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Album Review – Anthrax / For All Kings (2016)

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A classy and electrifying Thrash Metal album especially crafted for all of us, the real kings of heavy music.

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anthrax_for all kingsFor All Kings, the eleventh studio album by American Thrash Metal titans Anthrax, is definitely not just another ordinary Thrash Metal album. It truly feels like a classy and passionate tribute to heavy music and to their longtime hardcore fans, who have never turned their back on these Ney York City metallers and kept flying the flag of old school Thrash Metal high no matter what. Actually, I shouldn’t be calling those people as just “fans”, but as real kings according to Anthrax themselves when explaining the title of the album. “The meaning, to me, for this title is that everybody can be a king.”, said the iconic guitarist Scott Ian. And you know what? We should indeed feel like kings being honored by Anthrax with such a beautiful album.

After the superb Worship Music, released in the distant year of 2011 when Anthrax emerged from the ashes like a metallic phoenix, I had no idea if they would be capable of maintaining (or even surpassing) the extremely high level of quality and energy flowing from now classic songs such as “Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t” and “The Devil You Know” in their future albums. Especially after the departure of the amazing Rob Caggiano (who joined Danish rockers Volbeat in 2013), being replaced by Jon Donais on lead guitar, that uncertainty grew even more as Rob used to be one of the masterminds behind the band’s unique musicality. Well, I said once to a friend that if they were able to deliver maybe just half of what they did in Worship Music I would be extremely happy, and fortunately for all of us For All Kings is more than that, sounding just as electrifying as its predecessor.

Are you ready to get caught in a breakneck Thrash Metal mosh? This is what will happen in the opening track, the fantastic You Gotta Believe, where after an imposing intro (featuring background noises from probably Anthrax fans during their live performances) we are treated to 7 minutes of the purest and finest Anthrax. Scott Ian and Charlie Benante are already on their beast mode, while “newcomer” Jon Donais does a superb job with his guitar solos providing a nice balance between violence and melody to the song. The following chant, Monster at the End, is not only a melodious ode to Thrash Metal similar to some tunes from Worship Music, but also an irreproachable option to sing along with the iconic Joey Belladonna. And what can I say about the great riffage by Scott in the title-track, For All Kings, especially during the chorus? In addition to that, the thunderous bass guitar by Frank Bello adds a lot of power to this amazing hymn, putting a smile on the face of every fan of old school Thrash Metal.

anthrax 2016You might not agree with me, but in my humble opinion the superb Breathing Lightning is a masterpiece, and I simply cannot wait to see them playing this live. Thrilling and electrifying from the very first second, its classic rhythm is flawlessly complemented by its simple but beautiful lyrics (“You always have the chance to do the right thing / Until the right thing comes undone / And with a thunderclap I’m breathing lightning / And this world has moved on / I look inside myself is this the right thing? / Is this the right thing, I don’t know”). Besides, Joey’s performance is beyond outstanding throughout the entire song, not to mention the soulful guitar solos by Jon. Suzerain is another kick-ass traditional Anthrax chant, showcasing precise beats by Charlie and tons of riffs by Scott and Jon, and sounding as if it was recorded back in the 80’s but with a fresh vibe; while Evil Twin, inspired by events like the 2015 attack on the offices and staff of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo and various other mass shootings (Scott mentioned the song is about the actions of people “who feel they have become judge, jury and executioner over their fellow man”, calling this mindset the “evil twin” of humanity), has that perfect rhythm for having fun inside a circle pit with your friends. The band once again shows all their passion for Thrash Metal through the song’s heavy riffs and acid lyrics (“You represent your discontent slaughtering the innocent / Insolence, you’re no martyrs / The arrogance to reinvent / The holy words their meanings bent / Evil twins, you’re no martyrs”), with the riffs and bass lines at around three minutes being fuckin’ awesome.

After so much destruction and shredding, it’s time for some classy and passionate Heavy Metal entitled Blood Eagle Wings (Anthrax surely don’t need to be fast all the time to be awesome), where you can feel the entire band is putting their hearts and souls into the music; followed by the fighting chant Defend Avenge, which despite being heavy as hell it’s still very melodic, with Anthrax demanding us fans to bang our fucking heads nonstop and scream its chorus together with them at the top of our lungs. The good All of Them Thieves falls flat after a while due to its repetitive lyrics, despite the great job done on both guitars and bass, whereas in This Battle Chose Us it feels like Anthrax are paying a tribute to themselves, with Frank kicking ass on bass while Charlie provides his always groovy and pleasant beats. Moreover, it’s indeed incredible how Anthrax still sound crisp and alight after so many years on the road.

for all kings poker edition

For All Kings Poker Edition

Now just grab a beer and head to the mosh pit to the sound of the insane riffs and nonstop adrenaline flowing from one of the best songs of the album for sure, entitled Zero Tolerance. This is the perfect way to close this solid album, with Joey and Scott leading this fiery hymn which will undoubtedly please all fans of good Thrash Metal. But wait, there’s a lot more Anthrax if you purchase the limited edition of the album (or even better, the jaw-dropping POKER EDITION) in the form of four high-octane bonus tracks recorded live in Tokyo, Japan, with my favorite being obviously their most recent classic Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t.

