Tag Archives: Sydney

Music, My Stories

Live Review: Monolith Festival – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

Featuring: Leprous, Periphery, Coheed and Cambria

Date: 10 November 2024

I’ve had this post for a while in various drafts and thought it was time to finish it.

The “Monolith Festival” returned to Sydney with a stacked progressive lineup and a reputation for delivering complexity, emotion, and sheer sonic weight.

Held at the iconic Hordern Pavilion, the festival promised more than just performances, it offered artist workshops, communal spaces, and a cultural showcase for fans of progressive rock and metal. But as these things go, time got away from me.

Unfortunately, I missed the first two acts and all of the artist workshops, an all-too-common casualty of Sydney traffic and the general logistics of festival life.

That said, there was still plenty to take in outside the main stage. Within the fenced-off, ticket-holder-only zone, a decent selection of food trucks (Woodfire Pizza and Turkish Gozleme) offered solid sustenance, while the Byron Bay Brewery bar kept spirits high.

Traditional venue options inside were also available, but the atmosphere outside had that kind of low-key camaraderie that festivals like this are great at cultivating.

Leprous

My first time seeing Leprous live.

They landed on my radar thanks to a Spotify algorithm about eight years ago, and since then, they’ve remained a steady presence in my playlists. “The Congregation” (2015) is still my go-to from their discography; cold, mathematical, yet deeply emotive.

Onstage, Leprous radiated a quiet confidence. The Norwegian five-piece walked the tightrope between technical precision and atmospheric build, and for a band that thrives on restraint, they commanded the stage without excess.

Frontman Einar Solberg’s falsetto soared through the room with eerie control, making converts out of any first-timers.

Songs like “The Price” and “Slave” unfolded like emotional equations, each section calculated but still cutting deep. Their set was perhaps the most introspective of the night, and it worked.

Periphery

Cue chaos.

Pop music blares over the speakers until it’s suddenly cut off by the outro to “Crush.”

That abrupt tonal shift was the perfect entry into Periphery’s calculated aggression.

The band launched into “Wildfire,” a spiraling, multi-sectioned assault from their latest album “Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre” (2023).

Phones lit the air like tiny lighthouses, struggling to anchor anyone in the seas of down-tuned guitars, polyrhythms, and seizure-inducing strobes.

Aussie drummer David Parkes filled in admirably for Matt Halpern, who stayed home for the birth of his second child. Parkes handled the intricate time signatures and unpredictable shifts with mechanical precision.

The setlist leaned heavily on “P:V”, with highlights like “Atropos”, a personal favorite, offering moments of clarity amidst the chaos. That track’s clean sections created a stark contrast that only made the heavy parts hit harder.

“Reptile,” a 16-minute behemoth from “Periphery IV: Hail Stan”(2019), raised some eyebrows. In a short set window, it was a bold move, equal parts indulgent and impressive. But if you were there for the musicianship, it was a masterclass.

They closed with crowd-pleasers “Marigold” and “Blood Eagle,” with the latter turning the pit into a blur of limbs and hair.

From the last time I saw them at The Annandale Hotel in 2013, the band has evolved. The absence of bassist Nolly Getgood (who stepped away in 2017) hasn’t dulled their low end, but it has reshaped the balance. They’re leaner now—five members, three guitars, all in.

Coheed and Cambria

A concept band doing a concept album at a concept festival. Perfect match.

Coheed delivered “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness” (2005) in full. No cut corners, no medleys. Just front-to-back storytelling, as dense and labyrinthine as their discography demands.

There’s something almost theatrical about Claudio Sanchez’s vocals, part prog-opera, part comic book epic. Whether it was the haunting “Ten Speed (Of God’s Blood and Burial)” or the melancholic “Wake Up,” the band navigated the album’s twists with unwavering energy.

“The Willing Well” suite; four interlinked songs running over 20 minutes total; was ambitious and, frankly, kind of mesmerizing.

But let’s be honest: “Welcome Home” was the showstopper.

That intro riff?

Unstoppable.

The crowd knew it, and the band leaned into the moment like it was their final form.

After the main set, Coheed returned with a two-song encore: the pop-punk tinted “A Favor House Atlantic” and the anthemic “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.”

Everyone screamed the final chorus like they were shouting back at their teenage selves.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t catch everything, but what I did see was worth the trip. Each band brought a different flavour of “monolithic”; Leprous with their glacial precision, Periphery with their controlled chaos, and Coheed with their galactic storytelling.

Monolith Festival isn’t just about music, it’s about endurance, narrative, and the sublime power of sound pushed to its technical limits.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat.

But next time… I’m arriving early. And I’m not missing those damn workshops.

\::/

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Music, My Stories

Iron Maiden – Live At Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney – 13 September 2024

A proud moment.

2016: My son’s first Iron Maiden concert, “The Book of Souls” tour.

2024: Eight years later, here we are again for “The Days of Future Past” tour.

Of course, we had to buy some merch, again.

And, of course, I had to buy some beers for myself and this time I had the older two riding shotgun. Naturally, this led to the classic “Are you buying alcohol for underage kids?” interrogation.

“Yes, officer, I like to live on the edge, by getting kicked out of an Iron Maiden show before it even starts.”

And let’s not forget the food situation. Kids are always hungry, and I just love paying hundreds of dollars for substandard, borderline offensive stadium meals. But hey, who cares? We weren’t there for the cuisine.

We were there for Maiden.

Iron Maiden’s opening bands don’t get much love in Australia. I remember “Behind Crimson Eyes” getting brutally booed at the “Caught Somewhere Back in Time”Sydney show. But to their credit, they powered through, then covered “Ace of Spades” and just like that, the crowd that wanted them gone was suddenly on their side.

This time, we had Killswitch Engage. Thanks to a heroic battle with traffic and then another war at the merch stalls, I only caught the second half of their set. From what I saw, they were tight, and the crowd gave them a solid response. But everyone was here for one reason.

