Prong 28/10/2016 Manchester O2 Academy 2 Set List:
Prong are from the USA and play and play a blend of Heavy Metal that encompasses elements of Thrash Metal, Hardcore and Crossover Punk. Led by the legendary Tommy Victor, Prong are currently touring in support of their latest album, X-No Absolutes released earlier this year on SPV/Steamhammer Records. Prong are currently touring Europe with King Parrot, Exodus and Obituary and tonight, Prong were the second band on, playing after King Parrot. From King Parrot to Prong, the turnaround was particularly quick, with Victor looking as if he was itching to play. Opening up their set with Eternal Heat from 2012’s Carved Into Stone, it was apparent that Victor seemed to have a bee in his bonnet. This was hardly surprising, it was very difficult to actually hear Victor’s voice, a feeling that seemed to the shared with the Victor and his monitors, but after a short rant at the sound guy at the side of the stage, by about halfway through the second song, Beg to Differ, from the 1990 album of the same name, Victor was much more audible. This change in volume, evidently cheered up Victor and his attitude changed instantly, running from each side of the stage, jumping and when you watch Victor play, you forget how much of an underrated guitarist he actually is. These sound problems aside, Prong sounded fantastic, effortlessly sliding in new tracks from X-No Absolutes amongst Prong classics such as Unconditional from Prove You Wrong and the fantastic Whose Fist is this Anyway? From the brilliant Cleansing album. Prong are often overlooked and easily debatable to be forgotten at times, but tonight, Prong showed that isn’t the case. Prong are easily able to keep up with their peers and other than the initial sound problems, the main problem tonight was that it was a shame that Prong didn’t have a longer set, but with 4 bands on the bill, the cloth has to be cut accordingly. It could still be widely debated that the opening band of King Parrot was a bit of a mismatch as an opener for this gig. However, Prong brought the true old-style Thrash to the stage in excellent fashion with a show that was just as good as their latest album. Adam
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King Parrot 28/10/2016 Manchester O2 Club Academy 2 King Parrot are a Heavy Metal band from Australia who play fast, thrashing riffs that is akin to Grindcore. However, there is something rather different to King Parrot who are currently touring in support of their latest album, Dead Set released in 2016 on Housecore Records. Currently touring Europe with Prong, Exodus and Obituary with King Parrot being the opening band. As with any concert with 3+ bands, the turnaround between bands has to be quick and tonight it was no different. King Parrot took to the stage pretty much within 10 minutes of the doors opening and gave us a huge slab of the King Parrot manifesto. Drawing on both newer songs from Dead Set and more worn in, tried and tested songs from King Parrot’s first album Bite Your Head off released in 2014 and at first, watching King Parrot is like being smashed in the face with unadulterated noise. However, the more you watch King Parrot, the more you ‘get’ and quite actually enjoy them. On stage, King Parrot are relentless, the energy that they emit is infectious and above all, King Parrot make their music fun. King Parrot look as if they are having the time in their life and completely immerse you in King Parrot’s amusing and dark view on the world. Vocalist, Youngy, prowls the stage like an incestuous cross between Phil Anselmo in his prime in Pantera and Mark Greenway of Napalm Death fame with the audience almost mesmerised by the pure energy and ferocity. The only problem faced by King Parrot tonight was the overbearing feeling that maybe King Parrot didn’t quite fit the bill. However, the longer King Parrot played, the more this feeling was dispelled and shared by an audience who hung on every word. King Parrot are certainly not the best band in the world, but, they are certainly much more fun and enjoyable in a live atmosphere and environment than they are on record. With the set closer of Silly Ol’ Mate, King Parrot hit the ground running, setting the pace high for every other band on the bill. Popestar Ghost 2016 Loma Vista Records/Rise Above Records/Spinefarm Records Ghost are a difficult band to categorise, they play a blend of Heavy Metal that also encompasses elements of Doom and Gothic Metal with massive Pop overtones that give Ghost huge replayability and allow them to appeal to a wide audience demographic. Popestar is the 2nd EP released by Ghost and follows up to 2015’s 3rd