me during those 2 days. I’ll let the facts, pictures and videos (watch below) do the talking, as they will surely say more than 1000 well-selected words… check them out for yourself!
Each band gave their best on stage, but the absolute highlights for me were ECLIPSE and their crazy show, which didn’t leave anybody cold! And it goes without saying that the guys of BURNING RAIN(Doug Aldrich – Guitars, Keith St. John – Vocals, Sean McNabb – Bass, Matt Starr – Drums) conquered me in full, with their precise and impeccable sounds and great songs. They finished their set with a legendary cover of the Led Zeppelin classic, “Kashmir”, featuring on keyboards our “own” Italian pride and joy, Alessandro Del Vecchio, Frontiers’ own producer. I still have chills in me, thinking of their performance as “Kashmir” was one of the biggest soundtracks of my entire childhood (see the video and Day One pics below).
My second FRF day was unfortunately short, as I had to leave for the long drive home before I could see the day’s headliners on stage. But one thing is for sure, my unconditional highlight was One Name, One Man, who stood up and took the audience with his captivating and enchanting stage presence: DANGER DANGER‘s legendary vocalist TED POLEY, with his brilliant Festival line-up (Anna Portalupi on bass, Alessandro Del Vecchio on keyboards, Mario Percudani on guitars and Alessandro Mori on drums). Believe me, one simply cannot help falling in love with Ted and his devoted performance — you just let go and enjoy it all. Ten points also to the Live Club security, who was put to the test when Ted suddenly jumped into the public to sing “a duet” with hundreds of people around him in the audience, and then piloting him back to the stage. No harm done but a lot of fun!
See some of the Day Two pictures below:
Overall Frontiers Rock Festival exceeded my highest expectations. These great bands have revived my love for AOR, which began in my childhood but somehow got lost during the last 10 years. I also want to thank the Frontiers Crew for the excellent organization, in all its details, and for making me feel like one of the family! There’s only one tiny little problem, or more like a question: how will we manage to wait a whole year until the next edition of Frontiers Rock Festival?
The best way to “feel” music is to do so together with a huge family… Music, as it should always be, is without frontiers—just as it was at Frontiers Rock Festival! See you next year! \m/
…When Poetry leads you to a beautiful journey, opening another dimension to feel the Music…
VERDE LAURO is Fabrizio Sassi‘s ambitious Cultural Project adding music to some of the poems belonging to Francesco Petrarca’s opera: “Canzoniere”(commonly Anglicised as Petrarch (1304-1374) was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists).
The project involved musicians and singers from different Italian rock and metal bands. The Album “Son Animali Al Mondo”, released in March 2015, includes 20 tracks, sang in the antique Italian language, and can be ordered/downloaded on the band’s website.
“Son Animali Al Mondo” was produced by Mattia Stancioiu and SPB Produzioni, registered, mixed and mastered by Mattia Stancioiu and Fabrizio Sassi at Elnor Studio. Music: Fabrizio Sassi, Arrangements: VERDE LAURO, Orchestrations: Mauro Desideri, Lyrics: Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), Illustrations: Antonello Venditti, Artwork: Mattia Stancioiu.
I received the album “Sono Animali Al Mondo” two weeks prior to the album presentation, so I knew what to expect, when I entered Legend Club in Milan (Italy) on March 24th, 2015… no, I correct myself, I thought I knew what to expect…
…The tech men were still working on the latest installations and the cameramen were adjusting and aiming the cameras, to use the material for the next VERDE LAURO video. The atmosphere was intimate and familiar and gave an idea of a relaxed feeling and positive tension about this long awaited moment, to present the fruit of the hard work and for sure many sleepless nights.
The stage was ready, the venue was crowded, and when the lights faded, the musicians were still backstage, showing up then one by one, in different formations. The evening was divided in two parts; Album presentation, followed by the Guest performances and covers.