The ritual begins:

“Doctor Doctor” plays.

The lights go out.

Vangelis’ “Blade Runner” end title starts.

And then—“Caught Somewhere in Time” kicks in.

“Caught Somewhere in Time”

Great opener, but they should’ve played the intro before hitting the fast riff.

Then again, they do the same thing with “Aces High,” so I should’ve seen it coming.

“Stranger in a Strange Land”

A personal favorite. Adrian Smith’s solo is one of those “song within a song” moments. Magic.

“The Writing on the Wall”

Another Adrian masterpiece solo, reminiscent of “Stranger In A Strange Land”.

“Days of Future Past”

Easily one of the best tracks off Senjutsu.

And that verse riff? Adrian again. Starting to see a pattern?

“The Time Machine”

Would you go back in time if you could?

This song has a lot of great riffs, but that harmony section after the first verse stands out.

“The Prisoner”

Wasn’t that excited for this one, until I saw my kids getting into it. Then I had a moment of clarity: open up my mind and enjoy myself.

“Death of the Celts”

Basically Blood Brothers Pt. 2. And I’m 100% okay with that.

“Can I Play With Madness?”

Or as Bruce calls it live: “Can I Play With Agnes?” Apparently, she never answers. Yeah I know, it’s a bad joke.

“Heaven Can Wait”

Wo-oh-oh. Enough said.

“Alexander the Great”

This was the reason I had to be here.

When I dubbed “Somewhere in Time” to cassette, I needed it to fit on a 45-minute side. If I followed the proper tracklist, I’d lose two minutes of “Alexander the Great”.

Unacceptable.

So I recorded Side 2 first, then Side 1, sacrificing part of “Heaven Can Wait” instead. I still got the “woh-oh-ohs’.

“Fear of the Dark”

The crowd sings the leads like it’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”.

“Iron Maiden”

Played at such ridiculous speed, even the term “speed metal” feels inadequate.

“Hell on Earth”

They basically turned the venue into a furnace with all the fire.

But that intro’s clean-tone lead?

Give me a sword and shield, I’m ready for battle.

“The Trooper”

No surprise here. It’s practically a legal requirement for every Maiden setlist.

“Wasted Years”

A perfect closer.

That intro? Instant immortality. Also… yes, I’m a full-blown Adrian Smith fanboy.

No shame.

And then, just like that, it was over.

Who knew this would be Nicko’s last tour behind the kit?

One of the greatest drummers in heavy metal and he did it all with one kick pedal and rock-solid technique.

Another Iron Maiden show in the books. Another legendary night. Another pile of money spent.

Worth every cent.

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Music, My Stories

Machine Head – Live at the Enmore Theatre, Enmore: 16 March 2024

I haven’t missed a show since they came out on “The Blackening” tour, a tour which lasted close to 3 years.

And my Best Man was in tow again who also hasn’t missed a show with me, along with my eldest son this time, who likes only three Machine Head songs in “Darkness Within”, “Bastards” and “Circle The Drain”.

“Do you reckon they’ll play em Dad”, he kept asking me.

“I am sure they will as those songs are up there in streams, so why not”, I lied back.

I had already checked the last 10 shows they had done via Setlist.fm and I couldn’t see those songs in the set. But I wasn’t going to tell him the truth. And selfishly, I wanted him to come and experience a “Machine Fucking Head” concert.

But before Machine Head took the stage, Fear Factory did.

It’s not the classic Fear Factory line up but then again which band these days is touring with the original members.

Guitarist Dino Cazares is the only original member, joined by new vocalist Milo Silvestro who replaced the much loved Burton C. Bell. Pete Webber on drums is also a new addition, then again Fear Factory have had more drummers than Spinal Tap. Rounding out the line up is bassist Tony Campos, who has been with the band since 2015.

I’m not a massive fan but I do like to go nuts on “Archetype”, “Shock” and “Resurrection”. And man, they did play em.

They opened with “Shock”, they closed with “Resurrection” and in the middle they dropped “Archetype”.

“Archetype” was written in the version of Fear Factory without Dino and it wasn’t played live when Dino returned, however once it was added to the setlist in 2013, it never really left.

But I was here to watch Machine Head.

Machine Head is a different beast these days from the first time I saw them. Robb Flynn is basically Machine Head, in the same way Dave Mustaine is Megadeth.

In 2010, joining Rob was Phil Demmel on guitars, Adam Duce on bass and Dave McClain on drums.

Fast forward 14 years, joining Rob this time is Jared MacEachern on bass, Matt Alston on drums and HAVOK guitarist Reece Scruggs, who stepped in for Waclaw “Vogg” Kletyka, who was the recording guitarist but couldn’t make the touring commitments as he was touring with his long time band DECAPITATED.

If you’ve been to a Machine Head concert, you know when “Diary Of A Madman” starts, the concert is about to begin (much like when “Doctor Doctor” plays at a Maiden concert).

And as soon as the outro of “Diary” kicks in, the lights go down and once it plays out, Rob Flynn starts “Imperium”.

It’s a great opener, it sets the tempo, the mood and the aggression.

And the aggression continued with “Ten Ton Hammer”, “Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate”, “Now We Die”, “Aesthetics Of Hate” and “Old”.

“Locusts” was up next and it didn’t disappoint. It was also probably the most melodic song of the night.

The frantic energy and aggression continued with “Take My Scars”, “No Gods, No Masters”, “Slaughter The Martyr”, “Bulldozer”, “From This Day” and “Davidian”.

And the closer was the usual “Halo”.

Till next time.

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The Night Flight Orchestra – Death To False AOR Tour: Crowbar, Sydney (Leichhardt)

I remember the kids asking me around 2019, if The Night Flight Orchestra (TNFO) would ever tour Australia as they are massive fans but they couldn’t come as it was an over 18s gig.

I said to them that Bjorn Strid as part of Soilwork tours here, so it’s a possibility but it all depends on a promoter who wants to bring them out and it also depends on fans. Streams and sales are key here.

