Live & Dangerous: WASP

WASP Great Hall 2 Cardiff

Thanks to Paul Hutchings for his contribution to the cause.

So on 3 October, the “30 Years of Thunder” anniversary Tour rolls into Cardiff.

According to the official WASP website this was meant to be " the biggest spectacle W.A.S.P. have ever created. The two hour show will consist of three parts. A one hour set contain songs from the first four albums. The second set will be a 25 minute shortened version of “The Crimson Idol” complete with the movie accompaniment. A third set will consist of material from the New Studio Album, older material and everything in between. This show will see multiple video screens, pyrotechnics, and elements from the early W.A.S.P. shows and Blackie’s moving microphone stand “Elvis”!"

It was with slight disbelief then that, rolling up to the Great Hall at 8:00pm, we were confronted with closed doors, and a very healthy crowd queuing in anticipation but also with an air of frustration. Doors were due at 7:00pm.

So doors finally open about 8:15pm and in we go. Crimes of Passion from Yorkshire were straight on, played a very curtailed set and to be fair, made a decent fist of it. However, they were fairly bland and forgettable; indeed, the most I can remember was the lead singer cajouling us to "treat ourselves" to their album, a snip at only a fiver. Suffice to say I didn't and wasted said cash at the extortionally priced bar.

WASP finally stormed the stage at 9:40pm, having tormented us to numerous false starts. Opening with On Your Knees, the band were musically tight, though Doug Blair's guitar was a little too quiet for my liking; at times I stuggled to pick out the solos, which was disappointing as he is undoubtedly an excellent guitarist. A string of fan favourites followed, The Torture Never Stops, a tasty cover of The Real Me ( a staple for many years) LOVE Machine and Wild Child before the pace slowed with Forever Free/Sleeping (In the fire).

The promised first section finished with a face melting I Wanna Be Somebody and then it was into the Crimson Idol part of the show. Very strangely, the band exited whilst the Titanic Overture was played on tapes, before treating us to some an excellent montage including The Idol and a breathtaking The Great Misconceptions of Me. All good, but then came the hammer blow. Blackie has, in recent years, become much less communicative with the crowd, allowing the music to do the talking. Tonight was no exception, until he announced that we had been done "a great injustice"; explaining that they had been late arriving and setting up, that there was a curfew at the venue and therefore they only had time for one more, the standard set closer Blind in Texas.

And then they were gone. No Heaven's hung in Black, Chainsaw Charlie, I don't Need no Doctor. The much vaunted two hour show reduced to one hour and ten minutes. As for the stage show, well there was no special mike stand and the video montages on three screens looked mighty similar to their last visit to Cardiff on the 28th anniversary tour. I can accept problems in setting up if the band had travelled from Glasgow the same day, but they played Wolverhampton on 1 October and had no gig the night before. UNACCEPTABLE. An huge air of disappointment at the end then, with a few boos ringing out. After recent gigs which have been sparsely populated, it was such a shame that a decent turn out was treated so shabbily. 8/10 for the music. 0/10 for the treatment of a sold out crowd.

Reviews: Muse, Simon McBride, Monument

Muse: The 2nd Law (Warner Bros)

Are Muse still a rock band? This was the main question I asked myself when I heard that they were bringing a new dubstep direction to this album (named after the famous laws of Thermodynamics). However I wasn’t surprised at this revelation Muse have never been an 'organic' band meaning that electronics have always played a major part in their sound. So to the album which yes does have some dubstep in the two part title track which I will admit is brilliantly done and the single Madness (which also has a massive Queen vibe in the solo). On the other hand they have expanded their sound in other ways, Panic Station is every 80's song in existence mashed together, Supremacy also has a lot of Queen in it, they go trance with Follow Me and then turn into U2 on Big Freeze. As for the rock there is plenty of it with the mid-section of the album classic Muse, bassist Chris Wolstenholme takes the vocals for two of the heavier tracks and the rest is the vocal histrionics of Bellamy. So are Muse still a rock band? The answer is yes but they are one with chameleon-like tendencies meaning that they can change and adapt, but they are always more than capable to pull it off. 7/10

Simon McBride: Crossing The Line (Nugene Records)

