Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Kino Šiška, Ljubljana
Concert date: 18.03.2013
Attendance: 600
Ticket price: €29.00 / €32.00
Shortly after eight, Brazil’s Shadowside took the stage in front of a surprisingly solid crowd and showed that the only exotic thing about them is that they come from Brazil and that the band is fronted by vocalist Dani Nolden. In a way-too-long, forty-minute set, Shadowside served up generic power metal you can hear on every street corner. To make things even worse and harder to swallow, the terrible sound squashed the lone guitar beneath an unbearable rumble of bass. The singer’s fairly solid vocals, which thankfully were far from any gothic warbling, didn’t lift the experience despite the effort. The crowd stayed sleepy and gave the band only the odd bit of applause, which, after the dreadful take on the Motörhead classic »Ace of Spades«, they didn’t even deserve.
But let’s be real, this time we were only waiting for two masters of German power metal, the first maybe even more than the second, since German heavyweights Gamma Ray with the legendary Kai Hansen were playing here for the first time ever. The anticipation was huge, mostly for that very reason, and it was all the sweeter that Gamma Ray delivered right from the opening with the Power Plant banger »Anywhere in the Galaxy«. The crowd was breathing with the energetic, wonderfully rowdy band from the very start, and more than once interrupted the foursome and visibly surprised them with a spontaneous chant of »Gamma Ray, Gamma Ray!« Charismatic frontman and German metal scene legend Kai Hansen didn’t let us down, getting the audience completely fired up, turning in a fantastic vocal performance and delivering a brilliant repertoire that didn’t skimp on anthems like »Men, Martians and Machines«, »The Spirit«, »Empathy« and »Rise«. Kai had a huge grin on his face the whole time, and the band radiated an almost childlike joy of playing. There was, of course, plenty of jumping around, climbing onto the platforms on both sides of new drummer Michael Ehré’s kit, bassist Dirk Schlächter’s »Manowar-style« posing and some »Judas Priest« hip-shaking. That last bit, along with the superb delivery of the Kai Hansen/Henjo Ricther guitar harmonies, got the biggest cheers. Since Gamma Ray have just released their new EP “Master of Confusion” (you can read the review HERE), they also treated us to two brand-new tracks, the title song and »Empire of the Undead«, which promise a new Gamma Ray banger after the fairly average To the Metal! The band had the crowd hitting the ceiling when Kai announced the iron Helloween classic »Future World« with its famous guitar intro. They then said goodbye with the cliché-ridden, average ode to metal »To the Metal«, and finally signed off in grand style with the fantastic »Send Me a Sign«.
After a half-hour changeover, the veterans in Helloween took the stage in properly pompous fashion. The obligatory AC/DC anthem »For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)« flowed into a live-played »intro«, »Wanna Be God«, and the Pumpkins stepped out from behind a camouflage curtain. The post-apocalyptic wrecked stage, decorated with pumpkins hidden behind gas masks, announced that the pumpkin soldiers were the rulers of the new world. Even so, Helloween kicked things off by plunging us into a fantasy world with the first single from the new album Straight Out of Hell (RockLine review HERE), »Nabatea«. With its epic »darkish« feel, it won us over even more live than on record, and it’s a real shame that Helloween somewhat soured an incredibly promising start with an unfortunate choice of repertoire. From the average current album we got as many as five songs, sadly precisely the ones that aren’t among its better ones. Instead of »Live Now!