Dragonforce / Angra
21 February 2005
Mean Fiddler, London
Finally Angra had been afforded the opportunity to play to a British audience although saying that there were a lot of Brazilian flags being waved as Spread Your Fire opened the set. Quickly retreating under the shelter of the balcony above seemed to remove the thunderous pounding of Aquiles Priester`s drums which were quite painful in the mix.
As Felipe Andreoli ran through his impressive bass solo mid Waiting Silence, everything seemed to start falling into place and the too and fro guitar exchange between Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt was a joy to behold. The newer material has a more Dream Theatre prog edge to it, which takes a few listens to digest, though it was apparent from crowd reactions that Temple Of Shadows was the album most were more familiar with.
Eduardo Falaschi introduction of Acid Rain conveyed that he was absolutely stoked to be in England for the first time and the song is ushered in with eerie green lighting and seeping dry ice. Mid song Eduardo engages in some Bruce Dickinson style crowd encouragement, jumping up arms aloft to trigger each scream.
Out come the drums for Carolina IV with the whole band indulging in some samba rhythms. The diehards lap up each twist and turn of this number, whilst its progressive edge garners quizzically respect from many others. It`s Angels & Demons however that`s my personally highpoint with Kiko and Rafael`s guitar work phenomenal. The pair seemed much more confident than when I had seen them at Sweden Rock, though admittedly that day they were trying to warm up a midday crowd. Tonight they lean over the crowd mouthing the words to each song.
Angra continued to notch up sixty minutes of quality metal, wrapping things up with Nova Era. Pretty much everybody who managed to catch them will I`m sure be pleased to discover that plans are afoot for the band to return in June for a headline two hour set. This toe into English waters was certainly a success, proving and bolstering support, sufficient for a top of the bill return.
Angra set list:
Spread Your Fire / Waiting Silence / Acid Rain / Nothing To Say / Carolina IV / Angels & Demons / Angels Cry / Temple Of Hate / Never Understand / Nova Era
Many of the naysayers seemed to have already written off Dragonforce`s chances of being able to follow Angra, as if the customary raised platform centre stage had been littered with banana skins. However, perhaps aware that there was a seriously good band to follow, Dragonforce seemed to thrive with a collective fire which saw the tightest and best sounding performance I have witnessed by them.
As I was heading back into the main hall with the band out of sight, Fury Of The Storm kicked in and I had honestly thought they were playing an extended recorded intro through the PA, such was the clarity and tightness of the performance. There`s a fine line between leaping around to entertain the audience and actually nailing the songs and where perhaps recently the band have gone straight in at the deep end with gymnastics, tonight they seemed to coolly ease themselves into the performance, ensuring they had a grip of each speedy number.
Black Winter Night had the crowd`s hands in the air, but that wasn`t enough for ZP Theart, who by Fury Of The Storm, wanted to see a moshpit. The sold out Mean Fiddler was a bit too packed to allow for that, though, when permitted by the security there were stage divers aplenty, including Sam Totman himself towards the end of the set.
Dawn Over A New gave the crowd a well deserved breather and Sam too, until he nearly knocked me flying rushing to get back on stage for his cue. Lighters joined plastic swords held aloft to sway along.
Once again, Vadim entertained the crowd with his wacky solo, which he seems to perform in a more mental fashion each time I see it. To his left Dave Mackintosh`s framed kit makes for an impressive site only topped by his actual high velocity drumming.
The now familiar skill of Herman and Sam playing each others guitars made an appearance during Revelations, taken one step further when Adrian joins to form a guitar ménage a trois. Beating this in the hilarity stakes however is when Sam`s guitar cuts out during Disciples Of Babylon and he continued with all his usual poses and leaps playing air guitar. This one technical mishap does not however sink the performance with Valley Of The Damned sending the crowd home happy.
At an hour and forty minutes, Dragonforce`s set was a monstrous marathon of lightning fast metal which left the hardcore fans fully satisfied and exhausted judging by the drenched state of many leaving the Mean Fiddler. My personal preference would have been to perhaps prune the set a little and leave the crowd wanting more, but you can`t really argue that point with those clung on to the barrier stage front long after the band have finished.
Despite how some had envisaged this evening, it was really never about competition but about enjoying the kind of metal show that a few years ago you would have been forced to cross the Channel to see. The turnout tonight was proof positive that the power metal scene is not only healthy in the UK, but growing.
Dragonforce set list:
Fury Of The Storm / Black Winter Night / Above The Winter Moonlight / Fields Of Despair / Dawn Over A New World / Vadim Solo / Soldiers Of The Wasteland / Prepare For War / Revelations / Evening Star / My Spirit Will Go On / Starfire / Disciples Of Babylon / Valley Of The Damned
LINKS:
Dragonforce
Angra
|
