You wanted the best, You got the best! The hottest band in the world…

The night couldn’t have started worse for me when I left work to find the main motorway home close due to an accident. A 20 mile detour later and buses down to the venue are blocked due to football traffic so a few mile sprint was required. But that doesn’t matter because I made it to the venue and still found myself on the front barrier. Not able to photo this one meant I had to put up with my compact camera which I had never used for a gig before.

2 hours after doors opened it was nearly time for KISS to hit the stage as their customary soundtrack of AC/DC was pumped out of the PA system. In order to make up for the scale of the band including the 20ft Kiss logo which pretty much filled the back wall, the stage had been extended out by a meter reducing the photopit to a very narrow aisle. The togs that were there pretty much had to pick a spot and stick to it.

When the lights finally dim, we are all expecting the standard “You wanted the best…..” intro when suddenly they are on stage without even a word. Hi Kiss.

The band was in good spirits throughout and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying the return to the small stage. The big KISS sign behind the band was all kinds of eye destroying light and a wall of amplifiers dominated the stage. The three members out front continuously swapped sides and pulled out every pose from the book and even in their old age managed a few scissor kicks. “Love Gun” was probably the highlight of the set before the awesome “Rock and Roll All Nite” as always closed the main part or the set with a blizzard of confetti lasting the whole song.

The actual setlist they played was this….

Modern Day Delilah
Cold Gin
Let Me Go Rock And Roll
Say Yeah
Calling Dr. Love
Got To Choose
I Love It Loud
100,000 Years
Love Gun
Black Diamond
Rock And Roll All Nite
——————-
Detroit Rock City

….but should have included “Deuce”, “Shout It Out Loud” & “Lick It Up” in the encore.

News reported today said that the band nearly fainted after “Rock and Roll All Nite” due to the amount of CO2 pumped onto the stage from the confetti cannons. It may be true…. But I just can’t believe it as the cannon was pretty much going off in my face for 3 minutes and I, and the people around me, were all fine.

So despite the weird ending to the evening, it was still a great night at what would have been the venues biggest ever gig. The sound was great and the lights were amazing… and although my compact camera did me proud, I would have still loved the chance to photo them properly, but then that would have also meant not being able to spend the night clinging to the front barrier.

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SUICIDAL ANGELS

SAVAGE MESSIAH

CRIPPER

Cripper

Savage Messiah

Suicidal Angels

Overkill

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CHEW LIPS

LYREBIRDS

TEETH

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SYLOSIS

OCTOBER FILE

It’s been three longs years since Fear Factory hit the UK with their Industrial-esq take on metal, and after teasing us last year with festival announcements before cancelling due to recording/legal reasons, they’re finally back with a point to prove.

October File are the first band to hit the stage to what must have been a dishearteningly small audience due to the early doors. But it’s the people who were coming later who were missing out as the band delivered a solid apocalyptic set of heavy metal.

Sylosis, as always, do not disappoint. Still by far the best ‘new’ metal band in the UK and, as standard, deliver their technical and trashy melodic death metal with heaps of confidence. Having being taken around the UK and Europe by some of the biggest names in metal, and as one of the UK’s flag bearers on Nuclear Blast records they have the backing to become one of the biggest names in metal.

It’s no surprise that the Electric Ballroom is a sellout after a three year absence of Fear Factory. Recent release ‘Mechanize’ may just be the best of their career with tunes that sit firmly among their most loved and they prove that tonight with a relentless aural assault on your senses.

With Dino Cazeres back in the band their industrial metal groove is sounding as intense as ever as he beats out the riffs like he has never been away. Burton C. Bell vocals are a spot on as you expect and although he may have been one of the genre’s forefathers, he sounds are fresh as ever. Whether you class this as a brand new Fear Factory or a reworked version of the band of old, one thing for sure is they are on form and sounding better then ever.

Photographed and reviewed for Soundshock.co.uk

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ATTICA RAGE

Reitermania hits London and I was at the legendary Underworld venue in Camden Town to photograph the show for Soundshock.co.uk.

