This year’s decision to attend the Wacken Open Air festival came about under some excellent circumstances. My wife and I set our wedding date for August 1st, 2010 about a year ago, but it wasn’t until earlier this Spring that we realized that Wacken was kicking off just four days after our wedding day in northern Germany! Thus, an entire 3-week honeymoon trip of Europe was planned… all beginning with three days at WACKEN! Sound too good to be true? In retrospect, it really was. And I’m not just talking about the music here. The wonderful and hospitable village community, metal vendors, camping, food, beer, and countless conversations with friendly and open-minded extreme music enthusiasts of all ages from around the world really made this one of the greatest experiences of my life.

We were picked up by a bus company on the evening of Wednesday, August 4th in Berlin. Joining us were five Russians who had also flown into Berlin, all in their early-to-mid 20’s. The driver and his girlfriend were German, so some interesting conversation took place over the next few hours mainly dealing with language barriers and metal. When we arrived in Wacken around midnight, the head of the bus company (a scrawny German metalhead who was completely piss drunk) gave us our tickets and then gave us a lot of shit for recently getting married. He kept asking “ARE YOU SURE??? ARE YOU SURE???” and laughed hysterically, all the while still holding on to our tickets. He did this about five times (!). Although the guy was kind of funny, he was acting like a bit of a douche in my opinion, or maybe I was just ready for a beer after four hours in the van. Just as I was about to call him out on being a wanker and to give us our damn tickets already, he finally gave us our tickets.

AND SO WE HAD ARRIVED!

There is no way to accurately describe how large this festival is: 80,000 camping just outside the festival barriers, and add to that a few acres of stage/audience area, others areas for merchandise vendors, supermarkets, food courts and beer gardens inside the festival, and then picture the entire outlying village community also taking part in the festival with local residents happily working very well-priced food kiosks, portable bars, beer gardens (cranking metal), and craft tables stretching about 1-2 miles into the center of the village. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Day #1, Thursday 08/05/2010.

Breakfast and coffee went down well, and it was time for the grand introduction.

Only a few major bands in the evening today: Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, and then Iron Maiden headlining. I bought a couple of shirts as we browsed the hundreds of merch tents earlier in the day. As we went to grab some food and beer around lunch time, two Norwegian kids who were completely shit-faced decided to approach Kate and tell her how pretty she was (and how ugly I was). The whole thing was pretty damn hilarious… one of them even told us he was on his third bottle of Jack. The fact that anything more than two bottles is enough to put a kid like this in the hospital told me he was full of shit, but I went along with it anyway. Hey… it’s a festival!

I refused to take any photos of Motley Crue because frankly, they suck, and big surprise, their performance sucked too. Here’s a nice view of the dual stages AFTER they were finished playing (everyone seemed relieved that Vince Neil and his “Crue” of untalented pricks finally left the stage).

Didn’t see much of Alice Cooper, but his performance appeared to be quite good, with several bloody stage props in full use.

Iron Maiden played the exact same set as they did in Chicago a few weeks earlier (all new material) but the sound was far better and the audience didn’t appear to have the same cockroach up their ass like in Chicago. We didn’t watch the entire set, but it sure as hell sounded pretty damn tight to me… after all, it’s Iron Maiden.

And that was about it for Day #1. We drank some beer, chatted with a couple of highly intelligent German kids and a few blokes from London who were camping next to us, and then went to bed.

Day #2, Friday 08/06/2010

RISE AND SHINE!

Lots of music today! Excitement was starting to brew in my belly after the delicious eggs and coffee we had in the town. Amorphis was playing very early and we had to check them out. I’ve always been a fan of this interesting band from Finland, who have grown steady more melodic in recent years while still retaining a progressive/psychedelic vibe that is all their own. The set spanned from the classic “Tales of the Thousand Lakes” all the way through their new material. Great set.

