live

It was back in 1987 when former Waysted singer Danny Vaughn started a new band called Tyketto, a group that also included Brooke St. James, Jimi Kennedy and Michael Clayton. The latter is still part of the band that disbanded in 1996 and came back step by step in 2007. The first studio album of the new Tyketto era was named “Dig in Deep” which was released back in 2012 while the newest studio output is entitled “Reach” which became a really good hardrock album. The band has planned a number of shows to promote the album but two family emergencies forced the band to postpone the European tour dates. Initially the show in Zoetermeer was planned for November ’16 and had to be moved as well. January 19^th was the new announced date and Tyketto came back to Holland with full force.

Before the guys started their 25^th anniversary show (25 years based on the release date of the debut in 1991) it was up to the local outfit Rebelstar to ignite the flame of rock’n’roll. The four-piece is from The Hague, which is very close to Zoetermeer – so, home game for guys and that’s one of the reasons why the support act filled the room already quite well. Rebelstar’s music is based on 80’s hardrock. Bands like Motley Crue, Kiss and Skid Row are sources of inspiration for the guys that nailed down a good show. Supported by a great sound, the songs of the quartet spread a true rock’n’roll vibe and their 45 minutes set was exactly what was needed to prepare the crowd for the headliner.

The first thing that was recognizable when it comes to Tyketto’s show was the filming equipment. The band taped their Zoetermeer show and let’s see to what kind of future release it will lead to. However, Tyketto entered the stage under a big applause of their fans, starting with the show with a new song. “Kick Like a Mule” marked the beginning of a 90 minutes show that included all Tyketto highlights – from the past and the present. The setlist was very well balanced with the one exception. “Shine”, the last album of the first Tyketto period, was only represented by “Let It Go”, a fact everybody could easily live with.

Those one and a half hours included everything the heart could wish for. Danny Vaughn and his gang enjoyed being on stage and the guys have been very thankful that so many fans accompanied the band over such a long period of time. It was this kind of attitude, next to the great songs, that immediately electrified the audience. I good symbol for the energy level that filled the room was the broken drum stick during “Big Money”.

To sum up the show I would like to use three word: power, passion and party. “It’s only rock’n’roll but I like it”, that what the Stones stated many years ago and these words could have been the invisible banner that framed this night in Zoetermeer.

Setlist Rebelstar:

1. Big Bang Boom
2. Burning Sensation
3. Permanent Disaster
4. W.B.P.A.
5. Shelter Me
6. Sick M.F.
7. Love Leaves Scars
8. Look But Don't Touch
9. Smoke, She Said
10. Hell Yeah

Setlist Tyketto:

1. Kick Like a Mule
2. Wings
3. Faithless
4. I Need it Now
5. Burning Down Inside
6. Meet Me in the Night
7. Reach
8. Dig in Deep
9. Standing Alone
10. Catch My Fall
11. Rescue Me
12. Let It Go
13. Big Money
14. Lay Your Body Down
15. Love to Love
16. Forever Young (Encore)

Location: Cultuurpodium De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands

Date: January 19^th, 2017

A 66% Scandinavian metal package brought a cold breeze and hot metal to Holland. Swedish metal Templars HammerFall embarked on a headliner tour through Europe, supported by their label companions Gloryhammer and Swedish comrades Lancer - three bands that guaranteed a glorious metal night in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Lancer from Arvika had to enter the stage first. The guys have a new album out, entitled "Mastery”. Their powerful speed metal was well appreciated and songs like the title track from the latest release as well as "Iscariot" are good song tunes done for being performed on stage. But also some gimmicks have been part of Lancer's 30 minutes gig, peaking on singer Isak Stenvall swaying around the mask that decorated the album's artwork.

All this was the right introduction for what came next. Scottish/Swiss space invaders Gloryhammer filled the middle slot and their show was remarkable. First of all it was great to see how solid Gloryhammer's fan base in Holland seems to be. The moment the band entered the stage the room, at least the first rows, turned into a madhouse. 'Hoot' shouts filled the entire room. One can think about the costumes and concept of Gloryhammer whatever you want, the music and energy just rocks. The entire scenery made me smile more than ones but the epical sing-a-long power metal just puts a spell on you. The funniest Moment though was when singer Thomas Winkler aka Angus McFive gave the task to a fan to arrange a beer for the Hootsman by crowd surfing to the bar and back. Good music and entertaining show, embedded in a weird scenery.