Fast forward 4 years later, TNFO arrived on our shores. Hardline Media was the promoter who got em out here. I’ve purchased stuff from the site before and Doug does a great job/deed for Metal and Rock music in Australia.

Their first gig was at Brisbane, on Thursday 3rd August at a venue called “The Zoo”.

And on Friday, 4th August, they had their show in Sydney at a venue called “Crowbar”.

Their final show was on Saturday, 5th August in Melbourne at a venue called “Max Watts”.

It’s like waking into a time warp and coming out 40 years ago when you enter “The Crowbar”. The pub was formerly known as “The Bald Face Stag” (it was a venue I played with one of my former bands) and in 2018, it relaunched as “The Crowbar”. The furnishings are still very 80s retro, it’s painted black and I like it. Plus their is a decent selection of boutique beers on tap and in cans. Their is also a decent sized live room inside the pub, which they utilize for live music.

I purchased two VIP Meet and Greet packages.

This included:

  • early access to the show and merch stand,
  • a photo on my phone/device with the band
  • an Australian tour poster to get signed by the band
  • exclusive VIP lanyard/laminate
  • plus I was able to bring along 3 personal items to get signed.

And the prices at $160 each were reasonable.

I was thinking of what merch to take for signing. And I settled on the vinyl album, “Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough”. It’s a gatefold album, with a massive picture of the band on the inside, so it would be cool to get them to sign it. Plus I had two copies of the albums as I forgot I purchased it and then purchased it again.

The meet and greet was very relaxed. They signed our items including the tour poster and then we got the photo.

The band is Sharlee D’Angelo on bass, Sebastian Forslund on guitar, percussion and congas, Anna Brygard on backup vocals, John Lonnmyr on the keys, Bjorn Strid on vocals, Asa Lundman on backup vocals, Jonas Kallsback on drums and Rasmus Ehrnborn on guitar. In the middle, ruining the photo is yours truly.

Midnight Flyer

It was the first song recorded for the “Amber Galactic” album and the first single released to promote the album.

It’s a great opener.

Then again so is “Siberian Queen”, “Sail On”, “This Time” (which sounds like the twin of “Midnight Flyer”), “Servants Of The Air” and “Violent Indigo”.

I remember reading an early interview from the band that Deep Purple’s “Made In Japan” and “Made In Europe” are favourites.

And I can hear it in “Midnight Flyer”, how it builds from the keyboard intro, similar to how “You Fool No One” builds on the “Europe” live album or “Speed King” on the “Japan” live album.

I’m not leaving
I’m just going somewhere else
Far from the sighs and whispers
And the weakness of myself
Now is not the time
To think of all I’ve lost
There are skylines left to conquer
There are oceans left to cross

The work ethic of the TNFO members is high. Multiple bands means more touring, more time in recording studios, more time song writing and lots of champagne. Meanwhile they are all trying to keep relationships going.

I’m a midnight flyer rushing through the storm
I got lost without your loving and I can’t find my way home

Such a great lyric for the Chorus hook.

They went straight into “Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough” and we were moving and singing.

That keyboard Intro is from what David Coverdale calls “Hook City”, a mythical place of arena-like choruses and riffs.

And I love the drum beat which I call the “Deuce” beat. I know other 70s acts did this kind of beat, but I’m a Kiss fan so I’ll associate it with Kiss.

Every song TNFO played got us moving. My order of the songs is wrong compared to the live show, but here they are.

“Divinyls” rocked. It grabs your attention as soon as the guitar intro starts and it builds nicely with the drums. Rasmus Ehrnborn filled in for TNFO when Dave Andersson couldn’t tour. Now he is the guitarist in the band.

“Gemini”, “Paralyzed”, “White Jeans”, “Burn For Me”, “The Sensation”, “If Tonight Is Our Only Chance” and “Satellite” all followed with lots of grooving, people dancing and some head banging.

“Something Mysterious” (which reminds me of “Burning Heart” from Survivor) was dedicated to guitarist Dave Andersson, who passed away in 2022. For those who are not aware, Andersson was a co-founding member of TNFO along with vocalist Bjorn Strid. A lot of the TNFO songs have his riffs and lyrics. He also wrote this.

They closed the set with the 9 minute long “The Last Of The Independent Romantics”. As Bjorn said in the Intro, let’s go on a journey. And we did.

The band went off stage and we went into a football chant.

It was encore time.

“Josephine”, “Stiletto” and “West Ruth Avenue” closed the night.

“West Ruth Avenue” deserves special mention as Bjorn got a decent Conga Train happening which resembled a circle pit. Instead of people running, people were dancing.

It was also this song from the debut album which made me a fan. And the tempo was slightly increased. Which I like.

I am biased but this gig is a 10. They never let up on the energy and the setlist was perfect.

Moving forward, current single “The Sensation” is doing the rounds. A new album is expected in April/May 2024 and I’m looking forward to adding it to the collection.

Hopefully another Australian tour as well. They put down some roots here so let’s see what grows.

\::/

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Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Utopia Records

It had the motto “The Home Of Heavy Metal” and for a long time it was my home.

I first visited the store when it was located in Martin Place, Sydney. It was basically a tiny hole in a wall. Actually the first location in Martin Place was from 1978 to 1980 and the second location in Martin Place was from 1980 to 1990. The second place is the one that I remember.

As mentioned it was tiny, but packed with metal and rock vinyl from every band I could ever imagine and more.

I’d never seen pictured vinyl before, well Utopia had them. I’d never seen 12 inch singles of metal bands before, well Utopia had them as well. And those yellow and black plastic bags with the logo and branding proved to be a badge of honor. It’s like we got patched in to the club the same way bike gangs patch in their members.

I remember the stories about the owner, how he couldn’t get a job at other Sydney record stores and he borrowed some money from his Dad, imported some boxes of vinyl, got himself a business partner and the rest is history.

