UDO/RAVEN-6/4/2000-Birch Hill Nightclub-Old Bridge, NJ

Anthony and I pulled up to the club early to get an interview with RAVEN, but due to my tape recorder being a piece of shit (which ate the tape,then "killed" itself) it was lost. We were really fucking pissed because it went pretty good for a first interview,and it was lost due to shitty equipment. Anyway, John (who we conducted the interview with) was really fucking cool and answered everything that we asked him,and we appreciated that.

By the time the interview was done,the club was still a while away from opening,and we hung out with a few other people waiting to get in (we also tried to get an interview with UDO,but we couldn't find him). When they opened the doors to the club,we went in and hung out around the front of the stage like always. The big screen was showing a basketball game, which I wouldn't have given a shit about if the Los Angeles Lakers weren't involved. A few other people trickled into the club eventually,and the first band went on.

ARTIKAYE is a band from south jersey (I guess), and they are alright if you like depressed chicks singing about bullshit. The band are boring to watch (the drummer was the only member who was really good), and every song sounded pretty much the same to me. Some guy next to me thought the female bass player was hot,I didn't see the hot looking chick,but I did see the bassist (I could snap her over my knee like a twig). Overall,they did nothing for me.

The next band up was an alternative band named SUN. While they are good at alternative music,WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY BOOKED ON A METAL SHOW. Enough alternative bands play the club,and they could have opened for one of those bands...not UDO! Anyway,they weren't bad, not my kind of music,though.

JUDGE DRAIN was the next band on stage...so the festival of shit continued. This band is SO BORING TO WATCH and THEIR SONGS ARE SO HORRIBLE I wanted to kill myself.Just pure shit! I know that they are a local band, and they should have support from local music fans, but fuck them for wasting my time. There is 40 minutes I will never get back.

Finally...RAVEN hit the stage. These guys are insane live,and it is something that must be seen. Their setlist was great,their sound was great,and it was an honor seeing this band live. Running around the stage like 3 year olds on sugar highs,John and Mark Gallagher threw down their respective instruments, ran their instruments into one another,and just acted like lunatics. It was one of the best live performances I have ever seen.

Thanks to RAVEN's awesome set...UDO had to be GODLY. Fortunatley,he was. After a bit of a stageshow with monks and a few other things,UDO hit the stage as the band went into the song "HOLY" from their newest album. After playing a few more of his own songs...he leapt into the classic ACCEPT songs like "Fast as a Shark","Midnight Mover","Son of a Bitch", and of course "Balls to the Wall". The best part of their set is when one of their guitarists ran off the stage and ran around the crowd playing a lead to one of the songs. Fucking amazing!

Overall,the bands that we went to see killed,and the locals showed why if you don't play hardcore or death metal in New Jersey...you aren't worth a shit!

DESTRUCTION-6/20/2000-Obsessions-Randolph,New Jersey

After a shit load of automotive problems (the only time my car has given me trouble while en route to a show),we finally arrived at Obsessions just in time to hear a song from one of the local bands playing on stage. I forgot the names of the local bands that played this night,but they were terrible. One was a hardcore/death metal band,another band wanted to sound like the newer VOIVOD material...but fell a hell of a way short. The local bands didn't end. It was fucking torture. I think another one played after the shitty VOIVOD rip-off type band. Thankfully,I was near the bar alot of the night.

While those local bands were raping my ears,Anthony,Kenny and myself were talking with this guy Dave who does booking Jack Koshik's METALFESTS (Milwaukee Metalfest/November to Dismember/March Metal Meltdown/etc...). He was telling us about the N.T.D. this year,pissing us off while mentioning that CRIMSON GLORY, GAMMA-RAY, and DIAMOND HEAD were going to play it. This guy is really cool...(he DJ'ed the music,and Anthony and myself pretty much got alot of stuff played like SAMSON and he also played a new track by WITCHFYNDE...which I fucking loved) but alot of what he said sounded like bullshit and pipe-dreams.

I headed back to the bar and KATAKLYSM hit the stage. I couldn't care less. They fucking suck! How this band got signed to a label is beyond me. The same goes for the next band that was on-stage...DYING FETUS. HOLY SHIT,CAN THEY SOUND ANYMORE LIKE A GENERIC DEATH METAL BAND? I heard stories about these guys being pretty cool and shit,but fuck them for torturing me with their shitty,horrid death metal.

Finally,the only band worth the trek out to Randolph came on stage and obliterated everything in site. DESTRUCTION were kick-ass this night. Playing newer material like "Machinery of Lies" and "The Butcher Strikes Back" while re-visiting old classics like "Mad Butcher" and "Release From Agony",it was great to see that these thrash gods were in fine form.

After the show,we wanted to get an interview with the band,but we couldn't due to so many people crowded around each band member. It would have been rude of us to do that,and I am not really a dick (only on this site),so we didn't other with the interview. We DID get the covers of the new CD signed as well as pictures with Scheimer (even though I was dead fucking tired and just wanted to go, Scheimer choked me in the photo,but just stood with Anthony and Ken.)