The whole setlist (please see below the complete list) was created as a harmonious flow, with the “flying changes” between the Guest Vocalists Alessandro Del Vecchio, Roberto Tiranti, Davide Dell’Orto, Emanuele Rastelli and of course Fabrizio Sassi, in different combinations, and in a way that between the songs there wasn’t any empty spaces or dead moments. Comparing to the album, the live arrangements were done more towards a progressive sound, which the audience appreciated a lot.
It’s difficult to express, with the right words and without too many superlatives, the emotional turmoil I had while “feeling” and listening to VERDE LAURO’s performance, offering in the same package, the beauty of High Poetry and impeccable professional performance by the best musicians in Italy, without forgetting that Music is a joy to be shared. The result couldn’t be anything other than the best, as we saw on that rainy Tuesday evening.
Right after the album presentation, each Guest Vocalist performed 2 songs, one of their own and one cover of their favourites. However, Davide Dell’Orto’s choice for “Burn” (Deep Purple) turned out to be an outstanding jam with everybody on stage, as a perfect final climax for the evening, expressing the brotherhood and “feeling” between these great artists, no matter about the different musical background they are coming from. Indeed, Music unites and makes us better people.
Sooner than I realized, the evening was over and I had to prepare myself for the 4 hour drive back home, under the pouring rain… but I didn’t really notice it, as my thoughts were still with VERDE LAURO (but no worries, I did concentrate on driving, too)
In summary, when I didn’t know what to expect from this evening, I can only say “…you know the feeling, when the beauty of Art is nearly too much to handle, touching and feeding your inner soul, and leaving a permanent mark in you… yes, this is VERDE LAURO!”
Tarja with Fabrizio Sassi, Alessandro Del Vecchio and Francesco Marras
Next chance to feel these emotions is on May 29th at CG Comunità Giovanile in Busto Arsizio (VA) – Italy
Two video clips from the album presentation:
Setlist Part 1.
1 Voi ch’ascoltate
2 Se Virgilio
3 Questa fenice
4 Giovene donna
5 Zehpiro torna
6 Solo et pensoso
7 La vita fugge
8 Passa la nave
9 Se lamentar augelli
10 A qualunque animale alberga in terra
11 Era il giorno
12 Sono animali al mondo
Part 2.
Emanuele Rastelli
1 Dalla bocca dell’inverno ( Magnifiqat)
2 Lovesong ( The Cure)
Roberto Tiranti
3 Percorso Obbligato ( dal suo disco solista)
4 L.Y.A.F.H ( Labyrinth)
Alessandro Del Vecchio
5 Distant Voices ( Edge of Forever)
6 Edge of Thorns (Savatage)
Davide Dell’Orto
7 Watcher of the wall (Drakkar)
8 Burn (Deep Purple)
This is how VERDE LAURO‘s mastermind Fabrizio Sassi describes his project:
You, who read and listen … I would like to tell you how it is impossible to resist some Passions. And I do it, bringing you to think for a moment about three animals and their relationship with the light.
Think about eagles flying towards the sun without burning their eyes. I believe that if we were to go on talking about this “talent” and the ability to withstand “something”, anything important, we would not finish talking at all! So, maybe some other time!
I ask you to think instead of those animals that have a “fear” of the light and come out only at night, for example the owl. Also in this case we could talk for hours about the solution to hide oneselves … not now and not here!
But I would like to make you think a little ‘more intensely” to another condition. …to think about those animals that are attracted by the light and that, perhaps knowing what to expect, or perhaps driven by a mad desire and convinced to rejoice of the splendor, they approach up to burn themselves… like the Moth!
There you go … I’m like a Moth! I belong to this array and this is what I’m singing about, through the lyrics of the Canzoniere (Rerum Vulgarium Fragmeta) of Petrarch. For me, Laura, the woman of who Petrarca sung and “chased” in his opera, is a metaphor for any person or thing that you cannot resist and for which you decide, or you are forced to spend your time … for me is even the Music! Laura is that light in which the Moth burns itself! It is the wound that does not heal even if the arc that launched the arrow is no longer tense.
