Firstly I would
have to say that
the Underworld isn’t one of my
favourite
venues. But
needs must,
if I have to travel to London to see bands I want to see
,
then travel I must. I have to admit the sole
purpose of my travels was to see prog-power metallers
Powerquest,
who have impressed me every time I have seen them. As a band they have grown in stature after every gig.
Even though they were playing a some
what shortened set than the past few times I have seen them, they
still gave it 110%. There was literally no time to get a drink at the bar, as the band went
on stage a few minutes earlier than had been expected.
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Launching straight into 'Wings of Forever' from the
album of
the
same name, with vocalist Alessio soon whipping the crowd into a frenzy of
excitement. Moving about the stage like a frantic praying mantis,
he was really out to impress. |
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Performing some of the bands strongest tracks off
their two albums 'Neverworld' and 'Wings of Forever', they'd put together
a good formula for such a short set. Each song went down well with
the fans. These being 'Temple of Fire', 'Edge of Forever', and the
excellent 'Sacred Land'. Finishing off the set with 'Neverworld', by
this time the crowd were singing along with the chorus.
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Powerquest are a band that win over new fans with every gig they play. They are steadily growing stronger as a band and if they manage to get find a more permanent
drummer, then the future looks good for Powerquest.
This will probably be their last gig before the
release of their next album. An album that I know a lot of
their fans, both old and new, simply can't wait to hear. |
Next up was Labyrinth, a bit of an unknown quantity for me as I have heard
very little by the band, but after the performance tonight they are a band
that I will be checking out for the future. They also played a short
set, but one that really impressed me a lot.
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The band has seen several band member
changes throughout the years and several vocalists but with Roberto Tiranti
they have found a vocalist with an exceptional voice.
Delivering a mix of
melodic metal and old school rock of the highest caliber,
this Italian
quintet went for broke straight from the off and I will most definitely be checking them out
again.
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The main event, and the one 90% of the crowd had come to see
, was Dream
Evil. With a look that wouldn’t go a miss on a Mad Max movie, they hit the
stage and went straight into
'Man or a Mouse'. Which put aside the look of the
band and makes you concentrate on the fact that this band can really play.
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Delivering a sound that is a mix between Manowar and Accept, they sing
about the subject of Heavy Metal with a passion. The cheese factor of the
lyrics is as high as any Manowar track, but that never did them any harm.
'The Book of Heavy Metal' is the biggest example of this, but as the crowd
sang it word for word along with vocalist Niklas, you know that this is
what they wanted to hear.
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Stand out tracks of the night were 'Burn Down
Jerusalem', 'Made of Metal', 'Chase the Dragon' and the superb 'The
Prophecy'. With a few surprise intros throw in such as 'Queens We Will Rock
You' before 'Kingdom of the Damned', and the Sweets 'Ballroom Blitz
' was
fragmented into 'Heavy Metal into the Night'.
'The Prophecy' was supposed to
be the final track of the night but as the crowd bayed for more, it was
obvious that they weren’t going anywhere until they got what they wanted. After a few minutes of constant chanting the band finally came back on
and did
'The Chosen Ones' to leave the crowd feeling satisfied and
fulfilled.
If you ignore the stage garb and the mention of the words heavy metal in
nearly all the songs then I would highly recommend you check this band out.
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