There we go, folks!
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
Enchore:(Hope not to have forgotten anything... by the time I was filled with rhum&coke like no other).
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!
Just a teser for tonight...
It's getting late here and I need to crush to bed!A lot of bands, a lot of good music, a lot of drinks, a lot of fun!
See you tomorrow.
Hell yeah!
My joints are still doomed and in pain for the fu*king amazing amount of rain around here this year, but I'm still able to sniff good booty trails... and this morning I runsacked a Disc Union galeon I knew was going to cross my way!
HELLHOUND-Metal Fire From Hell (2008): yeah, there it is, the new-born! I was waiting for it and I LOOOOVE it already!
Eight hot old school metal tracks hosted on a lovely old-style vinyl shaped CD! "If you don't like us, you don't like metal" says a mark on the cover... and that's the way it goes.
Buddies got nastier! First track 'Metal Fire From Hell' kicks your butt without concessions to melody: harsh old school pounding. The following 'Headcrusher' is a small jewel and probably my preferred one: firebreathing Crossfire refrains from screaming only to make space to a couple of more melodic guitar and bass solos. "Heavy Metal Highway" and "METAL Education" follow in a row: you get back a bit to the previous album sonorities (tougher the first, nicer the second... school bell rings at the beginning reminding me of Venom's Teacher's Pet). The 5th is a kick-ass: "Metal Psycho" not only has the coolest pun for a chorus I ever heard (English psycho has the same pronuciation of the Japanese word for "SAIKO" the best ), but it's got also an incredible drive (heard it live and can assure it's a hit). Last three songs I would define them as more "experimental". Hellhound style is all there, but the "metal this and metal that..." clichè are left behind, in a research for longer texts and more melodic lines. While I still appreciate the tunes (guitar work and choruses effects are great), I stay a bit more skeptical about the songwriting...
By the way, the disc came with a DVD-R containing a re-aranged video track from the live footage from Meguro concert. And that's the only thing you're going to get for now! Wanna see you drooling! Get it before the link expires...!
By the way, on the same ship I found also MARCH OF SEASON-My Winter (2007), a disc of freaky good MDM from... Italy (yeah, most surprisingly). Already known stuff to the Port brotherhood, but you know, the Cpt. always wants good things to stay in his personal chest! The growling singer is a beast and if he really can withstand a full tour of concers spitting out his lungs that way, well, I can only bow down to him!
Still a couple of ingots... Not all of them my preferred. But good things must get known.
MINDFLOW (HP)-Desctructive Device (2008): talented progressive band from Brasil. Don't like much the singer (too flat and common), but the sound and rythms are quite nasty!
METALLICA (HP)-Death Magnetic (2008): love them or hate them (I'll go for the second!), but you've got to give it a try.
SONIC SYNDICATE (HP)-Love and other Disasters (2008 Promo): I like them very much and lUUUve their way of kicking your ass!
AUVERNIA (HP)-Towards Eternity (2008): this is quite cool. A mix of progressive/power with black influences. From Argentina. Can't get bored with it!
Still alive & kickin'! Don't worry!
Shoving down your throat a couple of new treasures, just to keep you busy and used to good tunes! Cpt. is fighting his demons again lately and not quite in the mood for concerts (should go to HELLHOUND'S gig tonight, but have not decided yet... besides I cancelled THRASH DOMINATION and probably LOUD PARK too this year). Anyway...
LETTER 7-Follow the Light (2008): very nice Melodic/Traditional M. from Arizona. Everything in it hit you in the right spots, without cheesiness].
BATTLELORE-The Last Alliance (2008 PROMO): guess you already know them. Quite fine and attractive work (better than the previous), but you need to be in the mood for it: alternation of slow and meolodic tempos with female vocals and MDM speedups. Fuckers, on't bust my balls for the voice over, here and there,... Enjoy it or buy it!]
SLYTRACT-Explanation: Unknown (2008) : quite original death/thrash from Hungary. Don't let yourself mislead by their origin: this is a very fine piece of artillery! Cleand and powerful sound; punding rythms; cool vocals. Enjoy or die!
«Pieces of eight... pieces of eight... ha ha ha...»
Something really fresh... and something you can get only here on Port Royal for now (talking about Dream Evil). Get them before they expire!
- THE HAUNTED-Versus (2008): awesome!
- DREAM EVIL-Gold Medal in Metal (2008 DVDx1, CDx2 Box Set): you're getting only the sound, of course! Awesome set made up of a DVD containing Live Maerd, 4 video clips and a bounch of interviews and reare footage; CD 1 the sound version of the live; CD 2 a 17 rare and unreleased tracks disc.
"It's a madhouse!"
What a better way to celebrate Cpt. birthday on August 15th than a ANTHRAX gig? [Well, Graspop with backstage passes could come to mind... But, let's do things once at a time!]
Kawasaki, Club Città August 15th 2008: on of the two only date of this New Strain '08 Asian Invasion blitz tour, in preparation for the new album (comming out next year). The second date of the tour will be tomorrow (Aug. 17th) at Dongoucheon (Korea).
Awesome show, dudes!!
The house was filled up to the top with metal thrashing mainacs... Anthrax ramming everybody asses like never before; pit in delirium... people raining like hell all the time... guess a 50 degrees C, 200% humidity... In few words: pure BEDLAM! I am not very proficient in Anthrax tracks titles, but if I remember well the set list was as follows:
1. Indians
2. Got The Time
3. Caught In A Mosh
4. Madhouse
5. Antisocial
6. Random Acts Of Senseless Violence
7. Room For One More
8. Fueled
9. Safe Home
10. What Doesn't Die
11. Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't (Kick-ass track from new album)
12. Only
---------
13. A New Level（PANTERA）
14 I Am The Law
I tell you: we sweat out our asses there yesterday! Never seen something like that, even in my hardest workout sessions! I was frontstage all the time; horns in the air and headbanging to death; got my glasses almost destroyed when a huge falla' landed on my head from the back (you would wonder "Why were you wearing glasses in a place like that?"... you're right, after that moment I started questioning myself too!). When the show was over we were soaking wet: from the top of my just cut hair, through my pants, 'till the shoes!! The t-shirt you see in the pic, I HAD to buy it (happy I did it... I didn't notice the special back print) to get home like a "human"! [3 Inches of Sweat trophy was wannabe stuff in comparison... cfr. previous posts).
I would have liked to stalk for the guys after the gig, but I badly needed a drink and some rest... Guess I'm getting to old for that shit!
By the way, a never-heard-before Cocobat band (Jap.) opened for them. Don't know why they where there: completely unrelated and absolutly unable to get the people in the mood. They had some groovy bass work, but the singer was looking at the tip of his shoes all the time... expresionless... without showing any pleasure to be there; the guitar man, instead of jamming for the crowd, stuck with the drummer all the time; only the bassist gave us some feeling. No chat, no scream, no self-introduction... C'mon guys: you're opening for Anthrax... I could have done better singing a cover on karaoke, damn!
Ah, no pics this time. No glasses on that spot, not even digital cameras!
"Who's next?" used to say Goldberg... Hellhound is next (on 30th)! Yet again, yeah!
