Machine Head released a statement on their website:

“Machine Head must exit their current North American tour with Dethklok, All That Remains and Black Dahlia Murder due to matters completely beyond their control. Frontman Robb Flynn must have emergency surgery. Flynn had planned to go under the knife in January after completing the tour as he has been playing through the pain of a double inguinal hernia since the tour started in October. He had hoped to continue the tour despite extreme discomfort, but it’s become too difficult to continue on. Flynn will undergo surgery tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 14 in Minneapolis before returning home to California to recover, rest and recuperate. Machine Head will rejoin the tour in Portland, OR. Machine Head extends its regrets to fans, the other bands, and the other crews for having to leave the tour prematurely”.

Flynn stated, “I’ve been toughing out an inguinal hernia below my waistline since June of last year, and a few months ago got a second hernia in my nuts. What basically happens is my guts drop into my nuts, and it looks like I have a third testicle (man, I can hear the jokes already!) It hasn’t been that painful, and I’ve gone to the doctor a few times to take care of it, but he said after surgery I probably couldn’t sing for a few weeks, and since that wasn’t going to happen, I scheduled it for January when I had a break. Unfortunately, after the last few shows, my guts have been very swollen and hard to push back in. Yesterday, the pain was excruciating and I went to the emergency room last night. They said that I need surgery. I will be doing my damnedest to rejoin the tour in a couple weeks. Thanks to all the fans, bands, and crew for understanding. I’m determined to see you all soon and finish what has been a great freakin tour!”

The tour is scheduled to run through Dec. 14.

Big up Arthur O’ Regan on the animation duties. Great job as always

Balls out metal with hammering grooves and tasty hooks is what South Londoners Bloodloss do best, and their debut mini album ‘The Struggle’, out on the 5 March, is packed of neck breaking bangers.

Here is a list of the top 10 albums to be released this year, what could make a better stocking filler than one of these magnificent releases?

10 III.5 – Alter Bridge

Making it into the countdown on a technicality, 2011 saw the release of III.5, what was basically a deluxe version of 2010′s III including three new tracks. That said, the tracks still manage to sound fresh over a year after the original release, and latest tracks Home, Zero and Never Born To Follow sit alongside fan favourites Wonderful Life and Ghosts of Days Gone By perfectly. There is not a moment of weakness on this album, which I would go so far as to say is Alter Bridge’s greatest album to date and these tracks stand out as live highlights as well, which can only be a sign of how strong the tracks found on the album actually are. Having announced they will be taking a year out to work on other projects, Myles Kennedy being the lead singer of Slash’s latest project and the rest of the band once again joining forces with Scott Stapp for a new Creed album, Alter Bridge fans will have a fair wait for a follow up. Luckily, the album never seems to get stale, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

9. Sinners Never Sleep – You Me At Six

After bursting on the scene with brilliant debut album Take Off Your Colours in 2008, You Me At Six have grown in both stature and confidence. Third album Sinners Never Sleep is the culmination of endless touring and is shows a maturity which sets them apart from their peers. Speaking to Rock Sound magazine earlier this year, lead singer Josh Franceschi described the album as, “our Only Revolutions“. Although it is not as technically dense as Biffy Clyro’s fifth studio album, he was not wrong, with Sinners Never Sleep affording You Me At Six the mainstream success they have always been destined for. From the first moment of Loverboy, right through to the closing ballad of When We Were Younger, there is not a filler track in sight. Guest vocals from the likes of Oli Sykes and Winston McCall add to the album of course, but this is definitely You Me At Six at their best. If they can improve on this album, You Me At Six have got quite a career ahead of them.

