2014)

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

The Metal Gods descended from the sky to assault all of us with their magnificent Heavy Metal in a land far, far away.

INTRODUCTION: The Lost Civilization of Casino Rama

If you want to stay away from any type of civilization in this world, I suggest you go to a place called Casino Rama, located around two and a half ENDLESS hours from Toronto. In theory it should be a lot faster than that, but if you take into account the 5pm traffic to leave the city on a Tuesday (right in the middle of the week, by the way) and an annoying dose of heavy rain, the hassle of getting there is horribly extended and becomes a real torture. Who the hell decided Casino Rama on a tuesday night were the best venue and date for Judas Priest to perform in Ontario? I swear to God, Odin, Buddha and any other deity that I’ll NEVER return to that place again if not for Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. No other band can make me go there again, not even Slayer or Megadeth.

Not only that, I truly hate Heavy Metal concerts with pre-assigned seats. Why not leaving the floor section without those fuckin’ chairs? Just create a general floor area, and whoever wants to sit down while Judas Priest are playing Hell Bent For Leather (if that’s humanly possible), simply take one of the seats at the back. As simple as that, but it seems the very “knowledgeable” organizers were expecting Judas Priest to be as smooth as Kenny G or any other shit like that. Anyway, let’s try to always look on the bright side of life: at least the venue was nice and clean, parking was free, and the sound quality was beyond perfect. And of course, if you’re addicted to gambling, that’s also a good place to be.

OPENING ACT: Steel Panther

When the opening act are Hard Rock/Glam Metal jesters STEEL PANTHER, you know it’s going to be a memorable night. Although they’re truly funny even with 99.9% of their sexist jokes being really stupid, I believe their superb skills as musicians are what make them so awesome to watch, especially vocalist Michael Starr. In my opinion, he’s a much better singer than all hard rockers from the 80’s. Well, maybe only singer Ralph Saenz (ex-L.A. Guns) can be compared to him. Got it?

Their setlist might have been a little shorter than usual, but still full of classics such as Asian Hooker, Gold-Digging Whore, and Death To All But Metal, plus some songs from their new album All You Can Eat like the good Gloryhole, all perfectly complemented by their jokes about the age of the attendees (especially those screaming ladies in their 40’s and 50’s), their debate about Michael Starr being a fat version of Bret Michaels or a skinny version of Vince Neil, among many other “pearls of wisdom”. There couldn’t have been a better warm-up than that for the Metal Gods.

Before I talk about the Priest, I just wanted to say that it might be really cool and a huge honour for Russ Parrish to be on the road with the Metal God Rob Halford once again, even if they’re in different bands now. If you don’t get it, click HERE and you’ll understand why I mentioned that.

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Band members
Michael Starr – lead vocals
Satchel – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Lexxi Foxxx – bass guitar
Stix Zadinia – drums, percussion, piano

JUDAS PRIEST

It was around 9:30pm when Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton & Co. hit the Casino Rama stage for another flawless performance. Right after Black Sabbath’s War Pigs and the intro for Priest’s own new song Battle Cry, thunders roared, the curtain was dropped and there they were with the excellent new song Dragonaut assaulting our bodies and souls with the purest Heavy Metal in the whole universe. What can I say about those guys that hasn’t been said yet? Rob Halford is not human: he is and will always be the METAL GOD, with his unique voice being absolutely perfect for both heavy stuff and smoother ballads; Scott and Glenn were as precise and heavy as usual; Richie injected some new oxygen to the band and proves with each concert why he was an amazing choice to replace K. K. Downing; and for the first time in my life, due to the sound quality of the venue, I could listen to Ian Hill’s bass lines.

Perhaps the most curious detail of their performance at Casino Rama (and during this whole tour so far) is the total absence of any songs from the masterpiece Painkiller, including its title-track, as well as other classics like “Electric Eye” and “Rapid Fire”, from the setlist. Instead, they opted for other types of classics, a little bit more underground but just as great as any of those songs, such as Devil’s Child, Jawbreaker, Love Bites, and Defenders of the Faith (which could have been complemented with “Heavy Duty” right before it like in the studio album, but that was awesome anyway), kind of celebrating 30 years of their classic album Defenders of the Faith.

And as we’re talking about the mighty Judas Priest, there’s a lot more to enjoy than “just” their unparalleled Heavy Metal: each and every song had a different background, with highlights to the fun and exciting images of the cult movie Nosferatu (1922) during Love Bites; Halford’s famous “robot walk” during Metal Gods; their badass Harley-Davidson in Hell Bent For Leather; and Halford letting the crowd sing Breaking the Law on their own, just like he did with his solo band during his Rock In Rio III concert in 1999.

One thing I truly loved during this concert was the fact that all new songs from Redeemer Of Souls sounded awesome live and were perfectly blended with their old classics, especially the magnificent Halls Of Valhalla. What an outstanding performance by the whole band during this powerful song, especially, of course, Mr. Rob Halford. Just as I mentioned in my review of the new album in regards to this song, “… which I’m sure will become a fan-favourite especially due to its lyrics and chorus and will also sound superb when played live”, and I was totally right!

The encore, with anthems like You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ and Living After Midnight, was a sonic orgasm to all Heavy Metal lovers that attended the show, but in my opinion the most memorable moment of their entire performance happened a little before that, when they played the all-time classic Beyond The Realms Of Death. Honestly, Rob Halford almost made me cry so beautiful and emotive his performance was. It was one of those moments you know why you love heavy music so much, and fully understand why he is entitled the Metal God.

I must admit the long and boring journey back from Casino Rama to Toronto on the same night (I got home at around 2am) was a lot easier thanks to the adrenaline running through my veins after such a stunning concert by the Priest. Although the band members are visibly aging (Rob, Glenn and Ian are all in their mid-60’s already), does that mean it’s the “beginning of the end” for the band? I don’t think so. As far as I could see, they’re better than ever, very excited to craft new powerful music, and playing their old classics with so much passion they look like they’re just starting their careers. And, of course, I cannot wait to see the Metal Gods kicking some serious ass live again with their unique jaw-dropping Heavy Metal. JUDAS FUCKIN’ PRIEST!

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Band members
Rob Halford – vocals
Glenn Tipton – guitar
Richie Faulkner – guitar
Ian Hill – bass guitar
Scott Travis – drums

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Concert Review – Heavy Montréal 2014 Day 2 (Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC, 08/10/2014)

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

A scorching hot Sunday of impeccable heavy music in Montreal.

DEATH ANGEL

After a good night of rest I was ready for more Heavy Montréal at Parc Jean Drapeau on Sunday. However, not only I was able to arrive really early that day (missing only a couple of minor bands), but also the sun was a lot hotter and the lineup a billion times heavier, turning that day into some kind of heavy music survival camp, which was totally awesome.

The first attraction I was able to check on Sunday was American Thrash Metal band Death Angel, who at 1:30pm delivered a very consistent concert at the Heavy Stage, mixing some old songs with new ones from their most recent album from 2013 in their SETLIST, with highlights to the title-track The Dream Calls For Blood, one of the songs with the highest response from thousands of thrash metallers already present at the festival. And, of course, the energy lead singer Mark Osegueda emanates throughout the entire show was more than admirable.

Band members
Mark Osegueda – vocals
Rob Cavestany – lead guitar
Ted Aguilar – guitars
Damien Sisson – bass guitar
Will Carroll – drums

EXODUS

When American Thrash Metal beasts Exodus started their sonic Armageddon at 2:15pm at the Molson Canadian Stage, especially with the return of Steve “Zetro” Souza on vocals, the smile on the faces of all fans perfectly represented what Exodus are: a nonstop Thrash Metal machine ready to rumble until there’s no one standing anymore. I’ve always considered them the “extra” element that would transform the Big Four into a Big Five, and everytime I see them live I believe in that even more.

Despite not playing any new stuff from their upcoming album Blood In, Blood Out (which I really cannot wait to take a listen to), their short but superb SETLIST was a perfect lesson in Thrash Metal: Bonded By Blood, Blacklist, Toxic Waltz, Piranha, Strike of the Beast, among other masterful songs, were the soundtrack for intense circle pits, furious headbanging and constant beer drinking.

All band members were on fire, especially the returning Zetro (and his HUGE belly) and the riff master Gary Holt, a man that deserves a lot more recognition in the world of heavy music than he actually has. Maybe the only issues with their concert were sound of the guitars, which were too low compared to the drums, and the fact they had only 45 minutes to play. Anyway, the “Exodus Atack” might have been short, but it was indeed extremely effective.