It was awesome seeing this band live. Being a bit too young to see the band before this concert,it was an experience I will never forget.

IRON MAIDEN/QUEENSRYCHE/ROB HALFORD-8/17/2000-PNC Bank Arts Center-Holmdel,New Jersey

On the way to the show this time,instead of my car fucking up(like most of the time),Anthony's back passenger side tire blew out on the highway,so we pulled over,and a half hour later,we had the donut on the car and we made it to the show. While we were changing the tire,some guy yelled "MAIDEN" out of his truck. When we got into the parking lot,the same guy yelled out "DONUT". We all had a good laugh as we parked the car and Anthony went on the quest for his friend Christy (I didn't care,I just wanted beer). We didn't find her (I think she showed up after Halford played his magnificent set), but we did run into a friend of ours who we hadn't seen in a long time thanks to him being transfered from one store to another. We bullshitted for a good 15-20 minutes,and headed inside.

The first thing I did was run to the bathroom (I had to leave a monster piss),and looked at the prices of the merchandise (it was REALLY expensive). Anthony ran into a friend of his who plays in New Jersey pwer metal band SEVEN WITCHES (this dude reminded me of gro-magnon man myself,but thats just me). We found our seats and HALFORD came onto the stage.

The fact that alot of people came in/found their seats after Halford was halfway throug or after his set was horrible,because Rob and the band were fucking excellent. Playing some of the newer songs,they also threw in classic Judas Priest in the form of "Stained Class" and "Tyrant". It sucked he had such a short amount of time. I would liked to have seen him go on for another half hour.

QUEENSRYCHE came on next,and while they are a good band,alot of their songs don't do anything for me. They started off their set with some songs from Operation:Mindcrime and Empire...then I don't know what the hell they were playing (must have been from more recent albums),and they finished their set with "Queen of the Ryche" and "Eyes of a Stranger" before exiting the stage.

IRON MAIDEN came on about 20 minutes after QUEENSRYCHE left the stage,and immediatley tore into their new album "Brave New World", playing the first six songs in a row,then launching into their catalog of past hits such as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "Run to the Hills"...but they left out "Aces High" and other songs that I was sure they were going to play. Instead, "The Sign of the Cross"...one of Maiden's worst songs got played. I was shocked. I was also bored...the song is boring as hell.

As we left the PNC Bank Arts Center after a rousing rendition of "Running Free" to end the show, we had a long ride ahead of us on the donut. Luckily,eveyone got home safe and there were no other problems that night. It ruled!

DREAM THEATER "METROPOLIS PART 2: SCENES FROM A MEMORY"

The doors opened at 7:30 sharp, just as my friend Christie and I arrived at the Roseland Ball Room. The line to get in covered three full street sides of a block. As we made our way to the end of the line, we spotted our friend Tom, Chris, and other cool metal friends. It took about 30 minutes to finally enter the venue, in which case I received many compliments for my Labyrinth t-shirt (Timeless Crime EP). The five of us in all attempted to get as close to the stage as possible. There were about 10-15 rows of people in front of us. While waiting for the show to start, people werer blowing up condoms and hitting them around like voleyballs. At one point, there were four going at one time! When the show finally started (which was being taped for future release on DVD), everything went dark. Up on each of the three TV screens on stage (one in the middle, really BIG, and the other small two on each side) appeared some kind of movie. An elderly man sat on the stage and read from a book; the opening spoken-word intro from the SFAM album. After doing so, Dream Theater took the stage in all their glory, energetic and very into the crowd. Vocalist James L. hit every high note with perfection, while displaying terrific stage presence (all those well-loved metal poses, hiking up the mic. stand, head-banging, etc.). Finally, one of my favorite songs, "Home" was played. YES!!!! The entire SFAM album was played straight through, without stopping. The last song on the album has some events taking place, in which you are only able to listen to what transpires on your tape/CD. For this show, there was a movie on the screen showing what you hear from the album. It was a very interesting touch. After the entire album was played, there was a 20-30 minute recess. I managed to make my way all the way to the front!! The band came back on and played a lot of material I wasn't familiar with. A lot was played from "Images and Words" album, however, "Pull Me Under" wasn't played. =( The entire "Change of Seasons" album was played, which was just brilliant. The entire set lasted about four hours. It was well worth it, and never dragged. Although I am not a big Dream Theater fan, I really enjoyed their show, and plan to reconsider their back-cataloge. Thank you Dream Theater...these Scenes shall not leave From My Memory.

Anthony DeLuca-Unstoppable Force Website/zine

RAVEN/HADES-10/7/2000-The Wreck Room-Wallington,N.J.

Eric picked us up and we left from Anthonys house with SONATA ARCTICA blasting throughout the car. The cd was pretty good,and about a half hour later,we puled into the gravel parking lot of the Wreck Room-one of the better clubs in Northern New Jersey for shows. We paid our admission fee (ten bucks I think) and went into the club.