8. Good For Me – The Swellers

2011 has been quite a year for Michigan four-piece The Swellers. Endless touring and the release of one of the standout albums of the year has seen them skyrocket in popularity, and with feel good tracks like Best I Ever Had and Runaway it is not difficult to see why. That they are able to stand out in an overpopulated genre (Sum 41 and New Found Glory to name but a few) is a commendable achievement, but to produce a collection of songs which connect to so many people is astounding. To listen to the album just the once, without at least one of the tracks becoming lodged into your head for hours is impossible. With catchy choruses and an unparalleled work-ethic, The Swellers seem to be looking to fill the large hole left by the disappearance of Hundred Reasons and are doing so with great success. With a spot on the 2012 Hit The Deck Festival confirmed yesterday, make sure you catch The Swellers sooner rather than later!

7. Ugly Animals – Retox

By far the heaviest album  Live and Loud Rock heard all year, Ugly Animals is the sound of a band who are pissed off at society, themselves and everything which is going on around them. Weighing in at 11 tracks in just shy of 13 minutes, this is hardcore at its visceral best. Having described themselves as the “response to stagnant and boring cultures, as well as the countercultures that have slipped into a sea of pointlessness” they are carrying quite a burden on their shoulders. With tracks like The World is Ending and Its About Time and Ten Pounds of Shit in a Five Pound Bag, it is clear to see Retox aim to create some of the heaviest music you will hear, and they have succeeded. After the 13 minutes have passed you will feel like your senses have been abused, but so is the quality of Ugly Animals, you will come crawling back for more.

6. Punk and Poetry – The King Blues

Punk and Poetry is exactly what you would expect from political rockers The King Blues; a strongly written call to arms in the form of a 30 minute punk album. Topics to feel the full force of frontman Itch’s ire include the government (We Are Fucking Angry, The Future’s Not What It Used To Be), the porn industry (Sex Education) and female discrimination (5 Bottles of Shampoo). The songs all float seamlessly into one another with the help of short tracks which act as interludes, such as Shooting Fascists, helping the step from one genre to another. Punk, reggae, ska and pop all find their way into this collection of songs, and it is a commendable approach to take in an industry where the listeners attention span wanes quicker than ever before. If you give this album your full attention, and I strongly suggest you do, you will be rewarded with one of the best albums released over the past 12 months. Just don’t expect David Cameron to appreciate this in his Christmas stocking.

5. Neibourhoods – Blink-182

2011 saw the release that every pop-punk fan had been waiting for, Blink-182′s first album since they reformed back in 2009. The good news for those who waited patiently for its release is, Neighbourhoods is one of the best albums they have released, moving on from the immaturity which ran throughout their previous albums to a much darker feel. That said, this is still very obviously a Blink record, balancing the influence of Angels and Airwaves and +44 perfectly to create an album that will be held close to many a fan’s heart for years to come. Album opener Up All Night is Blink-182 at their best; Travis Barker’s drumming holding together the track while a huge riff acts as a counterweight between the vocals of Hoppus and Delonge perfectly. Although lyrically dark, the upbeat style which fans have been accustomed to is still intact, maintaining the feel good factor that made Blink-182 the kings of pop-punk, and long may that continue.

4. Unto The Locust – Machine Head

It is hard to imagine a best of countdown without the kings of heavy metal present, and this year is no different, with Unto The Locust being the perfect follow-up to 2007′s critically acclaimed The Blackening. This is not a carbon copy of the aforementioned album though. Unlike its predecessor, it is not all balls-out breakneck speed thrash metal. At times, Machine Head bravely veer off course, with Darkness Within being an exquisite acoustic number until the metal aspects kick in around the two minute mark. The huge riffs are still present though and Robb Flynn’s vocals sound stronger than ever. All in all, this is not only the best metal album of the year, but arguably Machine Head’s greatest work to date.

3. England Keeps My Bones – Frank Turner

Frank Turner has been plugging away, gaining more and more plaudits every year he has been touring since the demise of Million Dead back in 2005. This year saw him gain the critical acclaim and mainstream success that he has long deserved. With England Keep My Bones, he has penned a feel good folk-rock album, which continues in the same style as his last solo release Poetry of the Deed. The positive aspect of the album is that running throughout it is an obvious pride in his English heritage which, in an industry where so many of his counterparts seem to want to be American, is heartwarming. No matter how pessimistic you may be about the state of the nation, this album will remind you what being English actually means, and very few albums can claim to achieve that.