Band members
Steve “Zetro” Souza – vocals
Gary Holt – guitar
Lee Altus – guitar
Jack Gibson – bass
Tom Hunting – drums

EPICA

After the BEASTS from Exodus, it was time for everyone to relax (and bang their heads, of course) with the BEAUTY Simone Simons and her bandmates from Dutch Symphonic Metal band Epica at 3:00pm, at the Heavy Stage. Their SETLIST was also pretty short, but instead of playing their classics they decided to offer their fans a concert full of new songs from their brand new album, the excellent The Quantum Enigma, which worked really well for them: everybody watching their performance truly enjoyed songs like The Second Stone, The Essence of Silence and Unchain Utopia.

Obviously, everyone had their eyes fixed on the stunning Simone, who is not only extremely gorgeous, but an awesome singer and a very sympathetic and charismatic frontwoman. Her headbanging was also amazing, especially due to the effect her beautiful long red hair had on that. Lastly, Simone mentioned they’re getting back to Canada in October with Machine Head and Children of Bodom, this time for a full 2-hour concert. Are you going to miss that unique opportunity?

Band members
Simone Simons – lead vocals
Mark Jansen – rhythm guitar, grunts, screams
Isaac Delahaye – lead guitar, backing vocals
Rob van der Loo – bass
Coen Janssen – synthesizer, piano
Ariën van Weesenbeek – drums, grunts, spoken words

BODY COUNT

I skipped Symphony X not only because they’re quite boring, but also to breathe some fresh air, watch good-quality wrestling matches at the Heavy Mania Stage, drink a couple of beers, and get ready for American Crossover Thrash band Body Count. At 4:30pm there they were at the Heavy Stage, or I should say that Body Count was literally “in the house”: that was a very entertaining concert, full of classics such as Body Count’s In the House, Disorder (my favorite of their SETLIST), Cop Killer and Talk Shit, Get Shot.

I must say that Ice-T, the mastermind behind Body Count, is a motherfuckin’ great frontman. Even after all those years, the man still got it and perfectly interacted with each and every person from the crowd. The funniest part was when he pointed to a girl and asked her age. She said she was only 16, for his surprise, as he replied back saying he would expect to see her at a Justin Bieber concert, not at Body Count, but he was 100% happy with her being there. He then pronounced some “beautiful” words for her, saying it was a pleasure to have her there and that the whole band truly respected that “bitch”. Well, the “bitch” seemed to be honored with his words. A day to remember, “bitch”!

Band members
Ice-T – vocals
Ernie C – lead guitar
Juan of the Dead – rhythm guitar
Sean E Sean – sampler, backing vocals
Vincent Price – bass
Ill Will – drums

BAD RELIGION

After skipping another concert, Hatebreed, and watching only 5 minutes of Alestorm’s performance at the Apocalypse Stage, I ran back to the Heavy Stage at 6:00pm for a memorable performance by American Punk Rock icons Bad Religion. The band was back in town just one year after their last performance there, or as frontman Greg Graffin said during the show, Bad Religion were back to Montreal “1 year later, 10 years older, and all fans looking better than ever”.

And what can be said about a nonstop SETLIST with 22 songs, including masterpieces such as Recipe for Hate, Struck a Nerve, 21st Century (Digital Boy), Infected, Punk Rock Song and American Jesus? It was pure madness, with kudos to drummer Brooks Wackerman for pounding his drums so intensely that each and every song became even better than the studio versions. Bad Religion might look 10 years older, but they sound like if they were all in their mid-20’s.

Band members
Greg Graffin – lead vocals
Brian Baker – lead guitar, backing vocals
Mike Dimkich – guitar, backing vocals
Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
Jay Bentley – bass, backing vocals
Brooks Wackerman – drums, percussion

LAMB OF GOD

The sun was still scorching hot at 7:00pm when Twisted Sister hit the stage, so I decided to rest for a while at the Wi-Fi zone before heading back to the Heavy Stage, where at 8:00pm American Groove Metal band Lamb of God began their sonic massacre to the total delight of their diehard fans. They played a pretty decent SETLIST, with powerful songs like Walk with Me in Hell, Laid To Rest and Redneck, all accompanied by their respective awesome disturbing videos depending of course on the lyric theme, showing random images of junkies, religious fanatics such as Jim Jones and his followers, among others. That was an amazing addition to the show, holding the attention of even who was not a fan of their music.

However, it was lead singer Randy Blythe who stole the show with his close interaction with the audience, especially his funny jokes and messages, like when he said Dee Snider is one of his biggest idols (as they both have their issues with the law), his admiration for the badass names “Saskatoon, Saskatchewan”, and mainly when he asked everyone to give him a huge fuckin’ “WOOOOOO!” in honor of the Nature Boy, the one and only wrestling legend Ric Flair. And I guess I don’t need to mention anything about the insane mosh pits, right?

Band members
Randy Blythe – vocals
Mark Morton – guitar
Willie Adler – guitar
John Campbell – bass
Chris Adler – drums

SLAYER

You don’t need to ask anyone what you should or should not play when you’re FUCKIN’ SLAYER! At 9:15pm, American Thrash Metal behemoths tamed the Molson Canadian Stage for a brutal performance that almost devastated the whole island, bringing even the “plague” (or tons of mosquitoes) to Heavy Montréal (according to Tom Araya himself) and closing the festival on a perfect note. The most evil band in the world didn’t play any new songs, not even the recently released Implode, and of course there were no fuckin’ “requests” in their SETLIST. They simply chose to stick to their basics instead, bombarding each fan attending the concert with undisputed Thrash Metal classics such as War Ensemble, At Dawn They Sleep, Spirit in Black, Disciple, Raining Blood, Die By the Sword and Angel of Death.

It was another flawless performance by Tom Araya, Kerry King, Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph, and one thing must be said about Gary and Paul: they had some absurdly humongous shoes to fill when they replaced the gods Jeff Hanneman and Dave Lombardo, but their synergy with the other guys and their passion for heavy music make it look like they’ve always been with the band. Gary Holt is a guitar beast, as I’ve said a billion times already, and Paul Bostaph is so awesome he makes playing drums look like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

In between the songs and all the sick circle pits happening all over the festival, Tom Araya thanked the fans a thousand times for being there, saying they were the reason for that kind of festival to exist. He seemed really happy and honored by how loud everyone was screaming their names and singing their songs during the entire concert. In addition, he also tried to send some meaningful messages to the crowd while introducing some songs, like when he mentioned the horrible conflict that’s happening now between Israel and Palestine, before playing the masterpiece Die By the Sword. Do I need to say a “Slayer by Request” is totally unnecessary, especially when a band is so impressive as they are, no matter what they choose to play? I believe all the “SLAYER! SLAYER! SLAYER!” screams that echoed really loudly at the venue when the concert was over, at all subway stations and even at a McDonald’s where I had a pit stop to get some food can answer that.

Band members
Tom Araya – vocals, bass
Kerry King – guitar
Gary Holt – guitar
Paul Bostaph – drums

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was probably the best edition in the history of Heavy Montréal, because not only the main-eventers were brilliant, but mainly because the way everything was set up made the whole experience really pleasant for any type of person attending the festival. For instance, the extra stage this year allowed even more independent and/or newer bands to get known by the audience, the continuation of the Heavy Mania Stage was a great success, and the Heavy Montréal 2014 App was more than helpful for everybody.

Moreover, I don’t remember seeing any incidents during both days at Parc Jean-Drapeau. I cannot believe it’s 2014 and some idiots keep insisting on saying headbangers are violent people, when in fact we’re the most easy-going people in the whole fuckin’ world. Anyway, it’s time to recover from those two intense days, work, study, listen to metal and enjoy the local concerts wherever you are, until a new edition of Heavy Montréal is forged in the fires of heavy music next year for our pure delectation. What are your thoughts about Heavy Montréal 2014? Which attractions did or did not meet your expectations? And who do you want to see at Heavy Montréal 2015? Leave your comments below (if you have any) and, of course, keep listening to heavy music.

Concert Review – Heavy Montréal 2014 Day 1 (Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC, 08/09/2014)

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

A Saturday full of sun, Thrash Metal and Punk Rock at the biggest heavy music festival in Canada.

INTRODUCTION: The Island of Heavy Metal

Since its first edition in 2008, Heavy Montréal (formerly known as Heavy MTL), has become one of the largest heavy music festivals in the world, being compared to some huge traditional European summer festivals, with around 70,000 people attending every year. Not only that, after only two editions of Heavy T.O. in Toronto in 2011 and 2012, Heavy Montréal became the only mega Heavy Metal/Hard Rock festival in the entire country, elevating its importance even more for all Canadian headbangers.

