Metallica + Him + Machine Head +
Mastodon - Wembley Stadium 08.07.07
Review & Photos by Chris Davison and Strawb
Rocking horse shit, hens teeth we can supply no problem. A ticket
for the above gig, pitch standing? Don’t ask for the impossible.
However, a mate of ours must have great connections so we find
ourselves with tickets and heading to what we find to be a really
impressive stadium. The Wembley experience. Go to gate, produce
ticket. Be sent to sloping area with view of industrial area to get
wristband. If you want a chance of a gold band, remain here for
three hours as the sun does its best to broil you. Had we been
cattle in the true sense of the word, the RSPCA would have been
involved, and greenpeace or other tree huggers would have had a camp
there.
The appointed time for entry came and went because the stewards were
having a meeting, then we were actually allowed to enter. And
everything was there, all the facilities, and as you will read in
every review of gigs here, the prices. Bring all of your cash, eat &
drink and take out a loan. But before that, join the queue for the
gold wristbands, the only way to get to the front-of-stage area. We
were ten people into the queue when entry stopped. Were all the
wristbands gone? So, we rushed to the barrier which separated the
privileged from the plebs and stood next to it; a position we were
to maintain for the next eight hours. And with hindsight, there may
have been a better position somewhere in the stadium, but we were
nearest to the side-of-stage speaker banks, had a two metre gap to
the people in front and therefore an uninterrupted [if a slightly
distant] view of the stage. A couple who travelled with us did get
the gold wristband and tried to get us in. They were told that a
thousand tickets had been kept back and were available at forty
pounds each. By the middle of Metallica that was down to a tenner. I
hope the scamming bastards didn’t clear the cost of a pint each.
And, on the subject of the stewards, a note to them, just remember
the people you are ejecting are crowd surfers, not kiddie fiddlers.
You might feel macho but you look pathetic, and if you think about
it might now understand why people threw glasses of piss at you.
Mastodon were the first band up
on the bill, and were received by nothing less than rapturous
applause. Having heard a few of their tracks before but never really
taken the time to listen to them, I was looking forward to hearing
how they would come across live. Athletic drumming aside, I have to
say that the band left me somewhat cold. The frequent time changes
frustrated any kind of groove that they could have gotten into, and
the mix was far too muddy to be able to hear any kind of
instrumental subtlety other than an annoying muddy mess.
Occasionally, a riff would be able to poke its head out from the
mire and say hello, but much like the boy in the Emperors new
clothes, I was left thinking that I may have been the only one in
the stadium able to see that their music was naked rather than clad
in magical powers. Ho hum. |
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Machine Head: A brief time
later, Flynn and co. came onto the stage to give us a dose of pure,
unadulterated heavy metal. Past sins (The Burning Red and
Supercharger) forgiven, their incredible return to form continued
unabated in the live milieu. Clearly chuffed to almighty fuck to be
able to play to so many people (at this stage, much of the seating
remained vacant, but the standing area was absolutely chocka), they
ripped through both old standards and newer material from the
pleasingly excellent “The Blackening” opus. Dave McClain was on
barnstorming form as his drums morphed from musical instruments to
an almighty anti-aircraft battery, and the crowd really seemed to
welcome them back into the world of true metal. Hearing so many
folks sing along to “Davidian” at their sets close really made the
hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Strawb, who had never heard
Machine Head before, and is generally not a huge thrash fan, was
suitably impressed to ask for a listen to some more of their stuff.
If you could bottle their onstage energy, they'd have made an
absolute mint.
So by this point the crowd has swelled. They are in the mood, baying
for more. And they got HIM.
Whichever beneficiary of care in the community felt they had a place
on this bill should have witnessed this gig. It is this reviewers
opinion the band got the reception and treatment they deserved. I
don’t care what their setlist was. I just wish they had not been so
loud, because we had to raise our voices to talk over what they were
producing. A number of firsts for me, the first time I’ve ever heard
a band boo’ed on to the stage; the first time I’ve known a band
continually play tracks without a break to avoid audience reaction;
the first time I’ve seen 10,000+ people give a band the bird, in
time with the music, for track after track; and the first time I
have ever seen a conga in a mosh pit, which cruised past the front
of the stage to continue giving the bird. And more rubbish was
thrown onto the stage than my local recycling centre gets through in
its busiest month. From our position we caught a glimpse of Mastodon
returning to the side of the stage to witness it. I’m sure their
beards were rising and falling in time to the music and not in any
way with laughter. Some of HIM showed professionalism by playing on.