2. Free – Twin Atlantic

In any other year, Free by Twin Atlantic would have been the album of the year by a mile, it is that good. The band have made so much progress since their debut full length Vivarium, lyrically the tracks are stronger and the riffs which run throughout the album are huge, carrying catchy choruses which are guaranteed to bounce around your head for days. The growth is shown in album highlight Crash Land, a hugely emotive acoustic track revolving around being stuck on a desert island. Do not worry though, this is not some huge concept album, each track stands and shines alone. Very few bands could write 13 tracks of this quality on one album, and very few will do so next year. In The Ghost of Eddie, frontman Sam McTrusty claims: “You won’t get better than me.” On the strength of this release, I would have to argue that he has a point.

1. Wasting Light – Foo Fighters

In a year where Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters returned to their true form, what else could be named album of 2011? Wasting Light is, from start to finish, the epitome of a rock album. Produced by Butch Vig, the mastermind behind Nirvana’s Nevermind, Wasting Light shows how great a songwriter Grohl truly is. Bridge Burning is a raucous, metal-infused bolt out of the blue, starting the album exactly as he intended it to go on. Guest vocals from rock legend Bob Mould adds to the melancholy of Dear Rosemary, and the addition of Krist Novoselic on bass for I Should Have Known just adds to an already brilliant track. The highlight of the album is saved for last though, as Walk is a rock epic, made to be unleashed on arena crowds. The slow build up, firstly guitar and Grohl’s vocals, soon joined by Taylor Hawkins drums, climaxes into a huge crescendo, causing quite the mosh pit during their headline spot at Milton Keynes Bowl earlier this summer. That Foo Fighters classics like Everlong or Best of You could slide into this album without seeming out of place is a comment on just how strong Wasting Light is. The Foo Fighters have firmly cemeted their place atop the rock world, and it will take some effort to remove them.

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Machine Head
UNTO THE LOCUST

It is such a shame that Machine Head decided to go trendy in the middle of their career and record two albums that were, at least partially, influenced by the whole Korn/Limp Bizkit uprising that was going on at the time. I mean, we all get why they were doing it. This was their livelihood, and it just seemed like that style of metal fused with a touch (or more in LB’s case) of hip hop was going to be the crossover sound that redefined heavy music. Machine Head was looking to be huge, so they took a shot. Granted, THE BURNING RED and SUPERCHARGER are not the rapcore albums that most make them out to be, but at the same time, it took the band away from a career that was on a path to equal or even surpass the extreme metal band that was on top at the time, Pantera. It killed their momentum. Still, Rob Flynn and company regrouped at some point and put it all together. Their last couple of albums, THROUGH THE ASHES OF EMPIRES and the absolutely brilliant release THE BLACKENING, have found a band that has 100% found their mark again and is hitting on all cylinders.

As a fan of heavy music, UNTO THE LOCUST is one of the single most anticipated releases of the year. It’s the second time in their career where they’ve had an unbelievable amount of pressure to follow up a brilliant release (the last being THE MORE THINGS CHANGE after BURN MY EYES), but this might even create more pressure because of the universal praise that THE BLACKENING received. Being honest about it, UNTO THE LOCUST is a great release once again by Machine Head. It’s not as good as THE BLACKENING is, but that’s kind of like asking Metallica to do better than MASTER OF PUPPETS or Pantera to top VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER. It’s just not going to happen. What does happen though is Machine Head are once again focusing on their strengths to create huge, epic metal monsters that are easily digestable by fans of extreme music. Songs like “Locust” are a perfect example. This song would fit on any of the classic Machine Head albums. The sound is huge, and the transitions and breakdowns throughout the song are of the same style and quality that has long separated this band from the rest of the pack. Guitarists Phil Demmel and Rob Flynn are as focused as ever, and the guitar tones captured here are arguably the best these guys have captured since THE MORE THINGS CHANGES (which, for a point of reference, is my favorite pure guitar tone album of all time). Their sound stands out throughout, although you have to give them a bit of credit for tipping their hat to Metallica in the opening of “This Is The End”. This band is so cohesive as a unit these days, and they never act outside of the collective unit. Dave McClain, Adam Duce, Flynn and Demmel never stray outside of the epic songs they write to try for a showcase moment, which is arguably the best quality Machine Head have as a band.