In my opinion, one of the most outstanding characteristics of Heavy Montréal is the fact that the festival is held annually at the beautiful Parc Jean-Drapeau, which is located on Saint Helen’s Island in the middle of the romantic Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec. In other words, heavy music festivals happen all over the world in different sites, but only Heavy Montréal offers us the uniqueness of spending two days of our summer every year at a true “island of Heavy Metal”.

HEAVY MONTRÉAL: Where to Stay, How to Get There and Overall Organization

Booking a hotel in Montreal during the summer is not only painful, but also as pricey as hell: even the most disgusting pigsty downtown will cost you at least 100 Canadian dollars a night or more, if you’re lucky enough to find a room available. In case you’re not driving, there’s not much you can do but surrender to that “mafia”. However, if you go to Montreal by car there are many excellent hotels near the airport, which is just a 20-minute drive from the heart of the city. You can park your car at Complexe Desjardins for around 10 Canadian dollars a day, and then take the subway to Jean-Drapeau (yellow line) metro station starting either at Place-des-Arts (green line) or Place-d’Armes (orange line) metro stations, arriving at the festival main entrance in less than 15 minutes.

Another highlight of Heavy Montréal was its overall organization: the food trucks were amazing and the beer was ice cold (a bit costly, though), the Wi-Fi zone was relaxing and the internet service worked fine, the toilets were clean, there was plenty of water, good merchandise and some freebies, among many other cool stuff happening all over the island. Of course, the main “attractions” were the stages where lots of awesome heavy bands from different styles delivered unforgettable moments to their fans. We had Scène Heavy (Heavy Stage) and Scène Molson Canadian (Molson Canadian Stage) for the main bands, Scène De L’apocalypse (Apocalypse Stage) for midcarders, Scène De La Forêt (Forest Stage) for indie bands, and Scène Heavy Mania (Heavy Mania Stage) for some awesome wrestling action.

ANTHRAX

Unfortunately I had to miss some of the afternoon bands on Saturday such as Overkill, Apocalyptica and Babymetal as the drive from Toronto to Montreal is lengthy and boring, but I got there just in time for American Thrash Metal masters Anthrax. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say about Joey Belladonna, Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello and Jonathan Donais: they kick fuckin’ ass no matter where they are and how much time they have to play. Their SETLIST was pretty much the same from the previous time I saw them, but you know what? It’s always a pleasure to listen to Thrash Metal classics like Madhouse and Antisocial mixed with some newer badass songs such as Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t. I just thought the crowd was not as excited as I was expecting, maybe because Saturday was a day for “softer” bands, but that didn’t stop Anthrax from delivering an awesome concert to everyone attending the festival that day. As Scott Ian said at the end of their performance, always remember to worship music!

Band members
Joey Belladonna – lead vocals
Scott Ian – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Charlie Benante – drums, percussion
Frank Bello – bass guitar, backing vocals
Jonathan Donais – lead guitar

THE OFFSPRING

Right after Anthrax were done at the Molson Canadian Stage, it was time for American Punk Rock veterans The Offspring to hit the Heavy Stage at 7:15pm performing one of the most influential Punk Rock albums of all time in its entirety, the excellent Smash, plus some other classic songs to complete their SETLIST, to the delight of their old and new fans. They might not be a true metal band, but it’s impossible for any living person not to enjoy the hits Come Out and Play, What Happened to You?, Why Don’t You Get a Job? and The Kids Aren’t Alright. Moreover, the quality of their live performance is superb, just as if you were listening to the studio versions of all songs with an extra dose of energy added to them, especially in regards to frontman Dexter Holland, who doesn’t seem to get old with time. Quite the contrary, he seems to be in great shape and ready to rock for many years to come.

Band members
Dexter Holland – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Noodles – lead guitar, backing vocals
Greg K. – bass guitar, backing vocals
Pete Parada – drums, percussion

METALLICA

It was 8:15pm when the lights went off at the Molson Canadian Stage and, after the intro The Ecstasy of Gold, the main attraction of the night, American Thrash Metal giants Metallica, delivered to their fans their “Metallica by Request” concert. Let me start by saying that I’m not the most recommended person to talk about Metallica. Although I like some of their old songs, I consider them an extremely overrated band, and pretty much 99.9% of everything they recorded in the past 20 years or so is pure garbage, especially the abominable album St. Anger. Well, as I was already there I decided to enjoy their performance as much as I could, which really happened with kick-ass songs such as Blackened, Battery and The Four Horsemen, by far the best moments of all, but besides those songs there was nothing else truly memorable from their SETLIST chosen by their “fans”. Not even Master of Puppets, One, Seek & Destroy or Fade to Black turned me on, mainly because their setlist is always that same old annoying “radio hit collection”.

They give the fans the unique chance to select some old school Thrash Metal anthems such as Whiplash, Metal Militia, Damage, Inc., Trapped Under Ice, Motorbreath, and many other songs they haven’t played in ages, and what do those so-called fans do? They vote for the repetitive sleep aids The Unforgiven, Sad But True, Enter Sandman and Nothing Else Matters (do they know anything besides the Black Album?), which sounded even worse when blended with their new dreadful song Lords of Summer, the unnecessary instrumental Orion (not a bad song, but an awful choice for live performances), and two absolutely disgusting guitar solos (if those “things” can be called solos) by Kirk Hammett. Even when people could choose The Four Horsemen, Fuel or Fight Fire with Fire for the “Vote of the Day” things went partially wrong, as we ended up without listening to the amazing Fight Fire with Fire.

I don’t know if the fans who voted actually attended the concert, because I saw lots of people yawning during the never-ending slow songs, especially during The Unforgiven, which was a true torture. You have to agree with me here: how can you consider a song boring if you voted for it to be part of the setlist, right? At least for me and for the real Metallica fans, this “Metallica by Request” thing was a huge failure, and that could be easily seen by the extremely low level of energy and excitement after the show was over, as people were just like “yep, let’s go home now”, no one was screaming the name of the band nor anything fun happened after that. Leastwise, let’s all remember some beautiful words from Monty Python and “always look on the bright side of life”: although some people mysteriously voted for some songs from St. Anger, none of that tuneless rubbish made it to the setlist. That made me really proud of living in Canada.

Band members
James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Kirk Hammett – lead guitar, backing vocals
Robert Trujillo – bass guitar, backing vocals
Lars Ulrich – drums

To be continued…

Concert Review – Nova Rock Festival 2014 (Pannonia Fields II, Nickelsdorf, Austria, 06/14/2014)

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

A flawless festival at one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

INTRODUCTION: The City of Nickelsdorf and 10 Years of Nova Rock

The town of Nickelsdorf is located in the district of Neusiedl am See in the Austrian state of Burgenland, it belonged to Hungary until 1920 (like the whole province of Burgenland) and it has a population of less than 2,000 people. Those details alone wouldn’t encourage anyone to visit this little town in the middle of nowhere in Austria, don’t you agree? However, over the past 10 years there are three very special days between the second and third weeks of June when its population increases almost 100 times and Nickelsdorf becomes the world capital of heavy music: that’s what happens when the awesome Nova Rock Festival hits the town.

It was from June 9 to June 12, 2005 when the first edition of Nova Rock brought to town names such as System of a Down, Marylin Manson, Nightwish, Audioslave and Green Day, with over 30,000 fans per day. The following year, with huge bands like Metallica, Motörhead and Guns N’ Roses, the festival received over 150,000 visitors, becoming the largest ever rock festival in Austria. Since then, names like Volbeat, The Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Rammstein, Kreator, Testament, In Flames and many other heavy music icons have helped put Nickelsdorf in the route (and in the hearts) of metalheads from all over the world during the always incredible European summer.

This year the lineup was once again more than amazing, starting on Friday, June 13 with the power of Volbeat, Slayer, Steel Panther and Sepultura; kicking fuckin’ ass on Saturday, June 14 with Epica, Trivium, Anthrax, Amon Amarth and Iron Maiden (and believe me, American actor David Hasselhoff); and topping it off with Rob Zombie, The Offspring, Bad Religion, Arch Enemy and Black Sabbath. You can take a look at the full lineup per day by clicking HERE.

As I was travelling around Austria and Eastern Europe I couldn’t attend all three days of the festival due to time and money restrictions, so this review is solely in regards to Day 2, with focus on the performances by Trivium, Anthrax, Amon Amarth and Iron Maiden. Unfortunately (or not), I couldn’t stay later to see “The Hoff” singing the hit song Du or doing whatever he was going to do there.