The keyboard player especially, who paused in his playing to applaud
the person who had achieved a throw of considerable length to land a
plastic glass [We’re not sure of the contents] on his head. At the
end, they took their bows, and earned some respect- apart from the
singer who threw a hissy fit and [if I recall correctly] called us
all ‘ungrateful fucking little bitches’ before running off into the
wings to cry on some poor assistants shoulder. Gone and eminently
forgotten. |
A busy stage. The screens flicker into life. The pressure from the
crowd behind begins to force us into the barriers. The noise and
expectation noticeably, almost physically rises. Chris is
particularly impressed with the choice of Def Leppard’s On Through
The Night on the PA. [Not, he “wanted thrash, not this old shit” –
ageist whippersnapper]
It seems like an age before we have a clip playing from an old
spaghetti western. And then there they are, live on stage, their
stage, Metallica. James Hetfield,
Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujilo. The crowd are going wild.
The horns are waving towards them. The cacophony of noise is not
only emanating from them and their speakers but towards them from
the ecstatic fan base.
The Bass set up from the speakers was set low. When the bass and
drum were in concert then the effect was to mulch internal organs
into so much pate, but this was a small price to pay.
As the acoustic adulation of the crowd continued unabated, the band
played on with the early notes of Creeping Death struggling to win
the audio battle. Up on the screens the band members had their
images large and they were enjoying it. The crowd began to quiet and
the band grew to fill the stage as their sound filled the stadium.
It was a huge stage and there are only four of them, with Lars
static because of the nature of the role, but the other three
maniacally covered the required ground and strategically placed
microphone sites.
Moshing was occurring. Dwarf surfing was popular near us. The music
was clear and loud, I suspect in the same way that the opening of
Operation Overlord was loud. I was making contact with other members
of the crowd in a way that in other circumstances would have
resulted in an appearance in court. People were wearing the sort of
smiles that hammers can’t remove. Suddenly £40 seemed the bargain of
the decade. Crowd noise rose again as the track concluded. James
said something to the crowd, we cheered. Not a clue what he said,
but we cheered. Then into For Whom The Bell Tolls. The crowd seemed
to think |
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this was a good choice of track because
my eardrums were stretched to the limits.
Anal, really, but wanting to get the best from the experience, I
gave some attention to the lights, some to the screens. They were
ignored by many, but think how crap it would be without them. And
for both of them I would say on the day they were straight from the
top drawer. More of the same with Sad but True, followed by
Disposable Heroes.
Then a slight slow down in the tempo with The Unforgiven. Chris
doesn’t like this track. Sorry to disagree, but I do. And the
rendition was superb, from the band and the participating crowd.
Invited to sing along, most of the crowd hadn’t stopped since the
opener. |
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The tracks continued with the full list being
Creeping Death
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Sad But True
Disposable Heroes
The Unforgiven
…And Justice For All
The Memory Remains
The Four Horsemen
Orion
Fade To Black
Master of Puppets
Battery
- - - -
No Leaf Clover
Nothing Else Matters
One
Enter Sandman
- - - -
Whiplash
Seek and Destroy
My favourite was Master Of Puppets. There’s no particular reason
why. That’s just the one I enjoyed the most, and during which I
began to strain my vocal chords, but nowhere near to the extent that
the band were assaulting my auditory organs.
The band left the stage. No one worried, we knew they would be back.
In the way of such things it seemed like they had been on stage for
about 20 minutes, but the watch belied this supposition, and it had
been an hour and a half of sheer ecstasy. There was barely time to
register this fact before they were back on stage and launching into
No Leaf Clover and it was somewhere about here that the pyrotechnics
were revealed. Chris was taken by surprise - just short of the
wiping kind apparently. We thought we’d had loud, but this increased
the volume.
It may not be everyone's favourite, but on the day I feel it was the
crowds. James could have been reciting his shopping list because we
couldn’t hear a jot, but we sang it for him, “Say your prayers
little one/- don't forget my son/- to include everyone,” through to
it’s end. Further crowd eruption. Then the band left the stage
again. Was it over? Had the curse of the curfew claimed 75,000
victims?
No, the heroes of the day returned. A fine? They did not care,
rousing further with Whiplash and Seek and Destroy.