The only drawback that UNTO THE LOCUST has is the production is not quite as precise as they have captured on past releases. It’s not bad on any level, but the sound would have been enhanced that much more if a master knob turner would have manned this production instead of Flynn. Being specific, some of the drums are a touch less bombastic than they should be; specifically on “This Is The End” which is powered heavily by McClain’s masterful playing.

Another complaint some people may have is that there’s only seven songs here on UNTO THE LOCUST. The argument is valid, but the band have still delivered almost 50 minutes of music in these seven songs. The reality is that every song here is very epic in scope, and there’s not a single moment on the disc where you listen and go, “man, they should have chopped this down”. In short, there’s not long songs just to have long songs (like, as example, Metallica’s DEATH MAGNETIC).

PITRIFF RATING – 93/100 – I know many won’t agree, but as heavy bands go that are active today, Machine Head are the very best at it. Some will argue this point with bands ranging from Slipknot to Lamb Of God to Chimaira to Metallica to even the great Slayer. I would gladly take the output of any of those bands listed over the last decade, compare them to the last three Machine Head albums, and walk away with my three Machine Head albums as the victors of greatness. UNTO THE LOCUST is not the brilliant album that THE BLACKENING was, but it’s pretty damn close. This is a band that has found their mark.

Chris Akin

CD

Machine Head was founded back in 1992 by Flynn (who also plays guitar) and Adam Duce (bassist, backup vocals). Their first album, Burn My Eyes, will thrash you from start to finish. My personal favorite from it is “Davidian” which is nothing but pure thrash metal. It also is a bit controversial due to its lyrics, but hey, what’s thrash metal without controversy? Anyway, they went on to release The More Things Change… in 1997 (with new drummer Dave McClain), which debuted at #138 on the Billboard 200 and toured with Ozzfest in support of it. Check out “Struck a Nerve” from it. If you want to see what I mean by 21 circle pits, check out this song performed at Sonisphere 2009. Complete insanity…

From there, they went on to release The Burning Red in 1999 and received an uproar from their fans claiming that they were trying to “sell out.” Honestly, I don’t see how they were. I mean, what Backstreet Boy fan wants to listen to “The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears”? I admit, though, the rapping in “From This Day” is very unlike thrash metal, but it’s still metal! But in 2001, they redeemed themselves with Supercharger. However, their debut single off the album “Crashing Around You” was banned from MTV due to depictions of the 9/11 attacks. Because of this, their label, Roadrunner, stopped the funding the band, thus making Machine Head leave the record label. Not long after, their lead guitarist, Ahrue Luster, left and was replaced by Phil Demmel.

Machine Head’s next album was Through the Ashes of Empires (released in 2003), and in my opinion, is one of their strongest albums to date. Songs like “Imperium” and “Bite the Bullet” really define what modern thrash metal is, and it was also the first album to feature the current lineup altogether. They toured for a while in support of the album and headlined the Wacken Open Air Festival in 2005 (played to largest crowd-40,000 people). After that, they went into the studio to work on their sixth album, The Blackening, their strongest album. It has been the most successful Machine Head album to date and has gotten them the status of one of the leading bands in American thrash metal.

They’ve been touring for almost three years now and have said that they will go into the studio around January 2010 to start writing and recording the new album. Can’t wait until then!

Here are some my favorite songs from them. If you like thrash, you’ll love them all.

