| HAMMERFALL + MASTERPLAN + NOSTRADAMEUS |
January 16, 2003 |
MADRID |
Spanish Heavy Metal fans were in for a treat this week with the visit of Swedes HammerFall, who presented their fourth album "Crimson Thunder". Also on the bill were Masterplan and Nostradameus.
The show began with NOSTRADAMEUS who were visiting the city for the 2nd time. Freddy Persson and his mates managed to perform an entertaining 30-minute set of melodic power metal, during which they ripped through 5 songs (two from the new album "The Third Prophecy", "Murder" from "The Prophet Of Evil" and "The Vision" & "One For All" from "Words Of Nostradameus"). This is a very solid band with good musicians and the material was well presented. Unfortunately I haven't heard the new album yet, so I can't remember the titles, but the new songs sounded awesome and seem to be much much heavier than their previous stuff. I'm really looking forward to listen to the new CD!!
After a 10 minute break during which songs from Dream Evil's debut album sounded through the speakers, Jorn Lande (vocals), former Helloween members Roland Grapow (guitar) and Uli Kusch (drums), Jan S. Eckert (bass) and Axel Mackenrott (keyboards) from MASTERPLAN, whose debut album I have been enjoying very much since I got my hands on it, are finally there on the stage!! Opener of the gig is "Spirit Never Dies" (the opener of the CD as well). From there they moved into the first single from the debut album, the dark-sounding "Enlighten Me", that soon had the crowd singing along. Then, much to my delight, "Soulburn", my favorite track on the album, (its chorus sounded terrific!!), following with the anthem-like "Heroes", an incredibly well executed "Kind Hearted Light", the slow but powerful "Into The Light", and "Crystal Night" before launching into a medley of songs that included Helloween's "The Chance", Jorn Lande's "Sunset Station" and Helloween's "The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)". The angry "Crawling From Hell" closed the show and was extended an extra three or four minutes. The sound was OK, but Axel's keyboards were a bit high in the mix and at times he drowned out Roland's guitar. Luckily, this didn't happen too often. All band members were in full force as they ruled the stage, and especially vocal hero Jorn Lande. This Norwegian singer of the Coverdale school of singing is AMAZING! It was his singing that dominated the concert. The band also proved they have a good sense of humour and were joking with the audience. They are certainly a band that likes to have fun as well as play music. All in all, Masterplan certainly did not disappoint and their superb musicianship won over the crowd big time.
At 22:00 PM a heavy smoke invades the stage, the lights dimmed and a guy dressed up as Hector (the templar on the cover paintings), with an enormous hammer in hand, came on stage and strikes the hammer against an anvil and then came pyro and explosions. The black curtain falls showing the whole drum kit lifted up the stage, a huge backdrop and skulls fixed upon stakes around the stage. The intro "Lore Of The Arcane" played over the system to much screaming and shouting. Hector opens the doors below the drum kit and HAMMERFALL enters the stage in black leather and chains playing the first chords of "Riders Of The Storm", a perfect opener of the new album and a perfect opener of the gig. Then a long list of stage favourites from the band's studio albums followed: the fast and furious "Heeding The Call", one of the best songs they played live. Then they went right into "Stone Cold", filled with great guitar leads, followed by "Hero's Return", one of my favourite tracks of the last album. "Legacy Of Kings" was clearly a crowd favourite because everybody sung along at the top of their lungs! Then after the quite fast openers we needed some slower stuff now, and that’s just what we get with "At The End Of The Rainbow", "The Way Of The Warrior", "The Unforgiving Blade" and the ballad "Glory To The Brave", during which a white foam fell from the ceiling as if it was snow. Very cool!!! Then a short break before the lights dimmed again. HammerFall came back on stage to play "Let The Hammer Fall", probably the HammerFall song with the most hit potential. This one got the crowd going nuts, raising fists into the air and banging their heads like crazy. But the crowd hadn't had enough yet and wanted more, so the lights dimmed again and then motorcycle samples blasted out of the speakers.
The band came back on stage to play "Renegade" which is one hell of a good live song, people were screaming the chorus very loud. Only two years old, this one's a classic!! Another song from the first album came next, the blistering "Steel Meets Steel". The main set closed with the traditional 80's Heavy Metal number "Crimson Thunder", very epic with lost of power and a nice feeling to the chorus. Joacim divided the audience into two sides and had them compete to see which group could sing the chorus louder. The first encore started with the opener of the "Renegade" album, "Templars Of Steel". The second encore was the song everybody was waiting for, the sing-along "Hearts On Fire", that got the crowd roaring. As usual, they finished their set with "Hammerfall" which they dedicated to the fans who had supported them through the years. Oscar and Stefan joined eachother and then a blast of sparks erupted from their guitars, very cool!!! After one and a half hour this really was the end. What a great band this is!!! No doubt about it: HammerFall belong to the best live bands, their stage presence was fantastic, the pyro was awesome, and so was the set, and Joacim Cans' vocals really shone. The year 2003 has begun in an extraordinary way :-) Join The Heavy Metal Revolution!!-Review & photos by Marina-
Many Thanks to Francis from AFM Records Spain for acreditation!!
| MASTERPLAN SET-LIST |
Spirit Never Dies, Enlighten Me,
Crystal Night, Heroes, Soulburn, Kind Hearted Light, Into The Light, Medley
(The Chance, Sunset Station & The Departed) & Crawling From Hell.
| HAMMERFALL SET-LIST |
Lore Of The Arcane (Intro), Riders Of The Storm, Heeding The Call, Stone Cold, Hero's Return, Legacy Of Kings, Bass Solo, At The End Of The Rainbow, The Way Of The Warrior, The Unforgiving Blade, Glory To The Brave, Guitar Solo, Let The Hammer Fall, Renegade, Steel Meets Steel, Crimson Thunder, Templars Of Steel, Hearts On Fire & HammerFall.
| BACKSTAGE |
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