Simon McBride is now on his third record of Blues-rock and he improves on every album. He is a fantastic guitar playing and his whiskey soaked croon means that the record oozes with class and passion. This can be witnessed on the emotive No Room To Breathe which has the hallmarks of McBride's fellow countryman and guitar legend Gary Moore. However it's not just on the slower songs that he shines when he picks up the pace on the soulful organ drenched Don't Be A Fool McBride is almost untouchable. He also looks back to his last release which was a split live/acoustic record on the Celtic flavoured A Rock And A Storm. The years of touring have paid off as these compositions are his most accomplished yet, with staple leaders like Joey Bones (Bonamassa) relying more on covers than original material the mantle falls to artists like McBride to create innovative blues-rock and he does so in spades on this album, look to the horn backed Alcatraz as an example of just how good the compositions are. McBride’s smoky vocals are great truly bringing a sense of longing on the blues based ballads like One More Try (which has fantastically stirring solo in it) and a gritty croon on rockers like Heartbreaker (which surprisingly sounds like Free). This is a record for any fan of blues-rock and it is a testament to just how good Simon McBride is. 9/10 


Monument: Rock The Night (Independent)

Formed by another former White Wizzard vocalist Monument are a NWOBHM revivalist band and they wear their influences (and their studs) on their sleeves, they bring Priest thrash-like attack on the frenetic opening track (which features Richie Faulkner on guitar) and Maiden dual-guitar harmonies on the future classic Midnight Queen. The guitarists trade licks and solo's with aplomb on every track, the bass is straight out of the 'Arry playbook and the drums blast with the power of Scott Travis. This is just an EP but on these 5 tracks you can see that any full length release will be chock full of big hitters ready for any heavy metal party. The Dickinson merged with Ozzy vocals of Ellis means that this album is a cracking release that merges classic NWOBHM style songs that are bolstered by spotless production and some top-notch songs. This EP will truly Rock The Night! 8/10

Reviews: AxeWound, Royal Republic, The Reasoning

Axewound: Vultures (Search And Destroy)

Formed by Bullet For My Valentine's Matt Tuck (who handles guitar and some vocals) the band also features Glamour Of The Kill's guitarist Mike Kingswood, Pitchshifter’s drummer Jason Bowld and the former bassist of Rise To Remain Joe Copcutt, with Cancer Bats' Liam Cormier taking lead screams and shouts, Axewound were pretty good when I saw them at Download, they were fast, furious and heavy. Unfortunately on their debut is none of these things. The album is essentially metalcore that finds a groove and tends to stick to it. With tracks like the Post-Apocalyptic Party which descends into a massive breakdown and the pacy Burn Alive the band have a clear idea of what they want to sound like however they come off as generic modern metal. Despite it being his project one can't help but feel that if Matt Tuck only contributed guitar the album would be little less tedious than it is a lot of his tracks sound like BFMV with Cold  and the piano backed and slightly wimpy Collide being the prime examples, Cormier does try his best to sound menacing but against this backdrop but it's only really Victim of The System that stands out. Both vocalists are on good form and the playing is tight however the whole thing is just really generic and a bit too safe for my tastes. Disappointing 5/10

Royal Republic: Save The Nation (Roadrunner)

The Royal Republic are a band or rebel-rousing Swedes that play dirty, ballsy, Rock N Roll with a punk snarl. This sophomore album expands the angular punk with its jagged guitar riffs from Hannes Irenard and some shoutier vocals from Adam Grahn. The band have still got their big hooky tracks and silly sense of humour with Make Love Not War (If You Have To Make War - Make Sure To Make Time To Make Love In Between) and Everybody Wants to Be An Astronaut but they also are taking hints from some bigger bands to make sure they have some songs ready for the arenas they will headline with Molotov and Revolution harking back to The Clash and the Pistols, Punk Drunk Love mirroring The Ramones, and You Ain't Nobody (Till Somebody Hates You) is the Foo Fighters All My Life by another name. Since their debut the band have become a major touring draw and on this album that confidence has grown, this is a band trying to capture their live ferocity on record and succeeding but also trying to show that they have their sights set firmly on the top. On this evidence they will be there in no time! 8/10

The Reasoning: Adventures In Neverland (Esoteric Antenna/Cherry Red recordings)

