| GAMMA RAY + PARAGON |
October 31, 2002 |
BARCELONA |
AHHHH!! IT'S HALLOWEEN!!! and there's no better way to celebrate it than by going to a Gamma Ray show :-) The Skeletons In The Closet tour finally reached Spain with a set-list which was chosen by the fans through voting at the official Gamma Ray site, so it was an opportunity of a lifetime to hear old Gamma Ray classics that the band doesn't play live anymore and songs rarely played live before!! And to make it more special, the band recorded this show for the upcoming double live album due out Spring 2003!!! The venue was packed, almost sold out and there were a lot of people who had come from distant parts of Spain to see the show: Madrid, Valencia, Santander, Cádiz...
PARAGON opened the show at 21:00 PM. They are a band that I was very keen to see (I like their latests CD's very much). Most seemed not to know them, but the sympathetic band from Germany made some fans (they were hanging outside the venue after the show, and many people asked them for an autograph). Their setlist was almost limited to the newest albums, "Steelbound" and "Law Of The Blade", since most of the fans aren't familiar with the band's first 2 albums. My personal favorite cuts were "Armies Of The Tyrant", "Palace Of Sin" and "Across The Wastelands" but everything sounded good and the band was very into the show. Considering the crowd was mostly there for Gamma Ray alone, the response was very good. After their perfomance, I sat down on the balcony having a drink to enjoy Gamma Ray from an excellent panoramic view.
At 22:00 PM GAMMA RAY began their show. The smoke invades the stage... the intro "Welcome" explodes in our ears and everyone went completely nuts (me included). The crowd is chanting "Gamma Ray, Gamma Ray" louder and louder... Dan appears behind his drumkit holding a torch and made some spectacular firebreaths, signaling the start of the concert. Then the rest of the band finally entered the stage wearing black coats and hats: Henjo Richter on guitar, Dirk Schlächter on bass, Axel from Masterplan on keyboards and finally metal master Kai Hansen on vocals and guitar. There was a large band-logo on the stage and on both sides of the stage were two doors, curtains and candelabras. The set was opened with "Gardens Of The Sinner" that already had the audience jumping up and down. With all band members singing the backing vocals, it was much better now than on the Powerplant tour! And there's no time to catch our breath, the following songs are: "Rich And Famous" (one of the highlights and very well received by everybody), "All Of The Damned" (not one of my favourite tunes, but it passed off pleasantly enough), "No Return" and the long "Armageddon" (it was pretty unbelievable, the playing was flawless and the vocal harmonies ran shivers up my spine). At this point, Kai greeted the audience and announced that the show is being recorded for the upcoming double live album, which of course sent up major cheers from the crowd. Up next was "Heavy Metal Universe", a clear crowd-pleaser that had the crowd singing along with great enthusiasm, especially the chorus, and punching the air with their fists... This track was extended a bit, half way through the song Kai made a sing-along section and everybody inside the venue sung a lot of times the first line of the chorus ("heavy metal universe!!")... kai making us sing even louder each time. The song to follow was "One With The World" after which Henjo did a short guitar solo, and then Dan's amazing drum solo that led into "Razorblade Sigh" which sounded big and powerful. Next came one of my favorite tracks from the latest album, "Heart Of The Unicorn", a song that wasn't on the set list at their shows last year, but fortunately they played it this time. "Heart Of The Unicorn" totally rocked live with many of Kai's higher vocals actually feeling like they were going to squeeze my skull until it crushed! WOAH!! GODDAM!!! Travelling back a few years was another one of my favorites (among countless favorites by this band), "Last Before The Storm". The live version adds a lot of power to this song. Kai speaks to the audience and says: What day is today?? It's Halloween!! and the crowd immediatelly started to chant: "happy happy Halloween..." Then huge cheers greeted old Helloween number "Victim Of Fate", fans nearly get a heart-attack with this one! Nearly 1000 metalheads, fists in the air, singing along with Kai, what a blast!! Fangface, their mascot, appeared on stage during this one. A favorite from the "Somewhere Out In Space" CD came next, "Shine On", half way through the song, the wonderfully emotive lines "shadows in the darkness, so far away from home..." sent a collective chill down the backs of the audience, just Kai's voice accompained by piano. And there was even a "lighter in the air" moment. A perfect end to the set! The responsive crowd refused to let the band leave the stage in peace, so we were treated to two sets of encores. The first encore started with "The Silence". This song was worth the concert. The feeling was great and I guess the audience was very astonished. As the final notes of "The Silence" faded, the intro to "Heaven Or Hell" brought a big response from the crowd again, this track actually had the audience shouting the lyrics along in unison. The second encore started with "The Guardians Of Mankind", it was OK, not a spectacular song, but nice for the occasion. Finally, with the clock edging towards midnight, it was time for the final number, "New World Order" from their latest album "No World Order", on which the band was flawless again... No "I Want Out" or "Ride The Sky" unfortunately... All the guys were kind enough to throw picks and various other things out into the crowd, spent a lot of time slapping hands with people and finally left the stage. Now, wait for the live album, can't wait till I get it in my hands, or even better, in my CD player, hehe....
Needless to say, their show was glorious, over the top entertainment and the crowd was very animated throughout the set. Seems like these guys just can't do it wrong. They poured on us for 2 hours all their power and passion. It was pure energy and the band was more than happy to feed off that energy and send it right back out and I don't think I've ever seen Henjo or Kai smile so much. Dirk was also very active on his side of the stage, getting the audience to chant and clap along to many of the songs. Highlights for me were: Rich And Famous, Heavy Metal Universe, Heart Of The Unicorn, Victim Of Fate & The Silence. Thank you Kai, Henjo, Dirk and Dan for another unforgetable night and very nice moments after the show!!!!!!!!!!!! (Kai, remember what you promised, hehehe ;) Stay as you are & see you again next time!!
-Review & photos by Marina-
| PARAGON SET-LIST |
Thunderstorm, Palace Of Sin, Armies Of The Tyrant, Dragon's Flight, Across The Wastelands, Reign Of Fear, New Dark Age, Abducted & Back To Glory.
| GAMMA RAY SET-LIST |
Welcome, Gardens Of The Sinner, Rich And Famous, All Of The Damned, No Return, Armageddon, Heavy Metal Universe, One With The World, Rising Of The Damned / Cosmic Chaos, Razorblade Sigh, Heart Of The Unicorn, Last Before The Storm, Victim Of Fate, Shine On, The Silence, Heaven Or Hell, The Guardians Of Mankind & New World Order.
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