To sing this story and the lyrics that most moved me I asked for the collaboration of some musicians around Italy. Combining the various fragments and the various styles was born, VERDE LAURO.
1. Voi ch’ ascoltate
2. Son animali al mondo
3. Valle che de’ lamenti miei se’ piena
4. Zephiro torna
5. Era il giorno
6. Questa Fenice
7. I’ vidi in terra
8. Erano i capei d’oro
9. Passa la nave
10. Giovene donna
11. Solo et pensoso
12. Se Virgilio
13. La vita fugge
14. Laura
15. Se lamentar augelli
16. A qualunque animale alberga in terra
17. Quanto più m’avicino al giorno extremo
18. Pace non trovo
Teutonic heavy metal pioneers ACCEPT recently had another magnificent performance in Helsinki, Finland. With the release of their newest album, “Blind Rage” hitting the Finnish chart at the number one position, it was very predictable that this show would be sold out, and indeed it was. Metal Shock Finland is always proud to support true metal and now we are glad to present to you some fan filmed footage, a photo gallery and live report of ACCEPT’s show in Helsinki, all done by one of the band’s Finnish die hard and proud fans Saku Ovaska.
Check out this video footage of the band playing their timeless song ‘Metal Heart’ in Helsinki on 28th September below:
Check out Saku’s live report about his experience of a night with ACCEPT and their metal:
German heavy metal legends Accept arrived again to entertain their fans in Helsinki this autumn. The band enjoys great popularity at the moment in Europe and in Finland the latest album “Blind Rage” went to the top of the charts.Also, the concert venue The Circus, in central Helsinki was almost full.
The two-hour set kicked off with an air of pride, showcasing the new album, by starting with first track, the very fast ‘Stampede’, giving the audience what they had come for!
The crushing riffs, powerful choruses and, above all, Wolf Hoffmann’s elegant, melodically harmonious guitars came into their own at the forefront of the stage. Accept today can be proud of the fresh-sounding vocalist Mark Tornillo era of production and the setlist was mixed of half new material and old. Hoffmann, the lead guitarist, the bassist Peter Baltes and singer Tornillo take care of the entertainment mostly at the front of the stage. Second guitarist Herman Frank has restricted himself to play more in the background, with the exception of. a few of the common solos and choruses.
Accept is a fine position as a band now that the new production has been received very well and the songs chosen from the old material to work with on stage are completely timeless. Sure, tracks such as ‘Princess Of The Dawn’, ‘Losers And Winners’, ‘London Leatherboys’ and great classics such as ‘Balls To The Wall’, and ‘Metal Heart’, which we heard as the encores, are treasures to the fans.
The two-hour show was entertaining and effective. Accept is in very good shape as a band and the audience left the scene with a smile. It is easy to see that the band still has many good years ahead. Thank you Accept and come back soon!
Honourable metal fan Saku Ovaska took several high quality photos of that heavy and metal night with ACCEPT and he gave us permission to share them with you here. So enjoy looking at these photos or feel free to be jealous if you missed an ACCEPT show in your local venue.
Live Report + photos By Christian Tallone (proofreading by Ali Blackdiamond)
August 18, 2014 Brescia – Italy, We arrived at the “Festa Di Radio Onda d’Urto” just in time, as TRAGODIA (from Brescia-Italy) were starting their performance, proposing metal mixed with prog, alternating with fast and rhythmic songs. The band has been active since the late ’90’s and tonight playing ‘at home’, and with a great responsibility, opening to TESTAMENT. Supported by a large group of home town followers, the guys did their best and gave us an incisively powerful show. The volume was not devastating, but everything was very well balanced. The only flaw in my opinion, was the frontman Luca Meloni’s lack of ability to bring in dialogue with the public, however he offered a good singing performance. But given the importance of the event, the lack wasn’t too bad, on the whole the band closed the set with their heads held high! Well done Tragodia!
