DIR EN GREY will take a break for about a month before heading to Europe with stops in Russia, Finland, Germany, Poland, the UK, and France.

It’s been a while since their last album, 2018’s “The Insulated World,” but they did release the single The World of Mercy back in September. Their next album has yet to be announced.

We were there for their 2015 show in San Francisco (click here) and all signs point to another killer tour.

Tickets for the Los Angeles stop are already sold out (resale options are available) but if you happen to be in Northern California there’s still some for Sacramento’s Ace of Spades.

Here’s the dates:

12/5 Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater
12/6 Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
12/8 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
12/10 Chicago, IL – House of Blues
12/11 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
12/13 New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
12/16 Dallas, TX – House of Blues
12/17 Houston, TX – House of Blues
12/19 Mexico City, MX – El Plaza Condesa

1/25 Moscow, RU – Glavclub
1/26 St Petersberg, RU – Aurora Club
1/28 Helskin, FI – The Circus
1/29 Munich, DE – Technikum
1/31 Dortmund, DE – FZW
2/1 Berlin, DE – Astra Kulturhaus
2/3 Wroclaw, PL – Concert Center A2
2/5 London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
2/7 Cenon, FR – Le Rocher de Palmer
2/8 Paris, FR – Elysee Montmartre

If you’re looking for more things to do that weekend here’s a couple of suggestions: Mongolian band The Hu will play in Pomona on 12/6, the day after DIR EN GREY’s Los Angeles show. For those of you who like Bushiroad their annual CharaExpo convention will take place on 12/7 and 12/8 in Anaheim.

Sabaton’s music has spanned the ancient era of Spartans to the jungles of Vietnam and beyond. Their latest album, “The Great War,” focuses upon World War I. Themes include the tank, chemical warfare, and aerial combat, all new elements of warfare in those days. There’s even the titular song Great War which asks “what’s so great about it?” It had been first assumed by Germany that the war would be over by Christmas 1914 but their forces bogged down and eventually, tens of countries were involved in the conflict. Trench warfare stalemated much of the fronts and while it was great in scale it was not great in any other sense of the word.

One of the things that made its debut on this tour is the tank drum riser.  I had previously thought it too big to practically transport from venue to venue overseas and I’m glad I was wrong.  They’re trucking the massive two-ton hunk of metal back and forth across North America and it surprised quite a lot of people when it was unveiled.

Tonight’s concert at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom starts much like many concerts with the pulse-pounding Ghost Division featuring the Wehrmacht’s 7th Panzer Division. Leading with this song is the equivalent of going 0-60 MPH in two seconds flat. Almost every Sabaton concert I’ve gone to has started with this song and one problem I’ve always had is that I have to decide whether to shoot photos or headbang.

The single Bismarck, a collaboration between Sabaton, World of Warships, and Azur Lane, made its live debut during this tour. This is a song I was looking forward to ever since it was released online. Sabaton is no stranger to collaborations and they’ve lended the sound of other songs like Primo Victoria to other franchises in the past. Also making its debut on this tour is The Attack of the Dead Men which is one of the best songs off of “The Great War.”

The Lion From the North is a song that has caught on somewhat recently (well, within the last tour or two) and even though it comes from the same album as Carolus Rex was absent from sets for quite a while. I thought it was worthy of live performances back when the album was first released. I’m glad they’re playing it more often.

The final three songs would be Primo Victoria, Swedish Pagans, and To Hell and Back. Primo Victoria and Swedish Pagans are mainstays of any Sabaton show and To Hell and Back has cemented a place in the rotation as well.

The San Francisco show happened to coincide with San Francisco’s annual Fleet Week celebration and I saw at least a couple of US Marines show up. Had the show not sold out more than a week beforehand I think there would have been many more. It’s a pity that Devil Dogs wasn’t played because I think they woudl have gotten a kick out of that but I did see them sing along to Bismarck.

This was a great setlist, but to be honest, it’s hard to make a bad setlist out of Sabaton songs. They’ve had so many albums with so many good songs that you could almost throw darts one by one at their catalogue and make a good setlist.

Old staples like Primo Victoria, Ghost Division, Swedish Pagans, and Carolus Rex are met with newer songs like Shiroyama, Night Witches, and The Last Stand not to mention all the songs from the newest album. I think The Attack of the Dead Men will remain on many of Sabaton’s sets to come. We are missing classics like the everpresent 40:1 and Art of War but there’s only so many songs you can put in a set.