Being three of the maybe ten people in the club who weren't bartenders or club staff, we watched the baseball games that were on the television sets around the club. After bullshitting for a while, I went to grab an ashtray and we started talking with John from RAVEN. We were bullshitting again with John,and after we told him about the tape interview from July being ruined,he told us it was cool to e-mail him the questions and that he would respond (Thanks John-Chris and Anthony). After that,a few more people came into the club and soon John had about 3 conversations going at once.

After about an hour,the first band went on. The band, Single Bullet Theory, were guests of HADES. This band was definetly better than HADES (Picking my nose with Freddy Kreuger gloves is less painful than HADES), but the band still weren't all that good. Mainly,the vocallist sounded like one of these guys who whines alot on songs and there wasn't alot of power in his voice, while the rythym guitarist did screams and backing vocals when needed. The music was alright,but at least it was played really good.

Eric pointed out to Anthony that Tony from WHIPLASH was talking in the corner with John from RAVEN,and Anthony went over and talked with Tony and he agreed to Ant for an interview in the future. After the openers finished their set,Anthony told me the good news,and Eric,Ant and I started bullshitting amongst ourselves again about how bad HADES sucks. Then, Joe Hasselvander (RAVEN's drummer) started talking with the three of us, telling us about the European tour they did (and he also told us a story about UDO geting them a hotel room and paying for it because their label gave them barley any tour support). Talking with Joe is a great experience,because the conversation changes REALLY quick,and if you ain't paying attention,you're left standing there wondering "what the hell is he talking about?".After about ten minutes,Joe left for a beer,and we started bullshitting amongst ourselves again until HADES came on stage.

HADES hit the stage and they got a huge reaction (I think that the three of us were the only ones in the club who hated HADES with unrivaled passion) and they played their shitty set for about an hour (it felt like an eternity) and during the HADES set,Anthony met up with his friend Christy and her friend Pete. Me and Eric were just making comments about how bad the band sucked and how it sucked. In tribute of HADES,I have a poem written. Please read along.

===HADES SUCKS-By Chris O'Brien===

I hate this band so fucking bad

Their very existence maks me mad

Horrid music like I have never heard

It was like the band was flipping me the bird

They wasted an hour of my time

I wonder if killing these shits would be a crime

HADES sucks,you have been warned

Go at your own risk,prepare to be bored

==================================

I know that sucked,but I hope that kind of got out to you reading this,my feelings about this shitty fucking band of losers and rejects. The funniest was the bass player who had an "Anti-money"(a dollar sign with a circle and line throught it) sticker on his bass. Unless he stole the bass from Guitar Center or Sam Ash,that sticker is pretty contradictory. I just wanted to share that with you. I thought it was funny.

Finally,HADES got off the fucking stage and the three of us went up close to the stage so Anthony could get some great shots of RAVEN as well as just to hang out. Some drunk guy came up and started bothering Anthony, pointing at his shirt (a RIOT-Fire Down Below Longsleeve) and bullshitting with him. Meanwhile,me and Eric and laughing at Anthony...until Anthony told the drunk he was with Eric and pointed to him, so the drunk went and bothered Eric while Anthony and myself had a good chuckle. This drunk was bothering the two of them for a while (I was standing behind them, like I wasn't with them so I could avoid some drunken idiot bothering me about dumb bullshit). The best though is when the DJ (who played ALOT OF GREAT SHIT like Saxon and Motorhead) started playing "Ace of Spades",the drunk immediatley became Lemmy,playing air bass (i'll assume) and singing...so I decided to do the same, hoping that Eric and Anthony would get the joke. They did,and we all laughed realy good until RAVEN came on stage for their set.

I don't know who was mixing their sound, but it was nowhere near as good as the Birch Hill show a few months earlier. HADES had a great sound on stage ( which pissed me off even more. HADES has a good sound,while RAVEN's is only decent? Something is WRONG!). The main problem with the sound was the guitar was mixed WAY to loud,drowning out both the bass and vocals (the vocals sounded buried beneath 3 layers of thick lead...the bass was audible,but not as loud as it should have been). The set was great,though. They played some songs from just about every album, and the show was great except for the sound.

This show was worth seeing RAVEN...but HADES made it a real chore to get through. Oh well...it was a good night.

HALFORD-Oct 21,2000-Birch Hill Nightclub-Old Bridge,NJ

Anthony and I arrived at the Birch Hill nightclub at about 6:30 (even though the doors didn't open until 7:30), because if we wanted to be near the front of the stage,we would have to get there early. There were maybe four people ahead of us,and we started bullshitting about how to improve this site. We continued to chat until the doors opened,and we went inside (you know the deal...getting some plastic bracelet around your wrist so that you can prove you can drink, shithead bouncers telling you what you alrady know since you go to the club almost every month, etc...).

