HAMMERFALL, KROKUS AND THE POODLES
The evening commenced with an opening set from Swedish rockers The Poodles. Having never heard of The Poodles prior to finding out they were supporting Hammerfall, well, let’s just say I didn’t have a clue what to expect except maybe some hideous radio friendly rock band with no rightful place on a metal billing. As I was stood in the queue awaiting entry into the venue at one point I wasn’t even sure if I would get to watch them or not although despite my initial scepticism I’m glad I did! The Poodles brazenly appeared onstage and went at it full force putting 200% into their performance. They were great fun to watch and had an energy that was seemingly contagious as they had the entire crowd lapping it up by the end of their set. Their sound lends a weighty influence from the glam metal bands of the 80’s namely Whitesnake, Motley Crue and The Quireboys although their sound is heavy and with a contemporary feel even mixing in some sounds that could be likened to such bands as headliners Hammerfall. Frontman Jakob Samuel knew how to work both the stage and the crowd and his vocals had a bluesy rock feel with one hell of a kick behind it. He got the crowd going with a shout-a-long that still had some folk chanting at the bar! The Poodles provided an entertaining start to the night and to anyone who missed them – you missed out!
Swiss metal veterans Krokus followed with some good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. Looking around it was fairly obvious that there was a good proportion of the audience there to see Krokus, having been away for a while since their 80’s prime. Krokus’ sound is so close to AC/DC that if they were any more similar they would actually become them. Not only did frontman Marc Storace carry out vocals akin to Brian Jonson, but half of the riffs sounded as though they came straight out of the AC/DC back catalogue. They kicked off their set with “Heatstrokes” before playing a couple of tracks from their new album Hellraiser. As their set neared an end I began to get into it a bit more as they livened up a bit after what I found to be a fairly static start to the set. “Easy Rocker” and “Rock City” seemed to bring the rock and roll spirit as they dedicated the latter to everyone at Rio’s. Unfortunately tonight, Krokus had a really tough act to follow and had the two supports been in reverse order then I am sure I would have enjoyed their set a lot more than I actually did.
The moment arrived for the mighty Hammerfall to take the stage. Finally they decide to do a full UK tour after ten years and they were really making up for lost time tonight. The volume of the crowd was a clear indication that a visit to Bradford was long overdue from the Swedish templars of steel and after some loud chants of “HA-MMER-FALL” courtesy of an eager northern metal crowd the band opened with title track from their latest album “Threshold”, which proved to be an ideal opener with its dark creeping intro. As the band turned it up a notch or two with the fast and furious “Legacy of Kings” and the epic “Riders of the Storm” it appeared that Hammerfall really are a force to be reckoned with as they deliver classic songs with the power and conviction of a high voltage powerhouse. The second offering from “Threshold” is introduced as they inform the crowd that over the years bad things have been said about metal and about Hammerfall before bursting into the slow but heavy anthem “Rebel Inside”. Hammerfall moved around the stage with a great deal of energy, not simply playing their songs live as some bands do but really using the stage to the fullest extent as Oscar Dronjak self-assuredly displayed his musical prowess with no amount of humility and Joacim Cans over-exaggerated every movement that accompanied his zealous cheese-laden vocals that emitted power with every high pitched note uttered. The band ploughed through such favourites as “Blood Bound”, “Renegade” and “Let the Hammer Fall” plus the fantastic Threshold instrumental “Reign of the Hammer” which really has to be seen live to appreciate, highlighting the guitar-wielding talents of Stefan Elmgren. There was never a dull moment to be seen tonight although sadly the main part of the set came to a close. The band were welcomed back onto the stage as they played not one, but two encores starting with another recent track; their single “Natural High” and ending with “Glory to the Brave”, “Heeding the Call” and “Hearts on Fire” which made a fantastic end to a fantastic gig. Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait too long for their next visit.
Luci Herbert
BRADFORD RIOS 23/02/07