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Hellish Rock Tour – Part II
Conceptually, the ‘Hellish Rock Tour’ revolved
around the idea of pairing off Helloween with Gamma Ray, the band guitarist/lead
vocalist Kai Hansen formed after leaving Helloween. Once it was clear that all
personal issues had been ironed out, it was only a matter of time before such a
tour would become reality…..and fulfil the dreams of both bands’ armies of loyal
fans.
The first time it had happened was in 2007/2008 and
this year the idea was reprised and dubbed ‘The Hellish Rock Tour – Part II’.
Having very fond memories of Helloween’s early material, I couldn’t afford to
give it a miss when the tour stopped over London.
Strangely enough it was far from being a sold-out
out event, to the extent that the balcony of the ‘Forum’ was closed off. On the
positive side, this meant that the larger area in front of the stage was packed
with rabid Metal fans.
Shadowside
(www.shadowside.ws/en/)
Opening a gig for 2 pioneers of Power Metal is a
demanding challenge in itself. Shadowside, however, made a commendable effort
to…er…not remain in the shadows, and gave a solid performance. The members had a
dynamic stage presence and lead vocalist Dani Nolden seemed to have springs in
her feet as she hopped all over the stage while inciting the audience to cheer
on.
Originating from Brazil, the band’s most recent
album is “Inner Monster Out” on which almost all their set was based.
Unfortunately their show was plagued by a muddled sound. For instance at times I
could barely hear Dani’s voice.
The audience was all ears for Shadowside but for
most of the time they remained oddly inactive. The impression I got was that
they weren’t so familiar with Shadowside’s repertoire. I particularly enjoyed
the band’s rendition of Motorhead’s ‘Ace Of Spades’, which helped to oil the
joints on several necks. Indeed, towards the very end of their set, the audience
finally began to loosen up and become more vocal in their appreciation of
Shadowside’s material.
‘Angel With Horns’, which closed Shadowside’s set,
was introduced as being one of the heaviest songs the band has ever written.
Having heard it for the first time at the gig, I liked its dirty and groovy
riffs that were well-complemented by Dani’s melodic but gritty singing. Despite
the unbearable heat, the audience saluted the band with a loud applause as the
members left the stage.
[While
Shadowside cleared the stage to make way for Gamma Ray, I had a quick chat with
Raphael Mattos, the band’s guitarist.]
Fabio
Carito (Shadowside bass player) was telling me that this is not the first time
the band has played in England...
Raphael:
Yes, we’ve been here in 2010 when we were supporting W.A.S.P.. We had played
venues in other U.K. cities but this is actually the first time we’ve played in
London.
I’m sure
you’ve got good memories of England, then.
Raphael:
Yes, sure.
What is
it like hanging out with the members of Helloween and Gamma Ray?
Raphael:
Oh, they’re great guys. Pretty cool guys! We don’t spend a lot of time hanging
out but we spend the whole day with them.
Were
Helloween and Gamma Ray of any influence on the music of Shadowside?
Raphael:
Yeah, sure. I mean I wasn’t one of the founding members but the band’s singer
[Dani Nolden],
who started the band, was a real big fan of Helloween back then when she started
Shadowside.
Your most
recent album is “Inner Monster Out”. What do you recall about recording that
album?
Raphael:
We recorded it in the studios of Fredrik Nordstrom
[Dimmu
Borgir, Septic Flesh, In Flames, Myrath, The Moor, and many others],
in Sweden.
It must
have been quite an ordeal to go to Sweden from Brazil to record it.
Raphael:
Yeah, especially since we went in January and it was fuckin’ cold in Sweden. Not
the sort of climate we’re used to in Brazil. It was hard but it was also an
adventure for us.
We
locked ourselves in the studio for a whole month, during which time we didn’t
hang out anywhere else. We didn’t see sunlight for a long time…only music was in
our minds
[laughs].
What does
Shadowside have planned for after this Hellish Rock Tour?
Raphael:
We’re going back to Brazil. We’ve got some gigs scheduled in Brazil. Soon we’ve
got a big show scheduled in Săo Paolo, our home town. It’s a huge venue too, so
we’re really looking forward to that. Then we’ll continue our tour which we
started before coming to Europe
Do you
think you’ll come to Europe again before the end of the year?
Raphael:
I sure hope so.