I went straight to the bathroom to "Unleash the Beast" and I went up to the stage area,and Anthony is talking with one of the guys who was ahead of us outside the club. His name is Drew,and we are bullshitting about metal (These guys were talking about Steve Vai and Vinnie Moore,I was just listening to them).A few minutes later,Drews girlfriend Mary came and introduced herself to us. Goddman...she was really fucking hot! Anyway,she was telling me about how shitty Windows 2001 is (its the millenium one,I don't know it off-hand)and how it won't let her hook up some software for a digital camera, and eventually,we all stated talking about other kinds of stuff. Another guy came up and started talking with us as well (I didn't get his name,but he was cool as hell. ANYONE who agrees with Anthony and myself that Neil Turbin was ANTHRAX's best vocallist over Joey Belladonna is fucking awesome.), and Drew came back with five beers...one for each of us. We all made a brief toast to "HEAVY FUCKING METAL!" and hung out until the opening band came on stage.

At this point,I want to tell you about how the club scheduled this shit. The opening band comes on,then HALFORD is expected to be on about 10:30, and after his set is over...a cover band is going to play. This didn't make a whole lot of sense. If the coverband played from maybe 8:00 to 8:40, the horrible opening band (forgot their name,sounded like Korn and Coal/Crap Chamber with the stupid sounding effects) came on form 9:00 till 9:40, then HALFORD plays from 10:30 until whenever. Anyway,it was a retarted way to do it,because noone was going to stick around to watch a cover band after ROB HALFORD blows the crowd away.

So the opening band comes on stage and they suck. You would figure that with ROB HALFORD playing the club,they would have had a band that plays somewhat like them, but these jack-offs sounded like a bad mix of KORN and COAL (CRAP) CHAMBER...and they were just stupid. Apparently,they were able to get one of their songs on the soundtrack to the film "End of Days" ( I would totally ravage this film, but this is a show review,not a film review. It sucks,though! Take my word for it!). Anyway,they bored the crowd for about thirty-five or fotry minutes, and made everyone more appreciative that HALFORD was coming up later.

The big screen comes back down, and the world series is on (I swear,everyone in the place must have been a Yankees fan. I personally don't care about baseball...for HOCKEY IS THE SPORT OF KINGS!) and the whole place is watching the game. After about a half of an hour..it was time...

HALFORD came on the stage and went into the title track form their record "Ressurection", and the crowd went crazy. During HALFORD's time on stage,they played three other songs from the new album ("Made in Hell", "Locked and Loaded", and "Silent Scream" were the others), two FIGHT songs ("Into the Pit" and "Nailed to the Gun". I was hoping they would play "Vicious from War of Words...I love tht song), and the rest of the set was nothing but classic JUDAS PRIEST. HALFORD's band played the material well, and while everything sounded fine, I couldn't help but think that ROB HALFORD should be up there with Glenn and K.K. on guitars. Thats just how I felt, but that is not meant to be a knock at the band...they are fucking amazing musicians,and they played the material incredibly well...especially their drummer (I don't have the album in front of me,I don't know how to spell his name properly,and I know he was in perhaps the most underrated metal band RIOT for years). The sound was great,HALFOD's vocals could have been louder in the mix,but it was still easy to hear him hit the high notes that have made him a legend in the metal scene. I mentioned he played classic PRIEST, and "Jawbreaker","Genocide",and "Riding on the Wind" were awesome live. He also did "Electric Eye", "Breaking the Law", "Stained Class", and "Tyrant" as well as some other songs I forgot to mention. They were all amazing,and HALFORD was on the mark last night.

Now,I have to say something that needs to be said...MOSH PITS ARE TOTALLY FUCKING GAY! I can see why you would have a pit at a show for SLAYER, or SLIPKNOT, or even at hardcore shows (thats where moshing started...it didn't start with ANTHRAX shows). Crouwdsurfing is also stupid and unnecessary. The reason I say this is because while most people are there o enjoy the show and the music, some people have to be dicks and do this gay-ass bullshit! I saw women getting hit by these guys last night, all in a attempt to prove what? How big of a fan they are or the music? Shit,I garauntee that these people get made fun of the most for being so stupid as to carry on like that. Personally,I wish these people would just get shot. Maybe I am getting a little old,but I go to concerts to have a good time and enjoy the music, not to show people how many kung-fu moves I can pull off on people who get in my way. These people should be fucking killed like the wastes of space and flesh that they are....and if I get hit by any of these people again,I'll fucking kill their asses for attempting to ruin my good time, as well as those I might happen to make friends with at a show.

The show ended,and I ran into Drew and Mary in the parking lot, thanked him for the beers, ans said goodbye to them (they had a longer drive than we did,and I don't blame them for leaving as soon as possible. I wanted to get going as well). About fifteen minutes later,Anthony came out of the club (by the end of the show,I was all the way near the back of the club so I didn't have to put up with the faggot crowdsurfers/moshers.) HALFORD was supposedly doing an autograph session after the show....but he bolted instead,leaving many angry people behind who wanted to get their old JUDAS PRIEST records signed.

