Posts Tagged ‘heavy metal’
Helstar and Omen Concert Review, Austin, TX, July 30, 2016
I love Metal Blade Records for being one of the first metal labels that were accessible in the mainstream record store market as a kid. About 90% of their first 80 or so titles were winners. One of those bands that stood above the fray was Omen. My first listen came when Danile bought Battle Cry. From there I was hooked. Before owning any physical copies of their stuff, we traded dubs of their first 2. Kelz had a dubbed cassette of those first two that was passed around between our circle of friends. Would love to see the j-card of that again. Such great memories. Those first three albums are essential to any fan of traditional metal. JD Kimball’s (RIP) vocals are the best. After he left and their followup albums came out, I admit to losing interest. I did buy their latest one, Hammer Damage, last week and I like it a lot. It’s certainly got that old school Omen vibe to it. They never came through Virginia back in those days and I had missed festival appearances in the last decade so last night I was able to scratch off another band from the list. To be honest I had a little trouble sleeping the night before like a kid on Christmas Eve.
Come show day, I gathered up my CD covers, marked the spot in The Book, took a nap, showered up and headed to the show. Doors were at 7PM and the first of the 6 bands was going on at 730. I grabbed some tacos at the place next door then went in and caught the openers, Metalriser, from San Antonio. I’ve seen them a few times in San Antonio and I like them a lot. Very Sepultura-ish with slightly cleaner vocals. It was a solid 30 minute set.
Locals Force of Rage came on next. Pass. Not a fan. By their second or third song, my date had shown up and she hadn’t had dinner yet, so back to the taco place! We had missed all of the next band, Death of a Dream. After listening to their stuff earlier in the day, I was ok with missing their set. We returned right as Black Thorn Halo came on. She looked at me when their second song started and said, “Outside?” Haha. YES! I’m not a fan of that band at all, 0%, although I think their guitarist is excellent. He also plays in a local Dio tribute. Fantastic guitarist in general.
As we were outside waiting for them to finish, I let her know about my rabid fandom of Omen and she was understanding. We went in as Omen was setting up and went right to the front of the stage. I was utterly surprised how under-attended the show was, especially since Omen rarely plays Texas even though Kenny lives in Dallas and because it was Helstar’s album release party and they generally do well in Austin because of how infrequently they play here. My guess is that there were maybe 100 total from beginning to end, but the crowd had thinned out by the time Omen came on. But we were there, at the front of stage when they opened with Death Rider and Dragon’s Breath. This is right at the beginning of their tour with Helstar and even though things were a little rough, they were still fantastic. I was just so excited to see them, singing along with everything. They played the title track from their new album, Hammer Damage, and singer Kevin Goocher forewarned us that it was only their second time playing it live and that it would be a little rough…and it was, but that was ok. To be honest, it’s my least favorite song on the new album, but it’s not a bad one by any means. They played 8 songs total and were scheduled to close with Teeth of the Hydra (!!!) but the other bands ran long, so Omen had to pay the price and get cut by one song. Add to the fact that Helstar had a hard start time. It’s my favorite song of theirs. Bummer. I met up with their singer right after the cleared the stage to sign my CD and he mentioned that Steve Wittig had left already as he had to catch a flight. So none of my stuff got signed by him, but no biggie, I’ll see them again in California is October for Frost and Fire II and again April 2017 for Spring Bash. Funny, waited 32 years to see them and now I’ll have seen then 3 times within 8 months or so.
Helstar came on and pretty much just destroyed the place. They were promoting their new album, Vampiro. It may have been the best I had ever seen them play. Currently lineup features on Larry Barrigan as the other remaining original member and he’s a fantastic player. The remnants of crowd (pun intended) that were left there piled into the floor and were very vocal and animated during the set. James’ voice was as precise as I have ever heard it. It was a fun set and the new songs sounded great. My date enjoyed both bands as well, having never heard them before.