One of Sabaton’s greatest strengths is writing catchy lyrics and pairing it with a good musical accompaniment. Joakim’s bombastic voice is one of the main driving forces of Sabaton’s music and it would be hard to imagine the band without him. Paired with founding bassist Par Sundstrom they make for a great duo and almost all of the writing duties have been carried out by the two over the fifteen years of existence.  You know you’ve done something right when almost every concert has sold out before the tour has even begun and it feels like everyone knows the words to each song.  Sabaton fans are very dedicated and the band has hit meteoric heights.  I still remember that one time they played at Thee Parkside back in 2013.  I think my living room is about the same size as Thee Parkside, and my living room is not big by far.

It’s a little early to say this but I’m looking forward to their next album and the next time they arrive in San Francisco.

Setlist:

Ghost Division
Great War
Resist and Bite
Fields of Verdun
The Attack of the Dead Men
The Red Baron
The Price of a Mile
Bismarck
The Lion From the North
Carolus Rex
Shiroyama
Night Witches
The Lost Battalion
The Last Stand
82nd All the Way

Encore:

Primo Victoria
Swedish Pagans
To Hell and Back

The Great Tour – US Leg

10/4 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
10/5 Tampa, FL – Janus Landing
10/6 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
10/8 Dallas, TX – House of Blues
10/10 Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren
10/11 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
10/12 San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
10/14 Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
10/15 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
10/16 Vancouver, BC – Vogue Theater
10/18 Edmonton, AB – Union Hall
10/19 Calgary, AB – The Palace Theater
10/21 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10/23 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
10/25 Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theater
10/26 Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
10/27 Cleveland, OH – The Agora Ballroom
10/29 Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall
10/30 Montreal, QC – M Telus
11/1 Worcester, MA – Palladium
11/2 New York, NY – PlayStation Theater
11/3 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore

As mentioned earlier this is the first time I’ve ever been to the Palace of Fine Arts for a concert which also means I had no idea where the entrance is. I actually walked to the backside (aka the exact opposite side from the front doors) and noticed an ongoing sunset photoshoot at the central rotunda. I could hear Battle Beast already emanating from the inside of the venue.

No photos of Battle Beast, unfortunately. A bit of a snafu at the front desk meant that none of the photographers were on the guest list! Alas. I hung out front and thankfully the tour manager appeared and we were on our way. Battle Beast’s setlist featured exclusively songs from their most recent album, “No More Hollywood Endings,” and their previous album “Bringer of Pain.” That division does show the changing of the guard between the old days of Anton at the reigns and the new days of, well, external help, and cements the fact that I will never see any of the Berserk songs live. Thankfully Anton does have a presence over with Beast in Black and continues those Berserk songs.

One of my directions had been “don’t block the front seats” and I thought that would be simple enough. Very rarely do I ever block anything given the size of most stages and my stature. Well, until now, because the stage went up to my waist. I actually had a spat of trouble with an (assumably) drunk concertgoer who decided to block my camera whenever I got near here. Bro, it’s already the third song so I’m be gone in a couple of minutes and you’re taller than me to begin with. Thankfully most people stood and for the ones who didn’t I made sure to get out of the way.

Sonata Arctica is a band that has been around, at this point, for two decades. I started listening to them approximately 15 years ago and they are a band I make an effort to see any time they come out to California. They’ve never disappointed me. It’s actually been three years since I last saw them when they toured with Nightwish and Delain. Their most recent album, “Talviyo,” was released about a month ago on September 6.

Tonight’s set was composed half with their latest album with the remainder taken from previous albums. “Talviyo” was a little different from what I’m used to but Storm the Armada and Who Failed the Most are highlights of the album and they performed both of them tonight. Cold has grown on me quite a bit too. They picked some good songs to round out the set including the classic FullMoon (has there ever been a Sonata Arctica show that hasn’t had this song in it?), Life, and X Marks the Spot. No sign of Don’t Say a Word, sadly; that’s one of my favorites. I did get to see it on their previous tour. It’s a pity they had such a short set because they have way too many good songs to put on an opener set.

Vocalist Tony Kakko is a big advocate of live music and I fully agree. If you’ve ever seen a Sonata Artica show you probably remember seeing the “Keep Live Music Alive” speech and it stands for repeating. Concerts help drive money to the band itself to a greater degree than almost any other avenue and it allows for the band to go out and connect with their fans across the world. I’ve gone to quite a few concerts recently and there’s just something about being able to see something in person and experience the chest-pounding bass while surrounded by a crowd that knows the words to every song. I actually had a coworker ask when the next concert would be and surprise surprise it was in one week.

