Hail and Kill to everyone!
I was quite proud to be at the opening show of the HOLYHELL/RHAPSODY/MANOWAR tour in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, June 2. It was an unbelievable show! The reason why it was so incredible can be summed up in one word: RHAPSODY.
If you have an opportunity, ANY opportunity to see this show, you need to take it. If you have even a passive interest in Rhapsody, you need to beg, borrow, steal or whatever it takes to see this show. Youll thank me (and yourself) later.
After driving 13 hours to Cleveland from St. Paul, Minnesota, fresh out of the Judas Priest/Queensryche show the previous evening, I was completely exhausted, but still ready for what I hoped would be the show to end all shows. Manowar and Rhapsody are easily my two favorite bands on the planet. Ive been awaiting this line-up ever since rumors of it started circulating in early 2004. There was no way I was going to miss the first show of this tour!
As it turned out, the House of Blues in Cleveland was a great place to see a show. The auditorium held around 1,200 people and had a balcony area in which every single seat was a good one and the vantage point did not put one far from the stage at all. The floor had three different levels so that even if you were stuck in back, you still had a good spot to see all of the action. The sound was excellent, even from center stage against the barrier which is where I was. The staff was friendly and hospitable even though Im sure all of us metal-heads were scaring some of their wait-staff half-to-death.
[I will now digress: If you havent seen a show at the House of Blues before, here is a little secret. If you eat dinner at their restaurant before the show, you will be allowed into the auditorium 15 minutes before the rest of the crowd. This was a very handy bonus which myself and my fellow compatriots took full advantage of! Think of it as Gold Badge privileges for the price of a tasty entrée. After eating a rather delicious dinner, we were escorted to a private waiting area and as promised, 15 minutes before the doors opened, we were ushered into an empty auditorium.]
The first band that played was HOLYHELL a new female-fronted :hotjump: power-metal band signed to Joey DeMiaos new record label Magic Circle Music. Musically, the band shows a lot of promise. The singer (didnt quite catch her name, thought it was Maria?) could use some vocal coaching she could use some more power in her sound, but once she does, shell be a force to be reckoned with. The band played two covers: Wings of Destiny by Rhapsody (which she screwed up the lyrics and the timing, but I forgave her because she was trying so hard) and a song by Yngwie Malmsteen which I was not familiar with. Their original material is very good and this is probably a band to watch as they will get better with age and experience.
And this is where it all went through the roof RHAPSODY came out and absolutely slew everyone in the room. They played for 55 glorious minutes and I doubt that their set will be topped by anyone in the near future. Fabios voice was perfect he hit all the high notes and he did not feel the need to improvise or improve upon the songs as they were originally written. Luca Turelli just shredded the whole night energy exploded from his guitar and electrified the room and everyone in it. The sound was tight, crisp and clean for a debut performance in a new country, I dont think this band could have done any better except with a longer set and a bigger stage! Fabio sung an opera song in Italian right to my metal sister next to me in the front row. Luca moved all over the stage, playing near the edge to fans extending their arms in an effort to reach the magic. The crowd thundered applause and cheering after every song and broke out into chants of Rhapsody so often that at times the band was too overwhelmed to continue. I cannot imagine a better performance by any band under similar circumstances. They were just perfect! Their set came as close to a religious experience as one can have from a concert.
What should have been an amazing return to the US by Manowar was marred by technical problems that started about 15 minutes into the set when Joey DeMiaos bass was not functioning properly. Despite leaving the stage 3 times to have it fixed (I sure would have NOT wanted to be his bass tech for that show), DeMiaos obvious aggravation at the problem bogged the set down. DeMiao tried to cover for the lack of music by delivering two thundering speeches to the crowd while his bass was being fixed. He reaffirmed Manowars appreciation of their fans and his commitment to True Metal via the formation of the new record company, Magic Circle Music. He also revealed that there were severe problems behind-the-scenes with the HoB management as he twice pointed out the booking agent of the club, instructing everyone to tell that muther-fucker that this is the kind of music you want to see here! after letting us know that that son-of-a-bitch thought no one was going to show up to see us! Despite the technical problems, Eric Adams performed brilliantly. Few singers have the ability to have an audience eating out of their hands after being on-stage for only 20 seconds Adams has that rapport with his fans and always will. The evening ended on a real downer though as Manowar broke every precedent that they have set for themselves and refused to meet fans after the show. (It should be pointed out that four young blondes were promptly admitted onto Manowars tour bus for exactly 15 minutes as the rest of us waited patiently in a cold drizzling rain hoping for one last chance to see them. It must be really nice to be a woman since that seems to be the ultimate back-stage pass.)
All in all however, the real stars of the evening were RHAPSODY who put on the most amazing show of the year and then did appear briefly to meet fans outside the venue. I will always be a Manowar fan but last Thursday night in Cleveland, it was all Rhapsody.
Thank you to Rhapsody for all of your music and for the most incredible show of the year! I will always be a fan!