She was patient with me as I spent a few minutes with Kenny Powell to get some CDs and The Book signed. “I love signing stuff, I appreciate anyone who appreciates us.” I mentioned how much I liked the new album and he mentioned how much trouble they had in writing and recording it. I said that it sounded like Omen. “Perfect,” he said. “That’s what I needed to hear. I wanted it to sound like classic Omen.” Mission accomplished. He signed the CDs and paused to see the Best of Metal Massacre. “What’s this? Never seen this before. Another comp that I never knew about!” He signed the book and his wife was enthralled by it, taking a picture of the cover to get one of her own.
It was a great night overall seeing old friends, making new friends and seeing one of my favorite all time bands.
Riot V Concert Review, Detroit, MI, July 9, 2016
And away I go to Detroit. That was a long drive on minimal sleep. I booked a hotel while I had stopped for breakfast at a truck stop. As soon as I arrived to my hotel in Romulus, MI right by the airport, I took a shower and a quick nap. I had a bunch of things I wanted to do and see that day but was just too wiped out to do them all. The only thing I did do was to see my old friend Nikki. We met in 1999 or 2000, went on a couple of dates and just ended up quickly becoming close friends. We recorded an album together in 2002(?) and had seen each other since about 2004. It was great to see her and her fiancee, laugh about old times and just be around her. She’s always been one of the most positive people I’ve ever known.
From there I went back to the hotel to catch a Lyft ride up to the Token Lounge in Westland, MI. I arrived right when the opener was starting. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was getting hungry. I noticed a pizza place on the end of the building and as I was leaving to go grab a slice or two, the door guy said, “No re-entry.” I didn’t notice the sign when I had walked in. He said to just phone in the order and they’ll walk it down. I was about to do just that then he said, “Fuck it, there’s no one here yet, just go.” Sweet. The pizza place was called “Krustyzz.” I ordered it to go and took it back to the bar. They had some hightop tables behind the soundboard in an area that was separated by glass. It was nice to sit and eat and not be blasted out. The pizza was greasy but delicious.
The opener was called SixE SixE (Sixe Sixe?). I don’t know. They were pretty awful. Not sure if they were a brand new band or what, but it wasn’t solid at all and the 2 songs I heard sounded like 90s style hard rock. Glad I missed most of their set. Terminus was up next. Unfortunately it wasn’t the Irish band of the same name. These guys were pure new metal and even covered Lamb of God. I almost threw up my pizza. Guitar players were good, though. Heard a few solos that were impressive. There came Acoustic Hell. It was everything you’d think it was with that name. Three acoustic guitars, a guy 50ish yrs old in flip flops and his hat on backwards and a female backup singer. They played stuff like Crazy Train, Screaming in the Night and some other stuff that I couldn’t care about. Luckily my pal Ryan showed up and I hung out with him and his friends on the back patio for the rest of their set. Wulfhook was up next. I neither loved nor hated them at Ragnarokkr and my reaction was the same at this show. I’m not sure what it is that doesn’t quite catch my ear. Singer has a powerful range, the rest of the band is solid and competent, but I’m just not into them. Then…THEN, they did an encore version of Powerslave. Maiden is my favorite band ever and I am picky about hearing cover versions of their music. They played it pretty well then I heard, “When the life givers die.” Not just once, but every time that section was played. WTF. No.
Riot time. Thankfully. They played the same set as the night before, flawlessly. Such a powerful band to watch. The crowd was considerably smaller, though. Maybe a 100 people or so when they took the stage and it cleared out little by little throughout their set. But I enjoyed it just as much.
After the show, the bar didn’t kick anyone out and we got to hang out. It was drummer, Frank Gilchrist’s birthday, so we did a shot of whisky together. I didn’t get to talk to him much at the Chicago show, but we caught up for quite a bit on Saturday. He’s a good dude for sure. I also got some one on one time with Mike Flyntz. I requested Maryanne to get added to the set and he said that it’s the most requested song that they get. I’d also like to hear more from the Mike Demeo era. He was super cool as always and thanked me for making the trip. As I was going over to talk with Donnie, he introduced me to his merch guy. I saw him in Chicago and thought he looked familiar but couldn’t place it. It was Giles Lavery who sang for Warlord for a little while. I was shocked to see him and it was great to finally meet him in person. What a great guy. We talked for a while and had a beer. He mentioned that his main band, Dragonsclaw, had a new album coming out. It was quite a great night. That venue is really cool, too. Medium sized, great staff, great sound. I’d like to visit the area again and hopefully that trip can coincide with a show here.
