Very enjoyable gig, that of yesterday, at Kagurazaka's Explosion Live House (Tokyo).
First time for the Cpt. there. The place isn't much different from any other live house in the city (you can grasp it from yesterday entrance pic of the Cpt.), but it's got history: 24 years! Besides, many famous Japanese metal bands played there (at their beginning). So it promises good things for them (as well as nice pictures... I took many... you get only a small selection)!
On the schedule, no group you would probably be awere of, except for Hellhound.
ANOTHER SHRINE were the sacrificial goat choosen to open the show for a bounch of people that could have hardly been called a "crowd" (most of them were hanging around with other bands members at their stands). Some of their hard core fan were moving under the stage, but little pathos, both from the band and from the public. Nice lady on the mic, with the good but already heard (and never enough high pitched) voice, good instumental skills by the players, but on the whole a feeling of still looking for their musical way... "It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock'n'roll". PS for the band: be more talakative on the stage; smile; and crack jokes...! People appreciate it! Also just smiling works, you know...
OUTBREAK RIOT received the relay bathon and eventually succeeded in igniting the place. I Tell you: I liked the guys on first listen! Rather simple but very effective heavy/thrash metal; guitar riffing and fast arpeggios have the lion's share, and also the singer perfectly fits in delivering the necessary thrust! I'm impressed! Regreattable they still don't have full lenght albums, just two demos of which I got the second.Get it •here•.
ZODIAQUE: heavy/death/groove metal. Not properly Cpt. preferred tunes, nonetheless a very enjoyable performance! Much theatrical (face paint; lights; etc.) and with Japanese traditional demons & ghost inspired imaginery in lyrics (Japanese) and apearance, but very good. Good presence on stage. And the house replyed accordingly.
BATTLE SHRINE: very funny people, but very nice metal from Hokkaido. Brushing some layer of Jap. history onto a metal armour, they deliverered a kind of old school with peculiar Japanese sonorities. The final METAL SHINTO was awesome... a fucking neck-breaking killer riff and a killer chorus. It's really a pity they can't reach brader than this for now! PS for the band: guys, you can't go around with promotinal tapes... these days .mp3 files or CD-R are quite affordable to anybody, I guess!
SWAPPING ROCKET ROLL was something I didn't need! When the curtain fell, we finished in a surreal '80 shock-rock/glam L.A. atmosphear... where the only missing thing was THAT style of music! I mean, they are good and funny, but what they played is not metal... and it didn't fit very well. And the fact that a crowd of girls filled up the fron stage before the beginning tells you everything! Check them out, if you want... I don't think I will.
HELLHOUND... Well, Port Royal is starting to become a kind of "official supporter" for them. Have little to add to what I have already said and you should know them well enogh by now. Yesterday's set list was based on the new album of course and we got spanked with:
- Metal Psycho
- Metal Fire From Hell
- M.E.T.A.L. Education
- Heavy Metal Patrol
- Metal Attack
- Warriors of the Rising Sun
- Metal Warrior
Have to say that track nr. 6 (the last form the new album) comes out very nice live!
Oh, by the way... Get the goddies, before the link expires. And check out the band's pages, if you want.
That's all for today! Stay metal!