In metal,
Nathan (The SwordLord)
I was quite proud to be at the opening show of the HOLYHELL/RHAPSODY/MANOWAR tour in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, June 2. It was an unbelievable show! The reason why it was so incredible can be summed up in one word: RHAPSODY.
If you have an opportunity, ANY opportunity to see this show, you need to take it. If you have even a passive interest in Rhapsody, you need to beg, borrow, steal or whatever it takes to see this show. Youll thank me (and yourself) later.
After driving 13 hours to Cleveland from St. Paul, Minnesota, fresh out of the Judas Priest/Queensryche show the previous evening, I was completely exhausted, but still ready for what I hoped would be the show to end all shows. Manowar and Rhapsody are easily my two favorite bands on the planet. Ive been awaiting this line-up ever since rumors of it started circulating in early 2004. There was no way I was going to miss the first show of this tour!
As it turned out, the House of Blues in Cleveland was a great place to see a show. The auditorium held around 1,200 people and had a balcony area in which every single seat was a good one and the vantage point did not put one far from the stage at all. The floor had three different levels so that even if you were stuck in back, you still had a good spot to see all of the action. The sound was excellent, even from center stage against the barrier which is where I was. The staff was friendly and hospitable even though Im sure all of us metal-heads were scaring some of their wait-staff half-to-death.
[I will now digress: If you havent seen a show at the House of Blues before, here is a little secret. If you eat dinner at their restaurant before the show, you will be allowed into the auditorium 15 minutes before the rest of the crowd. This was a very handy bonus which myself and my fellow compatriots took full advantage of! Think of it as Gold Badge privileges for the price of a tasty entrée.
After eating a rather delicious dinner, we were escorted to a private waiting area and as promised, 15 minutes before the doors opened, we were ushered into an empty auditorium.]The first band that played was HOLYHELL a new female-fronted :hotjump: power-metal band signed to Joey DeMiaos new record label Magic Circle Music. Musically, the band shows a lot of promise. The singer (didnt quite catch her name, thought it was Maria?) could use some vocal coaching she could use some more power in her sound, but once she does, shell be a force to be reckoned with. The band played two covers: Wings of Destiny by Rhapsody (which she screwed up the lyrics and the timing, but I forgave her because she was trying so hard) and a song by Yngwie Malmsteen which I was not familiar with. Their original material is very good and this is probably a band to watch as they will get better with age and experience.
And this is where it all went through the roof RHAPSODY
came out and absolutely slew everyone in the room. They played for 55 glorious minutes and I doubt that their set will be topped by anyone in the near future. Fabios voice was perfect he hit all the high notes and he did not feel the need to improvise or improve upon the songs as they were originally written. Luca Turelli just shredded the whole night energy exploded from his guitar and electrified the room and everyone in it. The sound was tight, crisp and clean for a debut performance in a new country, I dont think this band could have done any better except with a longer set and a bigger stage! Fabio sung an opera song in Italian right to my metal sister next to me in the front row. Luca moved all over the stage, playing near the edge to fans extending their arms in an effort to reach the magic. The crowd thundered applause and cheering after every song and broke out into chants of Rhapsody so often that at times the band was too overwhelmed to continue. I cannot imagine a better performance by any band under similar circumstances. They were just perfect! Their set came as close to a religious experience as one can have from a concert.What should have been an amazing return to the US by Manowar was marred by technical problems that started about 15 minutes into the set when Joey DeMiaos bass was not functioning properly. Despite leaving the stage 3 times to have it fixed (I sure would have NOT wanted to be his bass tech for that show), DeMiaos obvious aggravation at the problem bogged the set down. DeMiao tried to cover for the lack of music by delivering two thundering speeches to the crowd while his bass was being fixed. He reaffirmed Manowars appreciation of their fans and his commitment to True Metal via the formation of the new record company, Magic Circle Music. He also revealed that there were severe problems behind-the-scenes with the HoB management as he twice pointed out the booking agent of the club, instructing everyone to tell that muther-fucker that this is the kind of music you want to see here! after letting us know that that son-of-a-bitch thought no one was going to show up to see us! Despite the technical problems, Eric Adams performed brilliantly. Few singers have the ability to have an audience eating out of their hands after being on-stage for only 20 seconds Adams has that rapport with his fans and always will. The evening ended on a real downer though as Manowar broke every precedent that they have set for themselves and refused to meet fans after the show. (It should be pointed out that four young blondes were promptly admitted onto Manowars tour bus for exactly 15 minutes
as the rest of us waited patiently in a cold drizzling rain hoping for one last chance to see them. It must be really nice to be a woman since that seems to be the ultimate back-stage pass.)All in all however, the real stars of the evening were RHAPSODY who put on the most amazing show of the year and then did appear briefly to meet fans outside the venue. I will always be a Manowar fan but last Thursday night in Cleveland, it was all Rhapsody.
Thank you to Rhapsody for all of your music and for the most incredible show of the year! I will always be a fan!
In metal,
Nathan (The SwordLord)