Then from 1990 to 1995, they moved to Clarence Street, Sydney, not too far from the original shop. Instead of getting off at Martin Place, I would get off at Wynard.

It was bigger but below street level. Actually you walked in at street level and proceeded to go down a few flights of stairs. If I didn’t go up to visit, I ordered via mail. Lynch Mob’s “Wicked Sensation” on LP and Don Dokken’s “Up From The Ashes” on CD are two purchases i distinctly remember via mail.

I waited in line for a Sepultura meet and greet because my cousin Mega was a fan of the band. He took in his battered snare skin for signing. Even Igor the Sepultura drummer was impressed at the brutality of the snare skin.

Hours would be spent here and some big decisions would be made as to what to buy between my cousin and I. Then as soon as we got back to my cousins house I would dub the records he purchased and he would dub the records I purchased.

From 1995 to 2001, they moved to George Street, Sydney next to Hungry Jacks and then from 2001 to 2006 they moved across the road under the cinemas. For these stores I would get off at Town Hall.

Again, another step up in size and a lot of my money went Utopias way.

Between 2001 and 2003 I was working as an Insurance Broker in Sydney, about a 10 minute walk from the George Street store and I got a few of my band mates and some metal friends jobs with the same company.

Even though we had corporate haircuts and wore three piece suits, you couldn’t take the metal out of us metalheads. Twice a week we would venture into the store and of course we would get some funny looks like what the fuck are these guys doing here. But we always purchased something. After about a month it was the norm to be seen there in a suit.

But for some of the stuff I was after, the prices did border on the ridiculous. I remember the John Sykes solo albums listed as Japanese Imports and they had $50 on them. I already had downloaded them via Napster but wanted the originals. I got em eventually via Amazon in 2010.

And for the music I was seeking, the second hand shops, the record fairs and other smaller independent shops started to prove better value. Because the bigger Utopia got, the uniqueness culture it cultivated got lost.

Eventually online and especially Amazon proved to be the place to go and purchase what I needed. That was until Amazon closed their US site recently to us Aussies because they didn’t want to charge GST and the Aussie Amazon site is a total waste of space.

The last time I walked into Utopia was at an address on Broadway in Sydney. I actually drove to this store and parked at The Broadway Shopping Centre.

They occupied this store between 2006 to 2010. By then I felt it was a shadow of itself. Peer to peer downloading was at full swing. I still purchased some albums because that’s what I do but it felt weird being there. It felt barren and totally void of the culture that made Utopia popular.

But during this time they did things differently by having live bands in store and battle of the bands contests. They kept it going. They kept the name in the conversation.

From 2010, they have been at their Kent Street address and I haven’t been.

I either purchase from the bands directly these days those super deluxe box sets or I stream. And on Record Store Day, there is a shop locally called Music Farmers that stock the releases I’m always after.

But I will return, because that’s what us Metal fans do.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Maiden Live

On Friday, 6 May, 2016, I took my wife and three boys aged 10,9 and 4 to watch Iron Maiden on “The Book Of Souls World Tour” at the Qudos Bank Arena, formerly known as the Allphones Arena, formerly known as the Acer Arena in Homebush, Sydney.

The last time I saw Maiden was on the “Somewhere Back In Time Tour”. I went to both shows then, on February 9 and 10, 2008. The venue was then known as the Acer Arena and there wasn’t a spare spot on the floor or in the stands. But this time I saw red seats and spaces on the floor. Is it a sign of fading popularity?

I don’t think so, because prior to the show, Maiden got a “Gold” Certification for recorded music sales in Australia for “The Book Of Souls” album released in 2015.

As in 2008, the lights went out as soon as “Doctor Doctor” started playing from UFO on the backing intro music. And then it started with the little movie of the Maiden plane stuck in vines in a jungle.

“If Eternity Should Fail” and “Speed of Light” was the 1-2 punch from the “The Book of Souls” album to kick off the album.

When you have a legacy like Maiden’s, it’s a double-edged sword to spend the first 15 minutes of the concert playing tracks from the new album. There was some debate afterwards if this was a good thing or a bad thing especially when the audience was made up of people like me, dads and mums bringing their children to watch Maiden for the first time and children who were raised on the classic Maiden songs.

Anyway, the Dickinson penned “If Eternity Should Fail” is a great opener, and when the band kicks in with the intro lead is game on.

Waiting in line for the ending of time
If eternity should fail

It’s got a great sing a long chorus and that’s why it works live. By the time the “Ace Of Spades” influenced interlude kicks in, the floor is swaying with bodies. This song worked well live.

But the Smith/Dickinson composition, “Speed Of Light”, like “From Here To Eternity” and “Holy Smoke” before it, just don’t work as live songs. Boring and pedestrian.

“Children of the Damned”
Maiden takes us back to 1982 and we are all “Children of The Damned” again.

It’s the first of three songs from “The Number of the Beast” album and the first time, I am hearing this song live, as it wasn’t played on the 2008 “Somewhere Back In Time” tour. “Live After Death” was my first exposure to Maiden, and this song proved to be a favourite.

You’re Children of The Damned
Your back’s against the wall

Steve Harris wrote it about a book/movie, but those two lines above speak to me.

Because back in the Eighties, metal heads and rock heads got discriminated against. Since everyone that listened to metal and hard rock got classed as “devil worshippers” you can say that we were all damned and our backs were against the wall, trying to prove to others that we matter and have something better to offer this world.

Great live track and the quicker live tempo suited the song.

“Tears of a Clown” and “The Red And The Black” came next.

So Maiden went back to the new album. While I understand the importance of the song to Maiden and how it’s about comedian Robin Williams, “Tears of A Clown” just didn’t work as a live song. It’s best kept as a studio track.

Which brings me to the Steve Harris penned “The Red and the Black”. When I first heard this song on the album, I loved certain sections of it and after a few listens could honestly say it could do with some edits. Hearing the song, live, I can honestly say they should have been creative and exercised some control and edited the song down to 6 minutes instead of 10 minutes.