While we were standing around,though,Anthony started talking to some guy who had the HALFORD album on vinyl (it was a french import),and we started talking. A minute later,a friend of this guy came up and we were talking until Anthony and the first guy went off to the car (Anthony carries around his photo collection, snapping great shots at shows we get the chance to go to. The pictures are great,and if I had a sanner,they would be up here). Anyway,I am talking to this guy about all kinds of shit ( Geedy Lee's solo album, metal, and computers). The dudes name was Sebastian (I hope I spelled that right. I rarley spell anything right on this page,you might have noticed), and he was a cool as guy to talk with. Unfortunatley,It was about one in the morning and I was tired as shit (up at seven in the morning for some reason,I don't know why) , but Anthony was hellbent on getting his booklet signed,and we found the drummer. Anthony got his CD cover signed as well as taking a photo with the guy (who we both agreed was a nice guy,but he seemed kinda dumb).

It was a great night. Although shitheads were on top of me alot of the night (FUCK YOU SHITHEADS WHO DO THAT SHIT AT SHOWS!),it was still a great show.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2000

SAXOX...UDO...ZANDELLE...SHANGO

Live at L’Amour, Brooklyn New York

And so, the story begins...

This show involved a GREAT deal of planning on my part. I purchased a map of Brooklyn, the tickets, and several variations of directions indicating the proper way to locate L’Amour. The best set came from my friend, George, who is the lead singer of ZANDELLE. Chris and I left my house in New Jersey at 3:30pm. Equipped with 2 cameras, a marker & SAXON album cover (Metal-Head for autographs), we were on our way!

We drove to the path station, and rode the Path-Train into Manhattan, New York. Our next step required finding the B Train, which runs into Brooklyn. I was informed that the B-Train can be caught in Penn-Station, near Madison Square Garden. Wrong!!!! After walking around for a good hour and a half, Chris and I discovered that we could have caught the B-Train immediately after exiting the Path-Train. When we finally located the B-Train, we were unfortunate to have just missed it, and had to wait for the next one! After the train finally arrives, Chris and I get on it, and ride it into Brooklyn. The directions George gave me were perfect!! (thank you, George) When we stepped off the train at the Brooklyn stop, it was 6:30pm. Chris and I located the venue with ease.

As soon as we get there, I spotted ZANDELLE’s former guitarist, Joe. Cool guy. Chris went off for a drink, so I spoke with Joe while he was gone. I then noticed Doug (SAXON’s guitarist) standing 3 feet away from me!!!! I approached him and got his autograph, and a picture with him! Nice guy. As I continued my conversation with Joe, I learned that he would be playing bass guitar for this show, as ZANDELLE’s last bassist, Bill, left the band. This would be the tightest line-up for ZANDELLE ever!! Chris returned, and I spotted a cool guy we both knew from the RAVEN/HADES show. His name was K.K. and goes to EVERY show possible. For this show, he made an UDO cloth banner, and a SAXON cloth banner. Myself, Chris, and K.C. spoke the whole time at L’Amours. Hail Brother of Metal!! Some guy representing Nuclear Blast Records was standing outside with catalogs and some cool stickers (ie:Hammerfall, SOD,etc) George arrived, and spoke with this guy. I hope ZANDELLE gets signed, as I feel they deserve the best recognition they can get. I mentioned to George that there was a feature on ZANDELLE in Hellion Record’s catalog. He flipped out, unaware of their interest. We then heard ZANDELLE’s version of “The Needle Lies”, played from George’s car. HOLY SHIT!!! It sounded perfect! If that guy from Nuclear Blast wasn’t impressed, he should be killed!

Now, to the part where it starts to SUCK. The ticket said “Doors open at 8:00pm”. We were let in at 10:00pm!!! Apparently, there were a lot of sound-check problems, which should have been taken care of earlier. Anyway, I rushed to the merchandise table as soon as I entered the venue, and purchased a SAXON t-shirt (which I have wanted for a VERY long time), along with 2 UDO patches. I was all set to have the time of my life. I took my place right up front, in position for some terrific pictures with my cameras. The opening band, SHANGO, disgraced me! Musically, they were tight as hell, and are very talented. However, I felt VERY insulted by their stage-show and lyrics, dealing with a “Metal Mafia”. Songs like “FBI”, “Dick”, and “Forget About It??” made me feel ashamed to be associated with this band as a fellow Italian. Consisting of a vocalist/bassist, guitarist, drummer, and...(here’s the bad part) two men dressed in all black with sunglasses on. They stood in the back and sang parts of the choruses with their arms folded. At one point, they held up signs which read, “Free John G.”. During their set, several sandwiches were thrown out into the crowd At the end of their set (finally), the vocalist/bassist smashed down his bass, laid it flat on the stage, covered it with an Italian flag, and threw flowers at it while spitting on it. AAAHHHH!!! I have never felt so embarrassed….ever, before to be Italian. Get off the stage…..

