1984 Year in Review Part 2 - Ep142

We're back this week to tackle the second half of a great year of pop culture and rock and roll. Tons of news stories including Madonna's controversial MTV awards appearance, Ted Turner's ill-fated Cable Music Channel and the horrible death of Hanoi Rocks member Razzle. All that, and more, underscored with music from Icon, Dio, Grim Reaper, Y&T, Helix, WASP, Metallica and many, many more!

July:

July 1 - The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA

A: DIO - Mystery - The Last in Line (7/2)

C: Icon - On Your Feet - Icon (7/7)

A: Grim Reaper - See You in Hell - See You in Hell (7/13)

July 14 - Eddie Van Halen makes a special guest appearance at a concert by The Jacksons in Dallas, Texas, playing the guitar solo for "Beat It" live.

July 20 - Vanessa Williams is asked to resign as Miss America

C: Quiet Riot - Condition Critical - Condition Critical  (7/27)

A: Metallica - Creeping Death - Ride the Lightning (7/27)

BREAK 1

Break Return Song:

Queensryche - Warning - The Warning

Groups Formed:

Dinosaur Jr., Frehley’s Comet, GWAR, Half Man Half Biscuit, Helloween, Living Colour, Nuclear Assault, The Offspring, Primus, Sepultura, Soundgarden, Warrant

Bands Disbanded:

Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, Shrieve (HSAS), Hollywood Rose, Kansas, Missouri, Vanilla Fudge

C: Y&T - Rock & Roll’s Gonna Save the World - In Rock We Trust(7/84)

C: Helix - When the Hammer Falls - Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge (7/7)

August:

A: Fastway - Station - All Fired Up (8/1)

August 9 – Iron Maiden kicks off the World Slavery Tour in Warsaw, Poland, with shows in Hungary and Yugoslavia soon to follow. This marks the first time a Western band has ever brought a full concert production behind the Iron Curtain.

August 10 - Red Hot Chili Peppers release their debut album The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

August 11 - During a radio voice test Pres Reagan joked he "signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes"

C: Krokus - Midnight Maniac - The Blitz (8/22)

A: W.A.S.P. - Animal (Fuck Like a Best) - W.A.S.P. (8/17)

August 31 – Canadian music video channel MuchMusic begins broadcasting. The first video played is Rush's "The Enemy Within".

Break 2

Break Return Song:

Stryper - From Wrong to Right - The Yellow & Black Attack

Movies Released:

• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Gremlins
• Karate Kid
• Footloose
• Ghostbusters
• Red Dawn
• Terminator (“I’ll be back.”)
• Nightmare on Elm Street
• Beverly Hills Cop
• Police Academy
• The NeverEnding Story
• Sixteen Candles
• Romancing the Stone

September:

September 2 – Van Halen concludes its 1984 world tour with a show in Nuremberg, Germany as part of the Monsters of Rock festival tour. This would be the band's last concert with David Lee Roth as lead singer until 2007.

A: Iron Maiden - Back in the Village - Powerslave (9/3)

A: The Cult - Spiritwalker - Dreamtime (9/10)

September 12 - Cyndi Lauper sings "She-Bop" on Tonight Show

C: KISS - I’ve Had Enough (Into the Fire) - Animalize (9/13)

C: Dokken - Just Got Lucky - Tooth & Nail (9/13)

BREAK 3

Break Return Song:

Armored Saint - Can U Deliver - March of the Saint

Born:

Mark Zuckerberg, Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy), Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Kelly Osbourne, Ashlee Simpson

Died:

Andy Kaufman, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Count Basie, Ernest Tubb, Razzle

September 14 – The first annual MTV Video Music Awards are held in New York City. Herbie Hancock wins the most awards with five, andThe Cars take the highest prize of Video Of The Year for "You Might Think". Much attention is garnered by Madonna's controversial performance of her hit single "Like a Virgin" in which she rolls around on the stage, revealing lacy stockings and garters, and grinds her crotch against her veil.

A:  Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers - Perfect Strangers (9/16)

September 21 – The first compact disc manufacturing plant in North America opens in Terre Haute, Indiana. CDs have previously had to be expensively imported from Japan or West Germany. Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. is designated as the first CD ever made in the United States.