There is a harmony lead section of the song towards the end of the song that is excellent, however I think Maiden missed big time with these songs. Even the chants felt forced. “Fear Of The Dark” has the chants because the people/fans decided to chant along with the leads, not because Maiden wrote a song that has chants in it.

By now my four-year old fell asleep, which was a shame as his favourite song is “The Trooper” and that came up next. Actually I was surprised he fell asleep with the loud volumes.

“The Trooper”
So Maiden take us back to 1983 and the “Piece of Mind” album and play a speed metal version of the song. It was funny because in the car on the way up to the show my kids were singing the song super fast as well .

Actually, the song was that fast, that even Bruce couldn’t get all the words out in time.

Did it matter?

Not at all. My ten-year old and nine-year old lapped it up.

You’ll take my life but I’ll take yours too
You’ll fire your musket but I’ll run you through
So when you’re waiting for the next attack
You’d better stand there’s no turning back.

The stop of the music and the start of the vocal line is done brilliantly. It will remain a classic forever because of it.

“Powerslave”
The Dickinson penned title track from their 1984 album was up next and it’s one of my favourites.

When I was living this lie – Fear was my Game
People would worship and fall –
Drop to their knees.

Has our world progressed since the time of the Pharaohs?

Instead of whips and chains to work, we have wages and loans to keep us as slaves.

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don’t wanna die, I’m a God,
Why can’t I live on?
When the Life Giver dies,
All around is laid waste,
And in my last hour,
I’m a Slave to the Power of Death.

Then we are back to two more songs from “The Book Of Souls”. This time “Death or Glory” is up and to be honest it is another miss. But, “The Book of Souls” written by Gers and Harris deserves to be in the Maiden set forever and a day. It’s epic and grandiose and on par with “Powerslave”.

By know the clichéd stage antics of Janick Gers was bordering on “Dark Helmet” ludicrous proportions. Foot on the monitors like he’s doing ballet, swinging the guitar around his neck like anyone in 2016 cares about it, the Richie Blackmore splits and grabbing the guitar so the pick-up side faces the floor proved to be silly and funny at the same time.

But there was no escaping the power of  “Book Of Souls”.

A life that’s full of all the wealth and riches
Can never last an eternity

Sort of sounds like our current world. According to certain media reports we are living in a gold age of prosperity. I am sure that people in third world countries would disagree, but as the lyric states, what we have currently cannot last forever. But what is guaranteed is that the people in power and wealth would pay tooth and nail to ensure it does last forever.

The set is rounded off by “Hallowed Be Thy Name” from “The Number of the Beast”, “Fear of the Dark” from the album of the same name released in 1982 and “Iron Maiden” from the debut Maiden album released in 1980.

Now, “Hallowed Be They Name” to me, is a classic and man, the audience resonated with it.

Reflecting on my past life and it doesn’t have much time

When the end is near, all you can do is go back through your memories one last time because once it ends, those memories will be forever lost. It’s pretty sad when you think of the knowledge we could have if memories in our brains can somehow be preserved.

When the priest comes to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

In order to write “The Trooper”, Maiden had to write “Hallowed Be Thy Name” because both songs have very similar elements, especially the stop start sections of the verses, where the music stops and the vocals start.

The Harris penned “Fear Of The Dark” has achieved a new sense of immortality courtesy of the “Rock In Rio” performance on the “Brave New World” tour. Every section in the song is more or less a sing/chant along.

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have constant fear that something’s always near

I always saw “Fear Of The Dark” as an analogy for fear of the future, the unknown and how the world is always throwing good and bad times into our lives. And to be quite honest it’s pretty scary sometimes.

But “Iron Maiden” to me is a big letdown. I understand its historical importance but in the end it’s a really average song.

The encore kicked off with “The Number of the Beast”, then “Blood Brothers” from the “Brave New World” album released in 2000 and the set finished off with “Wasted Years” from the “Somewhere in Time” album released in 1986.

I’m coming back I will return
And I’ll possess your body and I’ll make you burn

Metal music was known as “The Beast” in the 80’s, because it possessed our bodies and minds. And when the establishments thought it was dead and buried, a bigger beast in Grunge, Industrial, Metalcore, NuMetal, Death Metal, Black Metal all came forth, until Metal music returned once again.

Bruce made special mention that the audience and Iron Maiden are “Blood Brothers” and how in the audience he is seeing parents with children and so forth. At this time I got a lot of high fives from people around me, that I had the balls to bring my children to the show. So without any surprises, the Steve Harris penned “Blood Brothers” was up.

Maybe all the things that you know that are precious to you
Could be swept away by fate’s own hand

Live each day to the best that it can be lived, because the world doesn’t care about the houses, cars, iPads and record collections when it comes calling for you.

Finally the big one and the favourite of my eldest son, the Adrian Smith penned “Wasted Years”. I always associated this song as another “Turn The Page”, “Home Sweet Home” and “Wanted Dead Or Alive”. And it’s also a love song.

The guitar intro is legendary and Adrian Smith as a songwriter has contributed to a lot of “classics” from the Maiden 80’s era. I would call him the unsung hero of Iron Maiden.

I close my eyes, and think of home
Another city goes by in the night
Ain’t it funny how it is, you never miss it ’til it’s gone away
And my heart is lying there and will be ’til my dying day

So Maiden came to Australia. For some reason I feel that it was for the last time. I hope not.

My eldest son, he loved the show and enjoyed it along with me. My middle son, got super tired half way and just kept on yawning. My youngest son fell asleep at the concert by “Tears Of A Clown”. My wife held him the whole time.

What kind of father buys concert tickets for a Friday night show, which is the end of a school week and the start of a sport filled week playing football. We got home at 1am and by 7am we all got up for the morning Saturday games.