It’s a bit strange to see a band like TESTAMENT at a party like this, costing only a 10 euro festival fee, marked mostly with a completely different genre of music (ska, reggae), with a stage set up in the middle of stalls ranging from candy to wristbands. Usually we are accustomed to the classic metal concert, with sandwich and T-shirt sellers outside and on seeing this mix I was immediately blown away, but in the end it proved to be a very well-executed party, enabled by the organisers bringing this great band to perform. It also maybe introduced the band to members of the public who may not have known this genre of music.
But let’s get back to TESTAMENT. The atmosphere was a tense, dark and icy scene, towering over the audience, mainly made up of old nostalgic metal lovers, eagerly awaiting the Californian quintet, who then showed up in an excellent shape. In addition to Billy and Peterson, we also saw the great Gene Hoglan and Steve Di Giorgio take to the stage.
TESTAMENT attacked potently passing from old to more recent releases, they sounded as you would expect, perfect! Billy’s voice is immense and hasn’t seemed to feel the slightest passing of time, although a little high in places, sometimes it rose above the rest of the band, especially the drums were a bit stifled.
I was moshing from the beginning to the end in the front row, and then Billy called us to the wall of death in the middle of ‘Alone In The Dark’. Testament gave their Brescian audience a concert of high quality, but maybe just a little cold. The songs in the setlist performed in bursts with continuous “crescendo”, which made me think that they were there just to do their job and then leave the stage (this was the last date of the tour). Anyhow, TESTAMENT left us with such a grit and nostalgia which makes you not remove their music from your car CD player for at least 10 days.
However, a great show, which once again shows us that the old ones are always the best ones! So for the next edition, we just hope to see a band of equal value!
Live Review by Ivana Prica – Photos by Jasmina Lozar and Jaka Čurlič from JZACrew.com
Metal Shock Finland‘s co-operator, Ivana Prica, went to METALDAYS 2014 (which took place on July 20-26 in Tolmin – Slovenia) for us and gathered together the live report, icluding interviews featuring SABATON, MY DYING BRIDE, HEAVEN SHALL BURN And Much More. Check out the video and pictures below.
METALDAYS is a festival that is becoming more recognised around the world each year. It is set in the small town of Tolmin in Slovenia. The town is situated by two mountain rivers- Tolminka and Soca, in the West of the country. Metal Open Air in Slovenia has existed since 2004, but was renamed in 2013, from MetalCamp to MetalDays. Despite the change, people recognise it, not just as a mere festival, but as a true metal holiday. Not only do you get the chance to hear a massive number of great bands performing live on two separate stages, but you can also enjoy fly fishing, rafting, kayaking, canyoning, hiking, visiting caves, restaurants, beaches and much more. The camping area is free for all those who buy concert tickets.
Photo by Jasmina Lozar from JZACrew.com
However, if you dislike camping, you can always find shelter in the hotels, motels and apartments nearby. As if that wasn’t enough, the festival area is covered with free Wi-Fi. It has food stands all over the place (including vegan places and gluten free food). The beer is good and cheap. There are enough toilets and showers (that are clean); and you can even find a small market place where you can buy T-shirts, bracelets and other promo materials. If you have small children and want to bring them with you to enjoy the music, don’t worry, the entrance is free for them until they turn 12.
Photo by Jaka Čurlič from JZACrew.com
Again, that’s not all MetalDays offers… The visitors keep going back to this festival even if they dislike the line -up. The reason is that the overall atmosphere is extremely friendly, relaxed and fun – MetalDays is a large family! People develop lifelong friendships, meet their partners, enjoy great music, spend their holidays surrounded by beautiful nature and have the time of their lives.
Photo by Jasmina Lozar from JZACrew.com
Metal Shock Finland have been lucky, thanks to its talented co-operators from JZA Crew, to have been able to capture a glimpse of the atmosphere on camera. So, if you’re still not convinced you should visit MetalDays, take a look at the live review (above) and join the next edition, in 2015.
Photo by Jaka Čurlič from JZACrew.com
Photo by Jasmina Lozar JZACrew.com
Photo by Jaka Čurlič from JZACrew.com
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Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
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