| GRAVE DIGGER + BRAINSTORM |
March 1, 2002 |
MADRID |
Ah, the night we'd all been waiting for. Grave Digger deliver killer show after killer show, so I had very high expectations. I arrived at the venue early (around 17:10 PM) equipped with camera and my interview questions. I entered the venue and met my friends from Grave Digger (I'm webmistress of the Spanish Grave Digger Website). The guys from Brainstorm were checking the sound and a bit later there was a Meet & Greet with some lucky contest winners in backstage that was very cool. You can really tell that Diggers love their fans. At 19:00 PM I interviewed Chris Boltendahl in their tour bus and all went great (read the exclusive interview). It was cold outside but once within the confines of Arena, things heated up considerably. The doors opened at 20:00 and the show started at 20:30. Over 300 people packed into this venue to see these killer bands in action.
The night started with BRAINSTORM, whom I had never seen live before. Brainstorm rocked the house. What a good band I must say. Coming from Germany, this band founded in 1989 brings together so much energy to the crowd... and they did not play a single slow song. Brainstorm looked like they were having a blast on stage, and the crowd truly ate them up. It really makes a set more enjoyable to watch when it looks like the band is having a great time and loving what they do. It was the band’s first time in Spain, but at the end of their show you wouldn’t have known it from the crowd’s reaction. Singer Andy B. Franck is an excellent performer on stage, what a voice... and what a power!! He caught the audience within the first two songs. He also was moving all the time and was posing a bit for the cameras. A dual killing axe-attack from Torsten and Milan is enough alone to make one's ears bleed and neck snap. They did some fucking super fast solos at a speed I hadn't seen in quite some time. Andreas (bass) and Dieter (drums) rounded out the sonic assault that had the crowd all turned toward the stage in this, Brainstorm’s first performance in Spain. They played songs from the last two albums (Ambiguity and Metus Mortis), including my favorites... so I was really loving it. I especially enjoyed "Checkmate In Red", one of their new-ish songs. Plenty of metal bombs peppered the show, including the opener "Blind Suffering", "Crush Depth", "Shadowland", "Maharaja Palace" and "Tear Down The Walls". The last tracks ("Under Lights", "Hollow Hideaway") were the crowd-pleasers of the evening. Ending with "Meet Me In The Dark", Brainstorm made a lot of new fans in Spain. I'd have liked to see included songs from their fantastic second album "Unholy" ("Voices" for example) but they didn't play any. But besides that, this was an amazing show. If you get the chance to see them live somewhere... GO! Power Metal at its best. ("Power Metal For Powerful People", as these guys say :-)
Close to 21:30 PM, GRAVE DIGGER
took the stage, and proceeded to dominate the room for an hour and a half. These guys never give their audience a bad performance, and this gig was no exception. It was so energetic, powerful and... damn, it's difficult to describe the energy that was going through the band and crowd alike in just words. There was a big backdrop on the stage, with a fullmoon image. The Reaper (also their keyboardist) appeared on stage and the show began with an intro and finally, the rest of the band appeared behind the drums, and the onslaught of heavy metal started with the opening chords of "Son Of Evil" from the latest album "The Grave Digger" and continued through classics like "Killing Time", "Lionheart" and "Scotland United". Songs such as "The House", "Circle Of Witches", "Dark Of The Sun", "King Pest" and "Knights Of The Cross", only showed that the fans knew both the new and old songs. The people were screaming along to every single word, especially loud on the choruses. The lights went green and they played the ballad "Silence", dedicated to all the girls, it was damn beautiful, Manni's solo was amazing. The thunderous intro of "Excalibur" pommeled the crowd and they all went nutz. Next up was their hymn "Rebellion", everyone screamin' their asses off to the chorus. This song closed the first part of the set. The band was back on stage playing the song title of their last album, "The Grave Digger", one of the ultimate live songs.
I don't think I can even put it into words. Chris presented all the band members and then they went straight into "The Round Table". It sounded incredible. Of course, no Grave Digger concert is complete without the rockin' "Heavy Metal Breakdown", with this song the concert ended. They actually played every song I wanted to hear (except for "The Reaper" & "Raven") it was an excellent selection of songs. "Morgane LeFay" and "The Grave Digger" were especially great. From where I was, their sound was very well balanced, and despite the tiny stage, they managed to deliver their usual high-energy, evil and heavy set to the delight of all fans in attendance. As for the performance, Manni was in fine form. His solos were incredibly fast and accurate and he could always be heard above the rest of the band with clarity. He proved he’s the man for Grave Digger. The drums sounded right on the entire set, very tight. Jens proved that his skills were flawless. Chris is the highlight, he sung perfectly and interacted very well with the audience. They also pulled off some jokes and gave funny remarks to the public. Really cool. This was the 4th time I have seen Grave Digger on stage and I must say that this gig was the best one so far. Everyone exited with bloody ears, if you didn't go to this one, I'm sorry to say that you missed a great show. -Review & photos by Marina-
| BRAINSTORM SET-LIST |
Intro (Metus Mortis), Blind Suffering, Crush Depth, Shadowland, Darkest Silence/Maharaja Palace, Checkmate In Red, Tear Down The Walls, Under Lights, Hollow Hideaway & Meet Me In The Dark.
| GRAVE DIGGER SET-LIST |
Intro, Son Of Evil, Killing Time, Lionheart, The House, Circle Of Witches, King Pest, Scotland United, Silence, Dark Of The Sun, Morgane LeFay, Knights Of The Cross, Excalibur, Rebellion (The Clans Are Marching), The Grave Digger,
The Round Table & Heavy Metal Breakdown.
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