October:

C: Ramones - I’m Not Afraid of Life - Too Tough to Die (10/1)

October 26 – Turner Broadcasting System launches Cable Music Channel, a music video channel intended to compete directly with MTV. The first video played is "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman. The channel would only last 34 days.

November 6 - Reagan beats Mondale; winning 49 states.

November 20 – Michael Jackson receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame directly in front of Mann's Chinese Theater. Jackson leaves after only three minutes at the request of security, as the crush of 5,000 onlookers becomes a safety concern.

December

December – Tipper Gore forms the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in response to the "filth" she hears on her daughter's Prince album Purple Rain.

December 8 – Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil is involved in a serious car accident. He is drunk at the time, and Razzle (Nicholas Dingley) of Hanoi Rocks is killed in the accident.

December 31 - Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm in a car wreck.

Playout:

C: Hanoi Rocks - Underwater World - Two Steps from the Move (8/84)

Geeks of the Week:

Facebook:

Joseph Ciambelli, Todd Cunningham, Shane Hebert, Chris Karam, Joel Hebensperger, Devin Fox, Joe Lascon, Wayne Cross, Wally Norton, Derik Novak, I-am Hoops, Holland Exciter, Lee Maslin (Audio Junkies Podcast), Matt Syverson (Paperback Rocker Podcast), Jason Thomas Broadrick, JTB’s Groovy Record Room, James Brendon Dunn, Brent Walter, Billy Hardaway, Mike Stewart, Darren Parkin, Scot Yeager, Sit and Spin with Joe, Rodney Dickson, Andrew Jacobs

Twitter:

Van Halen Rising, Derik Novak, Hard Rock Dad, Alisa W, Darryl Alber, Jack Russell, Nonsensicast Radio, MusicMagsAndWax, Don Nitschke, BillyHaleHardaway, Matt Syverson

***ITUNES REVIEW****

Super Show! *****

By Joel Hebensperger

These guys rock! If you love hard rock and/or heavy metal these are the guys to listen to. They have a heavy KISS slant but it’s not all about KISS. They cover rock and metal from all kinds of angles and it’s really interesting. Both have all kinds of odd knowledge about the music and artists they love. I especially love the KISSMAS in July episodes and can’t wait for the 2014 version. You like Vinnie Vincent? They’ve done FIVE episodes dedicated to the man. Subscribe and ENJOY!!!

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A DOZEN ALBUMS FROM 1984 THAT YOU SHOULD HEAR

My purpose with this list is to potentially turn the average hard rockin' decibel geek on to some quality albums from 1984 that perhaps they may have not considered investigating previously, so this is not a list of my favorite albums from 1984 but rather a list of some albums from that year that I like quite a bit and feel perhaps you might like as well if (in some instances) you give them a chance. Enjoy.

12. Zebra - No Tellin' Lies

Hard rockers from New Orleans Zebra would really hit their stride on their third album 3V in 1986 but the band's second album No Tellin' Lies, produced by Jack Douglas, is quite good, definitely maintaining the quality of the band's debut.

11. Minor Threat - Minor Threat

Minor Threat were an early Washington D.C. hardcore band and the precursor to one of the coolest bands of the nineties, Fugazi. Led by the inimitable Ian MacKaye they were an aggressively independent band with their own record label and a clear agenda.

10. Trouble - Psalm 9

Trouble were a very cool heavy metal band out of Chicago. They would reinvent themselves later in their career making some very cool "doom metal" albums for Def American but on this, their first release, they were playing a more traditional brand of heavy metal, and doing it quite well.

9. Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling

Savatage were an innovative metal band out of Florida. Their first two albums Sirens and The Dungeons Are Calling feature a highly original take on heavy metal. They streamlined the sound when they signed with a major label but their Atlantic debut Power of the Night is still a killer album. After that they made a couple of weak attempts at finding mainstream acceptance before wisely reverting back to their classic sound on Hall of the Mountain King.