Kamelot was the main event of the night which makes sense considering this is the Shadow Empire tour. I saw them in 2018 on their Shadow Theory tour so the setlists were similar but that’s not an issue. I see bands solely because I like them and Kamelot is no exception.  Play the good stuff and you’ve got me hooked.  Thomas Youngblood has been at the helm of the band for the entirety of its existence so it’s in his very capable hands and the voice of Tommy Karevik.  This is the first time I’ve seen Alex Landerburg who replaced long-time drummer Casey Grillo behind the set.

Clocking in at a total of fourteen songs meant they had a lot of room for both new songs and old. They actually split the setlist fairly evenly amongst all of their albums with none being favorited; 2015’s “Haven” actually had the most songs of any album played. Tour namesake “The Shadow Theory” was represented by set-leading song Phantom Divine, Burns to Embrace, and Vespertine. Lauren Hart, borrowed from the band Once Human, helped provide harsh vocals for a few of the songs. Noora from Battle Beast also appeared for the song Sacrimony in place of Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz.

I’ve probably mentioned it before but my first exposure to power metal was Nightwish in 2001. Kamelot is another band I’ve been listening for a while going back to that same year. The album that year was Karma and the titular song was part of the setlist today with another Kamelot classic, Forever, also present. There were a lot of fan favorites played including Rule the World, When the Lights Are Down, Forever, and March of Mephisto. The sound of “Haven’s” Liar Liar rounded out the set.

All in all it was a great night for power metal fans. Three great bands in a (for me) new, great venue. It might be a few years until these bands come out again and I’ll be waiting. Side note: my car was intact. I take that as a win any day of the week.

This is one of the smallest venues that Aqours has played in but you wouldn’t be able to tell from the noise of the fans in the crowd. Anime Expo’s usual venue of choice, Microsoft Theater, was markedly occupied by the preparations for ESPN’s Espy awards. The nearby Staples Center was likewise booked with a Shawn Mendes two-day concert series. A contingent of dedicated individuals were up front in the pit and it seemed like every other person was holding the ubiquitous penlights that you see at idol concerts.

This is Aqours’ fourth straight year attending Anime Expo and their third year of performances. The vast majority of tickets sold out in minutes. The Novo’s capacity is roughly a third of Microsoft Theater’s but two sold-out shows meant the overall tickets sold was comparable as last year’s concert did not sell out the very back of the venue. I was able to secure tickets to both Day 1 and Day 2 (VIP Pit for Day 2) and had a lot of fun even though I’ve seen the group almost a dozen times by now with half of those being live. There was one noticeable absence in the form of Arisa Komiya (voice of Dia Kurosawa) who is on medical leave. The set list was 17 songs long and while it lacked the subunit songs (we are missing Dia after all) there was a lot of variety.

Last year I had said that a full Aqours concert in America would likely not be replicated. I was clearly wrong. I was also wrong in that Anime Expo did not have Anisong World Matsuri (oddly enough the VIP badges for 2019’s Aqours concert had the AWM branding on them) but that’s a story for another day.

Friday’s evening show started off with “Boku no Hashittekita Michi” from the Love Live Sunshine movie “Over the Rainbow” which, ironically, has yet to be screened outside of Japan. On August 5th it will finally be shown in select theaters with assistance from Funimation Films. The second song of the opening set, “Thrilling One Way,” helped push the tempo and was followed by Season 1’s OP song “Aozora Jumping Heart.”

As is tradition with all of Aqours’ performances the girls introduced themselves one by one. Each has a call-response and everyone in the crowd seemed to know what to say and what color to switch their penlights to. For those of us who have attended every live viewing and Los Angeles performance this is second nature. I went as far as to take part at Aqours 4th Live in Japan last year.

What followed was a series of songs and costume changes. The girls would change a total of three times through the performance and sang songs like “Mattete Ai no Uta,” “Daydream Warrior,” and “Todokanai Hoshi Dato Shitemo.” Midway through “Brightest Melody” something new happened. Los Angeles had been rocked the day prior by a 6.5 scale earthquake approximately 150 miles north of the city center. At 8PM a second, stronger quake hit. This one was eventually rated 6.9 and was right in the same area as the one the day before. At the time I wasn’t sure if it was an earthquake or whether it was just people in the balcony going too hard; I’ve been in more than a few concerts where the audience was able to make the floor move. To the girls’ credit they didn’t miss a beat and continued through the rest of the song. Japan, much like California, is no stranger to earthquakes but for some of the travelers who had come from across the world to gather in LA this was a new experience.