Metal all the way.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Machine Head Experience

By 9.24pm, on Wednesday, 24 June 2015 at the Metro Theatre, I had consumed my sixth beer in one hour waiting for Machine Head to hit the stage. A pretty awesome metal playlist was doing the rounds that had songs like “Sad But True” from Metallica and “In Due Time” from Killswitch Engage.

Then “Diary Of A Madman” started playing. It was ominous. The volume was initially low and the house lights were still on. Then the outro of “Diary” kicked in with the choir voices and the volume got cranked and the lights went out.

The chant went up, “Machine Fucking Head, Oh” (a point that Robb Flynn made later on in the show, that Australia is the only country to say Machine Fucking Head OH..) and the clean guitars started for “Imperium”. Everyone in the sold out venue knew that all hell was going to break loose. I was standing close to the mixer and I had a great view to the stage and to the circle pit. It was pandemonium.

Machine Head’s career was re-built upon “Imperium” and the 2003 album “Through The Ashes Of Empires” that it came from. The song is even more special based on Robb’s journals that covered the hardships in getting the album recorded.

“Through The Ashes of Empires” was released in December 2003 in Europe only. It took months to gain some traction and be discovered. In April, 2004, it got a U.S release and a subsequent world-wide release. Suddenly everybody knew it and everybody wanted to go see Machine Fucking Head live.

The knockouts kept on coming with “Beautiful Mourning” from “The Blackening” and “Now We Die” from “Bloodstone And Diamonds”.

“The Blackening” was another game changer for Machine Head. Released in 2007, it put them on the road for three years and in the process it cemented Machine Head’s reputation as a solid unit. That trend continued with “Unto The Locust” and “Bloodstone And Diamonds”.

I still think “Now We Die” should have been called “Now We Rise”. It would have been perfect in my eyes.

“Bite The Bullet” came next and then “Locust” sent everyone into a frenzy. It’s no coincidence that the first five songs all came from their last four albums.

I saw a person on crutches enter the circle pit and I said to myself that is not going to end well. Later on, I saw that dude on someone’s shoulders. He was okay, the Head Cases took care of him.

“From This Day” from 1999’s “The Burning Red”, “Ten Ton Hammer” from 1997’s “The More Things Change” and “Clenching The Fists Of Dissent” from “The Blackening” kept the knockout punches coming.

How good is that “fight” part in “Clenching”?

“Beneath The Silt” from “Bloodstone and Diamonds” was slow and groovy and “Crashing Around You” from 2001’s “Supercharger” album picked it all back up.

When I first heard “Crashing Around You”, I said to myself what an awesome rock song. It was better than anything that was mainstream back then. However, Roadrunner didn’t know what to do with the song, or how to market Machine Head and because of record label stupidity the song didn’t cross over. It’s one of my favourite cuts on “Supercharger”.

“The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears” from “The Burning Red” came next.

But it’s all about “Darkness Within” from “Unto The Locust”.

What a song, what a groove, what a melody and what a guitar solo by Phil. Along with “Bulldozer” from “Supercharger” and “Killers and Kings” from “Bloodstone And Diamonds” those three songs proved another killer trilogy in the set.

How good are the lyrics in “Bulldozer”? Another unheralded cut from “Supercharger”,

Somebody told me, I should do what they told me
But there’s a hole in their plan, and I’m tearing it down

You can almost picture the scene. Record label A&R douche telling Robb to wear an orange jumpsuit. Robb agrees for the greater good but…..

Trust our guts, follow our hearts, no one can break these nuts
These lips ain’t kissin’ asre
The path of most resistance tests all of our strength
The strength will not be denied

It’s like Robb foresaw the crap that would come their way post “Supercharger” and the mission involved to get “Through The Ashes Of Empires” recorded and then released.

Bulldozer goes against the odds
Bulldozer goes against the grain

You can interchange “Bulldozer” with “Machine Head” as both have three syllables. Machine Head goes against the odds. Machine Head goes against the grain. And thank god they did. It’s like their story before it even happened, getting dropped, then rejected. What makes the track rock is the groove.

“Sail In The Black” was excellent (although in some sections the backing synths overpowered the intro vocals) and “Davidian” from the 1994 debut “Burn My Eyes” followed.

You would think it would be over, but, NO it wasn’t.

“Now I Lay Thee Down” from “The Blackening”, “Aesthetics Of Hate” from “The Blackening” again, “Game Over” from “Bloodstone And Diamonds”, “Old” from “Burn My Eyes” and “Halo” from “The Blackening” again rounded out the night.

I didn’t see a phone or a camera recording the show. Everyone was there to experience it.

If they played “A Farewell To Arms” from “The Blackening” I would have completely lost it.

From the set list, you can see how important “The Blackening” is to Machine Head and to the Head Cases.

Yeah, Machine Head did have a catalogue before and after “The Blackening”, however their entire career will be attributed to this one album, showing the power of excellence.

A defining album, and in time it will be held in the same light as Metallica’s “Master Of Puppets” or Pantera’s “A Vulgar Display Of Power”.
By the end of the night, I had consumed 13 beers and still had room for many more.

To Machine Head, thanks for another great night in Sydney.

The future looks good, as the band is constantly replenishing their audience base. The crowd was a mixture of teens, twenty something’s, thirty something’s and forty plus. It was also a mixture of dudes and chicks. Like the song “Truckin” from The Grateful Dead, Machine Head just keep on truckin’ along and winning new fans along the way.

Two days later my ears are still ringing and I am still talking about the experience. That is what live music is all about. The experience

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

The Changing Times and The Record Label Business Model of STEALING From The Artist.

I remember waiting in line for an in store appearance of the band Sepultura at Utopia Records back when Utopia Records were situated on Clarence Street, Sydney. It was the early nineties and the in-store had the classic Sepultura line up. My cousin at that time (who was a drummer) had a real bashed in snare skin for Igor to sign, I had a couple of CD’s and a poster and the others all had various forms of music (LP’s or CD’s or drumsticks or guitar cases and so forth).

