Metal Reviews

Iron Maiden in Tulsa was fucking great! The band leaned a little too heavy on the new material for my taste but there were plenty of old school classics to satisfy the faithful. The lack of Run to the Hills was a big disappointment to most but the rare inclusion of Children of the Damned into the set was a nice treat. Musically, the well oiled Maiden machine was damn solid as expected although Nicko sadly appears to be slowing down quite a bit with age. Dickinson, on the other hand, was in phenomenal form considering his recent bout with cancer and fucking owned it from the very beginning. Opener The Raven Age was a pleasant surprise serving up plenty of tasty riffage and speedy drumming. Overall, a great night of metal. After seeing Priest a few years ago and now Maiden, there is no doubt that, at their current state, Maiden towers over their NWOBHM peer. The live energy and performance quality isn't even close.

Entombed AD and Exmortus last night. A mighty thin crowd even for a Monday night, but still a fine evening for the metal. The Exmortus boys were a solid opener with their fun mix of neoclassical and thrash, but the night belonged to Entombed...and the riffs. Mother of fucking Lemmy, those classic Entombed riffs just killed!

Saw Taake the other night. Great show!

Death Angel in September and Opeth in October. Should be a pair of great shows.

Also, Cavalera Conspiracy in September (playing Roots in it's entirety!!) and Malevolent Creation in late October. Fall concert series stacking up quite nicely.

I've got Belphegor/Shining coming up in a couple weeks and Marduk in September. Hopefully I can make it out to both.

Good show with Belphegor, Origin, Shining, Abigail Williams tonight.

Not super into Origin's style but Belphegor and Shining were really good minus the bit of guitar problems Shining had.

Cavalera Bros, Combichrist and a trifecta of locals last night. Combichrist got the pit moving early and often with an energetic blast of aggro crunch and a tirelessly, driving rhythm section. The drums really formed the centerpiece of the action featuring a pair of manic skinsmen done up like mutant Ronald McDonalds. It felt like Fear Factory on speed and they set the performance bar pretty high for the Cavaleras. But, as expected, Max and Iggor did not disappoint. Hearing Roots in it's entirety was a real treat but I, like most, were damn disappointed the brothers didn't drop a couple of old Sepultura favorites into the set. Still, slam-dancing to the likes of Ratamahatta and Spit conjured up warm and fuzzy feelings of those old high school days that didn't suck. A tour worth seeing if in your area, gents.

Malevolent Creation/Incantation tour cancelled due to exit of Malevolent's longtime bassist Jason Blachowicz. However, Vektor and Black Fast in November and Battlecross in December so still much tasty thrashiness over the rise ahead.

Just booked Maiden tickets for May.

Taake and Mayhem coming up locally in next couple of months.

yeah mayhem is here in 2 weeks then marduk in 3.

not sure if i'll go though.

No idea who the support is for Mayhem in Europe yet, apparently you guys are getting Black Anvil & Inquisition? Definitely would go if we got Inquisition...

Yep those two. The venue mayhem is playing at is right up the road from me so I'll probably go but the venue Marduk is at is like a 45 minute drive on the freeway so I might say fuck it and not go even though I really liked their last album.

Saw Mayhem and Inquisition tonight..was great!

Gorguts, Doyle (ex-Misfits) and Iron Maiden (again!! ) in June. Just announced, Megadeth/Meshuggah in July. Overtime monies will be put to good use.

Another cowardly attack by a lone loser on innocents going to a concert - this time mostly teenage girls.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ma ... r-40010124

shitty stuff. RIP.

Becoming more and more common these days sadly. Said lone loser has been tentatively linked to Al Quaeda and said to have received training abroad in Libya.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/manchester-concert-explosion/manchester-bomb-suspect-said-have-had-ties-al-qaeda-terrorism-n763691

PM May is stepping up security at public facilities and events but still no broad answers for combatting future attacks.

Hopefully no friends or family hurt in the blast, Zad?

No, thankfully. Was at the venue two weeks earlier to see Maiden, though, it's the local arena for big events.