A quick break was held as venue staff inspected the building and fixtures to see if anything was out of order before the show resumed. Anju asked if we were okay and if we were ready to go; the cheers from the crowd was an obvious answer that needed no translator. Aqours resumed activities with the fan-favorite “Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM” and fans were able to recreate the classic “Yousoroad” of blue glowsticks and penlights. Day two’s setlist diverged slightly with the Kanan-focused “HAPPY PARTY TRAIN” (which uses green) and “‘MY LIST’ to you!”

The encore would be a total of four songs and one of the most heartfelt is the song “No. 10.” Concertgoers from last year probably remember the Aqourainbow which lit up Microsoft Theater to the song “Yuuki wa Doko ni? Kimi no Mune ni!” A more abbreviated version was performed from the front of the pit all the way to the top corners of the room and during the forming of the rainbow each girl calls out her number. The crowd subbed in for the number seven which is normally spoken by Arisa Koyama. No. 10 is the crowd themselves; “The 10th member is you, you’re our friend too!” Aqours has always been about crowd participation and this is just one more element of that.

The final song for both performances was “Jump Up HIGH!!” also known as “the towel song” as during the chorus you take your official Love Live towel and spin it above your head. First introduced at Aqours 5th Live in early June this marks the second (and third) time it has been performed live. It was a great way to end the show. The song’s lyrics about about having fun, being happy, and taking chances which are all things we should be doing every day. “Love life,” so to speak. Anju (voice of Chika, Aqours’ leader) asked if they could make four years of performances into five, and next time, at full strength. Hopefully her words are prophetic.

Day 1 (7/5/19)

1. Bokura no Hashitte kita Michi wa…
2. Thrilling One Way
3. Aozora Jumping Heart
4. Mattete Ai no Uta
5. Shoujo ijou no Koi ga shitai
6. SKY JOURNEY
7. Daydream Warrior
8. Todokanai Hoshi dato shitemo
9. Brightest Melody
EARTHQUAKE
10. Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM
11. Kimi no Hitomi o Meguru Bouken
12. Mirai no Bokura wa Shitteru yo
13. Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiterukai?
ENCORE
14. Hop? Stop? Nonstop!
15. No. 10
16. Thank you, FRIENDS!!
17. Jump up HIGH!!

Day 2 (7/6/19)

1. Bokura no Hashitte kita Michi wa…
2. Thrilling One Way
3. Aozora Jumping Heart
4. Mattete Ai no Uta
5. Shoujo ijou no Koi ga shitai
6. SKY JOURNEY
7. Daydream Warrior
8. Todokanai Hoshi dato shitemo
9. Brightest Melody
10. HAPPY PARTY TRAIN
11. “MY LIST” to you!
12. Mirai no Bokura wa Shitteru yo
13. Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiterukai?
ENCORE
14. Hop? Stop? Nonstop!
15. No. 10
16. Thank you, FRIENDS!!
17. Jump up HIGH!!

Something cool with this tour is that everyone attending came home with a copy of Decades in hand. A concert and an album? Great! A lot of the newer fans probably haven’t heard most of the old material and this will get them up to speed. There’s a lot of songs missing (cough “Dark Chest of Wonders” cough “Once”) but they’ve got some good ones you don’t see very often like “End of All Hope” and “10th Man Down.” “10th Man Down” is THE song that, in 2001, got me into Nightwish and by extension power metal/symphonic metal/et al. The moment I heard it I was hooked.

Leading off this special set was “End of All Hope” and “Wish I Had An Angel.” Having snuck a peak at the setlist ahead of time (I like to know what I’m looking at) I noticed “10th Man Down” was third. I was stoked. Now while I had listened to Nightwish since 2001 I had never seen them live until about 2004 which means I never got to see “10th Man Down” live. It had fallen off the sets by then and if you look at tour stats between 2003 and 2018 it basically never surfaced. Floor did flub the first verse but recovered and honestly I’m not sure how many people even noticed. Marco’s vocals on the song are quite different from the originals with Tapio Wilska but… I’ll allow it. Now “10th Man Down” will be forever immortalized online.

What followed this starting three was a set list that spanned every album the band has released. You had songs from Angels Fall First, Oceanborn, Wishmaster, and Century Child going all the way to Imaginaerum and Endless Forms Most Beautiful. I haven’t heard many of them live in ages or if at all. Long term fans surely came out happy. Newer fans got to learn more about the band. I heard more than a few times “oh man I love this song” as someone jumped out of their seat to go into the crush of the crowd.