Now, the moment I have been waiting for…ZANDELLE!! I must say: I love this band! I do all I can to support them from a distance, as it is very hard for me to make it to their shows. After traveling such a distance, it was even more special to see them again (for the third time now…should be more!). They took the stage, and blasted into one of my favorite songs, “Warrior”. George hit every note to perfection!!! Guitarists Anthony and T.W. were perfect in time and performance. Additionally, Joe did a spectacular job on bass, matching every beat from the pounding drums of Bob. Then, new song “Cycle” was performed. This song hasn’t been released yet, along with MANY other GREAT songs (Damn-it…someone SIGN THIS BAND!!!) Catchy chorus and great guitar melodies made this song killer. Next, “Queen Witch”, from their album Shadows of Reality. Once again, ZANDELLE floored me, as their performance was breathtaking! George displayed terrific stage-presence, moving to each beat, banging his head, and even having the crowd sing along with one of the choruses. Next, one of my favorite new songs, “Lord of Thunder” was performed. This song has such a great chorus, and guitar riffs that grab you and don’t let go! The final song, “Warlords of Steel” showed everyone why metal will never die.When ZANDLLE was finished, everyone asked for more, and I personally had no problem with that! It also disappointed me that guitarists Anthony & T.W. didn’t stand side-by-side for their duel guitar attack. They always seem to do this, but with the limited stage room, it’s very understandable. I thanked Geroge from the noisy crowd, and shook his hand. The few times I get to see ZANDELLE are always magical, and this time simply blew me away!!!

Now, the time arrives for UDO to take the stage. Each member of the band (excluding their drummer) was using wireless rigs. This made for a spectacular entrance. UDO takes the stage, ripping into “Holy” off his new s/t album. Throughout his entire set, UDO displayed sheer enthusiasm and joy to be in all of our presence. Now, one would think that at such a show, there wouldn’t be any assholes in the crowd….WRONG!!! My neck is bruised up from some idiot crowd surfer. To top that off, there was a real jerk behind me burying his arm and elbows into my ribs and back, trying to sneak his way up front. Too bad…I was waiting since 6:30pm, and there’s no chance in hell I’m gonna be anywhere else except the VERY FRONT!! I managed to get one of the set-lists, indicating every song UDO performed. They where… HOLY, RAIDERS OF BEYOND, MIDNIGHT MOVER, INDEPENDENCE DAY, METAL EATER, LONDON LEATHERBOYS, ANIMAL HOUSE, METAL HEART, LIVING ON THE FRONTLINE, BALLS TO THE WALL, CUT ME OUT, RESTLESS AND WILD, SON OF A BITCH, MONSTERMAN, I’M A REBEL, PRINCESS OF THE DAWN, FAST AS A SHARK

Hearing all those old Accept tunes again was a really special treat! I never thought I’d see the day when UDO would be performing right in front of me…WOW!

After the stage is cleared off, SAXON are up and ready to play. I always wanted to see this band, and holy shit…they kicked ass!!!! Biff entered the stage wearing the coolest leather trench coat I’ve ever seen. And let me tell you…he’s one tall SOB….DAMN!!! I went absloutely NUTS, and Biff noticed and gave me a strong high five (YES!!!) First song was “Metal Head”, and what a performance they put on. Biff said, “Are you all metal heads tonight?!” DAMN!!! Other SAXON songs included: THE THIN RED LINE, SONG OF EVIL, CONQUISTADOR, CRUSADER, DENIUM AND LEATHER, DALLAS 1 PM, PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT, DOGS OF WAR, STRONG ARM OF THE LAW.

I never thought the day would come when I would see SAXON. It totally kicked my ass. Unfortunately, their set was cut short because of the late hour (remember: sound-checks are done EARLY...try it that way, Mr. Club-Owner!!!!). Anyway, I didn’t want the show to end, but it did. (as they say: all good things must come to an end).

I exited the venue with Chris and waited for my friend to come out. Unfortunately, he left early, so that meant my ride home left early too. I was mad at first, but understood his reasons for leaving; besides, nothing was promised. I went back into the venue to look one last time, and ran into the guitarist from UDO. I immediately introduced myself and got his autograph! I circled the venue to leave (by means of the subway, at 4:00am…..eeekkk, not safe!!!), and I ran into my friend Diane. I didn’t know she was gonna be at this show, and it’s was nice to see her in my time of need. I asked for a ride into Manhattan, and she gladly said yes. Shockingly, the ride from Brooklyn into Manhattan lasted 10 minutes the most!! Chris and I were dropped off at the World Trade Center, where we took the train from there into Harrison, New Jersey. Thank you Diane for the ride…I love you man!!!! Keep in mind, Chris and I had NOTHING to eat since 3:30pm, and it was now 5:45am!! We stopped off at Quick Check Food Store for anything, and continued the 7-block walk to my car, where a 30 minute drive was waiting for us. We arrived back into our home town at around 6:20am!