Attica Rage have the job of warming up a very sparse Camden Underworld before the main event. Their blend of hard rock meets thrash is never going to be groundbreaking, but is good enough to get the audience banging their heads. Overall they perform their role well without being particularly memorable, with ‘Contradictions’ and ‘Dark City’ being two of best. This was a definite improvement on the last time I saw them open up the second stage at Hammerfest last year, but now they have the challenge of kicking off main stage events at this year’s event.

Die Apokalyptischen Reiter hit the stage about thirty minutes later and surprisingly the usually tiny stage looks a lot bigger with all of the kit pushed right to the sides and the swing of keyboard player Dr. Pest being place on the adjoining aisle. Vocalist Fuchs even brings along his hydraulic platform although due to the low ceiling he would have either been squished or made an emergency entrance to The Worlds End pub above.

The set list draws heavily from The Apocalyptic Horsemen’s latest album ‘Licht’ but also includes the best of the rest as the band storm across the UK trying to make a name for themselves after two terrific performances at Bloodstock Open Air and Hard Rock Hell 3 in 2009. Unlike their early days, the new songs are primarily sung in German, and maybe like Rammstein, this has resulted in a change from a standard melodic Death Metal sound to something a bit more unique. It has certainly captured the hearts of the not even half full Underworld as the audience sing-along, head bang and most throughout the show.

One surprise in the setlist was ‘We Will Never Die’ from the Have a Nice Trip album being played mid set. The track has proved to be an epic set closer in the past and one of those tracks with everyone wants to get involved with and chant along. I guess it’s different from a festival though were you need to end on a memorable note to an audience who is not there for you.

As for the photography, at the Underworld you usually have to stand at the side of the stage unless you want to risk a pissed up surfer landing on your camera while battling it out in the pit. But because the crowd was a fairly sparse and I was the first person on the dance floor, I took my chances at the front. It was definitely worth while as I have never seen the Underworld produce anything resembling decent light before. I was able to shoot as high shutter speeds meaning I was still able to produce sharp images despite being bashed around by the moshers… the only difficulty came in composing the pictures.

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OUT OF SIGHT

THE AUTEUR

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THE KING BLUES

ROLO TOMASSI


Review of Enter Shikari, The King Blues and Rolo Tomassi coming soon!

Photographed for Clink Music Magazine.

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TRACY GANG PUSSY

NEW DEVICE

In celebration of their 20th Anniversary, Backyard Babies are back in London…

I wish I had something good to say about New Device who opened the night, they looked like they tried hard, and some of their songs were ok, but the singers screech didn’t agree with me so that’s where it all ends unfortunately. I doubt it’ll be the last I see of them so I’ll leave it to them to prove me wrong next time.

Tracy Gang Pussy were slightly better. Four young guys with some decent hard rock tunes, but in the end not all that memorable. Near impossible to get any photos of either due to the non-existent lighting.

Backyard Babies are here promoting their best of compilation, ‘Them XX’, after 20 years of being a band and for anyone needing a lesson in sleazy hard rock ‘n’ roll, this is how it is done. The setlist is absolutely perfect, each song causing it’s own mini riot and a mass sing-along. For any BYB fan, give or take a couple of your favourites, this set is as good as it can get.

The band kick off with ‘Backstabber’ from their Knockouts EP and follow it quickly with the opening track from ‘Total 13’; ‘Made Me Madman’ and it is clear tonight will be a show to remember. Dregan is his usual manic self pulling out all of the standard guitar poses and scissor kicking off of the monitors, although less spitting on and kicking photogs would have been nice though (even if it was accidental) . Nick Borgs vocals are at their growly best and Peder Carlsson on drums and Johan Blomqvist on bass are faultless.

With the set list exploring the Babies catalogue right back to debut album “Diesel & Power” it is great to hear them play ‘Fill Up This Bad Machine’ and ‘Electric Suzy’ which apparently we wont hear for another 20 years. After an hour and a half the tunes are still coming thick and fast with explosive renditions of ‘Nomadic’, ‘’Look at You’ and ‘Robber of Life’ ending the night in perfect style.

