Testament/Onslaught/Warbringer – Newcastle O2 Academy, 22nd July 2009

I often bemoan the lack of decent metal gigs that make it to the North-East, so when legendary thrashers Testament added a Newcastle date to their UK tour and proceeded to stick two high quality support acts on the bill, my mind was made up – this was one not to be missed. The O2 Academy played host to the mid-week metalfest and was sadly not even close to a sell-out. Whether or not the poor numbers are a cause or an effect of the lack of quality gigs on offer in the area is a matter for another rant, but on the plus side it resulted in a fairly intimate atmosphere for the night’s proceedings and an excellent view throughout the evening.

There was more hair onstage tonight than you could shake several pairs of scissors at. Hair was so abundant, in fact, that the out of 15 men that graced the stage in total over the course of the show, only two came up short of at least two feet in the follicle department – one bald drummer (permissible) and one guitarist with shoulder-length hair (must do better). So round the clock choreographed head-banging was the order of the day, and first up were American thrash act Warbringer. Barely wet behind the ears compared to the company they were keeping, and struggling with a muddy sound (often the curse of the first band on although it really shouldn’t be) Warbringer did sterling work nonetheless in front of a small but dedicated crowd. They performed a selection of tracks from their debut album and current offering ‘Waking Into Nightmares’, their harsh vocals and speed metal style sounding at once modern and classic. The bass player in particular was a legend, playing finger-style throughout and pulling off some immense runs that had my jaw on the floor.

Onslaught are a band who really have been there and done that, and they are quick to inform us that they haven’t played in Newcastle since the 1980’s! You wouldn’t know it to look at them, or listen to them in fact, as they rip through a blistering set in a NWOBHM meets power metal style. Their songs sound fresh and current and their stage presence is captivating. They’ve returned after a long period in hiatus and have emerged as a contender for one of THE ones to watch on the UK metal scene, so good on them.

Testament are another band who formed in the early 80’s, but unlike Onslaught, have been toiling their way around the scene with little in the way of a rest ever since then. Their setlist tonight picks from the best of their back catalogue, right up to and including tracks from their most recent album, ‘The Formation of Damnation’. Frontman Chuck Billy is a colossus of a man, and he struts about the stage with characteristic swagger, air-guitaring on his mic stand with considerable prowess. The band really seem to be enjoying themselves and the sound in the venue has finally improved, so thankfully we can hear Testament’s expert delivery throughout their set. The crowd are really involved and there are even a couple of ‘walls of death’ towards the end of the show. We’re hard us Geordies. No, I am neither a Geordie, nor hard, but I felt the need for some solidarity with my northern metaller brethren right there. Anyway, as the band close the show with the title track from their latest release and revel in the subsequent adulation, they inform us that they have a new album coming out next year, and will be back to see us soon. From the evidence I’ve seen tonight, I can safely assert that Testament are back. And this time it’s biblical. (Sorry, I had to).

Sonisphere, Barcelona - 11/07/09

It was an overcast but humid afternoon in the Catalan region of Spain. The other half and I arrived at El Parc del Forum, south-west of Barcelona city centre at around 14:00, still a full hour before doors opened. It was our first experience of a European festival and the late start time came as a welcome relief having enjoyed one two many cervezas in the Rock and Rolla bar on Escudellers the previous night. Presumably due to the midday heat, the late start would meant a typically continental but distinctly un-British finishing time of 2:00am. Rock and roll!

Following successful dates in Holland and Germany, Barcelona was to be the third leg of the new touring rock festival Sonisphere which will culminate in August with a two-day stint at Knebworth, UK. We had a long day ahead of us but collected our tickets and proceeded to mill about with the metal-hungry Spaniards outside the grotesque urban sprawl that is the Forum. The £90 million building itself looks like the navy blue lovechild of something pointy and the 1980s, and caused much controversy when it was opened in 2004. The festival was set in grounds of the Forum building, by the harbour, and my first experience of an outdoor gig taking place entirely on concrete. I felt somewhat relieved my crowd-surfing days were over as the thought of crashing onto that floor was somewhat disconcerting, and continued to show my age by worrying about whether I might get a bit of a sore bottom.

