For any right thinking rock fan, a tour co headlined by Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour is one that must be witnessed at all costs. Apart, these bands are big enough to at least sub headline some of the biggest festivals, both headlining second stages at Sonisphere and Download respectively in the last few years. So it is a bit of a no brainer that one gig comprising of both of these American heavyweights is going to be a sell out. That is exactly what this show was, in fact, that is exactly what the whole tour was, Corey Taylor proclaiming that this has been the biggest UK tour by anyone this year. This is extremely impressive considering the future of one of the participants, Avenged Sevenfold, was looking to be very precarious after the tragic death of their drummer just after Christmas last year. This tour was a fitting tribute to a great musician.
The venue for this, the last show of the tour, was the deceptively large Brighton Centre. Now, I must admit I am not a fan of this venue, basically a conference hall with a stage at one end. The main criticism i have of it is that there is no character. When one attends shows at Brixton Academy, or Hammersmith Apollo, there is a certain something that goes with the venue adding to the viewing experience. There was no such ‘special something’ at this dreary late seventies seaside monstrosity. However, it does have a capacity of over 5,000 making it larger than the previously mentioned venues.
The support for tonight, as for the rest of the tour, was the ‘super group’ Hell Yeah! A bastardisation of Mudvayne and Pantera, one can tell what Hell Yeah! are about by trawling through their song titles, with such gems as Alcohaulin Ass. I witnessed this group at Download festival this year and to say I was unimpressed would be very kind. Needless to say I had no desire to catch any of this support act.
As the crowd started to fill out and creep forward, I must say that I was again reminded of the reason why i attend London gigs whenever possible. The majority of people around me were half my height and at least ten years younger than me. However, I guess I was expecting this for the evening’s first act, Sevenfold, as their fan base is on the whole a lot younger than the generally heavier Stone Sour’s.
The stage was completely obscured by a large black curtain, implying that we were in for quite a treat of a set from the Sevenfold boys. As the lights extinguished, and the haunting chimes of Nightmare rang out, the curtain dropped revealing an extremely impressive graveyard scene, complete with burning torches. The band take to the stage amid thunderous applause, and the night is well and truly under way. I had been looking forward to this gig for a long time, having seen neither of the bands before. Avenged Sevenfold’s latest album just built up my anticipation of seeing the guys in action. Honestly, I have to say that I was underwhelmed by their performance tonight. Whether it was the quiet vocals, or the surprisingly lacklustre stage presence of M Shadows, the band did not blow me away in the slightest, an eventuality that unpleasantly surprised me. Their performance was not aided by the crowd, who being saturated with younger fans, were more irritating than anything, any attempts at stable ‘mosh pits’ were unconvincing and easily swallowed up masses by ‘bopping’ teens. Maybe I am being a bit harsh on the boys, they did play well, and the set was extremely impressive, especially during the up temp finish to Buried Alive, but I was not inspired nearly as much as I was expecting. The set list was decent, however, I would have preferred a rendition of Bat Country to Almost Easy to close the set but hey ho. There was a good mix of hits off the new album and older classics such as Beast and the Harlot and Unholy Confessions but the latter song failed to illicit the destructive audience response that it really deserves.
There was a rather touching dedication to their late band mate, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan, followed by an emotional performance of So Far Away which definitely pulled at the heartstrings. Stepping into ‘The Rev’s shoes was never going to be easy, but new, stand in, drummer, Mike Portnoy, was welcomed to the Sevenfold family with open arms by the fans and it is hoped that long may their affiliation continue.
Overall, a disappointing performance from the boys. I was expecting a more impassioned performance, given the high regard that their live performances are given and I did feel a little let down. However, it still won’t stop me going to see them time and time again.
Rating: 6/10
1. Nightmare
2. Critical Acclaim
3. Welcome to the Family
4. Beast and the Harlot
5. Buried Alive
6. So Far Away
7. Afterlife
8. God Hates Us
9. Unholy Confessions
10. Almost Easy
So to the evenings next act, the much anticipated Stone Sour. As the Avenged fans filtered out in search of water and the like, we managed to secure pretty damn good spots right at the centre of the stage, now covered with a large white sheet. After half an hour break, the lights extinguished again, and the crowd exploded, evidently much more ‘up for’ the closing act. Cue some epic Star Wars music (the piece from the Phantom Menace accompanying the awesome lightsaber battle at the end) along with a pretty impressive light show focussed around a large Stone Sour emblem imposed upon the curtain. As the music reached its dénouement , the shadow of an statuesque man standing, arm aloft, centre stage was imprinted upon the canvas. Corey was waiting. The curtain dropped, and Stone Sour launched into their opening track, Mission Statement. The energy emanating from the five-some was incredible, Corey Taylor the centre of it all, running around like a man possessed, all the while maintaining perfect vocal control. This was more like it, Stone Sour had come to show us what a rock concert is supposed to be like.
A brief pause, only enough for Corey to greet the crowd and announce that this performance was being recorded for the band’s new DVD. Due to the time constraint of this gig, both bands being given an hour set, there is minimal time for ‘chat’ and the boys hurtle into their second song, a perfect rendition of Reborn. Thankfully, the crowd are much better for Stone Sour, most of the scene kids had left for safer climes, leaving mostly the more hardcore rock fans to battle it out for Taylor’s amusement.
I am not sure what it was about Stone Sour tonight, but they absolutely blew me away. They were phenomenal. No amount of superlatives would be enough to describe how good they were. The set list was spot on, you could feel the energy emanating from the stage, Corey’s vocals were (as ever) immaculate, the “wall of dance” was hilarious, the light show was simple but spectacular....I could go on. In fact, on factor that sets Stone Sour apart from many bands that I have seen live this year was the emotion shown by the boys tonight. The most prominent example of this was during a powerful rendition of Bother, when an isolated Corey broke down a number of times, tears streaming down his face, if that isn’t raw emotion then I don’t know what is.
Given this level of intensity from the band, it could be expected that this was a very ‘serious’ rock gig. However, Stone Sour know the score. Like the best acts from this genre, they still remember to have fun up on stage. One of the highlights of the evening was Corey initiating a Wall of Dance during Hell and Consequences. Now a Wall of Dance is very different to a Wall of Death, in that in the former, instead of beating people up, when the two sides meet, people dance with each other. For me it is things like this that make Corey Taylor the complete showman. Capable of humbling passion and emotion, possessor of one of the greatest voices around, but also with the sense of humour to be able to illicit spontaneous waltzing during a heavy metal riff.
The destructive 30/30-150 brought an end to an impeccable performance, one that flew by all too quickly. Battered and bruised, we emerged from the depths of the pit to stumble out into the cold Brighton air. Content, elated, and thunderstruck. This performance is going to take some beating.Given the short nature of the set, it is impossible for me to give this performance top marks, but safe to say, today, Stone Sour absolutely blew Avenged Sevenfold out of the water, they were phenomenal. Although I do await Corey’s return to Slipknot, I just hope that Stone Sour keep on recording and performing. What. A. Band.
Rating: 9/10
1. Mission Statement
2. Reborn
3. Made of Scars
4. Say You’ll Haunt Me
5. Get Inside
6. Unfinished
7. Your God
8. Bother (Corey Taylor solo)
9. Through Glass
10. Digital (Did You Tell)
11. Hell & Consequences
12. 30/30-150
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