Sunday morning I just popped into a record store before heading to an airport. I got a Paul Stanley shirt which just has the ’77 solo album cover on it with no lettering. The store was certainly into ICP as their merch was everywhere and even a sign out front stating that they had tickets to the juggalo gathering. Ha.
Twas a great weekend overall getting to see a band that I love in 2 other cities.
Riot V Concert Review, Chicago, IL, July 8, 2016
I like Riot/Riot V. All incarnations. Period. They’ve never released a bad album. Some better than others, but never a bad one.
I ran into their bassist, Donnie Van Stavern, at a RUSH tribute show in San Antonio a few weeks ago and asked him about upcoming shows. He mentioned the Chicago and Detroit shows and I checked my concert calendar and my Southwest account and took the decision to just go. He said he’d hook me up with guestlist for both shows, so that was an added bonus.
I left for Chicago Friday morning on a direct flight, got there, grabbed my rental car and headed straight to the north side of town to pick up Bob, one of the organizers of the Ragnarokkr festival. He graciously offered up his place for the night. We headed first to Metal Haven Grill and I pigged out on their tasty Italian beef and a char polish sausage. It was entirely too much food but it was delicious. You gotta go if you’re ever in Chicago. Their record and CD selection is ever expanding and there is a ton of great original heavy metal artwork on display, mind-numbingly so. From there we went to one of the locations of Reckless Records. I didn’t find anything but it was a cool place. Afterwards we headed back to Bob’s. I changed clothes and off we went to the red line EL train to Reggie’s.
We got in and I saw a couple of folks I knew from the area that I had met at previous Ragnarokkr shows. Crusader was the opening act and they played the whole time I was upstairs at Record Breakers store where I bought a bunch of albums to have shipped back to Texas. Didn’t hear a note of them so I can’t comment. Scars of Armageddon were on next and they were a proggy/power metal/slight hint of nu-metal band with excellent guitar work and a good singer. I’d never buy an album by them but wouldn’t be upset to see them again. Direct support for Riot was a local Judas Priest tribute band called Judas Rising. Pass. I mean, sure, they sounded alright although their singer I think would sound better doing a Di’Anno era Maiden tribute. I don’t know, I just wasn’t feeling it at all.
After a quick set change, the lights go down and you hear the taped live version of Narita and then Frank leads in with the drum into to Flight of the Warrior. The crowd of 200+ was into it, singing every word. They then went into Ride Hard, Live Free from the latest album and then Fight or Fall. I was on the stage left side where Van Stavern and Lance Barnewold (filling in for Nick Lee for this mini tour) we located. Lance is Nick’s perfect replacement. Both guys have flawless execution of riffs and solos. They mix the set up with old and new songs. The whole band was great. I also appreciated getting handed the bottle of tequila from Donnie a couple of times. And just let me say this, Todd Michael Hall is one of the best singers in metal out there right now. That guy’s range is phenomenal. He’s really just a freak of nature vocally like Harry Conklin and Mike Soliz. It was great to hear Black Leather and Glittering Steel in the set as well. They did 6 from Thundersteel including my fave, Johnny’s Back.
At the end of their set, Todd announced that they’d com out to the merch booth right after a quick break. Two minutes after that, Reggie’s staff was kicking everyone out. It wasn’t even 1:30 AM yet. So we just hung out on the street with the locals friends and then went around to their back door to shoot the breeze with Donnie, Mike and Lance. During their set, I took a pick of Lance and posted it on NIck’s Facebook page with the words, “Fake Nick is getting it done.” haha.
It was a great show but I was beat so we hopped on the train back to Bob’s. We got delayed at one stop because of some dude raising hell at the stand and not letting the doors close. The guy sitting across from me woke up and said, “Fucking crackies!” A few moments we were on our way.