Welsh progsters The Reasoning have been thought he mill as late with the sudden disappearance of their long time guitarist Owain Roberts, and while we all hold out hope that he comes back safe, the band were still in the formative stages of this album and the fact that they have now finished and released it is testament to their commitment to their craft. Trimmed down to just a 5-piece now the band have also streamlined their sound since their last record Adverse Camber. Things start strongly with the off-kilter Hyperdrive which features Matt Cohen's pulsating bass driving the track, the melodies coming from Tony Turrell's Keys and the harmonious voice of singer Rachel who soars with just a hint of beautiful frailty. The band have really gone back to sound of their first album albeit without the metal influence that was present on some of the tracks. This means that this album has more of a keyboard heavy melodic style with Marillion (Otherworld), Pendragon (Stop The Clock) and even mid-period Genesis coming to mind. The guitar playing has been handled by new boy Keith Hawkins who does an excellent job blending some very technical playing with mouth-watering solos, some of the solo's come from guest musicians, but you can't see the join. The album ends in tremendous style with the title track and shows that The Reasoning are doing what they do best which is old-school prog with nothing else to water it down. A terrific record. 8/10

Live & Dangerous: Mostly Autumn

Mostly Autumn The Gate Cardiff

Mostly Autumn are one of the best and (most authentically British) bands in the UK but they never seem to get the recognition they deserve. This was my first ever gig at The Gate and as most bands are only as good as the venue they play in and the people they play too Mostly Autumn were absolutely fantastic tonight mainly because of these reasons. The venue itself is a majestic setting for the bands folk influenced prog-rock, it's a big space with lots of room for the band to play (mainly because of its former life as a church) this also meant the acoustics were flawless and the sound was VERY LOUD! The band came on to the instrumental Distant Train which immediately drew in the crowd with bandleader Bryan Josh's soaring guitar solos at its forefront. This explosion of noise then moved into the opening track of the new album the haunting Unquiet Tears which starts out slow and develops into a symphonic monster. This was the first of many tracks from the new album with Drops Of The Sun, the rocky The Devil And The Orchestra and the extremely Rainbow/Deep Purple sounding King Of The Valley which featured a cracking organ solo from Iain Jennings. This brings me to the band themselves who were all on fire the drums rattled the, keys and electronics elevated every song. The guitar playing of Bryan Josh is the best it's ever been, and Olivia's vocals are so good, both majestic and understated, it’s like she has been there from the start. Like I have said the set was geared heavily towards great new album but they were mixed with classics like Passengers, the anthemic Heroes Never Die and the still emotional Evergreen which on par with Questioning Eyes are two of Olivia's best performances. It was also great to see early song The Last Climb featured in the set with a simmering solo flute spot from Anne-Marie Helder (who along with Liam Davidson are the unsung heroes of the group) before Bryan took over with another stunning guitar solo which he also did on new album set-piece Tennyson Mansion. The crowd do deserve a mention as although small they cheered as if they were double their number and when it came to the final song the awesome The Spirit Of Autumn Past the crowd were jubilantly chanting along and cheering the band. This was the best I had seen them, partly due to the band themselves but the importance of the venue cannot be understated. Fantastic 9/10

Reviews: Devin Townsend Project

Devin Townsend Project: Epicloud & Epiclouder (InsideOut Records)

Epicloud

Epicloud is said to be both epic and loud and to be honest that doesn't even come close. Opening with he choral Effervescent! This segues into the electronic and pulsating True North which is insistent and repetitive until it breaks into the breakdown heavy middle section before coming back and setting the euphoric tone of the album. The album flows excellent with all the tracks linking together forming a complete whole. Lucky Animals follows next and is a massive hook-filled shout along which is in opposition to the next track which is the fast and thrashy Liberation. This is Devin on gloriously deranged form bringing together all of his previous DTP offerings on one disc with next track Where We Belong coming straight off the Ki album with its ambient and acoustic presentation which demonstrates the many layers there are to this album. With the band all matching Devin's fantastic musicality the album performance is fantastic and personally it is nice to hear the supremely gifted voice of Anneke Van Giersbergen making a comeback on the majority of tracks adding to multi-tracked vocals of Devin, the gospel choirs and gang vocals. Van Giersbergen's contribution is most noticeable the electronica based Save Our Now before everything is crushed in the metallic path of Kingdom (which has been re-recorded since its original debut on Physicist) and still maintains its original power. The love-song of Divine is just that and could be the most understated and beautiful song he has ever written, however the acoustic intro to Grace is just a diversion before the double kick drum explodes any of the sentimentality that has gathered with it's almost Strapping Young Lad heaviness Townsend mixing his classical croon and scream to great effect. This album is unrelenting with every track based imbued with a sense madness and extreme talent that have become Devin's trademark, many of the tracks also have Townsend's immense sense of fun. This is shown by More! which brings to mind the pop-metal of Addicted!! there is a small rest bite with the (almost) instrumental Lessons which is the opening to the anthemic Hold On which serves as the perfect penultimate track before the wall-of-sound chorus of final track Angel grabs you by the throat before the rest of the track builds into a suitably epic (and loud) finale leaving you both ecstatic and exhausted as the final note of the choir rings out. This is truly Devin's masterpiece bringing together everything that makes him one of most talented people in music. Simply awesome! 10/10