« and the boring ballad »Hold Me In Your Arms«, »Burning Sun« or »World of War«, for example, would have been much better picks. Still, Helloween had the crowd in the air with their left pinky right from the start, with an excellent run through the eternal classic »Eagle Fly Free«. Worth stressing here is how confidently Andi Deris held up all night, a singer whose vocals have let people down in the past. This time it went like clockwork, even if the mixing desk helped him out on the highest screams a few times, but it says plenty that he got through the Kiske-era songs satisfactorily too. Despite the top-notch performance, good sound and the always in-good-spirits Markus Grosskopf and Michael Weikath (their moves, poses and wild grimaces leave absolutely nobody cold), the energy dipped a little with the 7 Sinners track »Where the Sinners Go« and the novelty »Waiting For the Thunder«. But then came the first peak of the night, the Time of the Oath steel torturer »Steel Tormentor«, ruined only by an unnecessary, pointless drum solo from Dani Löble, who now sits behind a fortress of no fewer than four bass drums. Totally unnecessary and over-the-top showboating. Luckily, Weiki’s »I’m Alive« and the incredible »Falling Higher« fixed the taste. It’s such a shame that Helloween’s nineties remain so overlooked. The songs are clearly tailor-made for Deris, and the material from the excellent trio of Master of the Rings, The Time of the Oath and Better Than Raw remains some of the best that happened to heavy metal in the nineties, and an unjustly overlooked era. On that front, Helloween impressed much more on the first edition of the Hellish Rock tour. Still, they don’t deserve too harsh a rap, since they win people over above all with their energetic delivery and likable stage presence. This time Deris really shone, with his Kiss shirt and Gene Simmons impression, and even more so by not stretching the crowd’s patience into infinity with worn-out gags during »Power«. In the first encore Helloween set the place on fire with the infectious hit »Dr. Stein«, and the most anticipated moment was undoubtedly the finale, where Kai Hansen once again joined his old colleagues, or rather Markus and Weiki. The guys torched a first-rate medley of the eternal Halloween (too bad not the whole thing, like on the first tour), and even more thrilling was the return to the debut Walls of Jericho with »How Many Tears« and »Heavy Metal (Is the Law)«. An incredible performance, mostly thanks to the fantastic Kai, who gave us goosebumps especially when he stood shoulder to shoulder with Weiki and the two served up phenomenally played harmonies. The final and undoubtedly top moment was the closer with probably the biggest hit in German metal, »I Want Out«, where Gamma Ray (minus drummer Michael) joined Helloween on stage. The performance sent the crowd into ecstasy. The only thing that might have bugged anyone was the overlong teasing of »I Want Out«, but the sight of Kai next to Markus and Weiki outweighed any possible shortcomings.
The hellish rock night was a success. Helloween left a good six hundred heads thrilled, but still a bit hungry for a better choice of songs. The Pumpkins are without a doubt one of the biggest German bands and will always be welcome here, but they’re capable of much better, and the setlist badly needs a proper shake-up. Gamma Ray, on the other hand, impressed all the more, and let’s hope Kai keeps his promise and comes back to our parts with a headlining tour.
- You can read the interview with Helloween drummer Dani Löble, which RockLine did before the band’s show on March 18, 2013, at CUK Kino Šiška in Ljubljana, HERE.
Setlist
SHADOWSIDE:
1. I’m Your Mind
2. A.D.D.
3. Highlight
4. Hideaway
5. Gag Order
6. Ace of Spades
7. Waste of Life
8. Angel With Horns
GAMMA RAY:
1. Anywhere In the Galaxy
2. Men, Martians And Machines
3. The Spirit
4. Gamma Ray
5. Master of Confusion
6. Empire of the Undead
7. Empathy
8. Rise
9. Future World
10. To the Metal
— encore —
11. Send Me a Sign
HELLOWEEN:
1. Wanna Be God (intro)
2. Nabatea
3. Eagle Fly Free
4. Straight Out of Hell
5. Where the Sinners Go
6. Waiting For the Thunder
7. Steel Tormentor
8. Drum Solo/I’m Alive
9. Live Now!
10. Hold Me In Your Arms
11. Falling Higher
12. Hell Was Made In Heaven
13. Power
— encore 1 —
14. Are You Metal?
15. Dr. Stein
— encore 2 —
16. Halloween/How Many Tears/Heavy Metal (Is the Law)
17. I Want Out
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