What are you waiting for to keep worshiping the unique music crafted by Anthrax in For All Kings? Featuring a stunning artwork by American comic book writer and artist Alex Ross, this is one of those albums that without even noticing you’ll be listening to nonstop at home, in your car, at work or anywhere else where first-class Thrash Metal is needed to fight our biggest enemies and fears. For All Kings is classy, electrifying and, more important than that, especially crafted for all of us, the real kings of heavy music.

Best moments of the album: You Gotta Believe, Breathing Lightning, Defend Avenge and Zero Tolerance.

Worst moments of the album: All of Them Thieves.

Released in 2016 Megaforce/Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. You Gotta Believe 7:32
2. Monster at the End 3:55
3. For All Kings 5:00
4. Breathing Lightning 6:33
5. Suzerain 4:53
6. Evil Twin 4:40
7. Blood Eagle Wings 7:53
8. Defend Avenge 5:13
9. All of Them Thieves 5:14
10. This Battle Chose Us 4:53
11. Zero Tolerance 3:48

Poker Edition/Limited Edition Box Set bonus tracks
12. Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t 6:11
13. A.I.R. 6:38
14. Caught In A Mosh 5:18
15. Madhouse 4:06

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

Concert Review – Volbeat (General Motors Centre, Oshawa, ON, 05/12/2015)

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Awesome bands playing awesome music don’t always translate into an awesome experience.

OPENING ACTS: Crobot and Anthrax

volbeat_na2015I have to start this review by grunting some really unpleasant words about the whole organization of what was supposed to be a great event at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario on the night of May 12. First of all, whoever thought Oshawa was a better city for Volbeat and Anthrax to play instead of Toronto made a huge mistake, and I’m not complaining about the distance to Oshawa, as a 1 or 2-hour drive is nothing to worry about. The huge issue was the lack of information and the complete nonsense regarding the sales of the general admission (floor) tickets. I swear to Ronnie James Dio that I tried to purchase those tickets a hundred times online and all I could get were some stupid seats far from the stage. I thought it was going to be a sold out event because of that, but guess what? The floor was not even half full, nor were the seats closer to the stage, which makes me wonder if scalpers had all the remaining tickets for the floor area, or if the venue system is a lame piece of garbage worse than Windows Millenium Edition.

Not only that, the price for the floor or the seats was the exact same shit, so why couldn’t they allow some people that wanted to access the floor area (who most probably had the same issue I had buying their tickets) to actually change their seats for the floor if the price was not a single penny off? That also caused lots of minor incidents between fans and the organization, some even involving physical interactions. Well, that’s what happens when amateurs avid for some easy money try to organize a mini-festival that shouldn’t be held at a venue like that. Shame on you, whoever had the “brilliant” idea of taking such awesome bands as Volbeat and Anthrax to a shithole like that, weakening the performance of the bands to the point it looked like a lackluster and uninspired concert.

The guys in charge of opening the night were American Rock band CROBOT, from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. I’ll be honest with you, this is definitely not my type of music, but the band tried as much as they could to stimulate a very passive crowd, especially the nonstop frontman Brandon Yeagley and the “crazy-frog-legs” bassist Jake Figueroa. If you love Psychedelic Rock, go after their music: they’re very talented musicians who have the energy of the 70’s ingrown inside their spirit and are more than capable of delivering that energy through each of their songs.

