Bullet-point, scattered format cause my brain hurts:
Testament. Original lineup, with Alex Skolnick doing his AMAZING shreddery. Thrash is really better suited for a smaller venue (this was at a big 10k-person arena), but they were still really fun to watch. Testament's early material has always been way better live than in the studiorelatively mediocre tracks like "The New Order" and "Trial By Fire" suddenly become TEH AWESOME. Steve Souza came out of nowhere to sing "Alone In the Dark"he and Chuck Billy traded off verses and did a duet on the choruses. Great stuff. Looking forward to seeing them again in a week.
Setlist (semi-in order): The Preacher, The New Order, Sins of Omission (TAKE THAT YOU POSEUR SCUM BOOYAH), Electric Crown, Trial By Fire, Alone In the Dark, The Legacy, Disciples of the Watch, and maybe one more.
Cardboard Vampires. Some Jerry Cantrell side project, I expected them to be gay but then it turned out they were a cover band and opened with Black Sabbath, so that was alright. Their singer thought he was Steven Tyler and was wearing women's clothing, but he could sing pretty well. Lots of covers of 70s rock stuff, only some of which I recognized. Good fun.
Setlist: Hole In the Sky (Black Sabbath), Giving the Dog A Bone, Night Prowler (AC/DC), ACE OF FUCKEN SPADES (Motörhead), Helter Skelter (The Beatles, yeap), Man In A Box (Alice In Chains), and 4-5 other tunes.
Queensrÿche. OH SHIT YEAH. Last time I saw them, they played with Dream Theater and Fates Warning and played a bunch of shitty modern wanking, and Geoff Tate sounded like Scott Stapp. This time, they played with Testament and Judas Priest, so they busted out a shit-ton of 80s stuff and Tate NAILED the shrieks. Preview tune from Mindcrime II actually sounded pretty coolsnarky cynical "patriotic" lyrics, weird vocals on the verses but a total speed metal break in the middle. Very much emphasizing the "metal" thing as opposed to previous concertswhether they're bandwagon jumping or not, I approve.
Setlist (in order, I think): The Whisper, Neue Regel, EN FORCE!!!, NM-156, Screaming In Digital, Open, Desert Dance (those two the only examples of bullshit throughout the whole set, from Tribe), Walk In the Shadows, Queen of the Reich/Nightrider/Blinded medley (complete with Tate getting the QOTR chorus shriek DEAD FUCKING ON), The Needle Lies, I'm American (new song), Surgical Strike, Empire, Take Hold of the Flame (and Tate was actually hitting ALL the fucking notes.)
Judas Priest. They fucking rule. A good mix of theatricsHalford coming up through the stage, flames spewing around his feet, with several different backdrop and an insane light showand the personal touchTipton & Downing walking through the crowd high-fiving fans while they solo'd, Rob putting aside the "Metal God" persona to chat with the crowd. The music was spot-fucking on, the guitar tone even heavier than Angel of Retribution and Halford delivering the vocal acrobatics in a big way. There were some concerns about his health and the quality of his vocals on the Ozzfest tour, but whatever was ailing him seems to have disappeared. He was belting out "Touch of Evil" and "Victim of Changes" with ease, and by the end of the set spinning around and shadowboxing showing no signs of age. Absolutely superb, bringing new life to old songs, and no matter how many times I see the Harley and hear "Hell Bent For Leather" it's still cool.
Setlist (sorta in order, around the edges anyway): The Hellion/Electric Eye, Metal Gods, Touch of Evil, Riding On the Wind, Judas Rising, Revolution, Breaking the Law, I'm A Rocker (yeah I know, of all the songs, kinda random but way better live than studio), Diamonds and Rust, Deal With the Devil, Victim of Changes, Hellrider (holy shit this song is amazing), Turbo Lover, MOTHERFUCKING EXCITER (and you have no idea how great this sounds in 2005 with their current guitar tone), Painkiller, Hell Bent For Leather, Living After Midnight, You've Got Another Thing Coming.
