MASTERS OF METAL: JUDAS PRIEST / HEAVEN & HELL /
MOTORHEAD / TESTAMENT
First Midwest Bank Ampitheater Tinley Park, Illinois 8/19/08 Review
by Dr. Abner Mality Pictures by Gary Hill
Heaven
& Hell was surely an appropriate band to see on this night, because
that's what I had to move to get time off from work and attend the
show. Of all the big tours to see this year, there was never any doubt
that this would be the pick of the bunch so I finagled my way out of
work early and made the long, dusty trek with Dark Starr through
suburban Chicago to the infamous Tinley Park concert venue, which has
been much maligned throughout the years. This was my first time to the
venue and while the journey there was long and expensive, I found the
place more than acceptable.
It was a beautiful summer evening as I lowered myself into a seat just
in time to see Testament hit the ground running. Tonight was a metal
feast and Testament was the perfect appetizer to set the stage. First
cut in was "Over The Wall", followed by the thrashing "Into the Pit".
Testament had only a ridiculous half hour to play, so they put maximum
intensity into their brief set. A muddy sound (typical for opening bands
everywhere) didn't disquise the excellence of guitar work from Alex
Skolnick and Eric Peterson. It's great to see Alex back in Testament and
he shredded the axe like nobody's business. The crowd was continuing to
file in as Testament played but it still had to be gratifying for them
to see thousands instead of hundreds hailing tunes like "Practice What
You Preach". Chuck Billy sounded great. Some find his growlier vocals
off-putting...I think the mixture of more melodic (but still aggressive)
singing with brutality works extremely well, especially in Billy's
case. People need to figure out that the voice is an instrument with
many different facets and that the days of metal singers exclusively
trying to sound like Dickinson, Dio and Halford are long gone.
The band wrapped up with some cuts from the new "Formation of
Damnation", all of which sounded pretty good and merged seamlessly with
their older material. Although the title track is the heaviest,
"Henchman's Ride" with its ultra-catchy chorus looks set to join the
list of Testament classics. And then, almost as soon as it began, the
set was over.
It was a lot of fun to check out the crowd here. Heavy metal is truly
multi-generational, as I saw numerous examples of Mom and Dad decked out
in biker gear, accompanied by kids obviously born in the 90's who are
the same age their parents were when Judas Priest and Black Sabbath
first hit hard. A great mixture of ages in the crowd tonight. Also saw a
lot of spiky haired punks and even some brave brothers who defied peer
pressure to check out rock n' roll instead of rap.
Motorhead certainly had a lot of fans in the crowd. They are nothing
less than an instiution, if not a way of life. Despite that, tonight did
not rank with the best shows I have seen from the veterans. A boomy.
blown out sound did them no favors, but more than that, their set just
seemed to lack a freshness to it. Mikkey Dee did the same drum solo that
it seems he's been doing for 20 years now....impressive, but so what?
Not to mention, I would have like to have squeezed another song or two
into the set in its place. Most of Lemmy's quips also seemed overly
familiar, although I did grin when he dedicated "In The Name of Tragedy"
to "England's greatest poet, William Fuckin' Shakespeare"! When the
band played "Over the Top" and "Killers", things seemed to get kicked up
a notch and at least they ended on a higher note than when they began.
"Killed By Death" and "Overkill" are favorites for sure, but I think
Motorhead should have taken a page from Judas Priest's book tonight and
shook up the set list. Motorhead rules...they always will...but it seems
to me they are better in a more intimate atmosphere than giant arena
shows.
I have seen more rock n roll shows than Dick Cheney has had heart
attacks but very, very few of them would I describe as flawless. Heaven
& Hell's set tonight was one of those rare shows. What a privilege
it is to see a band at the absolute top of its game...it's something to
be savored as one of life's rare pleasures. In 1980, I saw this version
of Black Sabbath (and it is Black Sabbath, no matter what Sharon
Osbourne says) play a flawed and troubled set at a mudcaked Rockford
Speedway. 28 years later, redemption comes.
On a beautiful looking stage festooned with giant gargoyles and
candelabras, these four men created metal magic that held a huge crowd
in a hypnotic spell. Opening with the crashing rage of "The Mob Rules",
we knew we were in for a treat, but with "Children of the Sea", it
became apparent that this was going to be a very special show indeed.