Sepultura was cult like popular then. They sat in an area that satisfied a few different markets. You had the “betrayed” original Metallica fans. You had fans of the original “thrash” movement. You had fans of the “Death Metal” market. You had fans of the “Extreme Metal Market”. And you had fans of the new “Groove Metal” market. Shredders appreciated them.

I remember asking one of the Utopia guys who was doing line management outside the building, why so many people came to Utopia on a daily basis just for chit-chat. He replied that they come to buy CD’s and I disagreed with him. I told him that nobody wakes up in the morning and says to themselves I need to spend $30 on a CD. We wake up in the morning and we say to ourselves, we want to hear the new Sepultura album, the new Motley Crue album and we want to hear it right now. And in order to hear that song, we HAD to buy a CD or an LP. Because radio sure wouldn’t play it.

So a bit of talking goes back and forth and the Utopia dude goes on to tell me I have no idea what I am talking about as Utopia sell hundreds of thousands CD’s a year.

The recording industry failed to realize that it existed not to sell records or CDs but simply to find the fastest, easiest way to let fans hear the song we wanted to hear. If they realised that, then they would have invented the iPod and iTunes. Instead history shows that a company not even in the music industry, did that instead. And now Apple makes billions of dollars selling music. So going back to my Utopia example, they are nowhere near the force it was back in the early to mid nineties and I wouldn’t be surprised if it shuts its doors eventually (which I hope never happens \:::/).

Apple has been selling tracks at the iTunes store since 2003. Apps, books, movies and TV shows came after. Yet, no one complained about the accounting and to my knowledge no one has sued Apple for unpaid royalties. Artists may complain about Apple taking a 30% cut, however that was the deal.

YouTube and Spotify have been streaming songs from about 2006 and 2008 respectively. Of course there are others on the market as well that offer streaming services like Pandora, Google, Deezer and so on. However, one thing these companies have done is they pay. They honour their deal. Which is the reverse of what the record labels did.

You know, those record labels that got sued by artists for their accounting practices, claiming they’ve been screwed over by the label. You know those record labels famous for paying late or paying at all. You know those record labels for never honouring a deal. You know those record labels that threatened to derail your career and you end up settling for less than you deserve.

What pisses me off is that while people complain about Spotify stream payments and YouTube stream payments and Pandora royalties,  at least these techies are honest in their deals at this point in time. It just seems that the record labels who are the majority rights holders are not passing on the monies.

Because a deal is never a simple deal to the recording business. The labels don’t want simple. The labels don’t want royalties to be computerised because that would mean there is transparency and with transparency, profits would disappear. The major label business model is based on STEALING from the artist. That is why you have artists like Eminem, Dave Coverdale and others suing their labels for unpaid iTunes royalties. That is why you have artists suing their labels for unpaid monies due to creative accounting practices.

Believe me, if an CEO’s pay packet was suddenly short, he’d drop everything and do his best to get it right if the problem wasn’t immediately rectified. But if it’s the artist?

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Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Protest The Hero at The Manning Bar

I got back from Eastern Europe last Thursday morning and by Friday night I was at the Manning Bar in Sydney Uni watching Protest The Hero. The ticket for the night was $45 Australian plus booking fee of about $6. Compared to some of the prices I have paid for tickets, this was a good deal.

Clarity

A perfect way to kick off the show with the opener from “Volition”. Guitarist Luke Hoskin was shredding while co-guitarist Tim Millar was rock solid. Also impressive was Mike Ieradi on drums who comes from another favourite band of mine called “The Kindred” or otherwise known as “Today I Caught the Plague”. Touring bassist and producer Cam McLellan was also very comfortable on the bass guitar.

“Affluence permitting a mutual annihilation”

I love that lyric. Money and power permits people to rewrite history to suit their point of view. What do you think the corporations that got rich from buying the copyright of the creators are doing right now.

Bone Marrow

From 2008’s “Fortress” album. Rody Walker rocked. In between songs he gave us some stories and laughter. He was comfortable on stage and well seasoned. It was like a rock comedy.

“And there he sat like a stone
With promises broke like a bone”

Power and wealth corrupts the soul. How many times have our leaders or our employers promised us something and then broken that promise all in the name of keeping the numbers on their bank accounts ticking forward.

Underbite

Anyone seen the fantastic puppet clip for this song? Another song from the “Volition” album.

“So is everyone having a good time tonight?
Good, I’m glad (I couldn’t actually care less)”

Some of our musical heroes came to this level. They couldn’t care less. It was all take and no give back.

“Now you comprehend our complex relationship—consumer/consumed.
You’re just some stupid kid and I’m a megalomaniac”

Sounds like Gene Simmons to me right there.

Hair-Trigger

From the excellent “Scurrilous” album released in 2011.

“I wrote a Goddamn love song to praise everything I hate”

There are some funny lyrics in the catalog of Protest The Hero. Rody Walker doesn’t mind having some fun and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. This is what music and the live show are meant to be. FUN.

Bloodmeat

Also from 2008’s “Fortress” album.

Mist

If Gene Simmons believes that rock is dead then he should have been at this show. Although the venue is a small one, it still didn’t stop the floor from erupting. By now we had a few more stories from Rody and an audience member did a back flip on stage that everyone thought was going to end bad. “Mist” is by far the most catchiest and hectic song in the Protest The Hero catalog. Especially the whole outro sing-a-long section.

“You’re as deep as the grave, and you’re marching to the heartbeat of the land”

Bury The Hatchet

They went back to the full length debut, 2005’s “Kezia” album.

“Well place your justice in my palm
And then I’ll make a fist
And punch your grimaced face”

How many times have you said, “that’s not fair” or “they can’t do that” in your life? I bet a lot. And people still get away with shit. These lyrics sum up my feelings about people who get away with crimes both civil and criminal just because they had the capacity to pay for justice to be tweaked and argued from a certain point of view.