NOVA ROCK FESTIVAL: Where to Stay, How to Get There and Overall Organization

If you’re planning on attending Nova Rock next year for only one or two of the three days of the festival, or if you’re not a huge fan of camping sites, the two best options available are staying in the capital Vienna (about 70km from Nickelsdorf) and driving for about one hour or taking the train to the festival, or staying in the very pleasant city of Bratislava, in Slovakia, which is only 40km from Nickelsdorf (or a quick 40-minute drive). We chose to stay in Bratislava, mainly because it was our first time in Slovakia and our chance to know that amazing city, and we do not regret that at all: it’s a lot cheaper than Vienna, the food and drinks are amazing, and it is full of breathtaking views like the one of the entire city from the top of the Bratislava Castle during the sunset.

The festival itself was very well-organized, with a huge free parking lot, good camping space, lots of different options to eat, good toilets, decent prices for the merchandise available, and more important than all that, both the blue and the red stages were set up in a way you could see and listen to everything no matter where you were. There were also lots of different activities going on, keeping the fans entertained before their favorite bands hit the stages, including a huge party zone. The only issue this year was the unbearable dust that impregnated the entire festival due to the dry and sunny weather in Nickelsdorf, which was responsible for lots of people wearing bandanas to cover their faces like if they were some kind of outlaws. Anyway, it was better than a heavy storm, especially because driving back to Bratislava all covered in mud wouldn’t have been a nice experience.

TRIVIUM

Because I had some sightseeing to do in the morning and part of the afternoon, I was able to get to Nova Rock only at 4pm, which means I unfortunately missed Epica (and fortunately missed Ghost). However, I was there just in time for one of the best bands of the past 10 years: American Heavy Metal band Trivium started their powerful and fun concert at around 4:30pm setting the crowd on fire, especially the ones in the front row/section. The band’s sonority was better than the last time I saw them, partially thanks to drummer Mat Madiro: he seems to be an excellent replacement for Nick Augusto, helping the band sound more cohesive with him on drums.

A constant presence in previous editions of Nova Rock, the band seemed pretty happy to be back in Austria and, with heavy and technical songs such as Strife, Black, Through Blood and Dirt and Bone and Down from the Sky, Matt Heafy and his crew delivered what in my opinion was the second best show of the day, only behind Iron Maiden. Matt said numerous times the fans were kickin’ ass at Nova Rock, which is an absolute truth, leaving the doors open for more Trivium at future editions of the festivals, maybe one day as the main attraction (and they indeed deserve that opportunity).

Edit this setlist | More Trivium setlists

Band members
Matt Heafy – lead vocals, guitars
Corey Beaulieu – guitars, backing vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
Mat Madiro – drums

ANTHRAX

After a short break, American Thrash Metal icons Anthrax started their energetic show at around 6pm, showing why they have their spot in the famous “Big Four”. What an amazing performance! Mixing some old mighty classics like Caught in a Mosh, Got the Time, Indians and Antisocial with songs from their latest album from 2011, Worship Music (with highlights to the fun zombie-anthem Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t), Anthrax kept a very positive energy flowing among the fans and got the recognition they deserved from everyone in the end.

Two things should be said about their performance: first of all, in regards to the band members, Joey Belladonna proved one more time why, just like Ozzy, he’s a horrible singer but an incredible frontman. The man doesn’t stop running around the stage, cheering up the fans and making the whole experience of watching Anthrax live really awesome! And Scott Ian might not be the best guitar player in the world, but he is a true Heavy Metal hero, banging his head and delivering lots of awesome heavy riffs during all songs.

And last but not least, the tribute the whole band payed to Dio (R.I.P.) and Dimebag Darrell (R.I.P.) with the banners and the song In the End, and the other tribute to Australian masters AC/DC in the form of a beautiful cover version of T.N.T., just proved how humble all members of Anthrax are and how much they love heavy music. Anthrax were not only an excellent warm-up for Iron Maiden, but a superb lesson in Thrash Metal for everybody at Nova Rock.

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AMON AMARTH

Then came one of the most anticipated attractions of the day for me, as I love most of their albums and it was the first time I was able to see them live, but sadly it was not as powerful as I was expecting: Swedish Melodic Death Metal warriors Amon Amarth had a very competent performance, playing some great tunes such as Father of the Wolf, Guardians of Asgaard and The Pursuit of Vikings, and Johan Hegg is becoming one of the top frontman in heavy music. However, probably due to the fatigue everyone was feeling after so many electrifying attractions that day, their concert sounded a bit tiring after a while.

I don’t know if most of the fans there were not that much into their Viking theme, but I saw lots of people simply static and some even yawning during the entire show. I would say that huge festivals are not the best place for a band like Amon Amarth, because let’s face it: singing about Vikings is not considered cool by a huge part of the society, so I’ll wait until they come to Toronto this fall during their own tour to better analyze them live. I’m pretty sure it will be a lot better than their performance at Nova Rock.

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Band members
Johan Hegg – lead vocals
Olavi Mikkonen – guitar
Johan Söderberg – guitar
Ted Lundström – bass
Fredrik Andersson – drums

IRON MAIDEN

And at around 9pm, guess what happened? My sixth “Maiden England” concert, which was also my second one in less than a week (and of course the second of this Maiden England Tour 2014), was once again totally awesome. Because it was a festival, which means you’ll find all types of people there and not only true Maidenmaniacs, I just felt the audience wasn’t as great as in Brno, but that doesn’t mean people didn’t go crazy with classics like Aces High, Run to the Hills, The Prisoner and The Trooper. Revelations was again one of the top moments in my opinion, and the energy people put into singing Fear of the Dark always reminds us why they keep it in the setlist even if lots of diehard fans want them to change it for something else.

I’m not sure if the band was running out of time or if they just wanted to end the show earlier to watch the World Cup match between England and Italy, but without any further explanation they simply removed Wrathchild from that night’s setlist. I bet it was because of the match, as Bruce was wearing a weird English white jumpsuit during Aces High and said a couple of times that we all had to get back to our tents to see England beat Italy 10-0. Well, I guess Mick Jagger is not the only jinx around.

Apart from that minor upset (I’m talking about Wrathchild, not about England losing to Italy, of course), all fans were able to witness another memorable performance from the most influential Heavy Metal band of all time, which was corroborated by everybody happily singing Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side of Life when the concert was over. Now I really hope “Maiden England” is over (after three years) and they come back with a new album, because although I’m 100% passionate about all those classics, I also love when Bruce, Steve & Co. provide us some fresh compositions. Let’s hope they deliver us something as good as The Final Frontier, and that they keep on rockin’ all over the world with their unique and marvelous tours.

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Band members
Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
Dave Murray – guitars
Adrian Smith – guitars, backing vocals
Janick Gers – guitars
Nicko McBrain – drums

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Concert Review – Iron Maiden (Brno Velodrom, Brno, Czech Republic, 06/08/2014)

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

SCREAM FOR ME, BRNO!

INTRODUCTION: The City of Brno

Finally back from my awesome trip around Eastern Europe, there couldn’t be a better way to “reignite” the moose than with a review of another flawless performance from Heavy Metal behemoths IRON MAIDEN! But before I talk about the concert itself, let me do a quick intro about the city of Brno, where Maiden played for the first time ever in their brilliant career.

With a population of almost 400,000 people, Brno is the capital of the South Moravian Region and the second largest city of the Czech Republic (Prague is the first one with 1.3 million people). This beautiful city is located about 200km from both Prague and Vienna (Austria), so it doesn’t really matter where you fly to if you don’t live in Europe and want to visit there.

And believe me, it’s definitely worth a visit: the people from Brno are very friendly and beautiful, their food is amazing, their beer is not only delicious but also very cheap, and of course, there’s a lot to do in the city such as visiting the imponent Špilberk Castle (you can have a pint of Brno’s awesome Poutník light draft beer for less than two Canadian Dollars at the pub on the top of the castle), seeing the mummies at the Capuchin Crypt and Church, or visiting the Brno Ossuary. Or maybe if you’re planning to have a very romantic dinner in the city, my suggestion is the excellent La Bouchée Restaurant. You can find some good info about the city and its hotels, attractions and events at the website Brno.me.