1. “The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears” -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwXwB9cY9Zo

2. “Halo” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-SohL691kc

3. “Struck a Nerve” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqX429DbcY

4. “Imperium” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xEtC7sBvUc

5. “Crashing Around You” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVUItOTpvfo

Artist: Emmure
Album: Felony
Label: Victory Records
Website:

Some bands write music to fit into a genre, while some push the envelope of a genre. Others try to create a genre or sound  all their own. Emmure attempts to cover all heavy genre’s to appease all fans of heavy music.

Emmure is confusing to me! Musically they sounds like a hybrid of Pantera, Slipknot and the Deftones, but  incorporate theses sore thumb rappy vocal parts that remind me of Downset.  Simply put, Emmure’s schtick sounds dated to me. Incredibly simple metalcore meets death metal vocals! The higher pitched guitar work is SO simple, Rob Flynn probably fingers these in his sleep. To say I am not a fan of this record is an understatement.

“Don’t Be One” is the album that really irritated me. It starts off with a Chino Moreno like melody, breaks into a Pap Roach like rappy section- then goes death metal vocally. All the while the music tries to imitate a Killswitch Engage melody. It is a felony that Emmure wrote a song that is so scattered- I don’t get it!

Not good! Thankfully Victory Records has bands like Between The Buried And Me and Darkest Hour to hang their hat on, because I can’t see any fan of metal finding anything progressive, moving or remotely interesting about this record. It simply lacks identity and tries to imitate far too many bands. Sorry guys!

Rating: 6 out of 10
Suggested Tracks:

Track Listing:

1. “Sunday Bacon” – 2:37
2. “I Thought You Met Telly and Turned Me Into Casper” – 2:53
3. “I<3 EC2″ – 2:45
4. “Felony” 2:47
5. “You Sunk My Battleship” – 3:09
6. “The Philosophy of Time Travel” – 2:36
7. “First Impressions” – 2:18
8. “R2deepthroat” – 2:17
9. “Bars in Astoria” – 3:28
10. “Lesson from Nichole” – 2:26
11. “Don’t Be One” – 2:55
12. “Immaculate Misconception” – 1:26

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Zunächst gleich das Negative vorab: Der Sound war (vor allem bei den Vorbands) echt bescheiden. Man ist ja von der Schleyerhalle nicht wirklich viel gewöhnt, aber das war schon “speziell”. Von daher kann ich über “The Sword” und “Machine Head” auch nicht wirklich viel sagen. Machine Head haben eine wirklich gute Show geboten und das Publikum sehr gut angeheizt.

Mit dem Start des Intros für Metallica war die Halle aber ein absoluter Hexenkessel. Zum Einen war es unglaublich heiß, zum Anderen waren wir Fans an dem Abend aber kollektiv wahnsinnig gut drauf. Das hat sich auch auf die Band übertragen, denn die haben eine Show abgezogen, wie ich sie schon lange nicht mehr gesehen habe (auch nicht in Berlin zur Release-Party von Death Magnetic). Die Setlist sah wie folgt aus:

• The Good, The Bad, The Ugly (Intro)
• That Was Just Your Life
• The End Of The Line
• Creeping Death
• Wherever I May Roam
• One
• Broken, Beat & Scarred
• Cyanide
• Sad But True
• Bass Doodle Rob
• No Leaf Clover
• The Judas Kiss
• Kirk Doodle #1
• The Day That Never Comes
• Master Of Puppets
• Damage Inc.
• Kirk Doodle #2
• Nothing Else Matters
• Enter Sandman
• The Wait (Zugabe)
• Phantom Lord (Zugabe)
• Seek And Destroy (Zugabe)

Nach allen den Jahren, waren bei dieser Setlist mit “No Leaf Clover” und “The Wait” sogar zwei Livepremieren für mich dabei. Der Hammer des Abends war aber definitiv “Damage Inc.”. Mit solch einer Intensität habe ich das Lied noch nie gehört!

