Tag Archives: the trooper

Accessories Review – Iron Maiden 2016 Calendar

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Completely disconnected from The Book Of Souls, the new calendar has a huge feeling of “been there, done that” despite being very classy and well-crafted.

Rating7

00_Iron Maiden Calendar 2016Heavy Metal titans Iron Maiden have been on a exciting roll in 2015, starting with Bruce Dickinson beautifully overcoming cancer, followed by the release of a brand new album that’s being considered by most of their fans as their best since Bruce’s return to the band back in 1999, the spectacular The Book Of Souls, which obviously led them to schedule several dates all around the world for their upcoming tour in 2016 (with most of those concerts being sold out already). Add to that the soaring number of merchandise items offered through their official webshop and also available in lots of physical stores everywhere, and you have a flawless 2015 and a promising 2016 for the band and consequently for each of their diehard fans worldwide.

However, in my opinion there was a huge opportunity missed by the band with one of their new items, which might not make any difference in the life of their occasional fans, but that surely has a significant impact for Maidenmaniacs like myself. I’m talking about the Iron Maiden 2016 Calendar, which despite being a solid compilation of some of Eddie’s most iconic facets, it has that tiresome feeling of “been there, seen that” when compared to all their previous calendars.

Published as usual by Danilo Promotions Limited and displaying very similar dimensions (42.1 x 29.6 x 1 cm) and weight (318 g) to all previous editions, don not expect to see ANY references to The Book Of Souls on the calendar, but just a collection of old school Eddies from Running Free to Different World. Actually, the artwork chosen for the front cover is a slight adaptation from their 1996 “best of” album Best Of The Beast, something beyond my comprehension.

I’m not saying it’s a boring calendar. Quite the opposite, who doesn’t love the Eddies from The Trooper, Aces High or Stranger in a Strange Land? The main issue for me is that, if you think about what they could have done to the calendar by using the unlimited potential from the Mayan theme featured in The Book Of Souls, you’ll realize how lazy and disappointing the 2016 calendar is. It’s still worth the £8 (or 15 Canadian Dollars) you’ll pay for it, but it’s obvious they could have done a lot better than that. Can you imagine how awesome the whole calendar would have been with the same look and feel of the new album, including the Mayan hieroglyphs, the “Eddie Sapiens” and everything else?

Anyway, with a magnificent album like The Book Of Souls in our hands, I guess in the end we cannot complain that much about a simple calendar. You can find it for sale at the Iron Maiden official  webshop, on Amazon.ca (or any other Amazon website), at Danilo.com and at tons of other webshops all over the world such as Calendar Club, from the UK. It might not be the Mayan calendar most of us were expecting, but it will be more than enough for you to count the days until Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers, Nicko McBrain and Eddie storm your city with their unparalleled Heavy Metal in 2016.

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Collectibles Review – Iron Maiden Clothed 8” Action Figures

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This time, Eddie decided to dress up for the party.

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Maiden-figuresAlthough the new Iron Maiden Clothed 8” Action Figures by NECA (National Entertainment Collectibles Association) were launched in 2014 and the official NECA website states those are now discontinued, I believe they’re worth a review anyway so awesome they are. There are only two versions available, The Trooper and The Mummy, each with their own unique characteristics and accessories and, more important than that, as the description says they’re both clothed, becoming some sort of tribute to the traditional action figures from the 70’s featuring cloth costumes.

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Iron Maiden – 8″ Clothed Action Figure – The Trooper

The first of the two action figures to be launched was The Trooper, back in July 2014, featuring a tattered Union Jack flag and saber accessories. This Eddie is so cool and so well-crafted you will feel like one of those collectors who refuse to take the action figure out of its original box to avoid any type of damage to it. There are other versions of “The Trooper” Eddie available in the market, like the head knocker bobble head, but the fact Eddie now comes with actual clothes turns it into a must-have item for your personal collection of Eddies. This action figure might be discontinued on the official NECA website, but that doesn’t mean you cannot find it on other websites such as Amazon, or even at some physical toy/games stores.