Set-list:
I'm Your Mind
A.D.D.
Highlight
Inner Monster Out
Ace Of Spades
Gag Order
Waste Of Life
Angel With Horns
RATING: 84/100
Gamma Ray
(www.gammaray.org)
The sound problems that afflicted Shadowside’s set
hadn’t been sorted by the time Gamma Ray took to the stage. Not that it seemed
to matter much for as soon as the band members appeared, the audience at the
Forum reacted with a frenzied glee.
Even if not entirely flawless, Gamma Ray’s show was
excellent and will certainly live on in the memories of those who witnessed it.
Their set featured material from almost all Gamma Ray’s albums and the audience
lapped it all up. Even ‘Master of Confusion’ had a significant part of the
audience singing along to its chorus despite being released only a few weeks
ago.
Kai Hansen continuously interacted with the
audience, thereby creating a solid rapport with them. At one point he went to
the side of the stage, apparently to discuss some ongoing sound issue and after
that the sound generally seemed to improve. About time, too. In ‘Empire of the
Undead’ guitarist Henjo Richter made a few mistakes and his face reflected the
ensuing frustration. Apart from that he gave his heart and soul into the
performance, as did the rest of the band, and I think the audience reacted
strongly to that.
The familiar muted guitar riff that starts off
‘Future World’, a song Kai had written while with Helloween, sent the audience
into a wild frenzy and was the peak of Gamma Ray’s set. Emotions ran high, in
fact, when all the audience sang the lyrics to the song with one deafening but
united voice. If anyone was still standing by the end of that song, ‘To The
Metal!’ mercilessly mowed those punters down too. Finally, ‘Send Me A Sign’
proved to be the perfect cathartic release needed to close the band’s show.
Set-list:
Welcome
Anywhere in the Galaxy
Men, Martians and Machines
The Spirit
Dethrone Tyranny
Master of Confusion
Empire of the Undead
Empathy
Rise
Future World
To The Metal!
Send Me A Sign
RATING: 87/100
Helloween
(www.helloween.org)
Unfortunately some unexpected schedule changes
meant that my interview with Gamma Ray took place when Helloween took to the
stage. Consequentially I missed almost half Helloween’s set. And yet, what I saw
and heard was enough for me to give a valid assessment of how their show went.
Awesomely, that’s how it went!
Whichever way you looked at it, the Germans’ show
was breathtaking. The sound was excellent and the stage was striking through a
combination of props and lighting. As they delivered one Metal anthem after
another I was particularly impressed by Andi Deris. Wearing his Gene Simmons
shirt, Andi proved to be an impressive showman who had the audience in his
grip…and never let go for one single moment.
I was never a huge fan of Helloween’s post-Kai
Hansen material, and yet all the band’s set tonight sounded incredibly good.
Even the ballady ‘Hold Me In Your Arms’ fitted perfectly in the set and was
devoured by the audience.
Helloween even managed to fit in a drum solo
(courtesy of one talented Dani Löble) and a bass guitar solo (from founding
member Markus Grosskopf). It felt very much like the 1980s again when extended
solos from each band member were more commonplace at gigs.
Guitarist Michael Weikath sometimes looked out of
place when the members tried to entertain the audience by fooling about (Markus
pretending to fiddle with Sasha’s tuning keys, Sacha slapping Dani’s cymbals,
Kai Hansen singing some verses from ‘I Want Out’ and Deris feigning offence,
etc..). There was no doubt, however, that Helloween gave a thoroughly
entertaining show and were relentless from start to end.
When, towards the end of the show, Kai Hansen
joined Helloween on stage the crowd went bananas. There really was a great vibe
at that point – the sort that can never be replicated, no matter how
well-produced DVDs or live recordings may be. Kai seemed to be having great fun
when other Gamma Ray members joined their singer and Helloween for the grand
finale: ‘I Want Out’, a song originally written by Hansen.
An all-round impressive show.
Set-list:
Wanna Be God
Nabatea
Eagle Fly Free
Straight Out Of Hell
Where The Sinners Go
Waiting For The Thunder
Burning Sun
Dani Löble drum solo
I’m Alive
Live Now!
Hold Me In Your Arms
If I Could Fly
Hell Was Made
Power
Are U Metal
Dr Stein
Medley
I Want Out
RATING: 98/100
Attending:
Chris Galea |