Wie versprochen habe ich wieder ein paar Bilder gemacht, die es in der Gallerie zu bewundern gibt (auch mit ein paar Bildern von Machine Head). Leider ist die Qualität teilweise sehr bescheiden. Außerdem hier auch noch ein kurzer Filmausschnitt von “Master Of Puppets”:

Außerdem habe ich es endlich geschafft, nach dem Konzert zwei (!) Plektren zu fangen. Ich habe die Lars-Edition bekommen:

Metallica-Plektren

Fazit: In dieser Form spielen Metallica noch jede Band an die Wand und ich freue mich schon jetzt auf das nächste Konzert!

A Blind Myself, a Fish!, a Superbutt vagy a nemrég Fonogram díjat kapott Insane a modernebb hangzásra kattanókat mozgatja át alaposan, köszönhetően a Hegyaljás szervezőknek, akik a tíz éve megszokott igényességgel válogatták össze a nyári fesztivál legzúzósabb előadóit.
Önkényesen válogattunk a fellépők közül: de listánkról nem maradhat ki az Ignite mellől másik két kaliforniai, ezúttal thrash banda: a Death Angel és a nem kevésbé legendás Testament sem, akik San Franciscóban, még 1983-ban nyúltak a hangszerek után, és azóta is aktívak kisebb megszakításoktól eltekintve. Ahogy a Hegyalja számos műfajt képviselő fellépői közül itt kell megemlíteni a hazai sikert sikerre halmozó Subscribe, Isten Háta Mögött és Road bandákat is.
Ha Hegyalja, akkor Tankcsapda és persze Depresszió: két csapat, akik már a legelső, 2000-es fesztivált sem hagyták ki. A folk metal hazai legjobbja a Dalriada, a műfaj ikonjának számitó finn testvérekkel, a Finntrollal egy napon játszik majd. A P. Mobil szupergroup-utód Mobilmania is ott lesz, hogy az ötnapos találkozó metálos látogatói a legkiválóbb minőséget kapják bérletük amúgy is baráti áráért.
A még súlyosabb műfajok kedvelői is csemegézhetnek majd: itt lesz a modern thrash metal élcsapata, a dán Hatesphere, a death metal kanadai alapzenekara, a Kataklysm, hisz nincs kétség, a világ legbrutálisabb zenéjét ők játszák ebben a stílusban. Nem végül, és nem is utolsó sorban tiszteletét teszi – egyenesen a black metal őshazájából, Norvégiából – a Keep of Kalessin. (A banda 2003-as lemezét a stílus fekete pápája, maga Csihar Attila énekelte fel.)

A Hegyalja Fesztiválról:
A Hegyalja Fesztivált idén nyáron tizedik alkalommal rendezik meg, a világörökség részeként jegyzett, lenyűgöző szépségű Tokaj határában. A fesztivál a régió legjelentősebb zenei eseményéből az elmúlt években Magyarország meghatározó nyári fesztiváljává nőtte ki magát: szervezői nem csak élvonalbeli előadókat hívnak meg évről-évre, de a fesztivál környezettudatos gyökereit sem hagyják feledésbe merülni.
Idén nyáron, július 15-től 19-ig Tokaj határában találkoznak a hegyaljások a hazai kedvencekkel, a metál, a rock és persze az elektronikus szcéna legizgalmasabb nemzetközi előadóival.
A Hegyalja látogatói már most eldönthetik, hogy kit akarnak még a fesztiválon látni: ha a kedvencek elég szavazatot gyűjtenek a http://www.bandland.hu-n akkor az egyértelmű jelzés a nyári, tokaji gyülekező szervezőinek…

Despite almost completely missing The Sword, apart from (literally) the last two or three notes to whatever their set closer was, then seeing them head backstage down the very-wrestling-like aisle, I was really looking forward to seeing main support act for this part of the ‘World Magnetic’ tour (and headliners in their own right), Machine Head.

I’ve not had chance to listen to Machine Head’s latest album, ‘The Blackening’ (is that the most metal name for an album ever?!), but I saw them live at Rock City in 2001 and they blew my head off.

They were touring 2001′s ‘Supercharger’ at the time and, although that time for them musically has been criticised as their least impressive and ‘selling out’ phase, that was my favourite era of their music. Listen to ‘American High’ off Supercharger or ‘From This Day’ off ‘The Burning Red’ and tell me those songs aren’t awesome.