Epiclouder

This is the bonus disc of demos that come with the special edition and it features the tracks that were left off the album in demo style. These are not really demo’s per-se as they are just the songs as they were recorded without any post-production. The Ghost-like Believe is both stripped back and laidback full of brushed drums and gentle acoustic strumming. Before Anneke's voice hauntingly floats over the trip-hop/rock of Happy Birthday, the disconcerting rock-riffage of Quietus follows and gives the album a gothic vibe with Van Giersbergen's vocals prominent on this as well before it (mental) breaks down into an off-kilter horror film pastiche. This album too features 'The Project' all playing their hearts out and even without all of the post-production of the main album. If anything this album is more varied than its big brother as the country-blues of Heatwave (which is about the joys of rain ironically) shows. The pulsing Love Tonight is one of the weaker tracks due to the fact that it is quite generic Devin but this idea is wiped away by the jazzy almost tribal weirdness The Mind Wasp which starts out slow and gains a lot of noise at its end, from here things get heavier with Woah No! which is a Strapping song under a different banner. Love And Marriage is a fighting couple set to music with a stunning guitar solo in the middle. It’s the middle-eastern opening and influence on album set-piece Socialization that makes its schizophrenic blitzkrieg assault even better; it also features another face-melting solo and drifts off into a piano lounge piece. This is all capped off by the simple acoustical jam of Little Pig which is as stripped down as Devin will ever get and is full of country bonhomie that leaves you with a smile on your face (and brings to mind Outside The Wall the final track on Pink Floyd’s The Wall.) This again is another fantastic offering and is better than a lot of other artists main albums considering it is full of songs that are just demos (albeit very accomplished demos) this is Devin showing that he even has gold in his closet and this album is as strong and more varied in presentation as Epicloud but it is let down by one or two ‘safe’ tracks. 9/10 

Both these albums need to be purchased and listened to from top to bottom to truly appreciate how good they are. Together they are one of the best volumes of music released this year, individually they are still both exceptional pieces of music well worth the time of any rock/metal lover.

  
   

Reviews: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Down, Steve Harris

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Last Of A Dyin' Breed (Roadrunner)

In a career that has always been overshadowed by the plane crash in 1977, it nice to think that Skynyrd have finally come to terms with their legacy on this record. They are truly the last of a dying breed that have influenced every southern rock band that have come after them. This album differs from its predecessor God And Guns as that album was much heavier in its presentation (as is the way when any band that sign to Roadrunner) this one however is far more classic Skynyrd, and this change is for the better because Skynryd are bridging the gap between rock, blues and country adding everything in between from the slide based title track to the country picking finale of Start Livin' Life Again. There is a lot of boogie in the rockers and the guitar playing of Rossington, Medlocke and Cartellone is superb (as usual) as is Johnny Van Zant's gruff vocals. The band don't stick rigidly to the blues/country rock formula as Homegrown and Ready To Fly both have elements of 80's rock (also Rossington's solo material) and the very modern southern sound of Life's Twisted can be attributed to the co-writer credit from Black Stone Cherry's Jon Lawhon and Chris Robertson. Even the four bonus tracks are very good and add to the overall album rather than being just secondary add-ons. The production of Bob Marlette is superb also and brings a warm southern texture to the album. This is Skynyrd doing what they do best and if they do happen to be the last of their breed then they are going out fighting. 8/10 

Down: Down IV - The Purple E.P (Roadrunner)