OPENING ACT: Ghost

We flew from Toronto directly to Vienna from the evening of June 7 to the morning of June 8, picked up a car at the airport, enjoyed the 2-hour drive to Brno, checked in at our hotel located only 500m from the venue (the open-air Brno Velodrom, which seemed really old and not very well-maintained from the inside), slept for about 2 hours to recover our energies, and then simply walked to the Velodrom. When we got there, Swedish Hard Rock band Ghost was already onstage, but we couldn’t care less as we’re not fans of the band nor will ever be. We really don’t get why so many people love this overrated band. Well, Ghost did exactly what we expected: despite their good instrumental, interesting lyrics and all their theatrical performance, the vocals are extremely bad and the songs sound way too boring for big venues or festivals. I wasn’t able to distinguish any of the songs from one another, so for me it sounded like a single 40-minute boring song being played all the time. Anyway, even the most diehard fans of Iron Maiden respected the band and not even a single boo was heard, which was good for the band members, but that left me wondering how cool it would have been with Anthrax instead of Ghost opening for Maiden, as it happened in previous concerts this year.

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Band members
Papa Emeritus II – vocals
Nameless Ghouls – all instrumentalists (lead guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, drummer, rhythm guitarist)

IRON MAIDEN

It was around 9pm when, after the traditional intro with UFO’s Doctor Doctor and the video showing scenes of ice meltdown with the epic orchestral song Rising Mercury in the background, Steve, Bruce & Co. hit the stage with the classic Moonchild (by the way, the sound quality was excellent). I don’t need to say how great that was, right? And it doesn’t matter if it’s a huge festival like Rock Am Ring or a small city like Brno: Iron Maiden are ALWAYS on fire and ALWAYS deliver the most electrifying show one can ever imagine! “What a lovely evening!”, Bruce said in regards to the sunny and hot weather in Brno, with the temperatures above +35°C making it even hard to breathe sometimes. Nothing that cannot be solved with some cold beer, though.

Besides that, it was clear to me that the vast majority of the fans there were not from Brno, but from other parts of Czech Republic and major European cities like Prague, Vienna and Bratislava (as well as other distant parts of Europe like England and Finland), which means only true Maidenmaniacs attended the concert, enhancing the connection between band and fans even more. Moreover, as it already happened in 2012 and 2013, each and every all-time classic like Can I Play With Madness, The Trooper, Wasted Years and Run to the Hills didn’t let the energy down not even for a single second throughout the entire concert. Not even the limited English from most fans in the venue curbed their enthusiasm and their will to sing along all songs with the band. And what was that crazy dude on the fence with the British flag? He was 100% drunk, his T-shirt was all torn because of the fence (and I believe he was also bleeding because of that), but he was so happy seeing Maiden live that none of that could stop him from enjoying every song played. That was awesome.

In addition, the highlights of this concert (and of the whole Maiden England Tour 2014) were once again the thrilling masterpieces The Prisoner and Aces High, the undeniable perfection of the epic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and of course the three changes the band made to the setlist this year. This was my fifth “Maiden England” concert (after three in Canada in 2012 and one in Germany in 2013), and by far the best in terms of setlist: replacing Afraid to Shoot Strangers, The Clairvoyant and Running Free by Revelations, Wrathchild and Sanctuary was an awesome move that added more power to their performance, especially the wonderful Revelations, one of my favorite Maiden songs of all time. Bruce had such an outstanding performance on this song, one of the best I’ve ever seen, that it was impossible not to get emotional with its perfect lyrics. Can someone please ask the band to NEVER remove it from the setlist again?

Talking about Bruce, he was singing A LOT better than a few days before at Rock Am Ring. For instance, during the encore it sounded like the concert was just starting, and we’re talking about very difficult songs to sing like Aces High and The Evil That Men Do. Maybe he had more time to rest until the concert at Brno, or maybe he feels more excited when it’s a smaller venue and not a huge festival? The same can be said about the other band members, especially Dave Murray and Nicko McBrain, who were both in top form even after so many years on the road. They simply love what they do, and that’s why we love them so much. Just Google it and you’ll see what I’m talking about, there are many good videos shot at the concert in Brno that you can compare with their performance at Rock Am Ring.

In summary, as the band itself always says, “Iron Maiden’s gonna get ya, no matter how far”, even if it’s as far as Brno, in the amazing Czech Republic. No one knows if Maiden will return to the city in the future for more concerts, but based on this first one and on all the beauty, peace and the enthusiastic people there, Brno truly deserves to be constantly visited by our beloved Heavy Metal giants. And if they do so in the following years, I hope I can take some days off again to witness Bruce shouting out loud “SCREAM FOR ME, BRNO!” under the beautiful and clear Czech sky during one more of their superb summer tours.

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Band members
Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals
Dave Murray – guitars
Adrian Smith – guitars, backing vocals
Janick Gers – guitars
Nicko McBrain – drums

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Concert Review – Primal Fear (Virgin Mobile Mod Club,Toronto, ON, 05/03/2014)

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

Teutonic Power Metal icons take over Toronto to “deliver the black” in the city.

OPENING ACTS: Sovereign Council and Answer With Metal

Just two days after the amazing Paganfest America Part V at The Opera House, it was already time for more PURE FUCKIN’ METAL at the small but cozy Virgin Mobile Mod Club, located in the Torontonian neighborhood known as Little Italy. This time, instead of Vikings and warriors, Toronto had the great pleasure to witness a lesson in POWER METAL by German Heavy Metal masters PRIMAL FEAR.

Before savoring the cream of heavy music by the Teutonic metalheads, the fans were surprised by two excellent opening acts “made in Canada”. The first band to hit the Virgin Mobile Mod Club stage was Kingston-based Symphonic Metal band SOVEREIGN COUNCIL, who presented an interesting and very professional mix of Symphonic and Alternative Metal which reminded me of bands such as Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and Epica. All band members were noticeably excited with the opportunity of opening for Primal Fear and were all smiles during their whole concert, with highlights to lead singer Alexander MacWilliam and female singer Lisa Thompson, who did an amazing job “telling a story” together in each song of their setlist. Of course I have no idea of the names of their songs, but I remember enjoying a really nice one called Bring It Down, and the only issue in my opinion was that their music would be more suited if they were the opening act for a Symphonic Metal band, as some people present at the venue didn’t quite understand their message. Maybe if they are called to open for Within Tempation or Delain, who will be in Toronto soon, their music will be a lot more appreciated.

Band members
Alexander MacWilliam – vocals
Lisa Thompson – female vocals
Chris Thompson – guitars
Patrick Buczynski – guitars
Shaun Vanhoose – bass guitar
Jessica Marsden – keyboards
Brandon Schneider – drums

If someone asks you what you love the most in life, you simply ANSWER WITH METAL! This Stouffville-based Power Metal band delivered a very competent concert, with lots of shredding, guitar solos, fast drumming and everything else that makes traditional Heavy Metal so addictive. Straight-forward songs like Gates Of Hell and Two Wrongs (Don’t Make A Right), with their very traditional approach, were excellent for some headbanging while enjoying a beer, which is probably what the band actually aims with their music, right? Lead singer Dan Nielsen, who by the way is the owner of an amazing voice, seemed so happy for opening to Primal Fear that he “forgot” to look to the crowd in the eye during the concert. Well, we cannot blame him for that, as we can imagine how important yesterday night was for him and the rest of his band. What really matters is that they kicked ass, and just like Sovereign Council they’re a very welcome fresh new addition to the Canadian heavy music scene. Moreover, if they keep being so hard-working and honest in what they do, we can rest assured they will go places with their music.

Band members
Dan Nielsen – vocals
Andrew Jarvis – lead guitar
Matt Hadaway – rhythm guitar
Jon Stallan – bass guitar
Alejandro Gonzalez – drums

PRIMAL FEAR

Finally, when the clock precisely struck 11pm, Ralf, Mat & Co. hit Toronto again after a long wait of over 4 years, delivering the most powerful and awesome Heavy Metal one can imagine. After playing two intros in a row (Countdown To Insanity and Jaws Of Death), the Heavy Metal extravaganza began with the classic tune Final Embrace, from their second album, the perfect Jaws Of Death (1999). Although the gig wasn’t sold out, the good crowd went crazy with the band from the very first second, with lots of headbanging and fists and horns in the air. And that was only the beginning!

How can Primal Fear be so fuckin’ awesome? First of all, if there’s one thing that I love in Primal Fear is their undeniable ability to ALWAYS release excellent albums, no matter what happens to the band, which was the case again this year with Delivering The Black. It was clear last night the fans love their new material, as songs such as Alive & On Fire, Delivering The Black, One Night In December and When Death Comes Knocking were sung at full force by all fans at the Mod Club.

Secondly, all of their ballads are truly beautiful, and more important than that, a million light-years away from being cheesy. Last night the band perfectly played two of their best ones, the thrilling Seven Seals and the epic Fighting The Darkness, “spreading the love” among the couples who attended the concert. I wish they had played another one such as “Diabolus” or “Under your Spell”, but I was more than happy with last night’s setlist anyway.