After such a performance it was up to the headliner to push even harder. Now, HammerFall is in business since two decades, they have tons of good songs and they have been a revitalizer of heavy metal in the grunge/modern metal 90's.

Next to the quality of hits like the new “Bring It!”, the great “Renegade” and the grande finale “Hearts on Fire” fans got with 90 minutes a full quantity headliner package. HammerFall left no doubt that they are the main act that night. Supported by a great stage set the guys obviously enjoyed playing in Holland, which was by the way their first show in Utrecht ever. A surprising moment though was Joacim Cans' rhetorical question about how many people are part of a Hammerfall show for the first time. I guess it was half of the crowd, something that wasn't to expect and a clear sign that Hammerfall should come back more often to Holland. Anyhow, regardless if new or longtime fan, everybody obviously had fun that night. Actually the amount of energy in the room was outstanding, esp. thinking about a Monday night.

Like mentioned earlier, the quintet can look back on a rich back catalogue which makes it hard to choose. One milestone that is effected by that is the ground-breaking "Glory to the Brave", the bands fantastic debut. HammerFall didn't went on the same road as many other bands, playing an entire album – not even as a 20 years special anniversary special show. The five-piece decided to promote the new longplayer and celebrate their classic with a "Medley to the Brave" featuring various songs from the debut. A good decision.

For the rest it was an entertaining and professional show that included Oscar's 'hammer guitar', Joacim Cans and Pontus Norgren kicking of "Glory to the Brave" acoustically while sitting in front of the drum kit and last but not least 90 minutes of authentic heavy metal with a strong traditional touch.

Seeing HammerFall live on stage is definitely a great thing. It might be that the latest longplayer was 'just' a good one, but HammerFall live on stage still shows the impact and power of the guys and their music. All in all it was a great way to spend a crispy Monday night with three bands that have us much in common by still being quite different. Horns up.

Setlist Lancer:

1. Dead Raising Towers
2. Future Milennia
3. Mastery
4. Iscariot
5. Purple Sky

Setlist Gloryhammer:

1. Rise of the Chaos Wizard
2. Legend of the Astral Hammer
3. Hail to Crail
4. Questlord of Inverness, Ride to the Galactic Fortress!
5. The Hollywood Hootsman
6. Angus McFife
7. Universe on Fire
8. The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee

Setlist Hammerfall:

1. Hektor’s Hymn
2. Riders of the Storm
3. Bring It!
4. Blood Bound
5. Any Means Necessary
6. Renegade
7. Dethrone and Defy
8. Crimson Thunder
9. Last Man Stnading
10. Let the Hammer Fall
11. Built to Last
12. Medley to the Brave
13. The Dragon Lies Bleeding
14. Glory to the Brave
15. Origins
16. Punish and Enslave
17. Hammer High (Encore)
18. Bushido (Encore)
19. Hearts on Fire (Encore)

Location: TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Date: January 16^th, 2017

(8/10) De Boerderij in Zoetermeer is a nice smaller venue, located close to Den Haag. The location is well known for superb concerts and it's especially prog bands stopping there for a show on a quite regular base.

Some bands recorded those concerts, leading to live releases later on. A band that played De Boerderij quite often is prog rockers IQ and the guys took the opportunity to capture one of their gigs - the one December 6th, 2014 to be precise.

The set started with a song that belongs to the very first ones from IQ. It's the brilliant "Awake and Nervous" that filled the venue. After such a trip back to the band's roots, time has come for some more current IQ music. The five-piece played the entire first disc of the "The Road of Bones" album, their latest studio longplayer. With "Ten Million Demons" there was also another song of the second record performed that night, a true highlight in the encore.

The rest of the concert included a variety of IQ classic, like "Outer Limits" from the "The Wake" album or "The Darkest Hour" from the 1993 longplayer "Ever".

The sound of this album is excellent. The nuanced music of IQ is perfectly captured, the audience enjoys big soundscapes and you can sense the enthusiasm of everybody being part of this evening.

I can only refer to the audio version of this release, but there is also a DVD/Blu-ray package available that includes a few more goodies for prog rock fans. Next to the Zoetermeer show the following special features are included too:

• ‘Until The End’ - video from the 2014 Lorelei festival
• ‘The Projections’ - just the projections used in the gig accompanied by the live audio
• ‘The Art of The Road of Bones’ - Peter Nicholls in conversation with Tony Lythgoe, graphic artist and designer of the striking album cover and logo for IQ’s recent album ‘The Road of Bones’
• ‘Photo Gallery’

All in all you get a well-done prog rock package that unveils, again, the beauty of this kind of music. It's a high quality package, from all angles.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

Annihilator will publish a new album in January, a release that comes as a package featuring the three discs. "Triple Thread" is its name and Markus' Heavy Music Blog had the chance to get some more insights from bandleader Jeff Waters.