Iron Maiden – 8″ Clothed Action Figure – The Mummy

Iron Maiden – 8″ Clothed Action Figure – The Mummy

It might have taken a few extra months for The Mummy to be released (it was launched only in September 2014), but it was totally worth the wait. Pretty much the same that was said about The Trooper is applied to The Mummy, with the additional fact that it was launched in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Iron Maiden’s unparalleled masterpiece Powerslave,  and of course its corresponding World Slavery Tour 1984-1985. This version of the action figure is just as superb as The Trooper, featuring chains that can be connected to Eddie’s mouth, as well as an alternate head that reveals more of his face. Its clothes are so detailed I wonder if each unit produced wasn’t manually sewn and assembled. Moreover, just like The Trooper, you can find The Mummy at Amazon and maybe at other physical stores in your city.

In short, there’s no reason for you not to buy both The Trooper and The Mummy. I cannot tell which one is my favorite, as both are incredible and look really awesome among my other action figures and bobble heads. And besides, you’ll spend only between 45 and 75 US Dollars with each one, which is not a huge investment if you think of how valuable those items will be in a couple of years. Our good friend Eddie decided to really dress up for the party this time, so do not disappoint him and send him an “invitation” to join you at your own Heavy Metal celebration at your place.

Album Review – Dimenzion:Psychosphere / Collapse (2014)

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These Norwegian “industrialists” are spot on with their cold and futuristic apocalyptic metal.

Rating4

DIMENZION PSYCHOSPHERE - Collapse cover artIf you’re a fan of Industrial Metal bands that are a lot more “metal” than “industrial”, but that still have that cool electronic touch and a unique futuristic concept in each of their albums, such as the incomparable Rammstein, Ministry and Fear Factory, you should take a shot at Collapse, the new album by Norwegian Industrial Metal band Dimenzion:Psychosphere. After a few self-released EP’s and their debut album entitled DNA Phantom Effect (2012), Collapse is their first full-length album signed to a record label (Crime Records), and by far the best in terms of recording and production quality.

Based in the town of Mandal, Norway, this band does not play your average Industrial Metal, but a fresh and creative mix of industrial and heavy music elements, or as Dimenzion:Psychosphere themselves prefer to say, they play “cold apocalyptic metal from the north”. That crazy definition is corroborated by the band members’ monikers (The President, The Architect, The Trooper, The Scientist and The Engineer) and by their apparel, which can be described as a hybrid between Slipknot and Call Of Duty: Black Ops. You have to agree it can’t get any more bizarre than that.

And when all that visual and concept bizarreness translates into music as soon as the excellent opening track The Machine starts, everything makes a lot more sense: Dimenzion:Psychosphere breed a heavy and embodied mix of Industrial and Nu Metal, a kind of musicality only German Industrial Metal giants Rammstein would be able to produce, with highlights to its very entertaining and intelligent lyrics (“The walking machine’s still singing / The time has come to seize control / To which values are you clinging / To whom do you owe your soul?”). The following track, the groovy Fury, keeps up with the futuristic theme by offering us a truly mechanical atmosphere, which together with the “march” halfway through the song and its extremely heavy drums and bass make the whole song even more effective.

DIMENZION PSYCHOSPHERE band photo 2With its Fear Factory-ish intro and its dense and slow riffs enhanced by a dark “assembly line” rhythm, the song Void can be considered the representation of the band’s Industrial Doom Metal side, while the superb Epistemophobia should be used as part of the soundtrack to a futuristic suspense movie, especially due to the symphonic elements added by The Scientist with his insane synths. Moreover, if you don’t know what the name of this song means, Epistemophobia is the fear of knowledge, which ends up being the principle of the lyrics. In my opinion, I wouldn’t consider this lyric theme too futuristic, but extremely realistic (and painful) based on all the shit we see people doing all over the world. Does anyone still think the human being is actually evolving?