However, it’s when the band plays that raw, fast and heavy Power Metal that things get even better, and the reaction of the fans to that type of music is priceless. Nuclear Fire, Chainbreaker, and especially Angel In Black (my favorite of the night), Bad Guys Wear Black and the Heavy Metal anthem Metal Is Forever were responsible for so much headbanging yesterday I’m pretty sure the Rub A-535 sales will go up today. That was an easy task for Primal Fear: they sent us a simple message (“Bang your head / And never turn it down / Bang your head / Bad guys wear black”), we promptly responded without any mercy to our necks and bodies.

It was already past midnight and the concert was almost over, but there was still time for two more strong songs, the electrifying Unbreakable (Part 2) and the superb Running In The Dust, showcasing one more time how great all band members are. The instrumental played by Mat, Alex, Tom and Randy, all really happy and excited for playing in Toronto after so many years, was totally flawless, and during pretty much the entire setlist I thought I was listening to the studio albums or even to an improved version of that. The guitar solos were impressive, the rumbling sound of Mat’s bass was reaching the hearts of the fans, and Edmontonian “stone crusher” Randy Black gave hope to all Canadian metalheads at the venue that have to suffer everyday with nasty things such as Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne. However, it was the unique voice by Mr. Ralf Scheepers what really captivated the attention of everyone at the concert. Ralf is like a good wine: the older he gets, the more awesome his voice gets. His performance in all songs was stellar, with no exception, and lest we forget he has to perform at that level almost every single day, which makes things even more amazing.

To sum up, a memorable night for fans of traditional Heavy Metal, and once again Primal Fear made our lives a lot more enjoyable with their mighty metal music. Because although they came to Toronto just to “deliver the black”, they ended up delivering the awesome, and now let’s just hope the Metal Commando does not take so long to come back to the city for another round of impeccable Heavy Metal.

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Band members
Ralf Scheepers – lead vocals
Mat Sinner – bass guitar, vocals
Alex Beyrodt – guitars
Tom Naumann – guitars*
Randy Black – drums

* Replacing guitarist Magnus Karlsson on this tour.

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Concert Review – Paganfest America Part V (The Opera House,Toronto, ON, 05/01/2014)

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Gustavo Scuderi

An awesome multicultural festival in the world’s most multicultural city.

Let me start by asking a very simple question before I actually talk about the amazing festival that happened last night: who the hell had the brilliant idea of scheduling a festival at SIX O’CLOCK ON A THURSDAY, a day and time where pretty much EVERYONE is still at work and there’s also a lot of traffic? Because of that, I guess many people that attended PAGANFEST AMERICA PART V yesterday at The Opera House, in Toronto, missed at least the opening act, American Folk Metal band Winterhymn, and maybe even some of the other bands. Fortunately I was able to get there before 7:30pm and could watch half of the concert from the following band and the rest of the festival, which is where this review starts!

VARG

People dressed up accordingly (which means Viking, warrior and/or pagan costumes), corpsepainting, lots of good and cold beer, friends hugging each other and dancing together, metalheads screaming with their fists and horns in the air, and German Melodic Death Metal band Varg kickin’ ass on stage! The first impression from the festival was very positive, and knowing the Pagan Metal community in Toronto is so big was great for me. Not only that, getting in contact with Varg for the first time was also amazing as their music has that kind of energy I love, and although I don’t know German (they sing only in their mother tongue) it was easy to follow their message in each song. Highlights to the excellent song Guten Tag and to the girls the band called on stage to headbang like crazy, and I promise I’ll go after more of their material in the future.

Band members
Freki – vocals, guitars
Managarm – bass, backing vocals, guitars, lead guitars
Hati – guitars
Fenrier – drums

CHTHONIC

A few microphone issues, a relatively short setlist and the absence of keyboardist CJ Kao didn’t prevent Taiwanese Orient Metal warriors Chthonic from delivering an unforgettable performance at The Opera House. “WE ARE CHTHONIC FROM TAIWAN!”, screamed an all fired-up Freddy Lim to the fans, who promptly responded screaming and raising their fists in the air. The band looked pretty excited to be back in Toronto for the first time since their tour with Arch Enemy in 2011, and their music sounded even more powerful and cohesive this time.

After the beautiful intro Arising Armament, our beloved Taiwanese icons Freddy, Jesse, Dani and, of course, the stunning Doris Yeh, kicked off their concert with the superb song Supreme Pain for the Tyrant, from their 2013 album Bú-Tik, and it was impossible not to scream at full force with them “Let me stand up like a Taiwanese! Only justice will bring you peace!”, lyrics that make total sense even for non-Taiwanese fans like myself. We’re all together in this war, right? By the way, almost the whole setlist was based on the Bú-Tik album, with the exception of the classics Oceanquake and Takao, which closed the show. Highlights to the great songs Sail Into the Sunset’s Fire and Defenders of Bú-Tik Palace, which sounded even more amazing live.

Last but not least, all band members are not only exceptional musicians, but also really good people. It’s easy to be mesmerized by Doris’ performance on stage, or by the unique sound of the erhu beautifully played by Freddy, but things get even better when you have a chance to interact with them offstage. Freddy, Doris and Jesse were extremely relaxed, happy and very, very considerate of all their fans, taking pictures, answering any questions and having a beer with everybody. At least for me, that explains a lot why they are so successful and becoming so important in the world of heavy music. All I can say is THANKS, CHTHONIC! It will always be my pleasure to “stand up like a Taiwanese” with you guys!

Setlist
1. Arising Armament (intro)
2. Supreme Pain for the Tyrant
3. Oceanquake
4. Next Republic
5. Sail Into the Sunset’s Fire
6. Defenders of Bú-Tik Palace
7. Takao

Band members
Freddy Lim – vocals, erhu
Doris Yeh – bass, backing vocals
Jesse Liu – guitars, backing vocals
Dani Wang – drums
CJ Kao – keyboards*

* Missed the concert in Toronto due to personal issues.

TURISAS

In my opinion, the show by Finnish Symphonic Power Metal band Turisas was the most anticipated concert of the night, and also the one where you could see the highest amount of smiles on the faces of the crowd. I don’t remember seeing so many people dancing and prancing like yesterday, especially when they played their cover version for the discotheque classic Rasputin, by Boney M., but they kicked ass during the whole gig, of course.

There were very few moments where either the songs were too long or too slow, but the fans didn’t care too much about that and enjoyed every single second of that “Viking fest”. Besides the awesome craziness of Rasputin, the most memorable songs were Battle Metal, Stand Up and Fight and We Ride Together. Did you notice all their best songs are related to battle, courage and loyalty? That’s what has always made Heavy Metal so powerful in regards to inspiring people to face their fears and challenges in life, and I’m sure all fans that are studying, working or doing anything else today are a lot happier and feeling better than during the previous weeks or even months.

The whole band was on fire, especially frontman Mathias “Warlord” Nygård and violinist Olli Vänskä, who didn’t stop banging their heads for a single moment. Those guys love what they do, and will keep on rockin’ for the rest of their lives without a shadow of a doubt.

Band members
Mathias Nygård – vocals
Jussi Wickström – guitar, backing vocal
Jesper Anastasiadis – bass guitar
Jaakko Jakku – drums, percussion
Olli Vänskä – violin, backing vocal

KORPIKLAANI

After Turisas were done, many people had to leave as it was getting really late and they probably had to get ready for a full day at work the next day. Unfortunately those who left missed all the dancing in between concerts when the DJ played some excellent old traditional Finnish songs, but the fans that could stay to the end of the festival were able to enjoy that and, of course, another “dance party” with Finnish Folk Metal band Korpiklaani and their music tailored for drinking beer and dancing with your friends.

It was my first Korpiklaani concert and I was impressed by frontman Jonne Järvelä’s charisma and bassist Jarkko Aaltonen’s technique. Jarkko is a beast with his bass, which could be easily appreciated in fun songs such as Tuonelan Tuvilla, Vodka and Ievan Polkka. How come this awesome bass player has never been mentioned in any lists of “top bassists” that I’ve seen? Or maybe I’m checking the wrong lists? Anyway, it was another great heavy music concert, which made every cent spent with the event ticket even worthier than before.