So. Go see Priest. NOW.
Testament. Original lineup, with Alex Skolnick doing his AMAZING shreddery. Thrash is really better suited for a smaller venue (this was at a big 10k-person arena), but they were still really fun to watch. Testament's early material has always been way better live than in the studiorelatively mediocre tracks like "The New Order" and "Trial By Fire" suddenly become TEH AWESOME. Steve Souza came out of nowhere to sing "Alone In the Dark"he and Chuck Billy traded off verses and did a duet on the choruses. Great stuff. Looking forward to seeing them again in a week.
Setlist (semi-in order): The Preacher, The New Order, Sins of Omission (TAKE THAT YOU POSEUR SCUM BOOYAH), Electric Crown, Trial By Fire, Alone In the Dark, The Legacy, Disciples of the Watch, and maybe one more.
Cardboard Vampires. Some Jerry Cantrell side project, I expected them to be gay but then it turned out they were a cover band and opened with Black Sabbath, so that was alright. Their singer thought he was Steven Tyler and was wearing women's clothing, but he could sing pretty well. Lots of covers of 70s rock stuff, only some of which I recognized. Good fun.
Setlist: Hole In the Sky (Black Sabbath), Giving the Dog A Bone, Night Prowler (AC/DC), ACE OF FUCKEN SPADES (Motörhead), Helter Skelter (The Beatles, yeap), Man In A Box (Alice In Chains), and 4-5 other tunes.
Queensrÿche. OH SHIT YEAH. Last time I saw them, they played with Dream Theater and Fates Warning and played a bunch of shitty modern wanking, and Geoff Tate sounded like Scott Stapp. This time, they played with Testament and Judas Priest, so they busted out a shit-ton of 80s stuff and Tate NAILED the shrieks. Preview tune from Mindcrime II actually sounded pretty coolsnarky cynical "patriotic" lyrics, weird vocals on the verses but a total speed metal break in the middle. Very much emphasizing the "metal" thing as opposed to previous concertswhether they're bandwagon jumping or not, I approve.
Setlist (in order, I think): The Whisper, Neue Regel, EN FORCE!!!, NM-156, Screaming In Digital, Open, Desert Dance (those two the only examples of bullshit throughout the whole set, from Tribe), Walk In the Shadows, Queen of the Reich/Nightrider/Blinded medley (complete with Tate getting the QOTR chorus shriek DEAD FUCKING ON), The Needle Lies, I'm American (new song), Surgical Strike, Empire, Take Hold of the Flame (and Tate was actually hitting ALL the fucking notes.)
Judas Priest. They fucking rule. A good mix of theatricsHalford coming up through the stage, flames spewing around his feet, with several different backdrop and an insane light showand the personal touchTipton & Downing walking through the crowd high-fiving fans while they solo'd, Rob putting aside the "Metal God" persona to chat with the crowd. The music was spot-fucking on, the guitar tone even heavier than Angel of Retribution and Halford delivering the vocal acrobatics in a big way. There were some concerns about his health and the quality of his vocals on the Ozzfest tour, but whatever was ailing him seems to have disappeared. He was belting out "Touch of Evil" and "Victim of Changes" with ease, and by the end of the set spinning around and shadowboxing showing no signs of age. Absolutely superb, bringing new life to old songs, and no matter how many times I see the Harley and hear "Hell Bent For Leather" it's still cool.
Setlist (sorta in order, around the edges anyway): The Hellion/Electric Eye, Metal Gods, Touch of Evil, Riding On the Wind, Judas Rising, Revolution, Breaking the Law, I'm A Rocker (yeah I know, of all the songs, kinda random but way better live than studio), Diamonds and Rust, Deal With the Devil, Victim of Changes, Hellrider (holy shit this song is amazing), Turbo Lover, MOTHERFUCKING EXCITER (and you have no idea how great this sounds in 2005 with their current guitar tone), Painkiller, Hell Bent For Leather, Living After Midnight, You've Got Another Thing Coming.
So. Go see Priest. NOW.