Anyway, the next track, Slaves, focus on more melodic lines, with its direct lyrics (“WE’RE ALL A BUNCH OF FUCKIN SLAVES”) and synths being responsible for generating a strong atmosphere once again, followed by the longest track of all, Psychodorm, full of modern American Metal elements the likes of Slipknot. Moreover, the “machinery” sonority created by all instruments is outstanding, boosted by a very cohesive melancholic tune after four minutes, which goes on until the end of the song. And last but not least, the title-track Collapse sort of kicks off from where the previous song ended, maintaining the same eerie sonority, with an amazing vocal performance by lead singer The President. The ending of this song (and the entire album) is very obscure, predicting there’s no sign of a “happy ending” for our society, which I totally agree.

The album art designed by TrippleOneVision is a terrific complement to the album concept, reminding us of the futuristic mechanical artwork found in many (if not all) albums by Fear Factory, and another sign of how professional and committed Dimenzion:Psychosphere are to their work. In short, Collapse, which will soon be available at the official Crime Records Webshop, doesn’t bring any optimistic message to humanity, but it surely provides fans of heavy music an exceptionally good soundtrack to apocalypse, so turn the volume up, relax and enjoy this awkward music journey until the world completely falls apart.

Best moments of the album: The Machine and Epistemophobia.

Worst moments of the album: Void.

Released in 2014 Crime Records

Track listing
1. The Machine 5:02
2. Fury 4:15
3. Void 6:26
4. Epistemophobia 5:18
5. Slaves 4:29
6. Psychodorm 8:49
7. Collapse 7:19

 Band members
The President – vocals
The Architect – guitar, vocals
The Trooper – bass
The Scientist – synth
The Engineer – drums

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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Collectibles Review – Iron Maiden Eddie Headknockers

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A mandatory item in the collection of any Maidenmaniac in the world.

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eddie head knockers action figure necaWhen someone becomes “obsessed” by a band or artist, he or she is capable of spending unreasonable amounts of money in any stupid garbage that has the band’s name on it. Particularly these days where the illegal downloads are responsible for huge money losses for the record companies, selling concert tickets, exclusive clothing, memorabilia and other things you cannot download became the cash cows for all types of bands, including even giants such as Iron Maiden, Metallica and KISS.

headknocker_somewhereAlthough Metallica has a more commercial approach in their music and KISS has all that magic behind their face painting and stage performance, it is Iron Maiden that has the biggest advantage in selling stuff to their fans due to their unbeatable mascot Eddie. It’s almost impossible to find a Maiden fan that doesn’t have at least one simple T-shirt with Eddie’s face on it, and some fans like me enjoy collecting the weirdest and most exclusive items available (if those items do not “damage” my bank account too much, of course), making this market even more profitable for the band.

Among all the Iron Maiden and/or Eddie stuff I’ve seen in my life, the headknockers (or bobbleheads) produced by the company NECA (National Entertainment Collectibles Association) are the most interesting and detailed, and the price around 30 Canadian Dollars make them a very accessible item for all Maidenmaniacs to add to their collections. They’re very high-quality toys, made of a material that’s way better than any other plastic bobbleheads like the ones from Funko, and they’re bigger too, reaching around 8” tall.

headknocker_trooperNECA launched five Eddie headknockers a few years ago, all extremely well-crafted. I have two of those, The Trooper (which I used in my Trooper Beer review pics, as you can see here) and The Number of the Beast, and I’m still trying to find the other three. Well, when I was in Stockholm (Sweden) this year I saw the Live After Death one at a music store downtown, but it was over 60 Euros, which is too much and my bag was already full of stuff. Regarding the other two, I’ve never seen the Piece of Mind and Somewhere in Time bobbleheads for sale anywhere yet, only some pictures on the Internet. By the way, the Somewhere in Time one seems to be the most awesome of all, followed by The Trooper. I wonder if one day they’ll create new bobbleheads for some other classic Eddies, as for example Powerslave, Phantom of the Opera and Be Quick Or Be Dead (this one would be absolutely insane with Eddie grabbing that same politician by the neck).

headknocker_deathI bought mine at the Sunrise Records located at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, but I’m not sure if they still have any left. Anyway, you can try their online shop, and there’s always something available on Amazon.ca. And if you find any of the three I’m still searching for, please let me know, because instead of “Iron Maiden’s gonna get ya, no matter how far”,  the motto in my case is “I’m gonna get the Eddie headknockers, no matter how far!”