Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Location: Ljubljana / Cvetličarna / Slovenia
Concert date: 09.03.2011
Attendance: 600
The Power of Metal tour brought Finnish power metallers Thaurorod to our shores for the first time, Denmark’s Mercenary back once again, and cult progressive metallers Psychotic Waltz for the first time since their reunion (they were supposed to play here a good 15 years ago, but that show fell through). As for the tour’s name, both headliners more than earned it: Seattle oddballs Nevermore and the big name of progressive metal, Symphony X.
First on stage were Finnish power metallers Thaurorod, whose strange name comes straight from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and means “evil mountain” in Elvish. Of course it does, what else. As clichéd as the name is, the music is hopelessly generic too, sounding like the bastard son of Italian and Finnish power metal. And what could possibly be “better” than propping up an already clichéd band with the posey Italian vocalist Michele Luppi, who previously did his charming thing in the Italian power metal outfit Vision Divine. The guys released their debut album Upon Haunted Battlefields last year, and presenting it got Thaurorod a cut-down half-hour slot. They can boast every single cliché that comes to mind with the power metal genre: neoclassical solos from the fingers of a glam-metal-slathered guitarist, keyboard wankery, made-up pretty boys, and a powerful vocal that, sadly, doesn’t stand out from the flood of similar vocalists in any way whatsoever. Thaurorod look totally confident on stage, if a bit too stagey, and they get through their set solidly. But they will never swim to the surface out of that flood of countless identical bands.
Danish outfit Mercenary bumped the evening up a notch in quality. Despite lineup troubles, they tirelessly crank out albums on the assembly line and keep gigging all over Europe. The Danes recently pulled a freshly baked record out of the oven, Metamorphosis, which they clearly gave the most attention in their forty minutes. They played four tracks from it, which sadly doesn’t mean anything good. Metamorphosis is a fitting title indeed, because with this record Mercenary sail even deeper into the waters of radio-friendly metal. The album is one more confirmation that the guys’ form has been steadily and steeply declining ever since 11 Dreams, the last truly good release from this band. The decline began with the departure of bassist Kral, who also handled the harsh vocals, and the final nail in the coffin was the exit of the excellent vocalist Mikkel Sandager. All vocal duties were taken over by new bassist Rene Pedersen, which sadly hasn’t made things any better for the band. The growls are painfully generic, and the aggression, epicness and atmosphere that Mercenary built so well on their first three albums are being ruined by an ever-growing share of sugary clean-sung choruses and moronic riffs. Rene doesn’t come anywhere near Mikkel’s conviction or Kral’s brutality. Mercenary did make it up a little with two tracks from 11 Dreams, but they came across far more convincingly in 2005, when Mercenary played that record with the old lineup, also in front of Nevermore.
The next act was something special, as the big comeback kids, cult progressive metal band from the nineties Psychotic Waltz, took the stage. The Californian group started out in 1986, put out four albums by 1997 (at least two of which count as some of the genre’s great classics!), and then split up far too soon. Charismatic vocalist Devon Graves (a.k.a. Buddy Lackey) went on to form Dead Soul Tribe, who even played Metalcamp twice but never got anywhere close to the greatness of Psychotic Waltz. In the general trend of reviving and bringing back legendary metal names, Psychotic Waltz returned to the scene under Devon Graves’ lead as well. Their long-awaited show was dominated by the hippie look of guitarist Dan Rock and the charismatic Graves, whose outfit looked like something out of a hippie commune’s hemp-sewn wardrobe. The good hour with Psychotic Waltz went by in correspondingly psychedelic sounds. A slightly clumsily chosen setlist, made up mostly of slower, rolling songs full of psychedelia and ethereal vibes, visibly put the crowd to sleep, but you can’t deny the band’s magic for a second. The attention was drawn mainly to the unique vocalist Graves, with his one-of-a-kind vocal lines and a truly powerful, convincing voice that moved somewhere between enchanted and dreamy, and then reached for impressive falsetto heights. The guitar duo of Rock and McAlpin did no worse. Brian McAlpin especially, wheelchair-bound after a serious car accident, didn’t lag behind his partner one bit, and together they took care of the psychotic riffs, psychedelic, otherworldly solos and fractured rhythms. The somewhat older Psychotic Waltz were a joy to see on stage in such great form. Sadly they missed the mark a bit with an overly dreamy and sleepy setlist, but on the other hand, this was the real, genuine Into the Everflow!