Band members
Jonne Järvelä – vocals
Kalle “Cane” Savijärvi – guitars
Matti “Matson” Johansson – drums
Jarkko Aaltonen – bass
Tuomas Rounakari – violin
Sami Perttula – accordion

And that was the end of a truly multicultural festival with bands from the United States, Germany, Taiwan and Finland, with fans from several different backgrounds speaking different languages, in the most multicultural city in the world. Honestly, I have no idea how it can get any better than this. Maybe Paganfest VI next year can answer that question, right? Well, until then, I’ll proudly wear my Chthonic’s NEXT REPUBLIC T-shirt on the streets to show everyone that it doesn’t matter if you’re Canadian, Brazilian, Taiwanese, German, Finnish or anything else: if you’re a headbanger, you’re definitely part of the unbreakable and unique republic of HEAVY METAL.

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Concert Review – Slayer (Kool Haus,Toronto, ON, 11/21/2013)

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Gustavo Scuderi

Is it a tornado? Is it a tsunami? No, it’s motherfuckin’ OLD SCHOOL SLAYER NIGHT in Toronto!

OPENING ACTS: 4ARM and Gojira

Yesterday night was one of those things that will be forever in our minds, hearts, aching necks and torn muscles. I must admit I was really tired after a full day at work, and driving from Oakville to Toronto when it’s raining it’s not fun at all, but what happened at the Kool Haus last night was worth every minute spent in traffic downtown.

Before I start, I have to say something amazing I saw lat night, which was the huge number of parents with their small kids at the concert. There was this father with his son, who was pretty excited for the concert, so I asked him how old his boy was and he said “he’s 11 now”. That’s about when I started listening to Slayer! That made me sleep better this night (even with my neck killing me), knowing the future of mankind doesn’t look so bad while we still have headbanging kids like that.

The first band of the night was 4ARM, from Melbourne, which means we have another good Metal band from Australia now. It was a decent concert that I liked a lot, even though I knew nothing about their career. Quick question: why do over 50% of the metalheads today, including band members, look so much like Jesus Christ even when singing about Jesus being a lie is their favorite topic? Anyway, that was a good warm-up for the rest of the night and a good chance to enjoy some beers while listening to some fuckin’ heavy tunes.

Then came Gojira, or Godzilla in Japanese, which by the way was the original name of the band. If you like to bang your head non-stop like a mutherfucker, you must listen to this neck-breaking French band: they are far from being the fastest band in the world, but they’re as heavy as an obese elephant and perfect for having a beer and smashing your neck. I don’t know a lot about the band; however, songs like L’Enfant Sauvage and The Heaviest Matter of the Universe sounded excellent for live concerts. Merci beaucoup, Gojira, for such a nice performance!

And it was so funny between Gojira and Slayer, when the DJ was playing some AC/DC songs and some guys (including myself) started singing “Aaaaaaaa… SLAYER! Aaaaaaaa… SLAYER!”, instead of “thunder” in Thunderstruck. There are things that only Slayer fans can do.

SLAYER

Whoever is responsible for the management of the venue can definitely change its name to “Kool Hell” or “Slaughter Haus” from now on. I think any Slayer concert should be used for human population control, especially if it’s an OLD SCHOOL SLAYER NIGHT like last night in Toronto. The mosh pits were insane; it was like Hell on Earth! In fact, the entire venue was a mosh pit.

Talking about the concert itself and the band, and I know it doesn’t matter what or how I say it here, I’ll never be able to describe in words the perfection of the show. I’ve seen Slayer live a lot of times (how the hell am I still alive?), and they’ve never disappointed me. Slayer always delivers a brutally awesome performance on stage, no matter where they are. When the intro to the classic Hell Awaits started and the white sheet that was covering the stage went down, there they were: Tom, Kerry, Gary and Paul, all ready for some fuckin’ Thrash Metal, and the fans answered the best way possible with a crazy mosh pit.

After that it was a sequence of old classics to make all diehard fans go crazy: the fast Antichrist and Necrophiliac, the cool Mandatory Suicide and Captor of Sin, and then we had the havoc anthem War Ensemble. There’s nothing I can say about this song except HOLY FUCKIN’ SHIT! And when I thought I could have a break and breathe for a few seconds, they come with an avalanche of classics including some of my all-time favorite Slayer songs such as At Dawn They Sleep, Die by the Sword and Spirit in Black. Do you want to rest now? No, you don’t, because the next song is Seasons in the Abyss, which was sung out loud by all fans at the venue in a celebration of Thrash Metal.

R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman!

Although we all love Jeff Hanneman (RIP) and respect that amazing punk attitude he brought to Slayer, we have to admit Gary Holt is a beast and a perfect fit for Slayer. I don’t want him to leave/end Exodus, no way, but the Thrash Metal riff master adds so much value to Slayer that it’s impossible to think of anyone else that could replace him now. And as a tribute to one of the most underrated guitar masters of all time, Kerry and Tom decided to add the magnificent Strike of the Beast to their entire tour. Holy shit, that was brutal and unforgettable! And just when things didn’t seem they could get more awesome, Slayer provides us another annihilating sequence with Dead Skin Mask (also sung by everybody there), one of the most violent songs in the world and one of my favorites Raining Blood, and the fuckin’ old school Black Magic. Was it the end (of the world)? No, there was still time for the encore, the famous one with the Heineken/Jeff Hanneman flag on the back with the obscure South of Heaven and my top Thrash Metal track of all, the slashing anthem Angel of Death. Although in my opinion Dave Lombardo shouldn’t have left Slayer, I feel really good with the monster Paul Bostaph on drums, and what he did in Angel of Death just confirmed my feelings.

Finally, it’s always a pleasure to see Tom Araya and Kerry King playing live. The first is always so serene and enjoys so much having a good time with the fans (he even demanded the security guys to bring back one fan that was supposedly doing something wrong and was about to be expelled), while the other is an unstoppable shredding machine with his pretty evil guitar.

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I swear I tried hard to find a Metallica T-shirt, but there was none. The Kool Haus in Toronto was a huge SLAYER NATION (the T-shirt I got yesterday!) last night, with no room for pussies. Well, there were many girls there, but they were not pussies at all (although they do have one): they were slamming in the pit with no mercy of the poor (or lucky?) guys close to them. Next time someone tells me Metallica is heavier than Slayer, I’m going to slap that stupid idiot in the face.

I didn’t see a single person that was just “OK” when that Armageddon came to an end. Quite the contrary, everybody was exhausted, sweating like a pig, but with an immense smile on their faces. I unfortunately hit a guy’s nose with the back of my head, and it might have hurt a lot on him (I feel so sorry for that guy). I also got a kind of a bruised eye, but nothing compared to a guy with a full black eye I saw when the show was over. My neck and the rest of the body hurt like if I was smashed by a steamroller, but hey, that’s FUCKIN’ SLAYER! No ballads, no acoustic shit, just pure fuckin’ Heavy Metal. Was it raining in Toronto when the show was over? Yes, but who cares? Inside the venue it was RAINING BLOOD, and I can’t wait to see my Thrash Metal heroes live again.

Band members

Tom Araya – lead vocals, bass guitar
Kerry King – guitars
Gary Holt – guitars
Paul Bostaph – drums

Concert Review – Helloween (The Opera House,Toronto, ON, 09/28/2013)

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Gustavo Scuderi

Helloween teaches a lesson in Power Metal at a venue too small for the importance of the band in the world of music.

OPENING ACTS: Battlesoul and Coldsteel

When I arrived at the Opera House, the band Battlesoul was already playing for a while, but from what I could see they did not inspire me to go after their songs when I got home. It’s just plain Folk Metal with nothing new added to their music, and the fact they were wearing kilts on stage didn’t help at all. Maybe in the future they can generate something more interesting, or at least improve their vocals because that was really annoying.

Then came Coldsteel with their Thrash Metal similar to what Anthrax used to do in the 80’s, which seems to be a pretty cool idea, but when the band hits the stage it’s not that cool. I didn’t know the band was created back in 1986 and that they got back to life in 2012 after a 20-year hiatus, but anyway they sounded like an amateur band to me. It was almost impossible to hear what the singer was saying between songs, and even worse to understand the lyrics due to the quality of the sound and music. The band had a lot of energy on stage, though, and as their setlist was not too long I didn’t feel bothered at all with their concert.

HELLOWEEN

Honestly, I’ll never understand why Helloween is so underrated in North America. They are so big in Brazil, Europe and Japan, that was hard for me to believe they were playing in such a small venue as the Opera House for less than 800 people. The band that invented Power/Melodic Metal should be playing for over 5,000 people in Canada and the USA, just like it happens in the rest of the world, but it seems North America is more into Thrash and Death Metal, and that no one here really cares about non-American bands.

However, one excellent thing about that is the fact that I had never been able to be so close to the band as during the Toronto gig. I’ve seen Helloween many times in Brazil and one in Russia, but always in huge sold-out venues with at least 3,000 people smashing each other to get closer to the stage. Being able to see in details every riff and solo from Michael Weikath, one of the best Power Metal guitarists of all time, and all the technique from Markus Grosskopf with his bass guitar, was totally awesome!