Now it’s not a “perfect” set but it’s hard to do that when you’ve got so many songs. While this is kind of a “greatest hits” tour it isn’t. There’s a lot of variety. I’m still going to miss songs like “Once,” “Dark Chest of Wonders,” and “Last Ride of the Day” but I’ve seen those many times over the years.

Of course the final song was “Ghost Love Score.” This is one of Nightwish’s signature songs ever since “Once” was released back in 2004 and each of the three vocalists has had to conquer it one way or the other. Tarja, being the original, is hard to unthrone but I think Floor puts up a damned good fight and matches her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V_eoR6r1Tw

Here’s to more decades.

Thanks to Nuclear Blast for this opportunity.

Setlist:

1 End of All Hope
2 Wish I Had an Angel
3 10th Man Down
4 Come Cover Me
5 Gethsemane
6 Elan
7 Sacrament of Wilderness
8 Deep Silent Complete
9 Dead Boy’s Poem
10 Elvenjig
11 Elvenpath
12 I Want My Tears Back
13 The Carpenter
14 The Kinslayer
15 Devil & tThe Deep Dark Ocean
16 Nemo
17 Slaying the Dreamer
18 The Greatest Show on Earth
19 Ghost Love Score

This marks the second time I’ve seen German thrash titan Kreator and who knows how many times I’ve seen Sabaton. Fun fact: tonight is the five year anniversary of the San Francisco show of Sabaton’s first US headlining tour. They played in a tiny venue called Thee Parkside which is only slightly bigger than my living room (and my living room is not big at all). They’ve come a long way since then even going so far as to have their own musical festival.

Kreator would take the stage first and get things going. “Finally, the Kreator has returned!”

Helmed by Mille Petrozza and fellow founding member Jurgen Reil, Kreator has been going for three and a half decades strong. Formed in Essen, Germany, Kreator is one of the four pillars of Teutonic thrash metal. You can consider this tour in support of their most recent album, 2017’s “Gods of Violence.” Mille gave note to the east bay’s place in thrash metal (home of the likes of Metallica, Exodus, and Testament). Europe meets America.

One thing that I really like about Kreator’s is that for all its, for lack of a better word, thrashiness, it just flows so well. It has a near-perfect blend of speed, aggression, melody, and musicality. The high-speed foundation laid down by drums and bass are layered with guitars and Mille’s gutteral, throaty voice. This is evident in almost any of their songs be it Violent Revolution, Civilization Collapse, or Hail to the Hordes.

Naturally closing out the show would be Sabaton. Sabaton had advertised that they would be bringing one of their biggest production values to this tour and they did not disappoint. A large array of LED screens were placed behind the band and played all manner of video. Sometimes lyrics, sometimes associated imagery, and even animations meant to set the stage for upcoming songs. Now it’s not the massive tank riser you see at European festivals but this will have to do (that I don’t know how you’d feasible move that thing around…)

As is tradition they started off with Ghost Division. I’ve only seen them once where they haven’t started with this song and it’s the perfect way to bring a concert from 0-60. Following this was Uprising and between this and Ghost Division I was having trouble deciding whether to sing along or shoot.

The Lion From the North, which I consider one of the underappreciated songs of the Carolus Rex album, was played live and for me marks the first time I’ve seen it in person. Night Witches, another song I enjoy, was present too. Rounding out the set were Winged Hussars and Shiroyama from their latest album The Last Stand and To Hell and Back from Heroes. A song I did notice missing was 40:1 which I.

One special note is that they broadcast through Facebook and YouTube live a part of their shows. This is great and it let me relive things and even better, actually see the background screens dead on. I spent a lot of my night in the side alcoves where I was above the crowds but much of the screens were unavailable from this position.

All in all, well worth the trip. Grabbed some pizza from Berkeley’s late-night pizza joints (this is a college town after all) and headed home. I’ll be waiting for the next time these two come back.

Grave Digger started the show promptly at 8PM and played a number of their best including “Rebellion,” Witch Hunter,” and “Highland Farewell.” They’ve traveled the world far and wide and paired up with Guardian make for one hell of a show. Vocalist Chris Boltendahl has been with the band since its inception in 1980 and with his trademark gravely vocals they have led the way in speed and power metal. Every one of the current members has quite a tour of duty with the band with most of them having been together for more than a decade. Their latest album, “Return of the Reaper,” is a throwback stylistically to their earlier work and would provide songs like “Tattooed Rider” and “Season of the Witch” to the night’s set. They ended the night with “Heavy Metal Breakdown” which had the crowd belting out the chorus along with the band.