The first band of the day were local metalcore outfit The Eyes, down on the second stage, which with its stone terracing one side and grassy bank on the other created a miniature bowl effect which made for an impressive sound. The Eyes got the day off to a flying start with their energy and enthusiasm, and had a dynamic sound despite noticeable timing and tuning issues. They obviously revelled in such a large home crowd, and apart from the frontman who pulled an exceptional selection of rockstar poses, the band came across a bit like excitable puppies. I can't blame them to be honest considering the company they were keeping. Definitely one to watch for the future.

Due to the already infamous Machine Head cancellation cock-up (more on that later) and queuing for Sonisphere money (that too!), we sadly missed Gojira’s first song, but pelted back down to the second stage to catch the rest of the French eco-metallers’ set (term manufactured for want of a better genre!). They blew the Spanish crowd out of the water with an assured performance, of which ‘Flying Whales’ was the highlight, along with ‘Backbone’, which lead singer and guitarist Joe Duplantier dedicated to Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe. It was an unexpected bonus when Blythe burst onto the stage and joined them for the second half of the song, lending his explosive vocals and boundless energy to an already top notch tune. Blythe retreated to the side of the stage after embracing Duplantier and from that point onwards, watching him air-drumming and enthusing over Gojira’s performance was almost as entertaining as watching the band themselves.

Another homegrown band, Soziedad Alkoholika, were the first band to take to the mainstage, but we opted for some lunch instead, the hardcore punk on offer not really our cup of sangria. Instead we spent 8 Sonisphere Euros apiece on two buckets of Estrella Damm and took our precious nectar to a comfortable spot on the terraces to wait for Mastodon.

Shoot me down in flames if you will, but anyone who knows me knows my opinion of Mastodon, and can probably predict how this next review is going to go. Having seen them support Tool four times in 2006 my mind was made up about this band some time ago; they are a total marmite band for me and try as I might, I haven’t been able to get over my dislike of them, their strange pseudo-prog sound or their occasionally asinine offstage behaviour. However in my defence, and in the spirit of giving second chances, I had a listen to a couple of tracks from the band’s 2009 release ‘Crack The Skye’ on their Myspace page, after I was told it was a step in a different direction for the band, and I have to say that I almost… enjoyed the songs I checked out. Perhaps I would be pleasantly surprised.

Buoyed by my new-found ambivalence, I waited with an open mind for what I hoped would be a step in the right direction live, also. Sadly I was to be disappointed. The new material which showed promise online did not come across well live at all. The vocals sounded strained and far too Ozzy-influenced. The second track they played harked back to their failure to impress me three years ago and my other half, not blessed with the patience of angels like myself, dragged me away after that.

I can’t say I was that upset about this, especially when we discovered what else was on offer. A small crowd were gathered in an opening and eager to see what the fuss was all about, we went for a gander. The video I took speaks for itself.

*video to come!

Blaas of Glory, from the Netherlands there, showing that there really is a satisfactory alternative to Mastodon.

The middle order bands were the real meat in the metal sandwich and next up were my pet band of 2009, Lamb of God. The were the first band I saw on the mainstage and as it turned out, it was a day of firsts – Lamb of God’s first ever show in Spain, nonetheless! The crowd were primed and ready, and I had no complaints as they tore through a ‘greatest hits’ style set, other than that it wasn’t long enough. But if they played their entire back catalogue uninterrupted, that still wouldn’t be long enough for me. Even if it contained an acoustic set, some barbershop quartet work and an exclusive rendition of their little-known covers album ‘LOG do Dolly Parton.’ Okay, I’m exaggerating. They’d never do an acoustic set.

But anyway, I digress (‘I must beware of riding off on my pet steed Tangent’, as Richard Dawkins said in ‘The God Delusion’ much to my amusement). Lamb of God are top quality live performers and never let the crowd down, just as the crowd never let them down. This was confirmed for me as around halfway through their set, a dazed-looking boy emerged from the moshpit to promptly vomit right in front of where we were standing, narrowly missing my feet. The decision to wear trainers instead of sandals was looking like an increasingly sensible one. This was reinforced again when to my astonishment, I almost participated (involuntarily, of course) in the traditional ‘wall of death’ during final song ‘Black Label’. Luckily I managed to stand my ground while hundreds of teenage boys in Metallica t-shirts hurled themselves at each other around me. I am a rock. And NOT because I’m old and boring. No, really.