Then it was over, but no one was leaving, either on the stage or off
it. Each band member threw souvenirs into the crowd, each took a
turn at the mike. To answer a couple of their questions: Yes, we are
the best worldwide crowd, and yes, we will tour with you, contact us
via this site. And we will hold you to the promise of a new album
and a tour next year. And still they were not keen to leave the
stage. I got the impression the pleasure given was, as it should be,
mutual. Eventually the pull of the 5 star comforts waiting did win
them over and they left. It was much the same for us really, all the
5 star comforts of the A1 and a stop at South Mimms services.
To summarise the day – Wembley as a venue, fantastic; Wembley as a
retailer, crap; the stewards, twice stood in three day old dog crap.
The bands: Mastadon – room for improvement. Machine Head –
fantastic. HIM – wrong band, wrong bill, wrong time & place. And
Metallica? – FUCKING AWESOME. |
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Nile, Chthonic, Dååth, Ashtaroth
- The Orpheum, Flagstaff, Arizona
July 22nd, 2007 - By: Derek Whorton
Admittedly, it was a shock to learn Nile was making an appearance in
sleepy Flagstaff, Arizona, confirmed furthermore by the fact that
this town isn’t even listed on their tour dates! Nevertheless, the
entire evening was a damn good metal show and a much needed boost
for the metal community of Northern Arizona. The night was an exposé
of genres, serving up to the various tastes of black/death
metalheads. Having arrived just after the
Ashtaroth set (a local black metal outfit that certainly
delivers some badass, dark, god-hating filth), I was pleasantly
surprised as Dååth exploded with
offerings from their debut, “The Hinderers.” A healthy dose of
skilled melodic weaving between guitarists Eyal & Emil, with clear
homage to early work of giants At The Gates and Soilwork, the band
had considerable energy and stage presence, with front man Sean
Farber screaming passionately on themes seeking “an exploration of
the mind of man.” The philosophy of the band is quite intriguing and
worth checking out, delving into the dark conscience of man from
Kabbalistic perspective; their name itself is derived from the
hidden knowledge within the Tree of Life, and the album is deeply
rooted in the philosophy of the mystical school of thought. It must
be said, however, that hearing tracks like “Subterfuge” and “From
The Blind” live certainly adds more to the experience of Dååth, as
their debut itself lacks the energy that was clearly ubiquitous
during their set.
Next up was an assault from the Far East, in the form of symphonic
black metal group Chthonic from
Taiwan. Having been acclaimed for their negationist efforts and
voicing of dissent toward political injustice fostered by the
People’s Republic of China, as well as touching on themes of
forgotten peoples and legends of the Southeast Asian cultures, the
6-piece was a welcome addition to the night. Brandishing corpsepaint
reminiscent of oriental demons, Chthonic ripped through an epic half
hour set, with gorgeous melodies slithering in and out of
blood-curdling screams and symphonic majesty. Lead singer Freddy Lim
was not hesitant to proclaim his hatred for the bullying of Taiwan
out of the U.N., adding that, although “they represent all nations
of the world, WE represent the UNDERWORLD!” For having never really
heard these guys before, it was a rather refreshing and intelligent
take on the ethos of black metal, no doubt, and an entertaining
set…yet; it was nothing like what was to come from the gods of
technical death metal, nigh approaching center stage.
After catching up with an old friend who also happened to seek a
presence at the feet of Nile,
the haunting intro to “Dusk Falls Upon The Temple Of The Serpent On
The Mount of Sunrise” began entrancing an eager audience; granted,
what happened moments later was sheer extreme metal glory as Dallas
and Karl absolutely exploded into the opening riffs. Playing mostly
from “Annihilation…” and harking back to days of yore with
“Sarcophagus” and “Black Seeds of Vengeance,” Nile definitely took
advantage of the small venue for introducing tracks from their
latest, “Ithyphallic,” itself a fucking monolithic offering that
every true metalhead should gets their filthy hands on. The title
track was an incredible experience to hear live, as well as “What
Can Be Safely Written” and “Eat Of The Dead,” which Dallas got the
raving crowd chanting in a fantastic kult fashion; hell, if there
had been a mummy or dead whatever in front of me, I probably
would’ve sampled it simply from the awe-inspiring energy of the
moment. One thing, however, pissed me off: they didn’t play “As He
Creates, So He Destroys” from their latest. That piece would’ve been
one HELL of an addition to the set, though complaints regarding Nile
should definitely only be made with proper reason. But by the idiot
god, my claim is a good reason - just listen to it yourself and try
not to become utterly enthralled in the madness. Either way, all I
can say is that I can’t fucking wait to see them again. I’m stoked
that they made an appearance in Flagstaff, and that next time I hope
to throw horns to that beast of a track.