Next up: Guardian.

Blind Guardian is led by founder and vocalist Hansi Kursch. He is backed by guitarists Andre Olbrich and Marcus Siepen, drummer Frederik Ehmke, bassist Barend Courbois, and keyboardist Michael Schuren. Their music is a mix of frantic double-bass anthems and slower fantasy ballads. On top is the usage of overdubbing, orchestral instruments, and choruses to help shape the sound. In a word, “epic.” Subject matter ranges from “The Lord of the Rings,” “Dune,” and “Dragonlance” (all epic fantasy series) to mythologiy and original concept albums. With this in mind they really do represent modern-day minstrels. They blend the lyrics seamlessly that it is impossible to tell anything is amiss to your usual metal fan.

They announced that they would be recording the night’s concert live much to the cheers of the crowd. The band led off with “Ninth Wave,” the leading track from their newest album “Beyond the Red Mirror.” One thing you can always count on when it comes to Blind Guardian is an epic opener; they have many slow-building set pieces that build up to their full potential and “Ninth Wave” does not disappoint.

The main set would end up packed with crowd favorites that seemingly everyone knew the words for. “Nightfall,” “Fly,” “Lord of the Rings;” the list goes on and on. Everywhere I looked I saw cheerful faces belting out the lyrics. Blind Guardian isn’t adverse to a little crowd participation. Later in the night “The Last Candle” would have the crowd chanting “Somebody’s out there” accompanied by the drums. If Hansi didn’t put a stop to things it’s likely the crowd would have gone on forever and he remarked as much. Similarly with “Valhalla” the crowd would join in with “Valhalla / deliverance / Why’ve you ever forgotten me.” It’s a practice that can be tracked back at least a decade and probably more.

Telling tales that everyone can get into seems to be Blind Guardian’s stock in trade. They are “leading the blind” so to speak. They take stories from all spectrums and time periods and add it to their repertoire like any good storyteller should do. A story for all occasions and persons. I think that being able to apply what you’re hearing to another story is part of what draws you into Blind Guardian and their music. For me I think it was “And Then There Was Silence” which speaks of the Trojan War.

The band was called back for a total of two encores. The first consisted of “Sacred Worlds,” “Twilight of the Gods,” and “Valhalla.” The second provided three staple songs with “Into the Storm,” “The Bard’s Song – In the Forest,” and “Mirror Mirror.” “Sacred Worlds” may be a song with origins in video games (it was written for the game “Sacred 2″) but has earned itself a place in their live shows. I feel it’s one of the stronger of their most recent offerings and had pretty much waited the whole night for it. Of course it was a given that fan-favorite “The Bard’s Song – In the Forest” would be part of the night. As is tradition the entire audience would take the lead for this sound. Hansi would provide a few cues but would otherwise take a backseat. I was able to give a good count of myself and joined in this time. I was unprepared back in 2010 and didn’t want to have that happen again. Finally, “Mirror Mirror,” which has quickly become a common sight at Guardian lives finished off the night.

Blind Guardian has stood tall for two decades and shows no signs of slowing down. Hopefully we’ll be seeing them again soon. Until then all we can do is listen to their tales and pass them on to the next generation of fans. “No one will ever know our names but the bards’ songs will remain…”

Grave Digger:

Headbanging Man
The Round Table (Forever)
Witch Hunter
Ballad of a Hangman
Season of the Witch
Excalibur
Tattooed Rider
Highland Farewell
Rebellion
Heavy Metal Breakdown

Blind Guardian:

The Ninth Wave
Banish from Sanctuary
Nightfall
Fly
Tanelorn (Into the Void)
Prophecies
The Last Candle
Lord of the Rings
Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)
Born in a Mourning Hall
And the Story Ends

Encore 1:
Sacred Worlds
Twilight of the Gods
Valhalla

Encore 2:
Into the Storm
The Bard’s Song – Into the Forest
Mirror Mirror

I arrived approximately half an hour before showtime. The club was already packed wall to wall and making your way to the front is nigh impossible. People have been lining up for hours in an effort to reach the holy land of the fence where they can be the closest to Kyo and company as humanly possible. Lateral movement is equally difficult and the merchandise table is swarmed with fans. One of the more unique things about Slim’s is that there are a few dinner packages available on a raised portion of the stage. Those quick enough to grab one of these packages can view the band from on-high while enjoying a brew or two and some food.

direngrey 1DIR EN GREY consists of frontman Kyo, guitarists Die and Kaoru, drummer Shinya, and bassist Toshiya. The band first started in the visual kei vein but as they gained more popularity (and the visual kei movement started to fade) they transitioned to a more modern aesthetic eventually becoming the band you see today. Their music has likewise evolved over the years with almost all of their lyrics written and masterminded by Kyo. Their music is hard to classify except with the very broad brush of “metal.” At times they are thrash, at others doom, and still others a slow-moving ballad (or at least the closest this band will ever get to one). Kyo’s voice is the showpiece of the entire show and he will alternate between clean vocals, harsh growling, and as many bestial sounds as you can imagine.

