This second tour with Savatage was a very good opportunity to present the new line-up to Europe. Vicious Rumors is in great shape nowadays and still has very much energy. A solid rhythm section with bass player Cornbread and heavyweight Dan Lawson, with his very powerful double-bass technique, on the drums. The new axe man Ira Black plays very fast, but is also sensitive in his sublime solos.

Then of course, there is the great voice of Brian O’Conner who wasn’t in the great shape he was in last year, but who was still very convincing and powerful. So we got great versions of Digital Dictator and Abandoned, a fast version of You Only Lived Twice, a surprising March Or Die, the powerful Down To The Temple and Don’t Wait For Me. Highlight was the last very fast and aggressive version of On The Edge. Vicious Rumors is back, and hopefully for many years.

(Theo Thijssen)

Blaze
The second act was Blaze, with former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley as front man. Most shows which I have seem from this band weren’t too bad. This show was not too great. The problem was that most songs were from the new album Tenth Dimension, and the level of those tracks is not very high.

With musicians who are a bit middle-class the set was very disappointing. It didn’t matter how enthusiastic the band and Blaze were; there was almost no reaction from the audience. Only Ghost In The Machine from the debut Silicon Messiah and the two Maiden tracks Futureal and Man On The Edge had some level of agreeableness, but this is one of those gigs you better forget. Very disappointing.

(Theo Thijssen)

Savatage
Zzzzzz huh, oh is Blaze over already? That show was both annoying and boring. When you’re surrounded by hundreds of fans, THEN act like they are coming to see you. But don’t do that when people are there for another band. Thank god Vicious Rumours played a great gig.

Anyway, on to Savatage now, the headliner for tonight (yes Mr. Blaze, Savatage was indeed the headliner and not you). It was very clear for the well over 2000 people present that Savatage was getting ready to get on stage. The lights went out, and… what’s this I’m hearing? A tape that’s playing The Show Must Go On by Queen? The crowd was already singing along with this one and the guys from Savatage weren’t even on stage yet. This could be a nice evening.

Before I continue I have to make clear that I haven’t got many Savatage cd’s and that I’ve never seen them live before. I’ve heard many stories about the new singer and most of them were negative ones. So I can’t compare the new Damond Jiniva with former singer Zachary Stevens.

When everyone got on stage during the intro, they started performing Commissar from the latest effort Poets And Madmen. This killer track was followed by Surrender, also from the new album. I also got to see Morphine Child, which happens to be my favourite track of the Poets And Madmen record. True classics can’t be missed and they included songs like Handful Of Rain, Chance and Hall Of The Mountain King. Other oldies were Believe, Sirens, 24 Hours Ago, Alone You Breathe and City Beneath The Surface.

The guys obviously had a good time being on stage and there was plenty of time for some jokes. At one point Jon Oliva introduced the band-members and he mentioned that the last time they were in Holland Chris Caffery hadn’t been able to play because of food-poisoning so it was just as well that he could play now. Then it was Chris Caffery’s turn; ‘speaking of food-poisoning,’ and he looked at Jon Oliva (referring to his somewhat overweight body).

Jon also mentioned that the first European gig they ever played was in Tilburg so he has fond memories of it. He also apologised for cancelling their show last year because of the terrorist attacks. He was glad to make it now and made a statement that no matter what, metal will never go away and he thanked the crowd once again for turning up.

In my opinion, I thought Damond did a really good job. His stage-presence is great and his vocals just as much, if not more. While I can imagine that Zach Stevens might be better, it’s just a fact that he is no longer with Savatage. Damond and Jon are responsible for the vocals and entertaining the fans now, and they were both able to do that; because I had a great time!

(Review: Frank Alders
Pics: Josje Klouwens)