Then it was finally time for the first of the eagerly awaited co-headliners to take over the stage, Seattle heavyweights Nevermore. The band that rose from the ashes of cult Sanctuary finally managed to reach a wider audience with the new album The Obsidian Conspiracy, though I still think Nevermore remain the top pick for well-heeled connoisseurs who know exactly who can satisfy their high demands for brain-melting metal. Riding the success of the new record, Nevermore returned after six years to the scene of the crime, where in 2005 they left chalk outlines of bodies all over Cvetličarna after spectacularly presenting the album of the time, This Godless Endeavor. The Seattleites, who in the early, turbulent nineties flipped the bird to the necktie-wearing cattle who told them they’d expected something slightly more grungy, hit like a tsunami with the opener Inside Four Walls. A claustrophobic crusher about a friend of the band who ended up behind bars for possessing the wrong substances, it got the crowd on their feet. After the catatonic effect of Psychotic Waltz, the crowd woke up in an instant and limbs flew in all directions. Nevermore proved they’re still in top form! Warrel Dane, who suffered a bit from throat problems at past festival shows (Metalcamp, for instance) and consequently delivered weaker vocal performances, this time lived up to his name as one of the best vocalists around. Dane, who even trained as an opera singer, brilliantly strung together phenomenal lines and delivered emotion-charged vocals to perfection, grounded in his brilliant lyrics. Dane needed a little help only for the highest falsetto screams, when the mixing desk lent a hand, but otherwise we hadn’t heard Warrel this fresh and convincing in a good while. Alongside Warrel, the essence of Nevermore is built around the brilliant lines of guitar wizard Jeff Loomis. Without his “out of the box” innovative riffs and spectacular, breathtaking solos, you simply can’t imagine this band. New session guitarist Attila Vörös slalomed deftly around Jeff’s lines and proved he’ll fully earn a spot as a permanent member. The 24-year-old visibly enjoys himself on stage, living the dream of playing in his favorite band, which you could see from the wide grin that didn’t leave Attila’s face until the end of the show. Nevermore wouldn’t be what they are without a full and mighty rhythm section either, and madman drummer Van Williams showed how to pound a kit. Van is certainly one of the more innovative drummers around right now, since his fills are thought-out and full of great ideas. Only the charismatic bassist Jim Sheppard was missing this time, as he’s dealing with health problems again. They found a brain tumor, but luckily it turned out to be benign, and Jim is already recovering well after surgery. Jim was replaced confidently and assuredly by Dagna Silesia, who normally plays bass in Warrel Dane’s solo band, and precisely because they know each other so well, Warrel has helped himself to her more than once, hehe. Nevermore played four tracks from the new album, which sound hellishly good live, plus the classics Born, The Heart Collector and The River Dragon Has Come, hit the peak with the incredible ten-minute epic This Godless Endeavor, and wrapped up far, far too quickly with the crushing, cataclysmic Enemies of Reality. The only minus of this Nevermore show is truly its shortness, which forced them to skip many gems of their discography. But as Poe’s raven already chirped: “Quath the Raven, ‘Nevemore’ … And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted – nevermore!”
And the American progressive metal veterans really had a tough job taking the stage after Nevermore’s hellish set. Symphony X walked out confidently and assuredly, just as befits one of the genre’s bigger and more important bands. Led by the excellent Russell Allen, Symphony X opened with the punchy Of Sins and Shadows, which showed the band’s phenomenal form but, sadly, also the worst sound of the night. Thanks to the dirty, muddy sound, the instrumental masters Michael Romeo, Michael Pinella and Michael LePond (has this band ever thought about renaming itself Michael, hehe) and Jason Rullo didn’t shine the way they should have. The neoclassical solo adventures of the incredible Romeo came out quiet and flimsy, and so did his stage presence, as Romeo didn’t move a single centimeter. Luckily the fantastic Allen provided the dynamics, animating the crowd with incredible ease. They ate out of his hand, and he made it perfectly clear why he’s counted among the best vocalists in (progressive) metal. Now angry and aggressive, now light, calm and emotional, the Americans sailed through songs that mostly came from the still-current album Paradise Lost. Somewhat surprisingly, almost half the set came from that record, which is excellent, but it meant Symphony X completely ignored what is probably their studio peak, the album V: The New Mythology Suite. Maybe that’s even for the best, since the awful sound completely buried Michael Pinella’s keyboards, which otherwise do such a great job building Symphony X’s unique atmosphere. The New Jersey outfit also played two tracks from the upcoming album Iconoclast, which by the sound of it promises another excellent release. But besides the bad sound, Symphony X had one more flaw, and that’s the short set. I truly hope we can look forward to this band again here in the future, with much better sound and a proper headline show that gives them time to play the unrepeatable epic The Odyssey.
The Power of Metal package was one that delivered a varied bill and two phenomenal co-headliners. Sadly, this time the concert experience was spoiled by bad sound for every single act, and from both tour headliners it’s simply only fair to demand a set at least half as long again.
Setlist
MERCENARY:
1. Intro
2. World Hate Center
3. The Endless Fall
4. Through the Eyes of the Devil
5. In a River of Madness
6. In Bloodred Shades
7. The Follower
8. Firesoul
PSYCHOTIC WALTZ:
1. Ashes
2. Spiral Tower
3. Haze One
4. Into The Everflow
5. Morbid 6. Halo Of Thorns
7. Nothing
8. I Of The Storm
NEVERMORE:
1. Inside Four Walls
2. Moonrise (Through Mirrors of Death)
3. The Termination Proclamation
4. Your Poison Throne
5. Born
6. The Heart Collector
7. The River Dragon Has Come
8. Emptiness Unobstructed
9. This Godless Endeavor
10. Enemies of Reality
SYMPHONY X:
1. Of Sins and Shadows
2. Domination
3. The Serpent’s Kiss
4. End of Innocence
5. Paradise Lost
6. Inferno (Unleash the Fire)
7. Smoke and Mirrors
8. Dehumanized
9. Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)
10. Sea of Lies
Photo gallery
