The Metal Weekend and a bit!

The originally dubbed "Weekend of Metal" took place last...weekend, and spilled over into the following week to make it an awesome "Metal 3/4 of a week". Shush.

Started off with a trip to Sin City at the electric ballroom in Camden. Was awesome, don't need to say too much more. Then there were some gigs.

DREAM THEATER & OPETH, with Bigelf and Unexpect

Saturday night, Wembley Arena. The support acts varied somewhat in style, quality and humourousness. Unexpect are an interesting band, though not particularly good. They have an electric violin player, and almost all of them have long dreadlocked hair. Described as "Gypsy-metal", their tracks are sporadic and proggy (good thing then that they're playing the Progressive Nation tour here...), and the musicians are clearly talented in their own right, but they don't quite have the songwriting down.
Bigelf come on next, the ubercool (yeah I said it) frontman sporting a large tophat and playing TWO electric organs. Musically they sound like a classic 70s rock band, though heavier and with more hints of Prog. They're good, but apart from the frontman there isn't a lot of showmanship until their set is lifted by the sudden appearance on stage of DT drummer Mike Portnoy, who stands in for Bigelf's own drummer for one song. Overall this is a good set.
Main support band Opeth are given a rapturous welcome. Though they open light with "Windowpane", the rest of the set is full of the heavy stuff. Vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt is on fire, describing "The Lotus Eater" as "A masterpiece; We won't even need to introduce the song because it is a masterpiece", then telling everyone about how he had almost pulled the last time he was over in the UK: "She even grabbed my balls, but I said no. What am I, gay?" Everything seems to go right for Opeth, and the inclusion of Harlequin Forest in the set was a welcome treat.
But this is nothing compared with the headliners. Opening with "A Nightmare To Remember" (featuring a guest appearance from Mikeal Akerfeldt) , they build from there, with plenty of solo moments for keyboardist Jordan Rudess and guitarist John Petrucci and a double hit from the Awake album (Lie and The Mirror). Dance of Eternity is one of the best moments of the night, only outweighed but a huge drum duel involving every one of the drummers from the bands playing tonight, or Rudess' keyboard duel with his own cartoon image (he also wears a wizards hat). Once again, Dream Theater mix virtuoso performance and grandious stage presence to put on one hell of a show. The encore of "The Count Of Tuscany" further goes to prove this, and leaves everyone buzzing long after the gig is over.

CHIMAIRA AND UNEARTH, with Throwdown and Daath

It has to be said, the vocalist of Daath has a rather impressive beard. And with his shirt already off before the set has even started, it seems he's going to be quite the extrovert. He is. Daath are ok, better than was expected. An immence guitarist and one fairly good song doesn't quite overlook the fact that the rest of the set is rather mediocre, but it goes someway to helping them be a bearable band to watch.
Throwdown are not bearable. They have nothing. They play a brand of hardcore that is dull and dragging, with no real musicianship and a very angry man shouting at you. The only enjoyable part would have been watching the spasmodic and frankly hilarious hardcore dancing, though I only had to listen to them to get the general gist.
Unearth are the complete opposite. Though they play "Metalcore", a genre with hardcore elements, they are able to freshen it up with some beautifully melodic guitar parts taken from their metal influences. They put on a good show as well, the guitarists climbing other everything, and at one point venturing to the sound-desk to play from there. Highlights of their set include "My Will Be Done", from their latest offering The March, as well as classics such as "Zombie Autopilot" and "The Great Dividers". The crowd really get into it too, which creates a great atmosphere for fan and band alike.
Chimaira haven't had such a good run lately. Releasing their weakest album "Resurrection" a couple of years back, the latest offering "The Infection" goes someway to resolving this, but there are still some weak bits. Tonight, you wouldn't notice that. Opener The Venom Inside is crunchingly heavy, and of course as this is Chimaira that is how they carry on. "Power Trip", "Severed" and Nothing Remains are among notable classics, as well as some new treats such as "Resurrection" and "Destroy and Dominate". The crowd are loving it, Mark Hunter can't get a word in edgeways thanks to a continued chant of "CHIMAIRA! CHIMAIRA!". Of course, it wouldn't be a Chimaira gig if it didn't end with "Pure Hatred", and the rabbidness of the crowd that goes with it. That should make a very good DVD...

I'll do the other gig later, this is getting to be fairly long...