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What
better way to start Christmas week (and on one of the
coldest nights of the year!) than a cracking winter
warmer of a gig featuring the great guitar maestro Mr Schenker
ably supported by one of the best young metal groups in the
country today, Fury UK.
I
was pleasantly surprised when we got to the venue to find that
the gig had been upgraded from the smaller Academy 2 venue
upstairs to the larger room downstairs due to a surge in
ticket sales. This worked to the advantage of the only
support act tonight, FURY UK, who, I have to say, I am a bit
of a fan of.
Ever since supporting Blaze Bayley in May I have keep up with
these 3 young lads from Manchester's progress and their latest
album, VR, is my album of the year. So I was delighted
to see a fair sized crowd in when they kicked off their set.
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Sticking
rigidly to material from the new album, and the track
'Lost In Forever' from their 'Salvation' E.P., the band kicked
off with the title track 'VR'. Their music is a blend of
catching, crunching riffs, a cross between Maiden, Megadeth
and Metallica. Guitarist Chris Appleton, at 21, is a
guitar wizard, and already has the tricks and style of a
guitarist twice his age down to a tee. Chris and his
brother Luke, on bass, are as solid players as you will ever
see. Following 'VR' up with the lurching shred of 'The
Hostage' and the touching but still heavy 'Brotherhood',
the band were on top form and hopefully this exposure and the
constant touring they have done this year will deservedly earn
them more fans.
The
set closed, as the latest album does, with the magnificent
double whammy of 'Call To Arms', a fist pumping anthem of the
highest order, (with its 'Hail!!' refrain) and the quite
simply stunning 'Death By Lightning'. This last track is
the best on the album, and is stunning played live, especially
the final third, which is a mesmerising 3 minutes of riffing
and solos, sounding like an express train hurtling towards its
destination. A triumphant set from the lads, can't wait
to see them play again!
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MSG
quickly had the crowd going again, playing a 'best of' set spanning
three decades. The crowd had came here to see the man himself and
he delivered in spades. Rattling through some classics, such as an
extended 'On and On', (complete with a mesmerising solo from Schenker) 'Attack
of the Mad Axeman' and the tremendous 'Armed and Ready', and with ex
AC/DC drummer Chris Slade filling in on drums for this tour, the band
were on top form. Its easy to see why Schenker has been revered by some
of his contemporaries such as Dave Mustaine when putting on performances
like tonight.
Vocalist Gary Barden took a back seat as the band pulled out another
classic in the instrumental 'Captain Nemo', before leaving for a double
encore, finally ending with the track most people had come to hear, the
classic 'Doctor Doctor'. The UFO classic has never sounded so
fresh, the first few bars surely drawing the biggest cheer of the night!
I have to say that this would probably have gone straight into my top 3
gigs of the year list, if I hadn't already done it! A fantastic
show from a fantastically talented guitarist. Roll on the next MSG
tour!!
Review by: Dan
Armstrong
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