The Dissentience

Another song from 2008’s “Fortress” album.

C’est La Vie

From the “Scurrilous” album released in 2011.

“Stepped off a building to find concrete evidence,
Concrete evidence that he’d ever make an impact
Fiction splattered into fact
And his fiction splattered into another sidewalk painting on display”

Again the comical overtones about stepping off a building and splattering your brains and blood all over the sidewalk.

Sex Tapes

Also from the “Scurrilous” album released in 2011

All the editors are hard, all the journalists are wet
All the boys are jerking off in private on the internet

The world needed Rody Walker to tell it like it is.

Everyone’s naked!
Somewhere out there in-ter-net
Somewhere out there in-ter-net

So true on that. Forget about piracy on the web. Nudity and sex still rules the search engines.

Reflected, directed, by one simple fact
Be careful what you’re looking at because it might be looking back

With all of the Celebrity Cloud hacks that happened, private photos now have over a million other eyes looking right back at them.

Get if off, get it off online
Get it off get if off get it off online

Again some of the most funniest shit i have heard. Getting off, online. What a classic.

Plato’s Tripartite

Oh how the system fails you completely
when monstrous children get treated so sweetly.
The violence is praised, the decision cemented
(they seem like nice kids)
Crimes go committed, but never lamented
(that doesn’t change what they did)

When PTH go all serious to get a message of injustice across they do it pretty good.

No one is innocent if they go free

How good is that lyric! Just because a guilty person was set free it does not mean that they are innocent.

Blindfolds Aside

From 2005’s “Kezia” album.

We woke up as men but tonight we’ll sleep as killers
Five soldiers forever sedated with the, “No one’s responsible”
psychological drama of our social justice dribble, dribble, dribble

Again they deal with the injustices of life. In this case people have to carry out the duties of their job. The lyric line of “a sin that paid his debts”.

Sequoia Throne

The closer for the show came from 2008’s “Fortress” album.

They’re not the ones who cause us harm – we are!

And in the end that is how the funny and intellectual show ended. We are the ones responsible for our lot in life.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Thirty Seconds To Mars

Jared Leto is a star in every sense. He was born to be in the arts.

I watched “Thirty Seconds To Mars” last night at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Actually, it has been renamed the “Qantas Credit Union Arena”. The beauty of corporate sponsorships.

Leto had the crowd in his grasp from the word go and he manipulated the audience to jump, chant and sing with him throughout the whole performance.

I got into the band from the “A Beautiful Lie” album. It was the song “Attack” that hooked me in. And then after I purchased the album I was blown away by just how strong it was.

I then found out that they had a previous album and I purchased that as well and I really enjoyed the Tool-Pop Rock sound throughout. The song “Fallen” comes to mind immediately as I type this. Also produced by the excellent Bob Ezrin, who of course was a name I was very familiar with from all of the classic rock albums that I had.

So by the time they released “This Is War”, well that was the album that I enjoyed and it also hooked my wife in. When the new album came out, I became hooked on “Conquistador” while my wife became hooked on the whole album.

First let’s get the bad out-of-the-way. If there was a point of criticism it was that stupid white bright light in each corner of the stage. By looking at the stage, the one on the left corner was shining out towards the audience and all I saw from the show was that lovely bright light. For the few sections and songs that it didn’t go on, it was good, otherwise that stupid bright light made it torturous.

The biggest surprise.

“End Of All Days”.

I didn’t rate it when I heard it on the album because after being blown away by “Conquistador” I sort of felt that the album went too soft. However after seeing “End Of All Days” performed live, I was converted. Even thought it is a ballad, the song is powerful and man it resonated with the audience.

And seriously look at their worldwide digital numbers. Yes, that’s right. While stupid executives and mainstream rags focus on sales within a country, the fans of music have shown over and over again that it is a world wide music industry.

“Closer To The Edge” has 46,243,437 views on YouTube and 12,480,144 streams on Spotify.

“This Is War” has 39,320,835 views on YouTube and 13,992,986 streams on Spotify.

“The Kill (Bury Me) has 31,501,058 views on the official channel and 20,922,479 views on a fan channel called mina58 for a total of 52 million plus views. Add to that the 12,303,344 + 5,479,614 = 17,782,958 streams on Spotify.

“Kings And Queens” has 19,382,518 views on YouTube as well as 19,683,580 streams on Spotify.

“Up In The Air” has 19,220,663 views on YouTube and 7,994,167 streams on Spotify.

The point. They are a success story.

Sales on the board. Tick. Streams. Tick. YouTube plays. Tick. Box office score. Tick. Merchandise. Tick. The line ups for the merch store went forever at the gig. Talented front man. Tick. Super talented live performer in the front man. Tick. Social media presence. Tick.

Did that happen off the bat?

Of course not. They worked hard at it. The first album didn’t set the charts alight even though it had a brilliant supporting cast and some real Tool like pop rock gems.

“A Beautiful Lie” became a juggernaut on the backs of four songs, “The Kill”, “From Yesterday”, “Attack” and the title track. This is the album that gave them a career. This is the band rocking out and they should have played these songs with the full band set up instead of bringing a few of them up with the acoustic part of the set.

Remember, it is about the songs and they need to be great.

So I was surprised after I finished reading a few reviews from journalists that write for the Sydney Morning Herald. The review is critical of the songs. First, they say that the band doesn’t have the songs to be a big act. Maybe, they just had the sales from ARIA in front of them, because if they did some digging they would have seen the digital stats.

But then again, this is a mainstream institution that still believes it’s about selling newspapers and locking up news content behind subscription models. Hello, it’s 2014.

While the “New York Times” and all of the other main papers in the US tried these subscription models, the very free Huffington Post came from left field and overtook their online presence. You procrastinate, so prepare to be overtaken by the ones who innovate.

In the end the band is on the road until the end of September. That is the music business. Hit the road and deliver. And with Jared Leto as the front man, Thirty Seconds To Mars do deliver.

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