We had an hour or two to kill next, so we decided to enter a section of the festival known as “Wacken Village”. This is basically Wacken’s answer to Reniassance Fair, with people dressed up in pilgrim and medieval attire and a few magicians doing bizarre stuff using metalhead volunteers as bait. It all seemed pretty harmless, until we noticed this poor bastard.

Possibly one of the best performances of the festival was next: VOIVOD. I saw them back in March in Chicago with Kreator and Nachtmystium (a bit of a drunken night for me) and it was a true honor to catch them again at Wacken with a few more brain cells intact this time around. The tones were immaculate, intensity was top notch. Snake was in full form and the audience was crazy. I will also say their new guitarist Dan Mongrain (Martyr, ex-Gorguts) is absolutely phenomenal and once again more than nailed Piggy’s complex and amazing riffage (RIP Piggy). Voivod killed it.

We caught a little bit of Kamelot, a power metal band with some decent pyro going on (criminal side note: a slothy, pseudo-hippie looking asshole tried to pick-pocket me during this performance, to which I screamed some awful obscenities to both him and his girlfriend in response. They backed off very quickly, and fortunately nothing got physical).

One of the funnier moments of the day was when the singer from Kamelot tried to get some audience participation going on during a Halford-esque breakdown… but suddenly this appeared, completely distracting the audience from singing along with him. Nice try anyway dude.

We then walked around some more and even caught a glimpse of (drum roll please)… A HEAVY METAL MARCHING BAND!

Next up was Tarja Turunen, former vocalist of Finland’s fantasy metal/melodrama-laced celebrity outfit Nightwish. My wife is a huge Nightwish fan, so we decided to check out Tarja’s set. We found it funny that Wacken placed Tarja’s performance at the exact same time as Arch Enemy’s, which we didn’t think was a coincidence at all. Although I was unfamiliar with Tarja’s material, her voice was absolutely stunning and the backing band was tight as hell, especially the drummer who was incredible.

SLAYER. The crowd went completely insane right off the bat. Fans flooded the entrances so rapidly that very loud announcements came on in German saying they had reached full capacity in front of the main stage. We tried to get in the entrance to the main stage anyway but were pushed back out by security. We managed to enter through a side entrance and walked through the back of the crowd toward a smaller stage, where Ihsahn was about to begin playing. Slayer sounded great, but it was difficult to get close to the stage or get a clear view of anything for that matter. Sounded good though!

We got inside a tent that housed the Headbangers Stage, where ex-Emperor frontman Ihsahn was playing. His backing band consisted of all six members of the Norwegian progressive outfit Leprous, who were also amazing in their own right. This was truly a highlight of Wacken: Ihsahn supported by a full backing band with two additional guitarists and three vocalists. All the guitar harmonies and vocal layers absolutely soared with greatness. I am now convinced, both on recordings and in a live setting, that Ihsahn’s solo material completely knocks anything Emperor has ever done out of the sky in just about every musical aspect imaginable.

We were dead tired after Ihsahn since it was after 1am, so off we went back to the tent to rest up for the final day… but not before checking out Anvil for a few minutes. Lips was in the middle of an interesting rant about how he’s not a metalhead, but actually a hippie, and then the band jumped right into “Weed Assassins”. We figured that was a pretty good cue to go to bed.

Day #3, Saturday 08/07/2010.

Not quite as crazy of a band schedule on the final day, although there were a few highlights: Unleashed, Cannibal Corpse, and the mighty IMMORTAL closing out the festival. I started drinking beer around 11am (hey, it was the final day) and spent the first few hours after breakfast walking around the town stopping at various beer gardens in order to try every different kind of German pilsner that I could get my hands on before the rock started. In retrospect, it was a fun but the daytime drunkenness also made me forget to put sunscreen on, which resulted in both physical sunburn pain and emotional torment from fellow festival goers later in the day.

We arrived to the stage area just as Unleashed was setting up on the Black Stage, and as you can see there is no sign of anyone leaving Wacken just yet.