8. Husker Du - Zen Arcade

Husker Du were a Minneapolis hardcore band that morphed into a pop punk band. I've always had mixed feelings about the guitar tone and overall production on the records, not to mention Bob Mould's voice, but the quality of the songwriting is undeniable. Their best albums were yet to come but Zen Arcade set the table for their personal renaissance.

7. R.E.M. - Reckoning

R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur is very highly regarded and rightfully so but I would argue that their sophomore release Reckoning is just as good, probably better, and the album's opening track "Harborcoat" is probably my favorite R.E.M. song. I know a lot of metal and hard rock fans regard R.E.M. as lightweight but they were a different band on these first two albums, cutting edge and very cool with a strong post-punk ethos.

6. The Alarm - Declaration

The Alarm were a killer new wave band from North Wales with hair as high as their aspirations. Declaration is their debut full length record and it features a highly energetic and original take on rootsy rock and roll for the eighties. Great stuff.

5. Big Country - Steeltown

Previous band The Alarm were doing something very similar to Big Country whose second album Steeltown, while not nearly as good as their brilliant debut The Crossing from the previous year, is still very, very good.

4. Queen - The Works

While it may be hard to top the Queen of the seventies Queen wrote some great songs in the eighties as well. They might have taken some misguided detours along the way but all of their albums (except maybe Hot Space) are worth checking out, and 1984's The Works might be one of the most overlooked. The singles "Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" are great and "Hammer To Fall" is an absolutely fantastic hard rocker.

3. The Go-Go's - Talk Show

I love the Go-Go's and you should too. They started out as a punk band you know. They were very talented songwriters and musicians. Not a gimmick, they were great. Talk Show is their third and last album (of the eighties at least) and it's a good record but the real gem here is the opening track and first single, an amazing driving rock song called "Head Over Heels." I freakin' love that song, it's probably their best.

2. Slade - Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply

This was the American version of Slade's 1983 UK release called The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome and this album included Slade's biggest hit in America (not counting those Quiet Riot covers), a bouncy new wave song called "Run Runaway." I love that song but it's important to note that a lot of this record is hooky hard rock, not to be missed. It's a great album by a GREAT band.

1. The Replacements - Let It Be

I am not sure how many Decibel Geek listeners are Replacements fans but I am guessing not enough. The Replacements were a quintessential rock and roll band. This is my favorite album by the band, it's a classic album deserving of a spot in the rock and roll pantheon. And they cover "Black Diamond."

The Greatest Year Of My Youth - 1984

When I heard that 1984 would be the next year for a Year In Review show, I couldn't help but smile. I immediately started thinking about all of the great music released that year but also remembering how this was the year I truly became a Decibel Geek. For me, the year 1984 could very well be the greatest year for music ever.

To understand that, let me explain why I feel this way. I think for most people, especially as an only child we are first influenced by our parents music. For me this was Saturday afternoons when my Dad would break out his records and crank up our big wooden console record player. Elvis, CCR and Little Richard would be the soundtrack to me playing with my Star Wars toys on the living room floor.

A few things happened in 1983 that lit a spark inside me. On the radio one day came a voice "Gunter, Glieben, Glauchen, Globen", Def Leppard released Pyromania and Rock of Ages exploded onto mainstream radio. I had suddenly found "my" music. It was ironic that an album called Pyromania would light the fire that became my all encompassing passion for music.

The next thing that happened was a new TV show called Friday Night Videos. A late night music video show that embraced hard rock. Soon I was introduced to Quiet Riot (awesome!). Then in September of 1983 came the "one, two punch", Kiss's "Lick It Up" video followed the next week by Motley Crue's "Looks That Kill" and that was it. I was hooked, down came the Star Wars posters and soon my room was a shrine to all things ROCK!



So when New Years 1984 rang in, the floodgates of heavy metal were open and I was loving every loud, hair sprayed minute of it. This would be a year of many firsts. My first rock t shirts, I remember clearly taking the bus into Hamilton and visiting "RocknTees" for the first time. We spent hours looking through every shirt and every poster they sold. I purchased two shirts that Saturday (a Def Leppard and Motley Crue) and couldn't wait until Monday morning to wear them to school.