They were supported by Ill Nino back in 2001 and after the gig the singer was mooching around the Rig downstairs as if waiting for groupies to notice him but, as this was early in the band’s career, I didn’t see anyone flock toward him). We also sneaked backstage after the gig and saw Benji from Skindred and loads of excitable fans. It all came to an end when security decided there were too many people and started asking to see passes. Obviously we had none so retreated back into the Rig.

So, anyway, they set a high standard 8 years back but I was unfortunately disappointed with the awful sound they had last night (although I’m not sure if that was just compounded by most of the 8+ minute songs essentially sounding the same anyway). It was a shame as, when I saw them at Rock City with a good sound and rabid audience, they were (and are) one of the best live acts out there.

Ok, so these days they’re straying dangerously close to the Megadeth school of metal, i.e. “let’s write songs that are all about the solo’s and how many thousands of notes we can cram in as possible” but they’re still a brutal force to be reckoned with, the audience reaction to the opening notes of ‘Davidian’ proved that.

Despite listening to (and liking) most metal and rock genres I’ve never liked thrash. Ironic really, as I’m at a gig where the top two acts initially made their names as thrash bands. At least both moved on and evolved though, unlike most shit thrash bands still trapped in the 80′s (I’m looking at you, Mustaine).

As soon as the house lights blackened (no pun intended) to indicate the arrival of the main event the audience made their power felt and filled the Arena with a wall of shouting, cheering and horn flicking.

From start to finish Metallica are just awesome live and astonishingly tight, almost to the point where they must be sharing a collective consciousness to instinctively know what each is doing at any one time.

Good job really as that rectangular centre stage is both a blessing and a curse.

It’s an impressive spectacle to see a band perform in the middle of a room instead of at the end of it, providing a great view for everyone and whole new dimension for stage lighting and pyro (Metallica’s are setting the standard for big stage production), but at the same time there’s no single focal point for the audience (or the band) so everything can feel a little fragmented as very rarely do the band come together in one place.

The audience interaction suffers a little too. At a Metallica gig I would’ve expected anyone even remotely near the front to be going absolutely fucking mental and, while there were sporadic groups of people moshing & circle-pitting, there was nothing anywhere near the audience energy you’d see from the same people watching the same band but with a traditional stage setup.

This though is a minor criticism (and hardly the band’s fault) and not something I really noticed all that much until I thought about it afterwards.

The opening sound and light show, and indeed the entire stage production, is the best I’ve ever seen at a music gig, hands down.

Lasers create a dazzling grid of greens, blues and reds throughout the entire Arena (reminding me of Tron), the under-stage flamethrowers were just breathtaking (and skin warming, even as far back as we were), the articulated coffin overhead lighting rigs, while underused, were state of the art and the hundred or so black beachball type balloons that descended from the ceiling at the penultimate song (although I don’t remember what the song was) provided visual spectacle but ultimately enhanced the show instead of being mere stage gimmickery.

I doubt any amount of lights or flames could overshadow the utter pummeling intensity of Metallica’s musical catalogue so far (even if the dumbass audience threw most of the beachballs back onstage instead of punching them around).

I’m not nearly familiar enough with Metallica’s recorded work to tell you what the entire setlist was (and, even if I was, I don’t have a good enough memory to remember them all) but they opened with ‘That Was Just Your Life’ from latest album ‘Death Magnetic’. They played their most famous 3 songs; ‘Sad But True’, ‘Enter Sandman’ and the never less than stunning ‘One’.

When the flames started flying around onstage and the familiar sounds of bombs, mortars and machine gun fire started I quickly reached into my pocket and filmed the entire song on my phone. Thank god they didn’t play the full length version that goes on and on and on and on though. Here’s the vid if you wanna watch it:

They also played ‘Master Of Puppets’, or as my mate Lee calls it ‘Napster Of Muppets’ in reference to drummer Lars Ulrich’s monumentally misjudged reaction to Napster and the whole downloading thing in general. I’m certainly not going to tell him where or exactly HOW I’ve acquired Metallica’s music to date for fear of being anally intruded by drum sticks (not the lollies) and court summonses.