acclaimed studio album, Meliora. Popestar is the sound of a band who are maybe having a little fun, it features only one original song with the single Square Hammer, with the rest of the album paying tribute to the bands that at closer listen appear to have influenced Ghost. Ghost are ever secret about their line-up and other than the obvious ‘change’ in vocalist from Papa Emeritus II to Papa Emeritus III from Infestissumam to Meliora, the rest of the band, composed of the Nameless Ghouls, stick to their alchemical elemental symbols. The production of Popestar, as expected, follows in the very polished, Pop sheen that made Meliora so catchy with Popestar this time being produced by acclaimed British Indie producer Tom Dalgety. Dalgety has worked previously with the likes of Royal Blood, Simple Minds and Pixies, but also shows a side that would give him the shortlist for a producer for Ghost, having also worked with Killing Joke and Siouxsie. Dalgety has given Ghost exactly what they need and want by making Popestar sound like an extension from the Meliora sessions and that certainly isn’t a bad thing, his work is fantastic. Popestar contains only 5 tracks, clocking in at just under 25 minutes. As the only original song on Popestar, it was only natural to choose Square Hammer as the single. Square Hammer is everything that you would expect from Ghost, however, there are times where it fails to stick and may require a few plays to actually enjoy. The remaining 4 songs from Popestar are, as stated above, covers. Ghost take on Echo & the Bunnymen’s Nocturnal Me from their famous album Ocean Rain released in 1984. Ghost take Nocturnal Me and make it their own, in fact, it’s very difficult to even pick out that this was originally a Bunnymen song with most traces of the Bunnymen’s signature sound gone completely. Ghost also take on Missionary Man by 80’s Synthpop band, Eurhythmics. A strange choice, yet it seems to suit Ghost nigh on perfectly and although Ghost don’t really mess with the structure of the song as they did with Nocturnal Me, Missionary Man is more of a straight up cover and possibly the catchiest song on the EP. The remaining two covers of I Believe and Bible are more obscure covers, I Believe is a cover from English Electronica duo, Simian Mobile Disco, whilst Bible is a stadium style, lighters in the air anthem from cult Swedish band Imperiet and is given the epic Ghost treatment. Popestar is a definite grower of an EP. At first listen, it can be a little off-putting, especially if the choice of covers isn’t to your taste. However, once more Ghost show that they are not just a one trick pony with Popestar having the sound of a band having fun and enjoying what they do, refusing to stay still and rest on their laurels with the success of Meliora. 7/10 Adam Square Hammer (Ghost)
Theories of Flight Fates Warning 2016 InsideOut Music Fates Warning are a Progressive Metal band from the USA and are arguably one of the bands that can be credited with shaping that sound of the genre that we know today as Progressive Metal with their two acclaimed albums, Awaken the Guardian, released in 1986 and 1985’s The Spectre Within. Theories of Flight is Fates Warning’s 12th studio album and is the follow up to the well received 2013 album, Darkness in a Different Light. Theories of Flight continues in the same vein as Darkness in a Different Light, which is hardly surprising considering the success of the album and for once with Fates Warning, no change in the line-up. Fates Warning is composed of Ray Alder on vocals, the ever present Jim Matheos on the guitar and Joey Vera on the bass with Bobby Jarzombek on the drums completing the rhythm section. It is interesting to note that although still officially classed as a member of Fates Warning, guitarist Frank Aresti is not listed as a member, however does get credited with the guitar solo in White Flag and From the Rooftops. The production of Theories of Flight has been handled by the ever talented guitarist Matheos, who has once more created a Fates Warning album that sounds fantastic and is an absolutely pleasure to listen to. Theories of Flight is a relatively sublime album, at first hearing, Theories of Flight seems to ebb and flow along, but before you know, each song will drag you in with its exceptionally catchy, melodic hooks that will have you playing it on repeat. The only gripe with the production on Theories of Flight is that when listening to the album through headphones, the stop/start of the rhythm guitar in the left headphone can be very distracting. However, through a set of speakers, this isn’t noticeable and certainly isn’t worth the time crying over. The second