The sound troubles that marred Motorhead's set were nowhere in evidence.
I hate to keep beating the word to death, but flawless is the best way
to describe this experience. They played "I" and "Time Machine" from
"Dehumanizer", an album that Dio described as "the most underrated
record I have ever been associated with" and it was brilliant. Geezer's
bass was booming and Tony Iommi's razorsharp solos would bring a tear to
the eye of every true metalhead.
They reached deep into the past to pull out two of the best Sabbath
cuts, "The Sign of the Southern Cross" and "Falling Off The Edge of the
World". The former was a slow paced doom metal classic that held all of
us in a cobra-like gaze while the latter kicked up the pace in furious
fashion. Vinny Appice kicked in a powerful drum solo...again, his talent
is awesome but I would have like them to try "Lady Evil" or "Country
Girl"...and even the Spinal Tap-like malfunctioning of one of the
gargoyles...it failed to spit a cloud of fog...couldn't derail the power
of the moment.
As one might predict, the band brought their tremendous set to a close
with an extra long version of "Heaven & Hell" where the crowd joined
in enthusiastically and the rousing "Neon Knights", one of my favorite
Sabbath songs ever. I have seen Dio many times and he never sounded
better than tonight. He is truly a vocal giant. If no other band than
Heaven & Hell played tonight, I still would have been satisfied with
this masterpiece.
As the pastel colors of a gorgeous sunset faded into darkness, the crowd
awaited the arrival of Judas Priest. These guys would have to put on
the show of their lives to surpass what we just got from Heaven &
Hell. Were they up to the task? Is Paris Hilton a dim-witted whore?
Priest rose to the occasion magnificently. I'm not sure if this was the
best of the many times I have seen them...I remember a tremendous show
at Alpine Valley in 1984 that made me feel like I could crush boulders
bare-handed...but the magic was there.
Under the brooding gaze of the seer Nostradamus, the band took to the
stage with "Prophecy", one of the best tracks from their new double CD
devoted to the French prophet. It was the only track tonight from that
somewhat controversial effort and it was awesome. Dark Starr told me he
thought it was even better than the recorded version. Covered in a
shining silver robe and carrying a mystic staff, Halford stalked the
stage in regal fashion, barking out the chorus of "I am Nostradamus/Do
you believe?". Rob was 100% on his game tonight and full of energy....a
contrast to the last time I saw him in Rockford, when he was physically
exhausted by the end of the night.
Priest finally have realized that their set needed some changes....hoary
old standards have been dropped and rarities have been inserted. "Eat
Me Alive" had all the furious thrashing energy of Testament and more.
Then the band really mixed things up with "Between the Hammer and the
Anvil" and "Hell Patrol" from "Painkiller". The freshness and heaviness
of these tracks energized the crowd as well as the band. The Priest held
us all in the palm of their hand.
Familiar cuts like "Breaking the Law" and "Electric Eye" didn't seem so
tired when put next to stuff like "Dissident Aggressor" and a raging
"Devil's Child". Rob just about made my testicles pop with his shrieking
high notes on the latter....this is the best version of the tune I have
ever seen or heard!!!
The only real lull in the action came with the heartfelt ballad "Angel".
So sincere were Halford's vocals and so pure and clear was the guitar
work of Downing and Tipton that the song didn't mar the set at all, but
demonstrated that Judas Priest can deliver emotion with more than just
screaming metal.
I swear they got even more intense as the set wore on, with "Rock Hard,
Ride Free" coming across better live than on record and "Painkiller"
finding Halford bent over double in near agony as he emitted an amazing
variety of shrieks and screams.. Rob also did his usual "yeah yeah yeah
yeah" call-and-response with the crowd and seemed overwhelmed by the
response. This is the rare show where performer and fans fuse together
into one unit. It was a terrific experience.
The band did trot out "You've Got Another Thing Coming" as their last
song, but dispensed at last with "Living After Midnight". Every cut was a
gem and performed with maximum power and professionalism. THIS IS HEAVY
METAL!!!
No one hungry for metal could have left this show wanting more. It was a
great night and fun was had by all. Wait for the DVD...I hope they were
filming tonight!
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