BATTLEROAR: I’ve seen them many times but yesterday wasn’t one of those times… I missed the chance to see them with the singer of SACRED STEEL as guest vocalist! Most people hate that guy’s voice but I really love his tone since I first heard him back in “Reborn in Steel” album. The whole idea sounded appealing but I couldn’t be there on time. I doubt there was any deviation from the band’s high quality performances. If you are into the Epic Heavy Metal stuff then you simply owe to know who BATTLEROAR are. Check them out here.
GRAND MAGUS: By the time the band appeared on stage, there were enough people in the club but in no way enough to justify the label of a new, hot name in the metal scene. JB appeared on stage with a new look which resembled a thinner, more bad-ass version of Santa Clause. With the first notes of the theme from the movie “Conan, The Barbarian” I knew what was in store. It is rare to see such power being unleashed upon the crowd. The sound was near CD quality and the three-piece gave an excellent performance (although JB’s lines between the songs could have been smarter).
O.K. now let’s come to the bad stuff! I consider GRAND MAGUS a band that is as close as possible to the term contemporary Metal Gods. I might not completely dig what they play lately but that’s a different story. Yesterday, the band played as headliners. Yet, they gave a clean (without talking, intros etc.) 60 minutes show! Wow! These guys have 6 solid albums but they completely neglected their early stuff (which are legendary for a respectable portion of the crowd and not just me) and they barely remembered to play enough from their last record (3 songs if I remember correctly). I think with this kind of appearances you can never become “Big”. I may sound bitter now, but I’ll say it: JB and Fox repeatedly stated how cool the Greek audience is and how much they love us. If so, why couldn’t rehearse and play 2-3 songs more?
In the end of the day, GRAND MAGUS proved with their music that they are a huge band but they did not justice to themselves with their setlist.
Words: Dr Doom Metal ( Dr Dooms Lair )
