Because I go to a lot of concerts, I have a system for deciding which gigs I spend my hard earned cash on. I scour the local venue listings and ticket agents every week. Bands I like or acts which interest me are entered into a book to form a long list. I listen to every band on the list to make a short list. Bands I've already seen and loved will automatically be on my short list too. Some bands that I've seen and not enjoyed live may still end up on the long list and subsequent short list because of the quality of their recorded output. What this means is that I end up seeing some bands multiple times who aren't very good live. It's something of a cycle: go watch band, be disappointed by band, forget about band until five or ten years later when you see them in the gig listings and decide to give them another opportunity, and based on them having some good records you decide to give them another chance. This system means that I can watch a band a number of times even though I don't think they are particularly good live. One such band is W.A.S.P.
Before them though are LA's power metal (in the original sense of the term) veterans Armored Saint. They open with 'March Of The Saint' which is a perfectly fine piece of heavy metal. However, the drums seem to drown out the rest of the instruments which are nowhere near loud enough. This also includes the vocals although John Bush does appear to be in fine voice. 'End Of The Attention Span' sounds much better (and louder), with the driving, powerful riffing sounding much more urgent. 'Last Train Home' has an insistent, throbbing verse which gives way to an anthemic chorus. With his shaven head, John cuts a youthful presence and probably looks younger than he did in the '90s. A heavy 'Left Hook From Right Field' is really good but the chorus sounds more melancholic than the recorded version. 'Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants' showcases their strengths: muscular metal with powerful riffs and memorable choruses expertly sang by one of the best in the game, John Bush. 'Win Hands Down' has another killer chorus and the twin guitar solo spot with Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan is ace. A rock solid 'Can U Deliver' is built on sheet metal riffing although there are a couple of moments where the guitar sound is a bit weird and quiet. A dynamic 'Reign Of Fire' is a fine way to end a great set.
W.A.S.P. are playing their first album in full tonight. It's a good album but there is a bit of filler on it so we'll see how that fares. It isn't as consistent as 'The Headless Children' which is by far my favourite album of theirs.
'I Wanna Be Somebody' is a great way to start; a head shaking, fist pumping anthem. They sound pretty good and Blackie Lawless sounds decent too (although given their well publicised use of backing tracks, whether it's actually him or not is another matter). 'L.O.V.E. Machine' is equally good. Although the opening tracks are, hands down, the two best songs on the album, an energetic 'The Flame' keeps up the positive momentum. The kick drum sounds pretty thunderous during 'B.A.D.' and 'School Daze' but the tracks themselves are only passable. However, they are probably the weakest tracks on the album. A driving 'Hellion' gets things back on track. The slow burning 'Sleeping (In The Fire)' is surprisingly powerful. Blackie looks more like someone's aunt than a dangerous rock star these days but fair play to him because this is better than I expected. A rousing, blood pumping 'On Your Knees' shows why it is traditionally the show opener. 'Tormentor' is a bit plodding but 'The Torture Never Stops' doesn't let up at all, and this ends the album set.
They return with a medley which includes an energetic, anthemic 'Inside The Electric Circus' and laboured versions of 'I Don't Need No Doctor' (check out The Sonics' version to see how this song should be covered) and 'Scream Until You Like It'. Their cover of The Who's 'The Real Me' has real substance and is excellent. The bass lines are excellent but, then again they should be as John Entwistle wrote them. However, the bass is overpowering during the power ballad 'Forever Free' which lessens the impact. We get a shortened version of the progressive 'The Headless Children' but it is still great. A solo verse of 'Wild Child' is magical and this makes the track more impactful when the full band plays it. It's pretty phenomenal. Unfortunately, Blackie starts talking politics before the closing 'Blind In Texas'. He says he is concerned with where the UK is heading and talks about censorship. Unfortunately, it seems to be the same ideas that JD Vance and Elon Musk has about the UK rather than the reality. He also says that someone was recently shot in America for speaking the truth (no guesses as to who he's talking about). I already knew about Blackie's politics so I'm not surprised but I am disappointed how many people are cheering him. This rather sours it for me and I decide that I've had enough. It was still better than I expected though.
W.A.S.P. ***
Armored Saint ****
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