Unleashed kicked my ass. Here is a band whose roots go back to Nihilist, some of the earliest and nastiest 80’s Swedish death metal imaginable – and whose demos became highly influential to scores of extreme players following them. While Unleashed has always been simple and to the point, twenty years of this kind of intensity definitely shined in a great performance. The crowd loved it too.

We had a bit of time to kill, so we went to the Wacken info center and charged our cell phones for a while. We had a very long conversation with an Israeli guy who was very friendly so we started buying him beers, and then a Wacken staff lady came up and put sugar crystals on my tongue (???) to help my sunburn. Huh? We bid our farewell to the Israeli dude and headed back out to the stage area and at this point several Germans and additional Wacken staff gave me a lot more shit for my sunburn as we walked toward the stages. Sorry everyone… I DIDN’T REALIZE IT WAS FUCKING ILLEGAL TO GET SUNBURNED IN GERMANY.

So go ahead and laugh… everyone else did (FYI – I enhanced this photo for self-deprecating purposes). I guess it is pretty damn hilarious looking at it now.

Anyway, Cannibal Corpse was in the middle of a very crazy set. I’ve never been the biggest fan of this death metal machine of a band, but they sounded tight. I also enjoyed the singer’s extremely dry sense of humor in between songs… genius in fact.

As Cannibal was rocking, this was also an entertaining sight and literally came out of nowhere. What do they call this? Tube surfing? (sorry, lame joke)

We then ran into these two idiots walking around behind the crowd as Cannibal finished their set. Performance art, perhaps? Nah… more like wankery.

We had finally made it to the final act of the night… IMMORTAL. By this time my wife was also pretty lit up from the beers (I think she deserved it after dealing with my intoxicated ass all day up until that point)… and so IMMORAL began.

IMMORTAL was one of the most intense sets of the weekend, if not the best of the entire festival. I missed the infamous show with Manowar several years ago that all my friends caught in Aurora (IL) so the anticipation for this was huge. Little did I know that three individuals could create such a monstrous sound, surpassing Slayer and probably every other act on the main stage during the course of the festival.

Then suddenly these guys decided to have a little too much fun… RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. Not sure how IMMORTAL would feel seeing what these fans were up to during their performance. Talk about disrespect!

And so the music was over! Actually, Soulfly was playing dead last, but sorry Max… we had to get to bed. A midnight snack before sleep sounded good.

We woke up the next morning, packed our bags, ditched the tent, grabbed a bagel and coffee, and made it on the bus by 9am.

In summary, this was easily the best festival I have ever attended in my entire life… period. If you like extreme music and great people, do yourself a favor and check out Wacken Open Air sometime before you die. I’m not sure what else to say – check the line-up, be sure to buy your tickets early, and have FUN. We were in Europe for another 2 1/2 weeks after Wacken, and this was a great place to start.

Finally, here’s a quick video that my wife shot of our neighbors in the campground sometime during the last day of the festival, which pretty much sums up the entire experience.

WACKEN!!!!

Maiden’s latest studio effort profiles a disturbing trend which began when Bruce and Adrian Smith rejoined the band in 1999: Long, aimless songs that attempt to be epic, but come off as unnecessarily long-winded.  I attribute this to the band’s endless search for a new, modern Hallowed Be Thy Name (or an epic stadium anthem that features a slow intro, a fast ending and plenty of harmony guitars and choruses to sing along to).  They found the 90’s version with Fear of the Dark, and seeing how it was the only song post-Seventh Son to make the cut for the “retro” Flight 666 tour set list, you can see how much stock they put into it.  Since Brave New World, we’ve heard twenty attempts coming in at over 7 minutes ranging from the successful (Dream of Mirrors) to the dreadfully overrated (Paschendale).  I gave up on A Matter of Life and Death after several listens just because the songs were SO long and also SO boring and while having some moments, Dance of Death was overall as dull as it’s cover art.  The Final Frontier follows this pattern with six of the ten songs at or over the magic 7 minutes in length.  Some of these songs are quality stuff, but with so much added filler, their impact often gets diminished.  Iron Maiden simply feels like they’re trying too hard.