Setlist
1. The Legend of the Spaceborne Killer
2. Skull of Geronimo
3. Night of the Sacrifice
4. La Mano de Lucifer
5. Nowhere To Hide
6. The Necromancer
7. Chupacabra
8. Fly on the Wall

Band members
Brandon Yeagley – lead vocals, harmonica
|Bishop – guitar, vocals
Jake Figueroa – bass
Paul Figueroa – drums

IMG_0280When you see a guy with a huge Anthax tattoo on his arm AND wearing an Anthrax T-shirt watching an ANTHRAX concert so passively, barely moving to the point I almost called the paramedics to check if he was still breathing, you know there’s something very wrong going on. The “humongous” space between my seat and the front one was killing me, as well as the somnolence of one of the worst crowds I’ve ever seen in my life. However, even with all those issues, Anthrax kicked ass once again, of course, thanks to their flawlessly executed frantic Thrash Metal. I just wish I could be together with some real fans who were having a good time when they were caught in the rare but exciting mosh pits on the floor area. Well, if people are capable of standing still while Joey, Scott & Co. play masterpieces like Caught in a Mosh, Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t and the best song of the night in my opinion, the heavy and furious I Am the Law, they should rethink paying 50 bucks for a ticket and almost 9 bucks for a beer. Damn, and people keep complaining they do not have money. Stay home and watch a DVD, right?

Setlist
1. Worship
2. Caught in a Mosh
3. Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
4. Madhouse
5. Antisocial (Trust cover)
6. Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
7. Soror Irrumator
8. Hymn 1
9. In the End

Encore:
10. I Am the Law
11. Indians

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

VOLBEAT

IMG_0300Every single word used above for describing the Anthrax concert can be replicated to Danish Heavy/Hard Rock band VOLBEAT. I cannot believe I witnessed one of the best heavy bands of the modern era playing tons of awesome songs to a crowd that looked like they were at the funeral of their grandmothers. Except for random groups and couples that were truly enjoying the electrifying music by Volbeat, the rest of the “fans” were falling asleep and some even left the venue BEFORE the band played half of their setlist. Again, I don’t care it was on a Tuesday night and you had to work on the next morning, why don’t you just save some money and stay home watching a DVD if you thought it was getting late? At least I was able to move to a better location, as more than half of the seats were empty just like the floor area, and could stand up and dance with my lady to classic such as A New Day, Danny & Lucy (11 pm), Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood and The Mirror and the Ripper.

IMG_0304The badass kids that went on stage during 16 Dollars and banged their heads like most adults at the venue couldn’t do were a breath of fresh air amidst the audience’s stagnant attitude, but the incidents during one of my top Volbeat songs, The Garden’s Tale, with a woman having to be carried out of the arena due to her stupid behaviour (including hitting the poor security guys many times), could pretty much summarized my feeling during the entire night. Not even when Volbeat played part of a brand new still-nameless song of their upcoming new album, which by the way sounded superb, the fans reacted properly. I guess even the band felt the same way, with Michael Poulsen and Rob Caggiano making a lot of mistakes during many songs like if they were “who cares, this audience is shit anyway.”

When Volbeat returns to Canada, let’s pray to the Metal Gods that they come to Toronto instead of Oshawa, and to a much better venue with a professional organization, so that I can purchase my floor tickets and really feel the heat of the music by those rockers. Sorry, Oshawa people, nothing against you. The problem is that you had your chance to show those amazing bands you’re worth their visit, but you screw it up pretty bad. Next time, come to Toronto and you’ll see how you should behave when Anthrax and Volbeat are kicking ass on stage.

Setlist
1. Hallelujah Goat
2. A New Day
3. Dead but Rising
4. Lola Montez
5. Danny & Lucy (11 pm)
6. Sad Man’s Tongue
7. The Nameless One
8. Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
9. Ecotone
10. The Human Instrument
11. The Garden’s Tale
12. Heaven nor Hell / A Warrior’s Call
13. Doc Holliday
14. The Mirror and the Ripper
15. 16 Dollars

Encore:
16. Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
17. The Hangman’s Body Count
18. The Lonesome Rider
19. Fallen
20. Still Counting

Band members
Michael Poulsen – vocals, guitar
Rob Caggiano – guitar
Anders Kjølholm – bass
Jon Larsen – drums

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

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

INTRODUCTION: The Island of Heavy Metal

heavy montreal 2014Since 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

IMG_2899Booking 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.

IMG_2891Another 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

IMG_2827Unfortunately 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

IMG_2837Right 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

IMG_2841It 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)

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

novarock2014

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

IMG_1976Because 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).

Trivium Setlist Nova Rock 2014 2014, Vengeance Falls

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

ANTHRAX

IMG_1996After 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.

Anthrax Setlist Nova Rock 2014 2014

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 

AMON AMARTH

IMG_1997Then 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.

Amon Amarth Setlist Nova Rock 2014 2014, Deceiver of the Gods

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

IRON MAIDEN

IMG_2010And 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.

Iron Maiden Setlist Nova Rock 2014, Maiden England - European Tour 2014

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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