So the kings of NOLA return with their fourth album and unlike their first three which were dogged by long gaps in between them (mainly due to the members other projects) this album however will be split into four E.P's with this one Purple being the first. From the slow, long intro to the opening tracks Levitation which builds up into a storming stoner metal showcase and is followed by the occult voodoo of Witchtripper which cuts through the haze with its heavy mysticism. It's from here that the concept of this album is revealed and that is the part of Down that worships at the altar of Sabbath with Open Coffin and The Curse Is A Lie both bringing the dirge and doom riffage with rampant changes of pace that are both exciting and disconcerting in the same breath. Both Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein keep the riffage loose and flowing but also very focussed and straightforward, with Jimmy Bower dictating the pace and new bassist Patrick Bruders adding his bewitching pulse to the proceedings the instrumentation is top-notch. All this is topped by Phillip's unmistakeably aggressive and powerful vocal delivery. As I have said before this album is the first of four and is mainly built upon Down's doom influence, what the others will hold is anyone's guess but I'm sure all four together will become Down's greatest work yet. 8/10 

Steve Harris: British Lion (EMI)

Steve Harris, the brainchild of British metal legends Iron Maiden, has been quietly working on this solo effort since the 1990's and it is his first foray away from the Maiden mothership. I assumed that the album would be different from Harris' day job and more akin to his influences. How wrong I was, with only the Thin Lizzy-esque Eyes Of The Young and Us Against The World which has both UFO and Maiden influences, the rest of the album is full of Alt-Rock tracks that feature 'Arry's distinctive bass sound over some very good guitar playing. However there are problems, one are the songs which despite being reasonably good, they are not Harris at the top of his game. Another is the production which is all over the place with the volume and clarity of tracks changing throughout the course of the record. The final and perhaps biggest problem is that the vocals of Richard Taylor, they are very poor; he has a scratchy, strained vocal delivery that ruins an awful lot of the tracks. This is a shame as I was looking forward to seeing what Steve Harris would do outside Maiden and I was expecting much more than this poor mid-nineties rock pastiche. Sorry Steve I love you but this is not good. 5/10 

Live & Dangerous: Onslaught, Desecration, Lifer and Bull Riff Stampede

Onslaught, Desecration, Lifer and Bull Riff Stampede Bogiez Cardiff 20/09/12

I missed Bull Riff Stampede so I'm sorry to them for that but I am reliably informed that they were very good so excellent.

Lifer

Are a thrash/doom band from South Wales that play heavy dirty metal that mixes head ripping thrash and chugging breakdown filled doom/stoner metal. The band were heavy and powerful with some great riffs and powerful drumming. The only thing that reduced this bands power was the vocals which were a little lost in the mix meaning that the band were not as confrontational as they think they would usually be. 6/10

Desecration

Welsh death-metal destroyers Desecration proceeded to wipe away any sound problems with their extremely heavy brand of death metal. They were a cacophony of Obituary style light-speed riffage and barked vocals with some very technical soloing. The band got a huge ovation from the crowd after every song and with good reason because they were very good at what they do and tonight they proved they can bring the death metal noise. 8/10

Onslaught

From just over the water Bristol based thrashers Onslaught were on the first date of the ‘Full Force’ tour meaning that they were going to play all of their seminal 1985 album The Force (which was vocalist Sy Keeler’s debut) The band started with a few modern tracks like Born Of War and The Sound Of Violence before playing all of the previously mentioned album which features classic tracks like Metal Forces, Fight With The Beast and Demoniac this was a fantastic retro run through of a classic thrash album which got a lot the crowd air-guitaring and moshing like mad. However a lot of the crowd did seem to thin out after Desecration which was a shame as Onslaught were on top form throughout and played a blinding set with Keeler on top vocal form and the guitars of Andy-Rosser Davies and Nige Rockett were excellent as were Mike Hourian’s drums (who had already played with Desecration) and Jeff William’s bass. The band ended with a few more classics like Thermonuclear Devastation and Onslaught (Power From Hell) leaving the crowd on massive high. The band were excellent and the set was almost flawless a brilliant showing from one of British thrash’s best bands. 8/10    

Reviews: Fear Factory, Rival Sons, Stealing Axion

Fear Factory: The Industrialist (AFM)