Markus’ Heavy Music Blog: Hello Jeff. Good to talk to you again. How are you?

Jeff Waters: I’m good, thanks for asking.

MHMB: You came back recently from touring through Europe for a couple of weeks. How was it?

Jeff: Right. I think it’s a week or so that I’m back, slowly getting rid of the jetlag. We started off with a couple of shows in Greece, which was amazing. We continued with some more shows in Central Europe for a month and finished off with some gigs in Russia last week.

MHMB: Let’s have a look into the near future with Annihilator releasing a new record. Actually it’s a package, with the first disc containing acoustic versions of different Annihilator songs. So, the question is how the idea came up for doing an acoustic Annihilator record.

Jeff: Since the “King of the Kill” album back in 1994 I always wanted to do such an acoustic thing, but it wasn’t the right time since metal was at an all-time low in those days. Nobody was really interested at that time in listening to acoustic versions of Annihilator songs. After the band sort of rebounded with “Metal”, record sales went up again and since we gained a lot of new fans at that time an acoustic album didn’t make sense either. These fans discovered what we were doing at the time, not knowing the stuff from the 80’s. The whole acoustic thing got more attention again in 2012 when I bought Van Halen’s “Different Kind of Truth”. There were four songs the guys did as a sort of low budget video clips in black & white filmed in Eddie’s studio. When I saw that I loved it. The guys seemed to have so much fun doing it and I thought that I have to do this now. Not necessarily in the same style, but in a way of getting good musicians together including a guy that can sing lead vocals to help me with the songs I can’t sing. However, there were some concerns about an Annihilator acoustic album not selling very well. This led to the idea of recording a live concert and we got very lucky since Bang Your Head planned to film Twisted Sister at the 2016 festival edition. The whole thing ended up in the guys filming the Annihilator show while testing out everything for the filming of Twisted Sister. By putting together all these pieces we all of a sudden had a great fan package including a live show, an acoustic studio set and some sequences of Annihilator’s home base in Ontario.

MHMB: How did you pick the songs for the acoustic album?

Jeff: We ended up in being five guys going through the old Annihilator catalogue and picking some of the favourite songs I wanted to do.  If you think back to the first two albums, “Alice in Hell” and “Never, Neverland”, those were real thrash metal records, which means that there wasn’t any chance to do acoustic versions. Things became a bit more diverse, melodic and commercial with “Set the World on Fire” and “King of the Kill”. We figured 10-12 songs would be it. We picked the songs that either I liked or that I thought the fans would like or that Mark and myself could do together when it comes to the vocals. Those were the three criteria for us to choose the songs that ended up on the acoustic disc. What was more stressful than I thought was the recording. We didn’t want to overdub anything and cheat. We said that it has to be live and it has to be one take. For some of the songs the first take was great while for some others we needed maybe 5-10 takes. In the end of it we all agreed that the recording was 5% fun and 95% hell [laughing]. However, the 5% fun was worth everything.

MHMB: How easy or difficult was it to re-arrange the songs? I could imagine that tunes like “Phoenix Rising” was a bit easier than something like “Snake in the Grass”. So, was it a big effort to translate these songs into acoustic versions?

Jeff: Actually it was very easy. With the described way of choosing songs and considering that music is your job this kind of work isn’t difficult.

MHMB: How easy was it to work together with Mark and Pat since they aren’t part of Annihilator?

Jeff: Mark is a well-known singer who was already a back-up studio singer for so many artists. He also sang on songs like “Phoenix Rising”, “Perfect Angel Eyes” and some of the ballads.  In that sense he was easy to figure out and I just asked him if he could do this with me. The more interesting clashes were with Pat. He is more into country and slide guitar. The only thing I have in common with him is a little bit of blues and a lot of Eddie Van Halen. Pat is more into jamming. Aaron instead is a lot into death metal and also more a perfectionist while Rich is more into math metal. In the end we are five guys with totally different backgrounds and that was the really interesting thing for me.

MHMB: Would you think about adding one or two of these acoustic versions to a live set in the near future?

