Category Gig/Festival Reviews

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Tonight’s show starts early – doors at 6pm, with Hell on stage at 6.45 (thanks to the venue having a club night after the gig there is an early curfew).

Tonight’s lineup is excellent – two top bands. Hell have hit the UK metal scene in a big way this year, particularly after opening the main stage at Bloodstock where they seriously impressed a lot of people and were considered the best band of the weekend by many fans. Their album ”Human remains” has also impressed a lot of people, so tonight as their only London gig on the year was a rare chance for fans to see the band perform.
Hell despite only appearing on many peoples radar this year, were around in the early 80’s before disbanding following the death of their singer...

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Day 01
So this was the first edition I attended to this festival which is also organised by SWR inc. the same organization that arranges and manages the Steel Warriors Rebellion Fest every April.
The Festival took place in an old cinema inside a Mall in the center of the city Braga (North of Portugal); there were two stages (as in SWR Fest), one called “+” for the most loud and extreme bands and the other called “-“ for things more melodic and doomish. The bar of the cinema was used for beverages and was a food stand was placed nearby (something that was missing in the last edition so I’ve heard), after the concert there was an after party with some Dj’s.
In terms of sound, I think was very decent and clear, since this was and old cinema there werent any kind of echos or bounc...

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A one. A two A Fuck You! -Lips

Kultförklarade kanadensiska Anvil öppnar överraskande och oväntat bara tio minuter efter att usla förbandet Crimes Of Passion slutat plåga oss. Belysningen hann inte ens dämpas inne på KB! Lips var så ivrig att komma igång. Den fullständigt galna Lips springer ivrigt rundor på scenen själv och kör lite solo, skriker i micken på gitarren och är helt överväldigad av att få spela inför de skånska fansen inne på KB.

När väl övriga medlemmar kommer in på scenen och kör igång så visar läder-piraten Robb Reiner på fantastiskt livligt trumspel. Basisten Glenn Five, medlem sedan femton år tillbaka är riktigt cool och ger djup till bandet...

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Saxon har en otroligt hög lägsta nivå och denna kväll ville Saxon inte vara sämre än bra, riktigt bra vill säga, utan körde på för fulla muggar och levererade hits efter hits med mycket inlevelse. Efter nästan två timmars dunder och brak kände man sig överkörd efter att fått höra hits från större delen av deras karriär. Tisdagskvällen på KB var som en fredag! Lokalen var fullsmockad och folk drack som om det vore helg.

60-åringen Biff Byford (sång) är ett energiknippe i sällan skådat slag. Han är en imponerande herre som fört Saxon framåt år efter år. Han headbangar smått och hoppade så mycket att energin smittade av sig till publiken...

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Friday nights at MFVF are a warm up for the main event – two full days of music at the weekend. There are only three bands tonight, but with fans arriving from all over the world then it’s a chance to meet up with friends, buy some merchandise and enjoy some great music after a long day of travelling.
Held at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze, just outside Aalst in Belgium, MFVF is the premier event of the year for fans of female fronted metal, so its no surprise to find fans here from all over Eurpoe as well as places as far away as Canada.

First up are Bare infinity from Greece who put in a great performance to get the crowd warmed up.

Next up are Xandria, who have just finished their tour of Europe as part of the ”Out of the dark” festival...

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The night opened with sets from Toxic Federation and Rough Cut. Both were very good, but Rough Cut impressed particularly, partly because for a band that looked too young to be out late on a school night, they performed very well, and their singer in particular was very impressive. The only weak link was the drummer who didnt seem to be quite as good as the others – or was just having a bad night.

Swedish hard rockers Coldspell took to the stage in front of a fairly disappointing crowd, but didnt let that bother them. They put in a great set consisting of five songs from their latest album (Out from the cold) as well as three older songs.
With plenty of good heavy guitars and some great vocals, Coldspell definitely impressed quite a few people...

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LG är pepp som aldrig förr och röjer så att snoret flyger.
Det är en sanning, jag såg det! Inte desto mindre tappar Entombeds nu (enligt wikipedia 39 år gamla) frontman och sångare knappast charmen för det – utan röjer vidare som om ingenting hänt.

Klockan är bara barnet och bjuder på en aningen sömnig och för bandet; ovanligt ung publik. 15 åringarna improviserar en speedad moshpitt medan de äldre fansen nöjer sig med att i takt med musiken avmätt slänga med hårmanen i bakgrunden. Inte desto mindre saknar jag den energi publiken vanligtvis brukar ge på Entombeds spelningar, ty oavsett klockslag förtjänar bandet mer bifall.

Entombed gör en suverän spelning och LG bör få bravur för sin fina publikkontakt och skillade ölfontän...

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Two hours before the doors were due to open a queue had already begun to form, and by the time the doors opened the queue was a fairly long one. This meant that The Dirty Youth, who took to the stage at the fairly early time of 7.30, managed to play to a venue that was already half full and still filling.

Singer Danni Monroe is strikingly attractive with eye-catching pink hair and a great stage presence, and most importantly, she has a great voice. Headbanging regularly she moves around the stage making a great front woman. Having heard their debut album and really enjoying it, I was looking forward to seeing the band live, and they certainly didn’t disappoint...

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The night was started with a short set from Dangerous Breed. They put in a good performance in front of the small crowd, but they did seem lacking in imagination – between myself and a couple of friends, for each song they did we identified an Iron Maiden song with the same guitar riffs and often quite very large similarities.

Scottish biker rock band Attica Rage were next up. Their usual bass player was absent, apparently due to work commitments, but the stand in did a decent job. Attica Rage despite only playing a few times in London had a good level of support in the venue with quite a few people sporting Attica Rage T-shirts and during their set it was clear a lot of the fans there knew the songs well...

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Tonights show was Rival Sons and Heavens Basement. For a midweek gig I was quite surprised to see the venue was busy right from the start – often fans arrive late, but clearly a lot of people wanted to see both the bands tonight.

Heavens Basement opened the night and put on a great show which really got the crowd going. We got a very energetic show from the singer who was constantly racing around the stage.  At one point early in the set he dived into the crowd and sang there for part of one song before climbing back over the barrier and being dragged back on stage by the roadies. Musically they impressed too – a great choice to start the night. 

Rival sons were a lot more laid back in comparison and chose to just let the music do the talking for them. 
Their blues tinged classic roc...