In June of 84 came my first concert. Motley Crue/Accept on the Shout At The Devil Tour. I left the show with ringing ears and a smile that continued for weeks. By the end of the year I would also see Ratt/Santers on the Out Of The Cellar tour and then KISS/Queensryche on the Animalize Tour. Add concert addiction to my music obsession.

A coming of age year, 1984 was my last year of middle school and my first year of high school. Many memories of wandering around town with my buddies and a big "ghetto blaster" listening to our favourite bands and proudly sharing it with everyone in ear shot and that list of favourite bands grew exponentially in 1984 as the golden age of metal was just picking up steam. Dio, Helix, Kick Axe, Dokken, W.A.S.P., Y&T, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Scorpions, Coney Hatch, and of course Canada's Metal Queen Lee Aaron. It was a veritable smorgasbord of melodic heavy metal music and it seemed every week something amazing was being released.

It was fun and exciting witnessing the rise of this genre. Before the over saturation, before the watered down 3rd rate bands came to the surface, every release seemed exciting and fresh. 1984 could really be described as the "Rise of Metal". I look back and am so thankful that I got to live out that year in my Crue T-shirt, my denim vest adorned with a few dozen metal buttons wandering the streets, tunes blasting. Our biggest problem was finding money for batteries to power the tunes!

To experience 1984 in music click here!

Oh how I love German power metal, and Sinbreed is no exception!

In late March of this year, German power metallers Sinbreed released their second album, Shadows. This album was four years in the making, and to my ears it was time well spent. Band leader and lead guitarist Flo Laurin has said that the time was used to craft better songs and to create more of a cohesive band sound. Shadows as an album clearly accomplishes that, containing 10 punishing, uncompromising, power metal tracks that do not let up from start to finish.

The album opens with the first single and video, Bleed. This track is the best single representation of the whole album. It has the non stop driving force of constant double bass drumming, terrific speedy guitar leads, and fantastic soaring vocals from singer Herbie Langhaus. When I think of German power metal, I instinctively expect higher octave vocals, but  Langhaus is not that type of singer. His range is lower with a sound very similar to that of Accept's Mark Tornillo. This style adds a darker, more agressive feel to the songs which takes them to another level sonically.  Next song is Call to Arms, which is one of the faster songs on the album. The title track Shadows is next, which is the darkest, heaviest song on the album. The next three songs Reborn, Leaving the Road, and Far too Long each have a unique characteristic that stands out to me. Reborn has some of the best vocals on it, Leaving the Road has great lead guitar work, and Far Too Long is probably the fastest song on the album. Black Death is the next song, and my favorite on the album. It opens with a killer guitar riff that carries throughout the whole song. Broken Wings has a great acoustic guitar opening, and London Moon is another solid metal tune. The album closes withy the seven minute plus opus, Standing Tall. This is a terrific album closer that is a brutal assault on your senses.

All in all this is one of, if not the best metal release for me so far this year. If each song is worth one point then I would give this album 8 out of 10.

Grand Magus Triumph and Power

Grand Magus are a Swedish heavy metal band founded in 1996 by vocalist and guitarist JB Christoffersson and bassist Fox Skinner. Their first release came in 2001 and this years' Triumph and Power marks their seventh studio release. Ludde Witt joined the band on drums in 2010 and is a big part of the sound of this album.

Grand Magus' music is described as somewhere between the slower tempos and thicker heavier sound of doom metal and the groove laden bass heavy sound with melodic vocals that characterizes stoner metal. Overall, I would say that this album fits into that characterization and the production gives the sound and ancient feel that goes along with the lyrical themes.