‘Battery’, ‘Kill ‘Em All’, ‘Judas Kiss’, ‘The Day That Never Comes’ and ‘Seek And Destroy’ were all there too and I’m pretty sure that’s not all they played, but I don’t remember any more!

‘Seek And Destroy’ was their set closer and also one of their oldest tracks (coming from their first album; 1983′s ‘Kill Em All’). While I’ve never listened to that album due to my non-interest in the thrash genre, this tune sounded great in 2009 and has aged very well. So well in fact I was thinking to myself how a lot of old music would sound if updated & re-recorded in 2009.

I know it may be heresy to suggest such a thing, but I think a lot of stuff may sound better than it did when production techniques were less sophisticated. This is DEFINITELY heresy as there’s nothing wrong with the original at all, but I’d love to hear Hendrix re-record ‘Voodoo Chile’ in 2009 and just see how the two would sound next to each other.

Obviously this will never happen due mainly to Hendrix being deader than a can of spam and no-one could play it like he would anyway, but still interesting to wonder how it’d sound.

When Lars asked the audience if they should wait another 23 years for Metallica to return to Nottingham (obviously the crowd responded with pretty definite “no”) it seemed unbelievable a band that formed in 1981 could still be at the forefront of their genre, and seemingly at the peak of their powers, 28 years later.

It’s also unbelievable they haven’t played our city before. Ok, they’ve played Donington/Download loads of times but I guess that’s technically Leicestershire.

Actually, it’s not that unbelievable they haven’t been here before as, prior to the Ice Stadium being rebuilt as the Ice Arena, the only real venue for alternative & rock bands was Rock City. Metallica could’ve easily sold that place out in 1987. These days they could play to more people in James Hetfields house than in Rock City.

While some people dislike the Arena and label it an eyesore I’m thankful it was built so we can now get these bigger bands visiting and ripping us all a new one. Although I’ve not been to that many gigs there yet. Nine Inch Nails and War Of the Worlds would never have stopped in Nottingham (and I wouldn’t have seen either or met Trent Reznor himself) if it wasn’t for the Arena.

A funny moment just before the final song saw Ulrich stalking around the stage yelling at people “fuck off,  it’s over” and “no more, that’s it” while gesturing for them to leave and giving the cutthroat sign.

As he was doing this guitarist Kirk Hammett was getting his guitar changed, bassist Rob Trujillo was cooling his head with a bottle of water and stretching his fingers while Hetfield was taking a breather at the other side of the stage (where there was no access to backstage) so it was bloody obvious they were gonna do at least one more song but Ulrich really embraces his reputation as an utter prick in much the same way as an over the top pantomime villian shakes his fist at the audience.

It’s to the benefit of the band, however, as he gives a fantastic performance and I’ve never seen a drummer do anything other than either sit behind the kit or stand up a couple of times. Ulrich is up & down like a fiddlers elbow after every song to yell encouragement at the audience and generally break down the barrier between kit, band and audience.

So after the closing bars of ‘Seek And Destroy’ each one of the band thank us for turning up and stay onstage for a good ten minutes throwing out plectrums, drum sticks (not the lollies), kicking those black beachballs back into the audience and telling the front few rows of clamouring fans how much they love them.

This was one of those gigs where the band are just SO good I can imagine nobody else wanting to ever learn guitar or drums as there’s just no chance they’d ever get that good. Another way to look at it though is that seeing musicianship of this calibre absolutely WOULD inspire you to learn an instrument to try and become at least half as good someday.

Afterall, in 28 years you can get good at almost anything, but the four men that go under the collective band name ‘Metallica’ have something else going on, something almost superhuman in their ability. These men were born to do it and we were born to fucking love it.

To quote their famous slogan;

Birth
School
Metallica
Death.