Jeff: We did it together with Dave Padden, I think it was back in 2010, even though it was done with electric guitars. To do something like that with acoustic guitars you need to have more of a budget. You need an extra crew member, you have to have more guitars and you have to ship more guitars. In the end you have to bring at least 5 more guitars with you, plus additional equipment like microphones to do some acoustic stuff. So it’s not easy and cheap to do an acoustic set as part of a tour. And on the other hand, Annihilator is probably not a big enough band for it to make any sense for promoters to have us do a smaller ‘acoustic only’ tour, even though I would love to do it.

MHMB: Jeff, it was great talking to you. Thanks for giving us more insight when it comes to “Triple Threat” and thanks for spending some time with Markus’ Heavy Music Blog.

Jeff:  You’re welcome and thanks for having me.

Wolfheart announced a new album called 'Tyhjyys" which means 'emptiness'. The record will be released on March 3^rd via Spinefarm Records.

Furthermore the band's on tour as we speak. Here are the dates:

(8/10) It was in 2009 when German metal legend Accept returned on stage and I can remember having seen them live at one of their first shows in Uden, Netherlands around the same time (I think is was in spring 2010). The guys built their set mainly on old classics with, if I have it right in mind, two new songs (Pandemic” and “Teutonic Terror”). It was impressive to see them in such a small venue that was turned into a madhouse by the German metal dinosaurs.

In the meantime we're seven years further down the road with Accept releasing three great studio albums. With these new songs plus a backpack full of excellent classics it was the right moment in time for recording a new live album/DVD. The scenery was easily found. Accept played a headliner show on the 2015 Bang Your Head festival, which was chosen to be the one for this live album.

Considering the fact that guitarist Uwe Lulis and drummer Christopher Williams joined the band shortly before it, was a brave decision to record this headliner show. It wasn't less than the first gig of the two new band members in Germany. But in case there have been some concerns beforehand, the show and the live release proves that potential doubts were without any reason.

Accept nailed down an energetic and heavy show that included everything a fan could ask for. “Fast as a Shark”, Metal Heart” and “Restless and Wild” have been excessively celebrated by the crown and also the new stuff (“Stampede”, "Dying Breed”,..) fit perfectly into the setlist.

Of course it was the ‘big three’ that stood a bit more in the focus. Tornillo is more than just a singer. He’s a real front man and entertainer. Next to that it's Hoffmann’s riffs and solos that are more than just an ingredient for the bands sound, it’s Accept’s signature. Breathtaking also the duel between Baltes and Hoffmann during “No Shelter” and it goes without saying that fans sang enthusiastically during “Princess of the Dawn”.

“Restless and Live” brings an Accept headliner show right into your living room, a concert that was done by a band that played tight and powerful. Like mentioned earlier, worries about recording a show with two new band members were blown away with the first riff blown into Balingen’s evening sky.

The album title includes ‘restless’. The band is restless and there is no end in sight, which is good news for 2017 and the years to come.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Stampede
2. Stalingrad
3. London Leatherboys
4. Restless and Wild
5. Dying Breed
6. Final Journey
7. Shadow Soldiers
8. Losers and Winners
9. 200 Years
10. Midnight Mover
11. No Shelter
12. Princess of the Dawn
13. Dark Side of My Heart
14. Pandemic
15. Fast as a Shark
16. Metal Heart
17. Teutonic Terror
18. Balls to the Walls

Label: Nuclear Blast

Genre: Heavy Metal

Release Date EU: January 13^th, 2017

New Year's Eve is an excellent moment in time to look back on the last 12 months and what's better than scrolling through photos made that year. I challenged myself in choosing my 12 favorites, which was not a too easy exercise. Anyhow, I've chosen these photos from various shows in 2016.

Have a good start in 2017 and keep on rocking. Thanks for all your support \m/

All photos by Markus Wiedenmann

Just in case you want to see them all - HERE they are.

(8/10) Powerwolf can look back on a very active period in the band's history with quite some releases over the last few months. It was during summer 2015 when the band published "Blessed & Possessed", the sixth studio album of the wolf pack. After having been on tour for quite some time the metal preachers unveiled a live album called "The Metal Mass Live", followed by some festival shows - like the appearance on the 'Dynamo Metal Fest' in July 2016.

2017 starts with a special edition of Powerwolf's "Blessed & Possessed" album. It's the 'tour edition' which includes the entire studio longplayer, enriched with a live recording of the band's show at the 2015 Summer Breeze Open Air. Powerwolf played a full set in front of 40.000 metal fans, celebrating each of the chapters of  metal mass. 