But the most important member of the band nowadays is Andi Deris. He’s been with Helloween for 20 years now, he’s an awesome frontman, he makes the fans go crazy, and although many “old school” fans keep complaining about his voice and that Michael Kiske should return to the band and blah blah blah, Andi has recorded so many amazing albums (Master of the Rings, The Time of the Oath, The Dark Ride, 7 Sinners and their most recent album, Straight Out of Hell) that I wouldn’t mind at all going to see Helloween playing only songs from the Deris-era. Besides, who wants to listen to anything from the horrible Pink Bubbles Go Ape or Chameleon live?

Back to the concert, the setlist was amazing and the crowd was insane! I’ve never seen so many mosh pits at a Helloween concert. In fact, I’ve NEVER seen ANY mosh pits at a Helloween concert! I guess that happened for a few reasons: as it was a small venue, there were only true Helloween fans there celebrating the band together; when huge bands play at smaller venues, they feel so happy to be back to their origins that they play faster, louder and heavier; North American headbangers love mosh pits more than they love their families; and besides two (beautiful) ballads, Helloween played only the most pure and fast Power Metal music a fan can ask for.

The entire concert was unforgettable, except for that useless drum solo that could have been substituted by another song like Burning Sun (which they’re also playing in some of their concerts instead of Steel Tormentor), and if I need to pick a few songs as the highlights of the night I would say Straight Out of Hell, Waiting for the Thunder and Live Now!, where Andi made that “stupid game” of left and right work even with less than a thousand people there. “You sing Live Now! And you… shut the FUCK up!”

Of course people went crazy with classics such as Eagle Fly Free and I’m Alive, but the fact that the best songs of the night were brand new ones just proved Helloween is still very relevant not only to heavy music, but to everybody that enjoys GOOD music. and I really hope next time they come to Toronto they play at a better venue, even if that means I won’t be able to stay so close to my Power Metal heroes and get one of their guitar picks again.

Setlist
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (AC/DC tape)
Walls of Jericho (tape/intro)
Eagle Fly Free
Nabataea
Straight Out of Hell
Where the Sinners Go
Waiting for the Thunder
Steel Tormentor
Drum Solo
I’m Alive
Live Now!
Hold Me in Your Arms
If I Could Fly
Hell Was Made in Heaven
Power

Encore:
Are You Metal?
Dr. Stein

Encore II:
Future World
I Want Out
A Tale That Wasn’t Right (tape/outro)

Band members
Andi Deris – lead vocals
Michael Weikath – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Markus Grosskopf – bass, backing vocals
Sascha Gerstner – lead & rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Daniel Löble – drums

Concert Review – Trivium & DevilDriver (Phoenix Concert Theatre,Toronto, ON, 09/24/2013)

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Gustavo Scuderi

A celebration of music with two of the best contemporary Heavy Metal bands from the USA on a pleasant Tuesday night in Toronto.

OPENING ACTS: Sylosis and After The Burial

As I don’t live exactly in Toronto, it takes a while for me to get to the city whenever there’s a concert I’m attending, especially if it’s on a Tuesday after a full day of work. Seriously, only Mondays are worse than Tuesdays for Metal concerts, like the Rock Allegiance Tour with Volbeat & HIM that screwed up my whole week! The organizers should think about that when scheduling Metal concerts to the middle of the week: we don’t have seats and we don’t just watch the concert, we participate a lot! Heavy Metal demands a lot of energy from the crowd, so please, if you’re an organizer, try to book the shows from Thursday to Saturday! Going back to the opening acts, I completely missed Sylosis (which unfortunately suffered a car accident that same night going to their next concert) and half of ATB. From what I could see, ATB was pretty heavy and the fans had a great time there, so next time they open for a band I like I’ll do my best to be there and analyze their music properly.

DEVILDRIVER

This was the second time I had the pleasure to see DD live (the first was back in 2011, opening for Arch Enemy), and they were even better this time. From the very first song Ruthless to the violent ending with Meet the Wretched, the leader of the band, Dez Fafara, didn’t let any single person from the crowd remain quiet. I believe he mentioned the word fuck and its variations (fuckin’, motherfucker, motherfuckin’ etc.) at least a hundred times, plus other “nice” words such as pussy and shit, demanding that everybody banged their heads all the time and almost killed themselves in the mosh pits, showing why he’s a true frontman and not just a singer. He was pretty decent in the beginning of his career with Coal Chamber, but now he’s getting better and more violent on stage, which is awesome.

I enjoy concerts at the Phoenix Concert Theatre due to the proximity with the band and the quality of the sound (and of course, it’s easy to get a beer there without the hassle of huge and slow lines), and this time it wasn’t different. All songs were really well executed by the band, which was sometimes headbanging even more than the crowd, and there was a lot of interaction between band and fans. They played a lot of songs from their new album Winter Kills (which I really want to listen to now), including a very good cover for the song Sail, from the band Awolnation, mixed with some classics such as Clouds Over California, which was my favorite from this concert. I hope I can see DD live again soon!

Setlist
Ruthless
I Could Care Less
Not All Who Wander Are Lost
Before the Hangman’s Noose
Cry for Me Sky (Eulogy of the Scorned)
Oath of the Abyss
The Appetite
Hold Back the Day
Curses and Epitaphs
Sail (AWOLNATION cover)
Head on to Heartache (Let Them Rot)
Dead to Rights
Clouds Over California
End of the Line
Meet the Wretched

Band members
Dez Fafara – lead vocals
Jeff Kendrick – guitar
John Boecklin – drums
Mike Spreitzer – guitar
Chris Towning – bass

TRIVIUM

They are heavy, they have the speed, the technique, great albums and are awesome on stage. Together with Volbeat, I consider Trivium the future of Heavy Metal. I had the chance to see them live at Heavy TO 2012, but as that was a festival and they were playing in the middle of the afternoon, they couldn’t show their full power. However, this time in Toronto they were able to provide their fans a fantastic concert! After the intro Divinity I, the band entered the stage and played three of the most complex and heavy songs of their entire career: Throes of Perdition, Down from the Sky and Becoming the Dragon, showing all of us that was going to be a special night.

Although I missed some classics such as Ember to Inferno and The Deceived in the setlist, there was a pretty good mix of songs from all of their albums, including two new ones (Brave This Storm and Strife) from their upcoming album Vengeance Falls, which sounded like old classics by the way the audience responded to them. And no matter which song they were playing, the riffs and solos were perfectly executed (I would say even better than the studio versions in most of the cases). I still believe the feeling is more important than the technique in Heavy Metal, but what the guys from Trivium do with their guitars is simply amazing.

The best songs of the night were for sure A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation (isn’t it one of the coolest song names ever?), with the crowd jumping all the time together with the band, and Shogun, a 12-minute masterpiece that sounds like if Dream Theater decided to become Megadeth or vice-versa. It can be really tricky for any band to play songs so long as that because the crowd can die at any minute, but fortunately for Trivium that wasn’t an issue at all as the fans at the Phoenix loved the fact they played Shogun.

The only (small) issues I see with Trivium now are first the drummer: I don’t know why but he sometimes seems to be out of sync with the rest of the band; and second the fact that Corey is doing 95% of the guttural vocals. Although I enjoy Corey screaming, it sounds a lot better when Matt does that. But as I said, nothing that will stop Trivium from becoming a Heavy Metal giant in the coming years, mainly due to the constant and brilliant evolution in all of their albums and to their exceptional performance on stage.

Setlist
Divinity I (tape/intro)
Throes of Perdition
Down from the Sky
Becoming the Dragon
Brave This Storm
Watch the World Burn
Strife
A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation
Kirisute Gomen
Shogun

Encore:
Capsizing the Sea (tape/intro)
In Waves
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
One Winged Angel (tape/outro)

Band members
Matt Heafy – guitar, lead vocals
Corey Beaulieu – guitar, vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, vocals
Nick Augusto – drums, percussion

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THE HEADBANGING MOOSE

PURE F****N' METAL!

Category Archives: Concert Reviews

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Concert Review – Paganfest America Part V (The Opera House,Toronto, ON, 05/01/2014)

Concert Review – Slayer (Kool Haus,Toronto, ON, 11/21/2013)

Concert Review – Helloween (The Opera House,Toronto, ON, 09/28/2013)

Concert Review – Trivium & DevilDriver (Phoenix Concert Theatre,Toronto, ON, 09/24/2013)

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