Artist:  Dragonforce, Adam Bomb & Renegade Playboys

Venue: Rios, Bradford

Date: 2 October 2004  

Opening up tonight's gig were London's Renegade Playboys, who just by their demeanour you knew what their influences were before they even played a note.  Pretty Boy Floyd, Hanoi Rocks and Skid Row to name but a few. 

Opening with the song entitled '24 Hour Bitch' which is pure 80s glam.  As they swaggered about the stage with all the confidence of seasoned performers, they went through their forty five minute set mixing it up with the crowd, who soon warm to them, raising their plastic swords aloft and even knighting the bands lead singer midway through the set. Highlights of the set included the opener '24 Hour Bitch', 'Bad Gurlz', and the excellent 'Good Times'.

Next onstage was Adam Bomb who enters the stage with fireworks coming out of his guitar.  This soon has the crowd on his side as pyros always impress no matter who does them.  It seems that Adam is never away from these shores.  As a performer, he always gives 150% at all his shows, never mind if he is the headliner or he's the support act.

Playing songs from his huge back catalogue including 'Shake The Earth or go down Trying' a song dedicated to his friend Ray.  'Life's a Bitch' a song he wrote for Michael Monroe, and 'Angry Angry', a track which Adam did the guitar solo on for Led Zeppelins John Paul Jones's solo album.

This was followed up with a rendition of Zep's 'The Song Remains The Same' and Van Halen's 'Eruption'.  Both done I must say exceptionally well.

Finishing off as he started with fireworks spewing out of his pink Gibson, he went through a storming rendition of 'New York New York' before setting fire to it after 'DWI The Information Highway'.

As an artist you can never fault his stage persona.  He is 100% rock 'n' roll, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and is worth five pounds of the nine pound entrance fee alone.  With three pounds going to the Renegade Playboys, but only one pound going to the final act tonight Dragonforce.  Who I'm afraid to say didn’t live up to my expectations.

After seeing them in the support slot WASP earlier this year, I was really looking forward to seeing them headline their own show.  But after tonight's performance it's going to be a while before I make the effort to see them again.

As individual musicians the band are talented but put them together they seem to morph into a guitar wheeling monster who screams and whales through a set.  Where one song merges into another and the sound is as loud as the ears can stand before they start to bleed.

With a raised step at the front of the stage it was a competition between each member to see who could be seen at the front the most.  It all ended up being laughable as members of the audience got onstage and started stage diving into the crowd.  The point of which still amazes me.

Yes I bought the album Sonic Firestorm and I was impressed by it, but they don’t do the album proud live.  I think perhaps they are just trying to hard and with all the press lately about them being the British saviours of Power metal, I'm afraid they've let it all go to their heads little just a bit too much.  Which is a pity as I'd hoped after hearing the album that they would go far, but I'm afraid the likes of Rhapsody, Dream Theater, Powerquest and Threshold, have so much more to offer the genre musically, and all mix up the sound a little and never insist on going 100mph on every track. 

Sorry lads but I just wasn’t impressed and neither were any of my companions who came along that night.

 

 

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