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Rating: The local Infernal Angels kick off, with their black metal that says everything without saying anything: the style is rather flat, the sound performance mediocre, resulting in a half-hour performance that is overall pleasant for fans of the genre - myself included. Despite the more than appreciable technical level, they will be remembered more for the singer's growling blasphemy than anything else. Next come the Golem with their raw death, made even more chaotic by a sound service that will torment everyone throughout the evening (Hansen included): several tracks are performed from the latest CD "Black Era," plus a - in my opinion, unconvincing - cover of "Davidian" by Machine Head. It's now time for the Romans Kaledon, as we settle on the edges of the field to enjoy their power metal: the singer Claudio has truly impressive vocal qualities, and they are certainly one of the best groups of the day. Following them are the equally valid Dark Lunacy, offering a genre vaguely reminiscent of Dark Tranquillity, with the peculiarity of several symphonic inserts that become an integral part of the rhythms. It's a real shame that the band's excellent performance is partly overshadowed by really poorly done equalization.
And now it's finally time for Pino Scotto with the Firetrails, who, after being greeted like the new messiah of heavy metal, offers several pieces from the beautiful "Third Moon" - interspersing the songs with curses against the majors, politicians, Briatore, and everyone who doesn't understand a damn about music - not forgetting a tribute to his Vanadium and their songs. His performance is so charismatic that it literally leaves even those who didn't know him speechless: a truly spot-on choice that fires up the audience present and prepares us for the devastation of the Tankard. With the intro of "We still drink the old ways" (!), the three German musicians appear, and shortly after, Andreas "Gerre" Geremia storms the stage with his incalculable kg of pure "heavy-belly" to give it his all. Several tracks from the band's 25 years, too often undeservedly underrated despite their respectable curriculum, are performed. Hearing them live is an unmissable experience (in fact, they started off a bit lukewarm...) despite a simply horrid drum sound: the level (not just alcoholic) rises with the splendid "The beauty and the beast", "Under Friendly Fire", and "Slipping from reality". Andreas decides it's time to make the show memorable and suddenly steps off the stage - continuing to sing - to go hug the metalheads in the front rows. In doing so, he finds time to say some trashy phrases in Italian like "Ciao bela ragaza," and shows how little of a rock star he is by going to drink beer with fans at the end of the performance.
A few minutes later, it's time for the highly anticipated Gamma Ray, who, under the eyes of incredulous fans, start with a fiery "Garden of the Sinner", only to... stop due to technical problems. The show is halted for about 15 minutes, and the embarrassment is palpable. In this, Gerardo Cafaro finds a way to be acclaimed anyway during a very brief intervention, where he congratulates the audience for their correct behavior. Well done, Gerardo, it's people like you we need. Fortunately, it starts again, and Kai Hansen proposes "New World Order", after clearly stating that, sometimes, the service is crap. To my great joy, both the classic "Man on a mission" and the splendid new "Fight" are presented. And after delighting us with "Blood Religion", constantly keeping a smile on their faces, the unexpected "Heavy Metal Universe" is played, with its epic cadence sending many fans into ecstasy. It's time for two more "relaxed" pieces, like "Fairytale" - literally improvised and varied by Kai - and especially the essential "The Silence", with the audience hanging on the frontman's lips. To conclude the evening, a spectacular Helloween medley including "Future World/Ride the Sky/I want it out", as well as the beginning of "Rebellion in Dreamland" and "Land of the Free". Without much ado, the band exits and immediately returns to let us hear "Valley of the Kings", "Somewhere out in Space", "Rebellion in Dreamland" (twice, indeed) and the concluding "Send me a Sign".
Great show, let's hope to see each other next year...
Videos of the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br88E6m-oNA
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