track from Theories of Flight, Seven Stars, was chosen to be the single and is the perfect example of what to expect from the album. The chorus is amazingly memorable, with the production from Matheos giving the song a sheen that is, yes, polished, but also makes Theories of Flight really enjoyable and accessible to listen to. As a vocalist, it is a fair assumption the say that Alder is massively overlooked, especially amongst his peers within the Progressive Metal genre. However, the more you listen to Alder, the more you think that his voice has stood up exceptionally well, his beautiful melodies do not sound bored with a feeling of treading water like Geoff Tate or constrained by a bonkers concept like James LaBrie was saddled with this year and his vocal work on the epic The Ghosts of Home and White Flag is not only beautiful, but also flawless. The rest of the band play beyond their boundaries; Matheos’ guitar tone is fantastic throughout and the rhythm section forms a backbone that not only fits the music but also brings Theories of Flight to life without making the album sound as if the life has been sucked from it by becoming clinical. Theories of Flight is easily one of the best albums that has been released this year, the songs are well written and crafted and will subconsciously pull you in. Don’t bother with the latest Dream Theater album, buy Theories of Flight instead. 9/10 Adam Seven Stars (Matheos/Adler)
Dead Dawn Entombed A.D. 2016 Century Media Records Entombed A.D. are a Death Metal from Sweden and were formed from the ashes of Entombed in 2014. However, according to the original Entombed guitarist Alex Hellid, the Entombed name is owned by him, thus Entombed A.D. As expected, Entombed A.D. don’t sound too dissimilar to Entombed. Dead Dawn is the second full studio album from Entombed A.D. and is the follow up to their 2014 debut, Back to the Front. Dead Dawn contains the same line-up as the previous album and features; vocalist Lars-Göran Petrov, guitarist Nico Elgstrand, Victor Brandt on the bass and Olle Dahlstedt on the drums. The production of Dead Dawn has been split into two sections, Down to Mars Ride, As the World Fell and The Winner has Lost was handled by Jacob Hellner and Tom Van Heesch, with the rest of the album being produced by guitarist Nico Elgstrand. Between them, the producers have managed to produce a decent sounding album, each instrument can be clearly heard and Dead Dawn is a big step up from Back to the Front both in sound and in song-writing ability. However, Dead Dawn suffers from being hugely unmemorable, with the tracks failing to stick in your mind. That isn’t saying that the songs on Dead Dawn are sub-par, the songs are enjoyable to listen to. Petrov has a decent, strong Death Metal voice which hammers through on Midas in Reverse, Hubris Fall and the sublime Silent Assassin. Entombed may have lost their chainsaw sound from their first two releases a long time ago, but with Entombed A.D. and in particular, Dead Dawn, it is heavy enough to appeal to fans from that era. Elgstrand’s guitar is heavy and granted, these days, it may be more akin to Thrash Metal at times than Death Metal, but Elgstrand shows that it isn’t all whacking away at the bottom string and plays some really cool melodic passages on the title track. Dead Dawn is a full on, no frills, relentless onslaught of Death Metal and the track, Down to Mars Ride is possibly the closest that Dead Dawn comes to being memorable, Petrov’s vocals are powerful throughout and once again is backed by some strong and melodic guitar playing from Elgstrand. It is unfair to talk about Petrov and Elgstrand exclusively, as no Death Metal album is complete without its rhythm section and Brandt is solid on the bass throughout. There are no gimmicks to his playing, he does exactly what is needed and it provides Dead Dawn with a deep thumping backbone of noise that has the bass in your speakers bouncing. The most interesting thing about Dead Dawn is debatably Dahlstedt’s drumming, the beats he uses and patterns make and possibly save Dead Dawn from not just being unmemorable, but also downright boring. As an album, Dead Dawn is at best extremely average. As good as it sounds, the main issue again is that the songs fail to stick. The musicianship is fantastic and some of the lyrical ideas are interesting, but just lack that killer touch. That aside, Dead Dawn is a big improvement on Back to the Front and you can actively see progress in their sound. Later this year/early next year, Alex Hellid has threatened a new Entombed album and it will be interesting to see how they both compare. 5/10 Adam The Winner has Lost (Entombed A.D.)