The album opens with On Hooves of Gold, which starts with the erie sound of a single acoustic guitar then this escalates into a plodding beat and a soaring vocal. The next two songs Steel Versus Steel and Fight are my favorites on the album. First is Steel Versus Steel which makes me feel like I'm in the middle of battle amongst ancient Vikings, I can almost hear the clinking of the swords. Fight has a solid riff and comes across as the anthem on the album. The title track Triumph and Power is a good mid tempo, groove laden song that really shows off how strong a vocalist Christoffersson is. Dominator is a strong up tempo song, but then it is followed by one of the two instrumentals. As far as instrumentals go, I'm not a big fan. I am sure that Arv and Ymer may add some atmoshpere to the record, but aside from some decent acoustic guitar playing and unusual sounds there is not a lot there. The seventh song is Holmgang which is a power rock song with some tasty guitar work. The Naked and the Dead is a decent song that probably has the fastest beat on the album. The album finishes with The Hammer Will Bite, which is an epic and powerful closer. It starts with the same acoustic opening that On Hooves of Gold does and then opens up great hard rock riff. Great song to close out the album. 

All in all, this is a very competent heavy metal album but does not really break any new ground. If each song was worth one point, I would give this album a 5 out of 8.(I do not count instrumentals)

Meister in Sweden 2014: You Wanted the Sun, You Got the Sun!

 This morning I awoke drenched in sweat as the bright sun pounded down on my tent......this is much better than the damp, cold, rainy overcast skies of the past couple of days!  After freshening up in the shower trailer (not as fun as it sounds, trust me!) I headed out for a long day of rock with many acts on my "hitlist" for today.  Once in the festival area I noticed that there seemed to be an issue with the washrooms as all except the large one between the Rockklassiker Stage and 4 Sound Stage were closed down.  That one was being policed by two officers controlling the already building line to make use of it.  I heard rumor that it was a water issue and I sure hope they get this fixed soon as the sun was already beating down harshly and concert goers will need a water re-filling station.  No matter for me at this point of the day, I'll just hydrate with beer!

Kings of the Sun-photo by Meister

Kings of the Sun were the first band of the day and although they were something that I wanted to see, they conflicted with another act that I was looking forward to, Thundermother, starting shortly afterwards.  There were quite a few K.O.T.S. shirts around and I was surprised at the following that this Australian band had here in Sweden.  With the drummer handling the vocals and proclaiming that Kings of the Sun brought the sun for us, their spirited songs, "Rockpile" and "Switchblade Knife" started off a great day of rock!  I would have liked to catch more of their set but it was off to check about re-filling my water bottle with the sun ravaging me already and then pass by Thundermother for a bit, planning to return to K.O.T.S. later.

Clare Cunningham-by Meister

The washroom police were still controlling a large line-up so my impatience led me to a Sofiero (beer) beverage instead of water!  Thundermother is a band that I had discovered through another Swedish group, Sister Sin.  While watching an online concert of Sister Sin, Thundermother was the next band on the stage in the video.  This quintet of ladies (and we all know how lady rockers captivate my attention) stormed the Rocklassiker Stage, ripping through "Man With Blues".  Also proclaiming that they

Filippa Nasil-photo by Meister

brought the sun, it was time for a shot of Fireball to wake them up before "The Dangerous Kind".  Tracks such as "Cheers", "Thunderous", "Please Me", "Rock n Roll Disaster" and "Shoot to Kill" all collected together with more Fireball for a great set that before I knew it was over and I'd not made it back to Kings of the Sun!  Must purchase CD immediately (which I somehow failed to do while I was at the Festival!)!

Crossing the festival grounds to The Rock Stage with the intention of catching the last half of Talisman I was derailed by the overwhelming need to void my bladder.  With every toilet still on lock down and the huge line still policed at the only one that was open I decided to try the VIP/Press area.  This one was closed as well, but at least "the trough" was available!  I was able to hear some of Talisman from the VIP area as I decided to get in some quick camera/phone charging and they sounded great from way over here!  I was able to catch songs like the cover of Seal's "Crazy" and "Dangerous".

Jaguar-photo by Meister

Leaving the sanctuary of the VIP and Jagermeister ladies once again I headed back out to see Jaguar. Formed in the UK in the late 70's they were a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, issuing a couple of albums in the 80's before they disbanded.  Arriving late, they were into "Feel the Heat" with the vocalist down in the photo pit and they were sounding great.  "Dutch Connection", "Axe Crazy" and "Stormchild" were all tunes that I recognized and the final song of "War Machine" was chosen after polling the crowd.  I really enjoyed Jaguar and I hope that I'll be fortunate enough to catch another live experience.

