XXX-Mess-Lists 2008

[lawlessgrandma]

To breathe some life into the ROOM OF DEATH I will try to present a review in Metal of the almost gone 2008 in form of some short so called polls, starting with the category of BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE BY ONE MUSICIAN:
3. Dan Beehler: The founding member of Exciter played with his selftitled combo on this year's Headbanger's OpenAir and he was one show for itself. Singin' and treatin' his huge drumkit like an Orang on speed he made a major impress on the open-mouthed crowd that went extra-fuckin'-crazy to the likes of 'Pounding Metal', 'I Am The Beast', 'Long Live The Loud', 'Rising Of The Dead' and of course 'Heavy Metal Maniac'.
2. Stephen Pearcy: Before the RATT-show at Swedenrock I was a lil' worried if the Sleazemetal veterans could deliver. But from the first song to 'Round And Round' the band and foremost Pearcy proved for 2 and a half hours that the glam of the early Eighties is alive and kickin'. His voice sounded strong and hasn't lost that sleazy rough edge that made RATT famous. 'Wanted Man', 'Lay It Down', 'You're In Love', 'City To City', 'Back For More', 'I'm Insane' - all the hits sounded fresh and tight.
1. Robert Robertson: The guitarist of The Wild Dogs which I also saw at the Headbanger's was definitely not from this world. Too fast for, well, everything. I seen Satriani, Schenker, Vai, Li, but this guy is ahead of them. He played tracks like 'Reign Of Terror', 'Take Another Prisoner', 'Believe In Me' 'Two Wrongs' or 'Born To Rock' with such passion and excitement for the instrument I rarely seen before. The cool thing was that he and one Matt McCourt raised their tent right next to Grandma's so we had some excellent parties the Wild Dogs style.

[MetalBlade]

I like it. Life for The Room at last.

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE BY ONE MUSICIAN:
Not quite metal, but I enjoyed a certain Mr. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull very much indeed.
He pranced and leaped like the graceful laird of old, and made his flute sing such sweet music indeed.
And laugh? I fucking howled for two hours solid at his uniquely and finely tuned humour inbetween songs.
The man is better than any stand up comic I've ever seen!
Yes, it's taken me many years to finally see the great man onstage in person, and the 40th anniversary celebration was a fitting time indeed to break my Tull cherry.

So my man of the year is Ian Anderson. Maybe a surprise choice from this seasoned metalhead? Possibly, but a wise one nonetheless.

[lawlessgrandma]

Yeah right! Mr 'Flutin' Anderson. Never seen Tull live, but always loved their songs. 'Wind Up' - unbeatable. Good choice and I believe that 'Locomotive Breath' is without no doubt Metal enuff.
Next category would be: Femme Fatale 08.
The lady that made most impress on Grandma is called straight forward Liv. Her voice helped the band Sister Sin to afford some recent success, not only in their home (Sweden), but also here in Germany where they will tour along with Arch Enemy in December. I had the chance to see Sister Sin perform on a smaller stage at this year's Swedenrock and yep, they kicked butt. Own songs just like 'Love-Hate', 'On Parole' or the outstanding 'Switchblade Serenade' were quicked up with Lemmy's 'Make My Day' and an 'interesting' version of the Crüe's 'Live Wire'. The voice sounds like a bastard between Mrs Pesch and Gianna Nannini. Later that day Liv showed up at a lil' Sleazerock party me and some friends had goin'. Nice to have met her ... . A band to check out!

[lawlessgrandma]

From one new act to another which I would call the Newcomer Of The Year: Black Tide. Five very young boys (17-20) from sunny Florida who celebrate the sound of the Eighties and are able to give it a modern touch that doesn't suck. They mixed up some Moetley with Megadeth, Maiden and Rose Tattoo and created on their debut 'Light From above' some pearls like 'Shockwave', the title track, 'Warriors of Time' or 'Shout'. I even like the Metallica cover 'Hit The Lights'. So thumbs up for Black Tide.

[lawlessgrandma]

I see someone nodding while I point out my Worst Live Experience in 2008 which happened at Swedenrock: Festival Stage, and it was one David Coverdale of Whitesnake who just failed at that day. The band was tight, but the voice was not only weak, but furthermore Coverdale was singing out of tune in songs like "Still Of The Night", "Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues", "Crying In The Rain" and even "Burn" or "Here I Go Again". The year before I really enjoyed the gig in Wacken, but Whitesnake 2008 sounded like a very, very old act who hasn't got it anymore ...