In case you call the latest live release already your own, you will not get a lot of new things that come with the 'tour edition'. The setlist of this show and the tracklist of the latest live album are mainly similar, with very little exceptions like "Werewolves of Armenia". For the rest, there isn't anything negative that comes with this extra edition. The live sound is excellent, the fans are enjoying the show and the band's embracing the moment as well. That Attila does his announcements in German makes sense, thinking about the band having a 'home game' in front of a mainly German crowd. It might not be an easy thing (or a mission impossible) for non-German fans to understand what he 'preaches' but it's anyhow the music that counts.

If you have the original album and/or the latest live release you have to decide if you need also this tour edition. However, it's a nice extra for collectors, an album that keeps Powerwolf's flame burning.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

CD 1:

1. Blessed & Possessed
2. Dead Until Dark
3. Army of the Night
4. Armata Strigoi
5. We are the Wild
6. Higher Than Heaven
7. Christ & Combat
8. Sanctus Dominus
9. Sacramental Sister
10. All You Can Bleed
11. Let There be Night

CD 2:

1. Intro
2. Sanctified with Dynamite
3. Coleus Sanctus
4. Army of the Night
5. Amen & Attack
6. Resurrect by Erection
7. Armata Strigoi
8. Kreuzfeuer
9. Werewolves of Armenia
10. In the Name of God
11. Blessed and Possessed
12. All We Need is Blood
13. Dead Boys Don't Cry
14. We Drink Your Blood
15. Lupus Dei

Label: Napalm Records

Genre: Power Metal

Release Date EU: January 6^th, 2017

(9/10) It seems that this year's Christmas present arrived already two weeks too early. As reported a few weeks ago it's power metal legend Armored Saint that started a PledgeMusic campaign for a new live album of the iconc five-piece band.

Armored Saint isn't one of these bands that regularly releases live records. It was 28 years ago when the guys from California published with "Saints Will Conquer" a six track live EP and that was it - up till now.

"Carpe Noctum", a name the fans voted for based on a pre-selection, features eight tracks that comes with new material such as "Win Hands Down", the title track from the latest studio output. That legendary Armored saint tracks needs to be part of this release too is a given. The awesome "Last Train Home" and the closer "Reign of Fire" belong to the best tunes the quintet ever wrote and are well-placed on this longplayer. 

A view on the tracklist also shows no overlap with the '88 EP. "Carpe Noctum" features songs that officially haven't been released live so far. The only little downer with this album is the running time. 38 minutes aren't too long, esp. knowing how many great songs the band has in their musical bagpack. One or two more tracks would have been a good extra for fans of the band who waited almost three decades for another live album of the Armored Saint.

The sound of this live album, that was captured in Wacken 2015 and Aschaffenburg, is excellent. The production finds the right balance between authenticity, energy and a clear sound.

All in all it's exciting to listen to the bands newest live disc, something we had to wait for such a long time. Armored Saint is heading towards a new peak in their career. John Bush, Joey Vera, Phil Sandoval, Gonzo Sandoval and Jeff Duncan are  Armored Saint - a spearhead of powerful metal music. I like.

(9/10)

Tracklist:

1. Win Hands Down
2. March of the Saint
3. Stricken by Fate
4. Last Train Home
5. Mess
6. Aftermath
7. Left Hook from Right Field
8. Reign of Fire

Label: Metal Blade Records

Genre: Heavy Metal

Release Date EU: December 16th, 2016

Here are the dates:

15.02.17 UK Glasgow - Audio

16.02.17 UK Manchester - Club Academy

17.02.17 UK Sheffield - Corporation

18.02.17 UK Wolverhampton -Slade Rooms

19.02.17 UK London - Underworld

21.02.17 UK Southampton - Engine Rooms

22.02.17 FR Paris - Backstage by the Mill

23.02.17 FR Strasbourg - La Laiterie

25.02.17 AT Vienna - Szene

26.02.17 HU Budapest - A38 Ship

27.02.17 GER Munich - Feierwerk

28.02.17 GER Aschaffenburg - Colosaal

01.03.17 GER Bochum - Rockpalast

02.03.17 BEL Vosselaar - Biebob

Festivals:

02.06.17 CZ Plzen - Metalfest Open Air

16.06.17 GER Duisburg - Rage Against Racism

15.07.17 GER Balingen - Bang Your Head

12.08.17 ESP Villena - Leyendas del Roc