I must admit, this was the best show yet, right up there with the HALFORD show!!!Through all those hours of standing and walking, I developed the WORST cramps…and then had to go to work. In conclusion, I wanna thank all the GREAT people Chris and I ran into at the show, Diane, ZANDELLE, UDO, and SAXON. Over and out…. -Anthony DeLuca:Unstoppable Force Website/Zine

SAXON/UDO/ZANDELLE/SHANGO-Fri,Oct 27th, L'Amours, Brooklyn,N.Y.

Three-thirty in the afternoon,Anthony and I leave Bloomfield,New Jersey to go to what we both know will be a show to end all shows. We drive to Harrison to catch the PATH train (PATH=Train system to get from NJ into NY cheap and fast) and eventually we wind up in New York City.

I hope George (from ZANDELLE) was just screwing with Anthony about catching the B train at Penn Station (If it was a joke,it was kinda funny looking back on it. It wasn't funny then!). Anyway,after about forty-five or fifty minutes (not the hour-and-a-half epic that Anthony described above),we found our way to the B train and patiently waited for the train to come. I was reading the train map making sure that we were getting on the right train,when the damn thing puled up. We got on and rode the bastard subway for a good long time until we got to our stop. The directions to get to the club were good,and we arrived early (6:30 for an 8:00 show isn't TOO early). We ran into Joe-ZANDELLE's former guitarist (who was filling in on bass for the night). After an offer of a cigarette from Joe,I refused and we were talking about shit when I decided to get something to drink. I walked a few blocks to the 7-11 and looked around for something to drink. I went right to the slurpee machine...but they had the cups behind the counter? This was the worst 7-11 I have ever been in. Like the kids in Brooklyn take 7-11 cups and run off with them? What a bunch of jerk-offs these people were). Anyway,I get the damn slurpee cup and a pack of Starburst fruit chews,drop down my money,and get the fuck out of there.

I arrive back at the club and a few more people showed up in my absence. Some guy who was doing promotion for NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS (they wil give you free admission to shows if you hand out promotional items on their behalf. This guy was part of their "Street Team".). The guy was cool,if not a bit goofy looking ( reminded me of Ed Norton from the HoneyMooners. He was tall,had a similar looking face,and seemed pretty out of it). Anthony goes into alot of other details in his review,and due to time,I will make this short as possible.

The tickets said 8 o'clock,but we get in at 10 o'clock (if they run the club like this often,then I don't care WHO the fuck plays there,I won't be going!). Angry patrons and a shitty first act do nothing to help any situations...as SHANGO proved. Anthony and I had seen these assholes at the first March Metal Meltdown. Well,they sucked then,and they still fucking suck. The only reason they got a good reaction (which stil boggles my mind four days after the show) is because they are from the area.Their songs suck,their gimmick is lame (Metal Mafia my ass. At least it isn't "southern hair/metal band that discovered "Slaughter in the Vatican" by EXHORDER all those years ago and sold out their former image for a new,more hardcore one...leaving their past behind them. I won't mention their name). Speaking of PANTERA (Damnit, I fucked up),their guitarist's sound and look was almost like that to Dipshit Darrell (looks wise, a cross betewwn Darrell and Dan Lilker of Anthrax/S.O.D. /Nuclear Assault/Brutal Truth/Hemlock/ about twenty other bands). Their bassist/singer (who sucks by the way), reminded me of the guy who played Bluto in the POPEYE movie that Robin Williams was in,and the drummer looked like any bald wrestler you could name, but he was actually decent. This band is a waste of time,and when they raised signes with "Free John Gotti" on them,Anthony held his head in shame...these guys are italian,and so is Ant,and I could tell he would rather be ANY other nationality than Italian when they disgraced the italian flag when the fat bassst draped it over his bass funeral style,took flowers,and ripped them up all over the flag. What a sick joke that these guys were on this show. They should be shot! And the other guys with the suits on who shouted into mics while they folded their arms? Do I REALLY need to go into this? I mean,shit, told you that they sucked,and my word should be good enough for most people.

Next up was ZANDELLE. This band is great,and I am surprised they are not signed to a label yet. Their music is tight,and lyrically,it isn't bad. The stage show is where this band shines. They are extremley good, but I don't know why Anthony shoots loads into his jeans when they come on stage. Iam glad to see them,but Anthony is almost like a groupie. It's fucking disgusting! But enough about Ant,they had a short set tonight (for some reason,Shango had 7 songs,Zandelle only had 5),but they played some excellent material which could possibly get them signed to a label (these guys are definetly the best local band I have seen in a long time. Thats why Anthony ad I are fans).

UDO came on next,and played pretty much the same set as he did when we saw him at the Birch Hill in N.J. this summer. Not that I am complaining,the set is incredible with classics like "Son of a Bitch", "Fast as a Shark", and "Princess of the Dawn" as well as throwing in a cover of JUDAS PRIEST's "Metal Gods" which was awesome as hell. Not much to say here,as I would be covering old ground. The band is great,and when they play near you,you have t check the band out...especially if you like old ACCEPT. I don't know alot of UDO's solo material,but if I could enjoy the show,anyone could. The man is a fucking legend,and he is still doing his thing live.