Kyo’s outfit tonight is reminiscent of a Japanese monk’s; a flowing white robe and black headscarf on top of tight black pants with rope necklaces around his neck. Combined with the pinhole contacts it’s a very intimidating setup. As the night went on the headscarf would go followed by the robe revealing a black leather harness hidden underneath. It is at this point Kyo’s many tattoos are visible and for now only he knows their significance and meaning. direngrey kyoHe sports the bald head much like the last time the band was here for 2013’s “Ghoul” tour. Die, Toshiya, and Kaoru are all cloaked in black with Shinya the only one contrasting in white. Kaoru’s hair is decidedly out of control and radiates from his head. The band has come a long way from their visual kei days. Being a metal show there are fans everywhere, naturally. Kyo’s loincloth and various members’ hair were flying about for almost the whole show.

DIR EN GREY’s ninth and latest album, Arche, was released in December of 2014 and many of those songs feature on the playlist. Old favorites like “The Final” are a given, of course. I don’t think I’ve seen a DIR EN GREY show without “The Final,” actually…

The band started off with “Behind a Vacant Image” and “Sustain the Untruth,” both from Arche, and old-school (circa 2003) track “Obscure.” That last one is fitting given the mixing of old and new styles on Arche. This triplet begins slow and gets heavier and faster. One thing I note is that at Slim’s I can actually hear the music up here. At the Regency during the first three songs in the pit I could feel the bass thumping but can’t really hear much else.

A short break allows me and the lone other photographer to file out of the pit and take our places somewhere on the edges of the room stage left. I can finally see just how packed it is up front; the mass of humanity writhes and ebbs and flows. There’s also a distinct lack of camera phones in the air which I give the fans props for. A few are on the side nearest me but it looks like the bulk of people are here to get into the music. I’m not quite sure if there is a mosh pit. There well could be but it’s probably very compressed. I’m pretty much trapped on this side of the room but that’s alright. Wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened here after photos (nevermind that whole time I was in this spot for May’n) and there’s an electric fan circulating air and the bar right next to me.

“Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami,” also known simply as “Hageshisa,” is the next song. Fast paced, but not quite yet thrash, it’s a good one to listen to and move with. We return to the band’s earlier albums with the somewhat slow-paced and forboding “Merciless Cult” and “Saku.”

direngrey 2″Tousei,” which roughly translates to “Voices of Waves,” gives the crowd a little more time to relax. It’s not that heavy compared to some of the band’s other songs but is unmistakably DIR EN GREY. It is at this point I hear the lilting lines and acoustic guitar of “VINUSHKA” and get hyped. This is one of those songs you know will get the crowd moving once more. It starts off slow but builds up with Kyo’s voice becoming more and more frenzied and Kaoru and Die’s guitars mirror each other until you reach a crescendo when the whole room explodes. The crowd strains against the fence as Kyo’s voice goes between harsh whispers and guttural screams. A tired attendee stumbles out of the crowd and plops down next to me where staff immediately tend to him and lead him to the back. Rocking a little too hard, perhaps?

Back to Arche with the instrumental “and Zero” followed by “Chain Repulsion,” “Revelation of Mankind,” and “Uroko.” These four showcase Kyo’s range nicely and the sounds of Arche. Suddenly perennial favorite “The Final” starts. Somehow it is almost the end of the night. How did that happen? I mean, I knew the setlist in advance and still it somehow snuck up on me. This song has been a part of DIR EN GREY shows for, well, forever. Fans always go wild when it comes on even though it is the harbinger of the end of the night. The band exits to cheers.

The crowd chants “Dir! En! Grey!” until the quintet arrives back on stage. The three-song encore consists of “The Fatal Believer,” “Child Prey,” and finally “Un deux.” The beginning has become the end, and this time it actually is the end. Time to go back to real life but the cult of Kyo and company will continue onward.