After Jaguar had left the stage I began to make my way over to Sweden Stage in preparations for Q5.  This day I had chosen for my attire a white Decibel Geek tee-shirt and on my way over to the next stage I was stopped by a gentleman who said that he loves the podcast, especially Aaron Camaro's perfect radio voice and he listens all the time!  I should have gotten his name and a photo, but instead thanked him for listening and passed him my card.  Cheers to the mystery Swedish Decibel Geek!

Q5-photo by The Meister

Q5 played what I thought was an excellent set although as I had noticed more than once on the Sweden Stage, the guitar especially needed to be much louder.  Songs such as "Rock On", "Pull the Trigger", "Missing in Action", "When the Mirror Cracks", "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady", "Steel The Light" and "Teenage Runaway" filled out the setlist.  These guys were excellent and one of the few sets that I was able to catch the full thing of all weekend.  If you've not heard of Q5, start with their 1984 issue Steel The Light, it's really all you need!

Conny Bloom-by Meister

After spending a few minutes with a friend from the UK and a couple of quick beers in the VIP it was back out to catch some of The Electric Boys.  When Lynch Mob cancelled their appearance the week or so prior to the festival, these guys stepped in to save the day.  Not being familiar with their music and not having any time to research before leaving for this event I was a little lost, but they were quite good.   Their music has a decided funk feel to it and really gets your toe tapping.  I'm told that frontman Conny Bloom is somewhat of a hero here.  I was only able to catch three of their funk infused songs including "Captain of My Soul" and their hit single "All Lips And Hips" and I'd like to see a full set sometime, but until then it's CD shopping I go!

TNT-photo by The Meister

The next big event on my list was TNT.  I have long enjoyed their music and was thrilled to get the opportunity to see them live on 2013's Monsters of Rock Cruise.  That performance was with Tony Mills handling the vocal duties, but he has since left the band and original vocalist, Tony Harnell has returned.  Harnell has a powerful voice and the whole band sounded great for this show celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Intuition album.  They played a healthy selection from that release including "Intuition", "Caught Between the Tigers", "Forever Shine On", "End Of the Line" and "Tonight I'm Falling".  They also worked in some other Harnell led material such as "Seven Seas", "Downhill Racer", "Northern Lights" and "10,000 Lovers (In One)" but as to be expected no Mills led material was played.

Annihilator-photo by Meister

Somewhere during TNT, as hard as it was, I slipped away to support fellow Canadians, thrash metal band Annihilator.  I figured that I'd have a better chance of seeing them in Canada, but wanted to get at least a little of the set as it would be my first experience.  The Canadian flag posted on the drum kit was a nice touch and the first thing that I noticed approaching during "Reduced To Ash".  Some goofing around and the lick to "Chicken & Corn" brought us to "Alison Hell" during which there was a slight tech issue halting the performance and again prompting "Chicken & Corn".  "W.T.Y.D." followed the resumption of "Alison Hell" and I made my way back to TNT.

Next up was Kamelot, a symphonic metal outfit with dual vocalists, male and female, but about half a song was too much for me.  It had already been a long day of rock with the harsh Swedish sun bearing down on me and I had to retreat and rest.

Heaven's Basement-by The Meister

My next event after meeting people in the VIP/Press area was Heaven's Basement.  Unfortunately I was extremely late, getting caught up in conversation with a newly made friend and only made the last two songs of the set.  I had seen Heaven's Basement before when they opened for Buckcherry here in Toronto and that night the singer was sick.  I don't just mean not feeling well so he gave a weak performance, he was actually puking into a steel pail on stage!  He announced that all he could see across the way (Kamelot) was dragons and fire before starting into "Reign On My Parade".  This hardly seemed like the same guy that was filling the bucket on stage in Toronto as he was bashing his head off the cymbals and had the crowd jumping, in fact the most "into it" I'd seen yet from a crowd!  The awesome "Executioner's Day" wrapped things up.

