Dio/King's X/HammerFall
Harpo's, Detroit, Michigan
12/7/2002
Review by Night of the Realm
The week of December 1st, culminating in Dio's concert on Saturday
night was one of the most hellacious death-rides that I have ever
experienced. In addition to my already full schedules at both work and
school, I also attended the Blind Guardian/Symphony X show on Dec. 5th,
and took my final exam on Friday. That night I wound up in the University
Of Michigan Hospital ER with severe abdominal pain, and was diagnosed with
pre-ulcer gastritis. Nothing, however, could keep me from seeing Dio, and
I set out for the concert on Saturday.
The last time I saw Dio in concert was just over 2 years ago, and just
like that night, it was another cold December evening as I pulled up to
Harpo's for Dio with HammerFall and King's X.
I arrived early to be there when the doors opened at 7, not wanting to
miss HammerFall. I was hoping that this would be an early show as there
were no local bands opening. I made my way to the front in my customary
fashion to wait for HammerFall. I wound up standing for a while, as HammerFall
did not take the stage until nearly 9! As I waited in the pit, I got the
chance to chat it up with several metalheads, even engaging several of
them in a debate following their ignorant comments that metal is dead in
the U.S. If people would just refuse the pabulum force-fed to them by the
media and open their eyes and ears, they would see the strong pulse of the
American metal underground. My faith was somewhat renewed, however, as a
fair number of people were wearing HammerFall shirts, including several
members of the over-30 crowd. The crowd was a good mix of young and older
fans, though there were few long-haired metalheads such as myself there
from what I could tell. My patience held out, the light's darkened, and
the intro to "Riders of the Storm" played over the system. First
Anders Johanssen came out behind the kit, followed by Magnus Rosen and
Stefan Elmgren. As the song broke into full force, out comes Oscar Dronjak
decked out in his full armor outfit, followed by Joacim Cans. Leading into
"Heeding the Call," the band was in fine form. Although I do not
really care for Joacim's vocals, he is a good front man, and he performed
with lots of charisma and style. His performance was almost overshadowed
by Stefan and Magnus, however. Stefan and Oscar were running back and
forth trading leads, and Magnus
HammerFall:
Riders of the Storm
Heeding the Call
Renegade
Hearts On Fire
Let the Hammer Fall
Hammerfall
I knew coming into the show that King's X set would be the perfect time
to hit the bathroom, have a few beers, and get some fresh air, and that
was precisely what I did. I quickly found, however, that I could not drink
enough to tolerate their set. They absolutely sucked! I have no idea how
they got on the bill, but they are not metal at all. The singer/bassist
was a walking twig of a man, looking more like an AIDS patient than a
rocker. Actually, I wouldn't doubt the validity of that statement, as he
is openly homosexual. That's ok, but it's no excuse for a weak
performance. Nice frosted short hairdo, too; it matched your cowboy hat.
The guitarist wouldn't know a riff if he were pummeled with it, looking
more like a college professor of Sucking 101. They had some other lanky
looking cowboy behind the kit, though he was the only decent member of the
band. In addition to the lack of musicianship, the band had almost no
emotion or presence onstage. Unlike HammerFall, King's X failed to impress
the crowd. They received almost no reaction, save for the mocking given to
them by myself and a few other individuals up in front. Go back to Texas,
King's X. Detroit hates you, and Dio hates you, too.
The roadies breaking down King's X's gear did so faster than an
Olympian sprinter, and within a short amount of time, Dio was up and ready
to go. The lights went down, the intro to "Killing the Dragon"
came on, and Dio came out in front of a crowd that was going absolutely
nuts. What can I say about Ronnie James Dio, other than he was in perfect
form. I cannot think of any other metal front man who has more charisma or
energy than Ronnie. Despite his stature, Dio's has such a large and
commanding presence onstage.
Moving along from "Killing the Dragon," Dio ran right into
"Egypt," which I was really surprised that he played. About
halfway through, the band switched gears into an abbreviated version of
"Children of the Sea" before coming back to finish
"Egypt." It was an interesting combination, pulled off
flawlessly. Overall, Dio's setlist was a cross section of his career
spanning Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own solo works, much like when I
saw him last in December, 2000. The band themselves were very tight as
well. Guitarist Doug Aldrich was great, taking an extended solo about
halfway through the set (somewhere around "Man On The Silver
Mountain," I believe) which sounded awesome. He is an excellent
performer to watch onstage. Simon Wright also took a hell of a drum solo
early in the set, following "Egypt." It was nice to see the
extended solos, as few bands seem to do those nowadays. From Killing the
Dragon, Dio played "Push," and "Rock And Roll." While
both songs are good, I would have preferred that he pick "Along Came
a Spider" and "Better in the Dark," my favorites from the
album. I was surprised that they performed "Mob Rules," and
"Man on the Silver Mountain," but I am glad they did. As with
"Egypt," Dio inserted "Long Live Rock and Roll" into
the middle of "Man on the Silver Mountain." Two Rainbow classics
rolled into one; is there a better deal? The highlights of the night for
me were, of course, "Holy Diver," "Heaven and Hell,"
"Don't Talk To Strangers," and "The Last in Line." On
these songs especially, the crowd hung on Ronnie's every word, captivated
by the sheer power of Dio. Closing out with "Mob Rules" (I
think), Dio came back with an encore of "We Rock." Dio put his
all into the song, but it was the crowd's reaction that made it special.
Ronnie brought out the energy in everybody that no one knew they had left
in them, and the crowd participation was unbelievable.
By the time Dio finished his set, the clock was nearing 1 am. Dio
performed for nearly 2 hours, and I was nearly exhausted as the energy of
the concert wore off. Except for King's X, the night had been nearly
perfect. Dio's setlist was mostly unbeatable (though I was hoping he'd
play "Neon Knights," or "I Speed At Night), and I felt his
performance was even better than when I saw him 2 years ago at Harpo's. I
left the hall that night knowing I had a new addition to my top 5 shows
that I have ever seen.
Dio (Mostly complete, not in order):
Killing the Dragon
Egypt/Children of the Sea
Drum Solo
Stand Up and Shout
Push
Rock And Roll
Don't Talk To Strangers
Holy Diver
Man On The Silver Mountain/Long Live Rock And Roll
Guitar Solo
Heaven and Hell
Last In Line
Rainbow in the Dark
Mob Rules
We Rock