Fear Factory have returned with yet another brutal slice of cyber metal, and the keyword is brutal, this futuristic concept album is hard, heavy and extremely violent. Things kick off with the machinegun pace of the title track which sees the robotic riffage of Dino Cazares brings waves of guitars spiralling out of control; this is matched by the vocal aggression of Burton C Bell who brings his dry howl and his hollow croon to all of the tracks. It's these two men that are the sound of Fear Factory and because of this they are the only two that appear on the album. All of the instrumentation handled by Cazares (the drums are programmed) and Bell has all of the vocals, whether multi-tracked or not. However it maybe because there is almost no outside interference (despite the keys and programming being handled by producer Rhys Fulber) that this is the purest sounding Fear Factory album in recent memory. Tracks like the title track, the very electronic God Eater and the propulsive New Messiah (which is an anthem in a similar vein to Lynchpin) show that Fear Factory are back on the top of their game bulldozing all those that step in the way with their inhuman metallic rampage. 8/10

Rival Sons: Head Down (Earache)

LA retro-rockers Rival Sons have become one of the saviours of blues-based proper rock 'n' roll this is their third album and second on a major label. The band expand their sound on this album while still keeping their classic Jim Morrison fronting Zeppelin sound. Breaking out with first single Keep On Swinging which is radio friendly riffage and is followed by the fuzzed up Wild Animal this is the start of a trend on an album that weaves between fizzy blues-rockers like You Want To (which has a jazz middle section), funked up soul rumpshakers All The Way and tender acoustic ballads like closer True. This is not a record of individual tracks this is a listening experience with every track having resonance in the confines of the record. Scott Holiday plays his heart out wringing all the emotion he can out of his guitar, while Robin Everhart and Michael Miley anchor with funk-fuelled bass and crashing drums respectively. The whole thing is brought together by Jay Buchanan's varied vocal range equally adept at soulful crooning and whiskey soaked wailing. This is a fantastic album which has some truly great tracks on it with the Zeppelin-like three-piece of Nava and Manifest Destiny Part 1 &2 which brings the album to a fantastic close. This is a groovy, funked up rock album that brings together the sound of the late sixties and early seventies but it is also a thoroughly modern rock album. 9/10

Stealing Axion: Moments (InsideOut Music)

So another Djent band arrives and yet again they are a mixture of polyrhythmic technical playing, harsh vocals and some very technical chops. So what I hear you ask sets Stealing Axion apart from bands such as Periphery, Textures, Monuments and the other 100 or so bands in this genre. Well the answer to that is melody, the band have a keen ear for melody and instrumental texture meaning that it is not the explosion of noise that other bands bring. There is a lot of Devin Townsend on this album with 47 Days Later and opener Mirage Of Hope being the two most significant examples, there are also elements of Meshuggah and rightly so. The band have a triple guitar and vocal attack with the three core members supplying off-kilter riffage and harmonic solos as well as providing the screams, grunts and clean passages over the intensely technical music that shifts in tone so much that it never really gets stale. The fantastic Evertide is one of the albums set pieces and is at the core of Stealing Axion’s sound. The production of Tesseract's Acle Kahney is crisp, clean and means that Stealing Axion have a very similar sound to the British band albeit with more of a varied sound. This is a progressive metal album that straddles the Djent genre and in my book that is better than the other way round. 8/10 

Live & Dangerous: Firewind and Leaves Eyes

Firewind and Leaves Eyes, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

I'll be honest I missed most of Leaves Eyes and as I arrived I'm glad I did as the last three songs were enough to let me get an idea of their sound live, there was a lot of orchestral backing tapes, thrashy riffage, gruff male vocals and warbling female vocals from front woman Liv Kristine. The band are well trained but not very exciting coming across as a budget Nightwish rather than a big concern, not my cup of tea I'm afraid. 5/10

So this was the band I had come to see however by the looks of the crowd they had other ideas as many left after Leaves Eyes leaving the headliners with a much smaller crowd, however as the first chords of Wall Of Sound hit the 100 or so that remained were head banging along. The band focussed a lot on their last three albums much like they had done at Donnington with newest disc Few Against Many bringing the majority of the set, with tracks like Head Up High, Few Against Many, World On Fire, Losing My Mind, Mercenary Man (which still sounds like a Gary Moore song) and Glorious the band ran through a hit filled set complied from the most recent discs with the occasional classic like Destination Forever, Insanity and I Am The Anger thrown in for good measure. The band as usual were stunning with band leader Gus G playing his heart out with every note, make no mistake Firewind is his band so it is quite right that his guitar playing would take center stage, however he humbly lets the equally talented keyboardist/guitarist Bob Katsionis take some solos before having a duel in the instrumental The Fire And The Fury. This meant that vocalist Apollo, whose voice improves throughout after shaky start, is given the job of head cheerleader leading the crowd in cheers and sing-alongs. The main set finishes with Tyranny then after a short break they return for the encore and bring with them Liv from Leaves Eyes, after a rendition of the rarely played Breaking The Silence (on which Apollo drowns out his co-vocalist) the band finish with the Apollo-era classic Falling To Pieces leaving the crowd on a high. A great set from a great band, however I would like to note one thing, Firewind had not played Cardiff since 2006 meaning that this should have been packed, as it was there less than 100 people by the end of their set. If fans want the bands to play Cardiff then they should make an effort to turn up. It's only by buying the tickets that theses band know what the demand is so if you want to see them make sure you go. For those of us that did we were treated to a night of sublime power metal. 9/10 
  