DIR EN GREY has a few more shows left in this tour but no more in this neck of the woods. At the Los Angeles show on Thursday someone fell off the upper deck but was luckily not seriously injured. I know a few people had this tour as the first one they’ve ever gone to and they picked one that sets the bar very, very high. We can only hope the band comes back soon. Thank you to Goldenvoice for the opportunity. It’s always a pleasure to see these guys play.

After leaving North America later this week they will take a break until mid-January for a sprint around Japan. They have a headlining pair of show at the famous Nippon Budokan in early February which, for those able to make their way to Japan, are not to be missed.

Setlist:

Behind a vacant image
Sustain the untruth
OBSCURE
hageshisa
Merciless Cult
saku
tousei
VINUSHKA
and Zero
Chain Repulsion
Revelation of mankind
uroko
THE FINAL

Encore:
THE FATAL BELIEVER
CHILD PREY
Un deux

Album count:

Arche: 8
Withering to death: 3
Vulgar: 2
Dum Spiro Spero: 1
Uroboros: 1
The Marrow of a Bone: 1

DIR EN GREY “NEVER FREE FROM THE AWAKENING” TOUR15

11/2 Seattle, WA – The Showbox
11/4 San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
11/5 Los Angeles, CA – The Mayan
11/7 Mexico City, MX – Plaza Condesa
11/9 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
11/11 New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
11/13 Toronto, ON (CA) – The Opera House

“FINEM LAUDA” TOUR16 JAPAN

1/14 Osaka – Namba Hatch (fanclub and online sales only)
1/18 Osaka – Namba Hatch (fanclub and online sales only)
1/21 Aichi – Nagoya Diamond Hall (fanclub and online sales only)
1/22 Aichi – Nagoya Diamond Hall (fanclub and online sales only)

1/26 Kanagawa – Club Citta (fanclub only)
1/27 Kanagawa – Club Citta (fanclub only)

“ARCHE”

2/5 Tokyo – Nippon Budokan
2/6 Tokyo – Nippon Budokan

This is Eir Aoi which many will have known from KILL LA KILL among other things.

BACK-ON has had a consistent lineup since their founding 2002 with the only exception being that of the drummer. The other four members have stayed together ever since high school and show no signs of breaking apart. The band’s rap-rock sound is based upon their two vocalists, Kenji03 and Teeda, who handle lead vocals and rap/MC work respectively. They have release four studio albums and more than a dozen singles. Their latest album, titled “Reload,” was released last October.

Teeda opened up the night by asking “Are you ready to rock this shit?!” The answer is, of course, yes. The San Jose Civic Auditorium is packed with fans ready for a show. This venue makes Fanime a little unique in that it holds concerts in an actual building made for performances and not a converted convention center hall like so many other events. The two floors hold an impressive number of people and today that capacity is well utilized.

Fanime congoers best know the band for their many anime themes and they would feature heavily through the night. “Cerulean,” from their most recent work with Gundam Build Fighters Try, would be one of the first. This was quickly followed by their first anime release from 2006, Air Gear’s “Chain.” “Flower,” from Eyeshield 21, “Strike Back,” from Fairy Tale, “Flyaway,” from Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, would also be heard. Their non-anime work would not be forgotten and the titular track of their latest album, “Reload,” would also make an appearance.
For the encore the band selected the songs “New World” and “Departure.”

More than a decade’s worth of experience is evident as they know how to carefully work the crowd into a frenzy and get them participating. There were constant call/responses with the crowd, cues with the lights for the crowd to sing choruses, and even a quick run by both Teeda and Kenji03 through the fans. With many albums worth of songs they knew how to pick them too; anime and game songs were a given and they were supplemented with fast-paced, high-energy songs like “Ready Set Go” to keep the crowd going. Fans loved the show and people were on their feet and pumping glowsticks in the air to the music. I heard more than a few people proclaim their love for the band and enjoyment afterwards. Eighty minutes flew by very fast and the band managed to pack a good sixteen songs into the set.

The final action of the night was having everyone squeeze as close as possible for a photo with the fans.

The chant:

“BACK-ON!”
“HELL YEAH!”

Partial setlist:

Infinity (Gundam Breaker)
Ready Set Go
Flyaway (Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2)

Cerulean (Gundam Build Fighters Try)

With You feat. Me (Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3)
Chain (Air Gear)
Flower (Eyeshield 21)
Reload

Butterfly (Shinjuku Swan)
Strike back (Fairy Tale)
Nibunnoichi (Gundam Build Fighters)

ENCORE

New World
Departure