Finally,after almost falling over from sleep deprivation (I was up at 8 in the morning,and without caffine,I was fading out fast) and hunger (Anthony was more hungry than I was.I was surprsed. I think Shango won Anthony over when they threw italian sub sandwiches into the crowd. He didn't get one,but its the thought that counts.) and I frankly wanted to leave. However,I would not leave because of the reason we made our trek out to Brooklyn in the first place...SAXON! One of my fav NWOBHM bands,Saxon came on stage about quarter after two in the morning,and proceededto play an incredible set,hitting classics like "Motorcycle Man","Princess of the Night", and "Denim and Leather",as well as playing newer stuff like "Dogs of War" (I know,it came out in 94/95 but after twenty years SAXON has been around,it's a newer song),"Song of Evil", and the title track from their latest album "Metalhead". They were awesome. Biff was magnificent,the guitar solos were dead on,and the rythym section was tigh as an anchor. All in all,excellence.

Despite the fact that the show ended at 3:30 in the morning (half a fucking day since we left our homes in NJ),Anthony ran into Dianne, a friend of ours who was able to give a ride back to the PATH station at the World Trade Center (Thanks,we appreciate it Dianne) where we got onto a train and headed back to NJ. Tired...but it was definetly worth it.

(Now,I know I left out ALOT of details,but Anthony covered most of them in his review,and this was mainly just my thougts/opinions about the show. Alot more happened than I mentioned,but I didn't want to tread over the ground that Anthony had already paved.)

-Chris O'Brien

A night to remember...a night to Call On The Attacker!!!!!

Usually, I like to get to a concert early, providing myself a great spot up front. Now that I take a lot of pictures, this additionally helps me get in some really killer shots. For this show, my way of thinking changed a little.

My friend Eric and I left town at 9:00 pm. I couldn't believe the time...I thought we would miss out on ATTACKER. What really got me was the fact that such a great band was OPENING for none other than HADES and T.T. QUICK!!!!!! I was beyond words. Eric and I decided to leave right after ATTACKER was done. Unfortunately, Chris couldn't make it, that being he was very sick (sorry bro! -Ant). Well, to my suprise, when we arrived at the Birch Hill, it was almost COMPLETELY empty!! I was speechless. I asked the security guard where everyone was, and he said that for T.T. Quick and Hades, the crowds usually come late. Eric and I go inside...

As we walk around the EMPTY Birch Hill, Eric spots Bob Mitchell, the ATTACKER vocalist!!! Well, me being the outspoken one, I approached him, introduced myself, and begain a very interesting conversation. This guy has to be the nicest metal performer I've EVER met!!!! I actually made a new friend that night. Bob sported a RAVEN t-shirt, from the "One For All" album. It so happened that he attended that show at the Birch Hill a few months ago (it's reviewed above)!!! After B.S.ing for a while, I mentioned UNSTOPPABLE FORCE, and Bob agreed to be interviewed. So, he gets ready for the show to start, and Eric and I await for...the return of THE ATTACKER! What we had found out was that this was to be Attacker's last show under that name. This was EXTRA special.

ATTACKER takes the stage, opening with some songs off "The Second Comming" album. Bob hit EVERY high note with grace and absolutely AMAZING stage presence. I was in awe. Complete with a brand new line-up, ATTACKER made it well known that they were back to kick some serious ass!! The show nearly ended with the classic, fist banging "(Call On) The Attacker". Then, Bob announces a suprise. They rip into some Judas Priest!!!!! ...And I have to say: they performed with expertise and crowd participation. Both guitarists presented themselves with aggresion and skill, never letting their view become dull or boring. Soaring guitar solos, that great way of jamming out, and mobility showcased their talent. The bassist was always roaming the stage, via Steve Harris style, moving along to every beat that was blasted from the drummer. And then there was Mr. Bob Mitchell: so good to see him back, performing those well-loved ATTACKER songs & motioning all the great metal poses that incorperated his unforgettable stage presence. Anyone who missed this show is GREATLY deprived!!!

After the show, Eric and I awaited for Bob to call us over. I was waiting to purchase the SLEEPY HOLLOW EP from him, which is an outstanding metal album!! We went outside to his car, where we talked more. I was lucky enough to have Bob sign the records for myself and Chris. I later took a picture with him. We hung out for a while, looking at my metal photo albums, and then bid farewell.

Today, Bob and I keep in touch. He is back, and ready to show everyone the way of metal...VYNDYKATOR style!!!!! The SLEEPY HOLLOW EP is for sale. Information on how to buy this gem is posted on the MESSAGE BOARD. This was a night to remember, indeed. Thank you Bob, and the rest of the band.

-Anthony DeLuca