Overall? An incredible evening and a much-needed departure from the
mindless dregs of organic, fleshy matter populating the outside
world. |
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Dir en grey, Fair to Midland
– London Islington Academy 1st August
Review and photos by Samuel Munch-Petersen
We’ll start with the only support band of the evening (Bury Your
Dead were meant to be playing, but the word on the grapevine was
they weren’t and they didn’t); Fair to
Midland. The five piece from Dallas came thick and fast
onto the stage, ripping into the audience with quick tracks and
heavy sounds. I wasn’t particularly impressed with them at first; to
be honest they sounded like much of what else was out there. The
audience liked them though and I caught their name from a friendly
onlooker of my reviewing ‘skillz’. As the night carried on though
they began to make my ears turn more in their favour as they banged
out more harder and faster tracks with some excellent work on the
toms (Brett Stowers) and vocals (Darroh Sudderth) that had pitch and
resonance but at the same time came down to a low guttural scrawl.
The vocals, it has to be said, were cut off by a lot of the guitar
work (Cliff Campbell) and bass lines (Jon Dicken) that followed suit
of their musical partners in loudness and playability. What else was
also drowned out to pretty much nothingness was the
keyboardist/electronics manipulator (Matt Langley). This made for a
good but not brilliant show from these guys who are under the banner
of Serjical Strike and they have many more shows with which to
battle the PA and electronics. They were good enough to get the
crowd going before Dir En Grey showed up and overall they were a
fitting support band, in the end. |
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Dir en grey, this was to
be their first UK gig/tour and I can safely say that myself and
companion were possibly the only two other audience members who had
seen them live before (Rock Am Ring 2005). I wasn’t best impressed
with them at the open air festival and I was hoping that it was the
carrying of sound away from me that hindered my enjoyment of them.
In essence I was hoping that hearing them indoors would rekindle a
flame inside me for a greater love for J-Rock. I was inflamed. Dir
en grey have a certain power when they hit the stage; charisma, ego,
confidence, call it what you will, they hold the audience in the
palm of their hands and squeeze hard. They’re one of those bands
that just makes you tick. They started off slow with Kyo coming on
last and brining the ‘mood’ with him. Most of the set was dedicated
to most recent album; The Marrow of a Bone, but the music was
intense, sensitive in places, harsh and in the latter half of the
set, explosive. Not being that knowledgeable of Dir En Grey as
already mentioned I was under the tutelage of my companion to
appraise me of their song titles and just nudge me in the direction
of their better tracks. Three that apparently made the room shake
with joy were; The Final, Dead Tree and Merciless Cult. The tracks
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flawlessly and Kyo showed us what he can do with a small box cage
when topless, Toshiya on bass lifted arms into the air to summon the
cries of those J-Rock fans below, wearing their eye-liner and
flaunting their dyed reds and blondes hair. Guitarists Kaoru and Die
looked humbly on as the set progressed with both of them seemingly
pissing off the security guards (never mind my flash photography
sir) by splashing the front row with water from their bottles,
inadvertently hitting security guards in the face with their
lustrous droplets. One guard in particular eyed Die since he’d been
hit in the back of the head with a large gush of bottled spring
water, he wasn’t happy. Shinya simply had a big drum kit with crash
and china cymbals way above his toms, so far that you thought he
wouldn’t be able to reach them, but he has long enough arms to make
use of the no doubt expensive and tailored kit. Other tracks included the impressive Saku and IIID Empire with the last track being Cleaver Sleazoid
(thanks Sterry). Dir en grey were and are certainly a band to see
live, better indoors I’d say but good nonetheless. They have a
passion and a command of the audience that I haven’t seen from local
or over the pond bands. The night was impressive and exciting; one
of the first Asian bands to make it to Europe and receive such a
welcome is a sight to see. From what I can tell they’ve been sold
out across Europe with their tour and definitely have a following
that spans beyond the realms of Japanese borders. Their music is
infused with feelings of pain, suffering, anger, frustration and
alienation. They present their tracks in such a way that it is
refreshing, new, old and at the same time listenable. They are
something of a delicacy in Japan with loyal fans filling out a
12,000-capacity venue within the first year of their launch. They
are certainly a band worth catching if you can and the gig itself
will blow you away, or turn you from a non-believer, into a follower
of the ‘J’. |
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