KATAKLYSM

MAN MUST DIE

The 2009 incarnation of Decapitated hit the road for the first time since the road accident which resulted in the tragic death of drummer and founding member Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka and serious injury to singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek.

Man Must Die open the show with the aim of showing the sparse crowd what true Death Metal is all about… and if it is about being violent and a bit monotonous, then they do it very well. When they do display their more melodic side think start to look up and they do get the crowd moving a bit.

After entering the stage to an epic intro, Kataklysm kick things of with the unstoppable ‘Like Angels Weeping’ and the audience start to kill each other. For as singer Maurizio tells us, Kataklysm is all about the violence. While things do start to sound a bit samey after a while, the technical brilliance and Maurizio’s stage presence keeps things entertaining. After what feels like an hour on the stage, they call it a day with ‘The Arms of Devastation’ which just leaves everyone wanting a little bit more. This is the first time I’ve caught them since they tore Bloodstock Open Air a new one back in 2008. This is how you do Death Metal…. relentlessly brutal since the word go and effortlessly fantastic.

Since mastermind Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka decided to keep Decapitated going these Polish Death Metal legends were always going to be closely watched and compared to their previous version. For someone largely uneducated in their ways it’s impossible to offer an opinion, but the arrival of drummer Kerim “Krimh” Lechner, vocalist Rafał Piotrowski and bassist Filip “Heinrich” Hałucha as allowed the intense and unique sound to continue on.

As they pummel their way though a career spanning setlist, the reaction of the capacity crowd appears to be one of approval. New boy Rafal stalks the stage like a seasoned pro and Vogg clearly enjoys being back on stage where he belongs, never leaving his square of kitchen lino, and producing some quite stunning guitar work.

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DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS

DOMMIN

Lacuna Coil bring their Shallow Life tour back to London for a night at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire.

Dommin get things started with a decent set of what could be described as a modern day version of dark eighties pop music. Stick HIM in a blender (please!) with Depeche Mode and you have Dommin. For a support band that are pretty much unknown, they put on a confident display and should have made a fair few fans. The most memorable song from the set was a cover of Cutting Crew’s ‘Died in Your Arms Tonight’ which fit in perfectly among Dommin’s music.

Next to hit the stage were the very random Dirty Little Rabbits who feature Slipknot’s Clown, Shawn Crahan on drums. There has been a bit of a buzz about this lot for a while so expectations are quite high. The music was very random to say the least… it was like a deranged carnival sound with an “Alice in Wonderland” theme. Vocalist Stella Katsoudas pranced around the stage manically in a skimpy little dress, and what she lacked in vocal ability she made up for in showmanship. DLR were in fact a lot more entertaining to watch then they were to listen too, but for a relatively new band they do have a uniqueness that could result in them really making a name for themselves.

A very dedicated group of fans await the arrival of Lacuna Coil on stage with the front row swamped with girls waiting to throw roses to their idol Cristina Scabbia. As with every Lacuna Coil show I have seen the atmosphere is at boiling point as they hit the stage and they launch straight into the opener ‘Survive’ with such venom that it sets a precedent for the rest of the show.

Having seen Lacuna Coil many times over the years, I’ve found that recent shows have never carried the same excitement as they did in the pre-Karmacode days, and with the latest album being in my opinion their weakest to date, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But apart from the fact that they were missing the bassist and it didn’t sound completely live at times, it was the best LC gig I’ve seen for a long time. Cristina and Andrea’s duel lead vocals are as genius as ever and delivered solidly through the night giving both males and female fans chance to sing-along to each and every song. Although the setlist was heavily weighted to the newer album, there was enough of the classics to keep both new and old fans happy with ‘Heavens A Lie’ and ‘Swamped’ going down a treat.

Check out Clink Music Magazine for their review.

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