Reviews: Halestorm, Astral Doors, Docker's Guild

Halestorm: The Strange Case Of... (Roadrunner)

This Pennsylvania foursome return with their second full length with front woman/guitarist Lzzy Hale and her brother Arejay again leading the band in radio-friendly American rock. The most noticeable thing about this album is that the song writing has increased tenfold since the debut. The songs sound really big swagger and full of juicy hooks, mountain top soloing from guitarist Joe Hottinger and with the lyrics giving a huge feminist punch to the throat due to Lzzy's transformation into a snarling femme fatale. It's with the opening two tracks that the stall is set, the punky Love Bites (So Do I) and the very metallic Mz. Hyde both show of the bands chops and Lzzy's great vocals. The band have a sound similar to tour mates Shinedown and also there is a lot of Sixx: A.M present (who's James Michael appears on bonus track Private Parts) The album is mainstream American rock with an ear for radio, this is best seen on I Miss The Misery with its "Whoa" refrain and the "Na Na's" of Daughters Of Darkness.  The production is handled by veteran American metal producer Howard Benson who has worked with Bon Jovi, Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson (who is an obvious reference point in the ballad Beautiful With You) among many others. The only fault I can find is one that appears on many albums of this type and that there is maybe one too many ballads but most of the album is a prime slice of American arena metal and will propel Halestorm to stardom! 8/10

Astral Doors: Jerusalem (Metalville)

Astral Doors have always been a band with critical acclaim mainly because their vocalist Nils Patrik Johansson who does sound remarkably like the late great Ronnie James Dio albeit with a slightly lower register. This is also prevalent on this album but the songs are more akin to Dio's Rainbow years than his solo work. With big powerful tracks full of rocking guitars, muscular keys and Johansson's powerful vocal performance the album is perfect for fans of classic metal with tracks like Child Of Rock N Roll, Babylon Rise, Operation Freedom and the epic title track  meaning that the album rarely drops in pace. The album is somewhat generic but that just adds to its charm. Albums like this are not made as frequently anymore and Astral Doors are definitely one of the best at doing it. This album is not big nor is it clever but it is very fun. 7/10

Docker's Guild: The Mystic Technocracy - Season 1: The Age Of Ignorance (Lion Music)

If I asked you who comes to mind when I say progressive metal/rock album with a heavy sci-fi concept? Well no this isn't the new album from Arjen A Lucassen but from keyboardist Douglas Docker. Named after a Babylon 5 episode this album is separated into 15 'episodes' and revolves around the concept of religion and its supposed alien origins. Docker is backed by a great band consisting of former DLR drummer Greg Bissonette and English guitar wizard Guthrie Govan. He also has a star studded vocal line-up with John Payne kicking things off as the voice of the alien creators, Docker himself handles one tracks vocals admirably, before Goran Edman (Ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) provides the voice of history, Tony Mills (from Norwegian Hard Rockers TNT) brings the voice of humanity and Amanda Somerville as a love interest dueting on the final track Black Swans. All the vocalists add their distinctive tonsils, meaning that this album flows excellently and never gets boring, it also adds to the cinematic nature of the album. The music is very keyboard heavy so it has an AOR sound to many of the tracks but with Guthrie guitars adding some crunch a few drift into more metallic territory. The heavy title track, the bouncy Darwin's Tears, rocker Judeo-Christian Cosmogony and David Bowie cover Loving The Alien are great tracks that stand out, but not by much as the album is fantastic and anyone who loves Mr Lucassen's work (like I do) will get huge pleasure out of this album (much like I did) 9/10