Death Thy Lover Candlemass 2016 Napalm Records Candlemass are a Doom Metal band from Sweden and are one of the bands that took the slow, heavy blues of Black Sabbath, slowing it down into a grinding, heavy sludge that has come to what we expect from Doom Metal today. Death Thy Lover is the 4th EP released by Candlemass and their first studio release since 2012’s Psalms for the Dead. Death Thy Lover is a very welcome release as bassist and founding member Leif Edling hinted previously that after Psalms for the Dead, Candlemass would be finished. However, this isn’t the case and has retracted that previous statement by saying that Candlemass are working on a new album. The current Candlemass line-up consists of the perennial bass of Edling and Mappe Björkman on the rhythm guitar. Long standing members of Lars Johansson on the lead guitar and Jan Lindh on the drums are also present. Death Thy Lover is the first release with the latest Candlemass vocalist, Mats Levén who replaced Robert Lowe after he left before the release Psalms for the Dead. The production of Death Thy Lover is very typical of what you would expect from Candlemass and has been produced by David Castillo. What you get with Death Thy Lover is heavy, slow and melodic songs, but as opposed to their counterparts of the genre who add deep or growling vocals into the mix, Candlemass manage to keep a very almost classic metal feel to their take on Doom Metal. Death Thy Lover contains just 4 tracks and clocks in at just over 26 minutes. The title track is very good, it is extremely catchy and has a real 70s rock vibe to it. The chorus of Death Thy Lover is very memorable showing that Edling can still write a decent song after 30 years in the business and the memorability of the song is a testament to Levén’s vocals who melodic tones really help the lyrics sit right in that point where you will be humming Death Thy Lover for days. Following on from Death Thy Lover is Sleeping Giant. Sleeping Giant is a grinding song full of loveable Doom Metal hooks that sound as if it wouldn’t be out of place on Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell or Mob Rules with Levén’s voice having the tones and timbre of the late, great Ronnie James Dio. The only thing that lets Sleeping Giant down is the extremely clichéd yawns/sighs after the chorus when Levén sings sleeping, sleeping giant. Death Thy Lover draws to a close with The Goose, an instrumental that runs for six and half minutes and doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. The Goose is the song that truly lets the EP down and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Death Thy Lover would easily be just as good without it and as far as instrumentals go, it is pretty poor. As far as an EP goes, if you remove the instrumental, Death Thy Lover is more than decent and is a great debut for Levén who easily proves that he is able fill the shoes of Lowe. Going forward for Candlemass, if this is the quality of an EP, then a full studio album of this standard is highly anticipated. 7/10 Adam Death Thy Lover (Edling)
Destruction 06/10/2016 Manchester O2 Club Academy
Destruction are one of the leading names in the German Thrash Metal movement from the 80’s, alongside the likes of Kreator, Sodom and Tankard. Destruction are currently touring in support of their latest album, Under Attack, which was released this year on Nuclear Blast Records. Destruction are currently on a headline tour of Europe with Flotsam and Jetsam, Enforcer and Nervosa. Considering there was four bands playing, the turnaround between each band was relatively quick. Other than the sound problems which seemed to plague Enforcer, Destruction took the longest to take to the stage amidst their Under Attack banners and backdrop. For those who have heard Under Attack, Destruction predictably kick off with the title track from their latest release and do not hold back. Schmier talks very little and lets the brutal onslaught of Thrash talk for him. However, Schmier does offer salute to Evile bassist, Mike Alexander who passed away in 2009. The sound for Destruction was exceptionally good, the problems from earlier on in the evening were now a distant memory as Destruction slaughtered their way through a set list that managed to slide the fantastic new songs from Under Attack such as Pathogenic and Dethroned, effortlessly alongside Destruction classics like Curse the Gods, Nailed to the Cross and Bestial Invasion. A nice surprise tonight was the appearance of ex-Evile guitarist Ol’ Drake, who joined Destruction onstage for the latter half of their set. Not only is Ol’ Drake a fantastic guitarist, easily equalling Mike Sifringer, but with Ol’ Drake playing, you realise how much more full Destruction sound backed with another guitar and this was certainly a huge boost to the sound. It’s a fair assumption to say that Destruction are massively over looked by the media, who let’s face it, bang on about Slayer and Metallica. But tonight, Destruction proved that the focus the media has is very much questionable and brought an end to an evening where every band was fantastic and every person in the venue was treated to a Thrash Metal masterclass. Adam Flotsam and Jetsam 06/10/2016 Manchester O2 Club Academy Set List:
Flotsam and Jetsam are a Thrash Metal band from the USA and are one of the bands that helped shape the Thrash Metal genre in the mid 80’s. Flotsam and Jetsam are currently touring in support of their latest eponymous album, Flotsam and Jetsam released this year on AFM Records. Flotsam and Jetsam are currently touring Europe with Enforcer, Nervosa and Destruction and was the penultimate band to play after Nervosa and Enforcer. Once more, the turnaround between Enforcer and Flotsam and Jetsam was exceptionally with the band ready to go almost instantly. The set begins with Seventh Seal, the Book of Revelations themed opening track from Flotsam and Jetsam before launching into what vocalist Eric A.K. Knutson describes as: ‘the old shit’ from their first two albums, Dreams of Death and Hammerhead. The sound level problems which plagued Nervosa and especially Enforcer had eased by now and Flotsam and Jetsam sounded fantastic, effortlessly sliding new tracks such as Monkey Wrench and the brilliant Life is a Mess from Flotsam and Jetsam in amongst classics such as Desecrator and Hammerhead. Flotsam and Jetsam are sometimes more overlooked than they actually should be, but tonight, they owned the stage and it was a shame that having four bands on constrained a set from Flotsam and Jetsam that should have been longer. This however, is a main criticism of the night, all 4 bands were that good that it was a shame for them to be limited the way that they were. As stated previously, Enforcer seemed like a bit of an odd choice, but Flotsam and Jetsam brought the Thrash back and it was well received by young and old fans alike easily helping to build up to the climactic finale for Destruction. Adam Enforcer 06/10/2016 Manchester O2 Club Academy Set List:
Enforcer are a Heavy Metal band from Sweden who play in a fast style that is akin to 80’s Speed Metal with a good dose of New Wave of British Heavy Metal thrown in for good measure and are currently touring in support of their latest album, From Beyond released in 2015 on Nuclear Blast Records. Currently touring Europe with Destruction, Nervosa and Flotsam and Jetsam, Enforcer was the second band to play after openers Nervosa. The turnaround for Enforcer should have been relatively quick, however, there seemed to be a lot of messing around with sound checking with Enforcer showing signs that was not happy with the sound and in particular the monitors. After hearing the same guitar riff over and over again during the line check, it was time for Enforcer to take to the stage. Enforcer blast onto the stage with the opening 3 tracks from their latest album, From Beyond with such an energy that was tiring just to watch. Enforcer never stopped moving with vocalist and guitarist Olof Wikstrand throwing shapes that rivalled watching Tribulation. The main problem encountered by Enforcer tonight was fact that Wikstrand’s guitar seemed to keep cutting out and it always seemed to be at important times with a gap in the sound for a few seconds before it kicked in. However, this didn’t deter Enforcer with this slight problem improving quite significantly after leaving the stage, allowing other guitarist Joseph Tholl to entertain us with his skills. Enforcer may have been an odd choice to the bill tonight, but they are fantastic at what they do and they managed to pull in a crowd that may often overlook the style of Metal that Enforcer play. Sound problems aside, Enforcer was excellent, easily keeping up to the bar set very high by Nervosa before them. Adam Nervosa 06/10/2016 Manchester O2 Club Academy Set List:
Nervosa are an all-female Thrash Metal band from Brazil who are currently touring in support of their 2nd album Agony, released on Napalm Records. Nervosa are currently touring with Destruction, Flotsam and Jetsam and Enforcer and was the first band to play. The doors were supposed to be open at 18:30, however, this wasn’t the case as the line was ushered into the bar area. 30 minutes or so passed before stewards told us face to face that the doors were now open. As we entered the stage area, Nervosa had already started their set and because of this, there was very few people actually there to watch their set. Nervosa was exceptionally good, they had a lot of energy and basked in the adoration of the few people watching them. Sporting a Venom shirt, the vocals of Fernanda Lira are very good as she prowled the stage reminiscent of Cronos himself from Venom. Nervosa’s set list was back to back decent Thrash songs, Intolerance Means War, Masked Betrayer and Into Moshpit even had a small pit going. The mixing of the sound for Nervosa’s set was not the best, but got much better as their set went on. The main problem for Nervosa tonight was the colossal mess-up by the venue for the doors and therefore it was sad to see Nervosa playing such a good set to not many people. However, 10 people, 1000 people, it doesn’t matter, Nervosa looked like they didn’t care and they was happy to just be playing and that was a great vibe to have. The worst thing about watching Nervosa was the fact that their set was very short and Nervosa themselves were fantastic. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Nervosa made a lot of new fans tonight and what was witnessed was a band in the full swing, young and hungry, not only taking on Thrash bands that influenced them but tonight, equalled them. Adam |
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