At the end of LOG’s set, Randy Blythe urged everyone to ‘go see Down on the other stage’ which funnily enough struck me as a jolly good suggestion, so we joined the mass exodus from main to second stage and managed to find ourselves a decent spot just as Down wandered on in their own characteristically aimless way. The set that followed was one of my highlights of the day, the excellent sound quality doing their chunky, groovy sound plenty of justice and the second litro cerveza sitting comfortably in my belly whilst I danced like a loon. Phil Anselmo was in quite a chatty mood although he seemed concerned that the non English-speaking crowd might miss his point. Don’t worry Phil, we all think Down rock.

The set closed with the southern contingent of the bill lending members to replace the four Down musicians to create one mighty jam-filled love-in of a Down doughnut, with Mark Morton of Lamb of God taking Kirk Weinstein’s guitar, and three members of Mastodon taking over the remaining musical duties. Aside from Brent Hinds’ excessive widdling (they just can’t help annoying me, can they), it was another great moment in what was shaping up to be one of the finest days in metal history! (Ah hyperbole, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. There must be at least a billion).

Due to the stage reshuffle after the Knebworth/Limp Bizkit fiasco, Machine Head were now on the mainstage. I was understandably a bit grumpy with them due to all the problems surrounding their cancellation of the UK Sonisphere and the subsequent backlash, and prepared to be distinctly underwhelmed, as I had been earlier in the year at their support of Metallica’s arena tour. However, unlike Mastodon who failed to wow me despite my optimism, Machine Head banished my festering cynicism by quite simply kicking major buttocks. They were the loudest band of the day and the extended set length allowed them to showcase such classic tracks as ‘Old’ and ‘Bulldozer’ which were a wonderful surprise. We watched from a distance due to tired feet and hunger but I have to say, Machine Head really impressed me, so kudos to them.

Live by the mask, die by the mask is a phrase that readily springs to mind when it comes to Slipknot. Once you’ve seen them a couple of times and the gimmick has lost its novelty you start to realise that they don’t have the most gripping music to back it all up. Yes they rock hard, live, and are always a spectacle, but the songs, the newer ones in particular, just don’t sustain my interest anymore. Yes, the gimmick works for them – having 9 members (only 8 today admittedly, due to a death in the family of percussionist Chris Fehn) wearing masks, bashing oil drums, rotating drum risers – it’s compelling viewing and it will keep the kids entertained for as long as the band wish to keep the circus rolling. It’s just not my bag anymore.

And so to the headline act. The legendary wait for Metallica’s arrival is not what it used to be. I’ve only just left the bar when they take the stage, just 15 minutes behind schedule, and tear into ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ at breakneck speed. The pace doesn’t slow until the opening bars of ‘Fade To Black’, four songs later. I have to say, having seen Metallica eight times already, it never fails to pull the rug from under me when they manage, yet again, to surprise me. I had been avoiding looking at setlists for the summer stint of their tour and ‘Fade To Black’ just crept right up on me, tapped me on the shoulder and metaphorically, pulled my emotional pants down. I won’t lie to you, my eyes became slightly moist, must have been the dust or something. I never thought I would see them play that song live, and it was very special, I have to say. Okay, end girly moment.

In fact, Metallica played at least four songs that I had never heard them play live before and that’s really something considering my track record with the band (I say 'at least' because I feel it might have been 5 or even 6 but minus the setlists from the early days of seeing them, I can’t be 100% sure). I went away a very satisfied Metalli-fan, once again.

The day drew to a close at a curfew-demolishing 2:15am (you’ve got to love continental festivals) and we forced our weary feet the 40 minute walk back to our hotel where we stuffed some paprika Pringles in our faces before crashing out in a most comfortable bed. Sometimes, just sometimes, it really does beat a tent in a damp British field.

Greetings one and all.

Here begins the waffle. Feeling compelled to write something by way of introduction, I am typing this whilst in my dressing gown, sitting in front of Eastenders and drinking a can of Strongbow. I ooze class, I do. This is my shiny new blog, which I will fill full of my musings and ramblings on all sorts of lovely bits and bobs like gigs, films, albums and so forth. I hope you find it interesting if not slightly entertaining, feel free to leave a comment if you fancy it, I like a good chat, me. Anyway, on with the juicy stuff.