Some quick thoughts on the Metal Masters kickoff tour in Camden, NJ. Sorry, but I didn't take a set list for the first two. I was being lazy for Testament, and have trouble ID'ing all the Motorhead songs.
Testament - a heavy opener. They sounded good. I like the new album, and they got only 30 minutes, but did they have to pretty much ignored the 1980's? I don't recall anything from 'Practice What You Preach'. No Over the Wall. No Electric Crown. No Apocalyptic City. No Souls of Black. Wow. Still, Billy and the band played hard for their short time, and it was good to see them again.
Motorhead - 45 minutes. They sounded, well, just like Motorhead. Just like Dickinson, Dio, etc, I count Lemmy among the old vocalists that still sounds the same as he did in the 80's. Of course, for Lemmy, that's a bad thing. MH did their thing, and Ace of Spades brought the house down. I'm not a huge fan, but I like them in short bursts, and tonight was fun. The great thing about a MH show: if you don't like a song, 3 minutes later it'll be over. Cool to see them again.
Black Sabb . . . I mean, Heaven and Hell: just like their 2007 tour, they were great. Maybe not as tight as last year, but still very good, and Dio . .. What the hell can you say about the guy? He keeps shrinking, but the voice goes on. Kudos also for a very cool set: cemetery gates, scary trees, big gargoyle things - very metal! They played for about 75 minutes.
**Set List**
Mob Rules
Children of the Sea
I
Sign of the Southern Cross
Ear in the Wall
Horror of horrors: a drum solo!
Time Machine
Falling off the edge of the world
Die Young
Heaven and Hell
(No encore)
Judas Priest: (don't know the names from the new album). Very tight! JP sounded great. I couldn't tell it was the first show of the tour (they've been touring lately, but this kicked off the MM fest). Halford sounded great too, even if some small bushy rodent did crawl up on his chin and die. Not a lot of energy out of Rob at first, but the voice is still awesome. He can still belt them out, and he pepped up a little as the show went on. I liked the set list - there was a good mix for 90 minutes.
Prophecy?
Metal Gods
Eat Me Alive
Between the Hammer and the Anvil
Devil's child
Breaking the Law
The Hell Patrol
Dissident Agressor
Angel
Hellion/Electric Eye
Rock Hard, Rock Free
Painkiller
**** Encore ***
Hell Bent for Leather
The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
Other thoughts from the evening:
Lots of old people here (me included). Not surprising, given that the bands are probably mostly in their 50's. I saw fewer young'uns than I did at the two Iron Maiden shows this year, but there were still a few wholesome family outings with Moms, Dads, and little ones. Cool to keep the music going over the generations. I thank Guitar Hero (and Rock Band) for a huge amount of that popularity.
I'm almost getting used top $40 for t-shirts (I don't buy 'em at that price, but I'm used to seeing it). However, $35 for a plain black baseball cap with the band name on the front is out and out robbery. I wouldn't have bought one either way, but can't they even pretend to not want to screw you?
It was a well run fest. Only 30 minutes between sets. I was thankful for that, since it was a work night.
All in all, a great night of old school metal.
Steve in Philly
Testament - a heavy opener. They sounded good. I like the new album, and they got only 30 minutes, but did they have to pretty much ignored the 1980's? I don't recall anything from 'Practice What You Preach'. No Over the Wall. No Electric Crown. No Apocalyptic City. No Souls of Black. Wow. Still, Billy and the band played hard for their short time, and it was good to see them again.
Motorhead - 45 minutes. They sounded, well, just like Motorhead. Just like Dickinson, Dio, etc, I count Lemmy among the old vocalists that still sounds the same as he did in the 80's. Of course, for Lemmy, that's a bad thing. MH did their thing, and Ace of Spades brought the house down. I'm not a huge fan, but I like them in short bursts, and tonight was fun. The great thing about a MH show: if you don't like a song, 3 minutes later it'll be over. Cool to see them again.
Black Sabb . . . I mean, Heaven and Hell: just like their 2007 tour, they were great. Maybe not as tight as last year, but still very good, and Dio . .. What the hell can you say about the guy? He keeps shrinking, but the voice goes on. Kudos also for a very cool set: cemetery gates, scary trees, big gargoyle things - very metal! They played for about 75 minutes.
**Set List**
Mob Rules
Children of the Sea
I
Sign of the Southern Cross
Ear in the Wall
Horror of horrors: a drum solo!
Time Machine
Falling off the edge of the world
Die Young
Heaven and Hell
(No encore)
Judas Priest: (don't know the names from the new album). Very tight! JP sounded great. I couldn't tell it was the first show of the tour (they've been touring lately, but this kicked off the MM fest). Halford sounded great too, even if some small bushy rodent did crawl up on his chin and die. Not a lot of energy out of Rob at first, but the voice is still awesome. He can still belt them out, and he pepped up a little as the show went on. I liked the set list - there was a good mix for 90 minutes.
Prophecy?
Metal Gods
Eat Me Alive
Between the Hammer and the Anvil
Devil's child
Breaking the Law
The Hell Patrol
Dissident Agressor
Angel
Hellion/Electric Eye
Rock Hard, Rock Free
Painkiller
**** Encore ***
Hell Bent for Leather
The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
Other thoughts from the evening:
Lots of old people here (me included). Not surprising, given that the bands are probably mostly in their 50's. I saw fewer young'uns than I did at the two Iron Maiden shows this year, but there were still a few wholesome family outings with Moms, Dads, and little ones. Cool to keep the music going over the generations. I thank Guitar Hero (and Rock Band) for a huge amount of that popularity.
I'm almost getting used top $40 for t-shirts (I don't buy 'em at that price, but I'm used to seeing it). However, $35 for a plain black baseball cap with the band name on the front is out and out robbery. I wouldn't have bought one either way, but can't they even pretend to not want to screw you?
It was a well run fest. Only 30 minutes between sets. I was thankful for that, since it was a work night.
All in all, a great night of old school metal.
Steve in Philly
I'd put the dude up against any drummer out there. He is a metal god in my book. 
I might get flamed for this, but hopefully the last night of ProgPower this year won't last friggin' forever. Last year about killed me with having to drive back the next day etc. I would love for each night to end by 11:30 or 12:00, but I know that's impossible for this fest. 