W.A.S.P.-photo by The Meister

Wasting no time I headed over to Rock Stage for W.A.S.P., something I was looking forward to.  As the floodlights swirled around the stage a recorded intro of a medley of W.A.S.P. songs played.  Tons of fireball pyro was expended during the opening track, "On Your Knees".  "The Torture Never Stops" followed and I noticed the saw blades on Blackie Lawless' arms.  The backdrop curtain, depicting a saw blade proclaiming 32 years of W.A.S.P.

W.A.S.P.-photo by Meister

 dropped away revealing a Headless Children backdrop for "The Real Me".  "L.O.V.E. Machine", "Crazy", "Wildchild", "Sleeping In The Fire", "Forever Free" and "I Wanna Be Somebody", including some audience participation, all came before a rather boring collection of songs thanks to The Crimson Idol album.  The best effort from that release in my opinion, "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)" led us into "Heaven's Hung In Black" and from there the closer of "Blind In Texas".  At the end of "Blind In Texas" the PA totally cut out during the last few seconds of the song leaving the band looking like they were miming.  A great show, glad I finally saw W.A.S.P.!

Black Sabbath-photo by Meister

Now over to Festival Stage for Black Sabbath!  "War Pigs" led the charge and I was amazed at just how good they all sounded, especially Ozzy's voice.  "Into The Void" and "Snowblind" followed and while I'm a fan (not rabid fan mind you) and appreciate what this band has done for metal I find the songs too long and drawn out instrumentally for my real liking, especially after such a long day in the sun which was finally retreating.  "Age of Reason" and "Black Sabbath" came next and Ozzy's random "cuckooing" in between songs peppered the set.  The dismal gloomy, depressing feeling of the music overtook me and it was time to rest my feet once again, hearing "N.I.B.", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Rat Salad" and "Iron Man" from the sanctuary of the VIP/Press area as I charged my gear and had a beer once again.  I made it back out for the ending selections of "God Is Dead?", "Children of the Grave" and of course "Paranoid".

U.D.O.-photo by The Meister

Now something more "up my alley" was about to happen, but was also disappointing at the same time.  I have never seen Megadeth, succeeding in missing them every single time in Toronto and thought this would finally be my chance.  Not to be as they had cancelled their appearance, and understandably so, a couple of weeks before due to a death in one of the band's family.  German power metaller and former Accept frontman U.D.O. stepped in to fill the void which was fine by me, but I still miss out on a Megadeth show! The stout singer's gruff, gravelly vocals led his band through a huge set that had to be over two hours runtime.  After an intro of The Beastie Boys "Fight For Your Right" the incredibly tight band ripped through a set starting off like this: "Steelhammer", "King of Mean", "Future Land", "Cry of a Nation", "Stranger", "They Want War" and "Animal House".

Death SS-by Meister

I thought I'd better go and quickly check out Death SS for a few minutes when the guitar solo cropped up.  I'd checked out some of their compositions prior to arriving here in Sweden but I was unfamiliar with this song.  It didn't really matter as I barely heard it anyway, my concentration was on the basically nude young lady on stage.  For the next song, which I was also unfamiliar with, she returned dressed in white.  I didn't dislike their industrial flavored brand of metal but with not knowing the material well enough I headed back over to U.D.O..

U.D.O.-photo by The Meister

"Never Cross My Way", "Stay True", "No Limits" and "Metal Machine" greeted my return and welcomed me back wonderfully.  I noticed John Nyman, guitarist for Y&T checking out the Sweden Rock Merchandise at the Sweden Rock Shop Booth which I was standing near, away from the crowd to enjoy U.D.O.  "Go Back To Hell", "Timebomb" and "Metal Heart" came before U.D.O. asked the crowd "you want some more of this old shit?".  He obliged the crowd finishing up with the three punch hit of Accept classics "Balls to the Wall", "I'm A Rebel" and "Fast As A Shark".  What an awesome show from a great performer with his distinctive throaty growl laid over some great power metal.  Sad to have missed my best so far chance at Megadeth, but thrilled that U.D.O. and his band were able to rock me like this!

Time for sleeping!
The Meister

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Links to 2013's "A Canadian Decibel Geek in Sweden" series.

(Prelude to Departure) (Days #1 & 2) (Day #3) (Day #4) (The Final Day)