I got to sleep around 4AM but I didn’t sleep well at all. I was up and ready to go by 745AM, said adios to Bob and was on my almost 5hr drive to Detroit.
click fotos
Stryper Concert Review, San Antonio, TX, July 2, 2016
In November 1985 (hard to believe it’s been almost 31 years) I attend my first metal concert ever. It was Stryper at the Boathouse in Norfolk, VA (RIP). I was 15 and it was a pretty important show for us. The next opportunity to see them was in 1988 opening for Hurricane at the Hampton Coliseum. I didn’t go as I was already disinterested in Stryper by then. My friend Bill and I did cruise the parking lot that night to check out the ladies and haze the posers though. haha.
To be honest, Michael Sweet’s vocals really grate on my nerves. He’s the Dennis DeYoung (Styx) of metal. That being said, the 1985 show was still a big thing for me and getting the chance to meet them and have them sign their photo in The Book was an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss.
Once I got to speak to them, I mentioned that Boathouse show and that it was my first metal show. They were pretty much indifferent but Tim Gaines did say that he remember that “dumpy venue.” Oz Fox was mildly interested in The Book as was Michael Sweet who said, “Ah yes, I’ve seen one of these before.” Robert Sweet looked like he didn’t want to be there, reminiscent of meeting Scott Ian. But whatever, I got them in The Book and that’s what was important. After a quick photo I headed over to the America show.
The Stryper show was sold out and when I got back to the venue, Austin’s The Dharma Kings were on stage. I missed the other 5 openers completely. I wish I had missed The Dharma Kings. While that dude has a decent voice, their songs are pretty uninteresting. Add to the fact that it was jam packed in there and hot as hell. I finished their set on the patio enjoying a refreshing beer.
Stryper hit the stage around 10:50 opening with Yahweh (Ya Guey?)then into the classic You Know What To Do. I had forgotten how much of a shredder Michael Sweet was. He had been sick during some recent shows on this tour but showed no signs of that last night as he was hitting all of the high notes effortlessly. They played a few more songs that I didn’t know and then went into Co’mon Rock, a song that I do like and maybe my favorite by them. The crowd was really into them. San Antonio loves Jesus and Stryper apparently. The band sounded fantastic in general. Backing vocals were perfect. You often hear about drummers playing behind the beat and i don’t think any drummer exemplifies that term more than Robert Sweet.
They did an album of covers a few years back and played Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell and KISS’ Shout it out Loud. After the KISS cover, I was done. Tired, bored and having seen what the setlist was, it wasn’t worth waiting around for the closer, Soldier Under Command. So I bailed.
It was a good and busy day but I’ll likely not see Stryper again, at least not for another 31 years.
Voivod Concert Review, Austin, TX, May 21, 2016
The first time I ever saw Voivod live was during SxSW 2010, and there was blood. I was a latecomer to them and really prefer their middle-era of Nothingface, Angel Rat and Outer Limits, Negatron and Phobos over all of their other material. I love seeing them live and last caught them in Denver last year when I was up there for work.
I picked up my ticket yesterday afternoon and they were playing at the newly renovated Barracuda (f. Red 7). What a great job they did inside and out. The place is way more comfortable to see a show.
I missed opening act, Child Bite. King Parrot (King Boring) was up next and while I’m 0.0% a fan of them, their drummer is damned good.
Voivod was on next to a crowd of 100 or so, which was a bit disappointing. Apparently Dying Fetus was packed around the corner. Gross. Voivod was just hanging out with fans prior to their set. No rock stars here, folks. They’re really just laid back dudes and at least every time I have seen them, they’ve made themselves very accessible to their fans.
They opened with Ripping Headaches, Tribal Convictions and Order of the Blackguards. The set included 3 of the 5 songs from their latest EP, Post Society. The songs sounded great, especially We Are Connected. My favorites of the night would have to be The Prow and The Unknown Knows. This tour features new bassist, Dominique LaRoche, who did a great job. The whole band was tight as always and it’s really a pleasure to watch Away’s drumming. He’s a very unconventional.
The only played 13 songs ending the night with Voivod and Pink Floyd’s Astronomy Domine.
Upon exiting the stage, Dan Mongrain came up to me, put his hands on my shoulders and said with a smile, “How’s the head doing?” I said, “Other than a weird occasional twitch, no problems.” We both laughed, I told him it was a great show, he gave me a pick and we moved on. I’m surprised he even remembers that at all.
Can’t wait to see them again!
The Metal Files 
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