I just wanted to say a huge thank-you to Jason Meers and Jim. A few days back Jason contacted me to say that he knew I liked metal and wanted to offer me a free spare ticket to the Black Crusade tour in Manchester. On this tour Shadows Fall, Arch Enemy, Dragonforce, Trivium and Machine Head put in an appearance. I drove up there last night and had a great night. Thanks a huge amount chaps!
The review:
* Shadows Fall – missed them, but I love their stuff.
* Arch Enemy – incredible as ever, new material sounded good and they put on a good show, despite the sound being a tad ropey at times.
* Dragonforce – more cliches than you can shake a stick at. I am a big fan of Power Metal, but I can’t help but think these guys are a poor quality imitation of bands like Hammerfall, Stratovarious and Kamelot, just sped up and populated with endless self-gratifying, posing solos. I used to see these guys before they got signed, when they supported a bunch of bands at The Underworld in London. I am pretty surprised at how well they have taken off, particularly with the seeming over-saturation of Power Metal bands right now. But, nonetheless, a well executed show and good playing, and clearly the fans loved it, so more power to the people. 🙂
* Trivium – missed these on the previous tour with Annihilator, which annoyed me. Great show, and much more metal than I expected – was very impressed. Highly recommended. 🙂
* Machine Head – as expected, Machine Head pulled off a stunning show, and Rob Flynn is just a master at work. Great show, great playing and incredibly grounded interaction with the crowd – they seem like genuinely nice chaps. The only downside was that they butchered Davidian a bit as the adrenaline pumped, but it was an incredible show and Machine Head can still bring the heavy.
Great night all in all, and thanks hugely to Jason and Jim. 🙂
