The chance to finally see Helloween after being a huge fan of the band for almost 18 years now was something I couldn't pass up. Buying my tickets in June when they first went on sale, the 4 months between then and the concert seemed like an eternity. When the day finally arrived, I couldn't believe it....I was actually going to see Helloween!!! I would've preferred seeing them with Roland and Uli still in the band but nevertheless, it didn't dampen the excitement.

Getting into the show a bit late, we arrived during the middle of the opening act, Warmachine a great old school style of metal band from Toronto. I was very impressed by their set and so were lots of other people. They got a great response and their cover version of The Trooper by Iron Maiden was killer. I got a chance to meet lead vocalist and guitarist Joe Di Taranto after their set and got a copy of their promo CD that I will review in the coming weeks......thanks Joe!!

Next up was the U.S. based band Beyond The Embrace. Their 3 guitar attack death metal style with tons of lead harmonies was a real treat. I'd never heard anything by the band before and liked what I heard, especially the track, Rapture. They too were very appreciative and very well received.

Next on the bill was Jag Panzer, the veteran U.S. power metal outfit. Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin's vocals were absolutely unbelievable and easily the best vocal performance of the entire night. His Halford style delivery and piercing screams propelled the band's set which included such classics as Iron Eagle and lots of others from the Age Of Mastery album. The set was filled mainly with older classics but they threw in Take To The Sky from the Mechanized Warfare album, the band's latest release. This was the first time I'd seen them and they were smokin'!!!!

As the lights went out, the whole crowd started singing, "Happy, Happy Helloween....Helloween" as the band ripped into Starlight and Murderer from the very first Helloween E.P.....what a surprise!!!. Up next were Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Future World and Eagle Fly Free and the crowd was in a frenzy....this was what they came to hear!! They did mainly the hit singles from the later albums, Hey Lord, Forever And One, If I Could Fly, Power, Soul Survivor and I Can with Dr. Stein and a couple of tracks from the Rabbit Don't Come Easy album; Open Your Life and Backs Against The Wall which had to be restarted due to a technical glitch with the keyboard sampler to which Michael Weikath responded, "Don't you just love this technical stuff??"....a funny moment nonetheless. The band ended their set with a killer version of Where The Rain Grows from the Master Of The Rings album.

As encores, newcomer Sasha Gerstner came out with a cool sounding sitar guitar to play the opening chimes of Sun For The World, another from the new album before the rest of the band joined in. As Andi Deris announced How Many Tears everyone went nuts....they ripped into a smoking version of the song which sounded amazing and even featured a little comedic relief with Sasha and Micheal trying to play the quiet interlude together but instead just both fooled around. As the drums started up, the song ripped into gear again. A huge ending ensued with many apparent stops and starts again that ended with Markus Grosskopf dropping his bass onto the shoulders of Andi Deris to finish the big ending.

Andi Deris is a master showman and had the crowd singing along during an interlude in the song Power although I think vocally, he played it pretty "safe" in not straining his voice too much. Sasha Gerstner is a great guitarist and he kept trying in vain to get Micheal Weikath to look like he was even remotely interested in what he was doing rather than just standing there with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth most of the time. Stefan Schwarzmann is a killer skinsman and easily handled the demands that a speedy band like Helloween would put on any drummer. Technical difficulties with the wireless equipment resulted in many instrument changes for both Sasha and Michael for the first couple of songs but they were quickly worked out. I'm surprised they didn't play Just A Little Sign, the first single from the new album but a great diverse setlist nonetheless covering the band's entire career. Fantastic sound and with a crowd that probably didn't exceed 400 people, we had an intimate evening with Helloween and one that I will never forget. I can't believe that a band like Helloween couldn't draw more people than that in Toronto especially since both times I was at The Opera House before (Iced Earth and Blind Guardian), the place was almost full. All in all, a great metal show with four great bands and all for the amazing low price of 30 bucks (250 dollars top price ticket to go see the Eagles 2 days earlier at the Air Canada Center...forget it!!!). A great Friday night and with a glowing full moon, a great way to start the Halloween season!!!

Marty
Your Metal Reviews Team

---