The title track, The Final Frontier, is actually a pretty good song, but after sitting through a 4-minute, droning and COMPLETELY unnecessary “intro” called  Satellite 15, you’re left pretty confused on what just took place, and whether or not this is really worth your time.  The song also follows the predictability of other post-Blaze era album-openers by throwing together a catchy melody and driving beat with a simple, often-repeated chorus (Wildest Dreams, Different World, Wicker Man).  Is this necessarily a bad thing?  Well, no, because those songs are still awesome, but you get the feeling that maybe Maiden is just going through the motions a bit too much by sticking so blatantly to this formula.  The Alchemist and Isle of Avalon are some of the better songs on the album (although Avalon is still too long), and the first single El Dorado is solid despite some lyrics that seems like they were chosen just because they rhymed.  Despite being co-written by Janick, The Talisman is a good track, but after a boring 2-minute intro, you might have already skipped past it.

The Man Who Would Be King and When the Wild Wind Blows are the final two songs, and with a combined time of almost 20 minutes, they provide the long slow death to the album.  The Final Frontier is not a failure, but it suffers from overworked and over-thought songwriting and a maniacal desire to “create” a classic Maiden live staple.  After being beaten over the head with these attempts over the past four albums, it all begins to blend together into mush.  I am certain that some of these songs will kill live, because that’s what Maiden still does best, and I’ve noticed that because of Bruce’s “aging” voice, crowd participation help songs from the new era become a more powerful experience.  Maiden’s definitely not dead, they’re still probably the best metal band of all time, but I doubt I will listening to The Final Frontier very often.

Mark’s Rating:

King says: “11-minute song about Evil?  Bah, been there, done that.”

Matt’s Review:

For a band that has been around for over 30 years, Iron Maiden stays as busy as ever these days.  Not only do they keep an extensive touring schedule and churn out a new studio album every 3-4 years, but it also very evident that they are making valiant attempts to progress their sound into different areas, rather than live off of past glories and – at least consciously – rehash the same albums over and over again.  To an admirable extent, they achieve this with their latest offering, “The Final Frontier.”  However, to another extent, there are some moments of mediocrity and redundancy, which end up overshadowing some of those attempts.  Regardless, the album does have its fair share of redeeming qualities – you just have to dig a little deeper and be a little more patient to discover them…

Much like their last effort, “A Matter of Life and Death,” the songwriting duties have shifted more towards a group effort, with Adrian Smith and (to a lesser extent) Bruce Dickinson picking up much of the slack from Steve Harris.  Also, much like their previous effort, this mostly results in longer, progressive, mid-tempo songs with an epic feel, slower-moving transitions, and an overall approach that is definitely more simplified than in the past.  In other words, you get the feeling that, while the band is letting you know that they have nothing left to prove, they still have plenty of new music left in them and have every intent of continuing to explore their well-defined musical comfort zone.

Now for the album’s highlights:  “El Dorado” is just a well-crafted, no-nonsense metal song that will most definitely be the album’s ‘hit,’ as well as a song in their live repertoire for years to come.  It’s got everything – a catchy verse, bridge, a trademark anthemic chorus, and three guitar solos in the middle.  The ‘fast’ song on the album, “The Alchemist,” has classic Maiden written all over it, even if it does sound a little too similar to “Man On The Edge” at times.  Regardless, it is another well-crafted metal song.  Track 6, “Isle Of Avalon,” is officially the first ‘epic’ on the album, clocking in at just over 9 minutes.  There are some great progressive transitions on this one, very reminiscent of “Out Of The Silent Planet” from the Brave New World album.  Back-to-back tracks “Talisman” and “The Man Who Would Be King” are two more quality epics that offers much of the same ear candy.  Yes, the proggy epics are definitely Maiden’s forte these days… keep it up boys!

As for the album’s low points:  the opening track(s), “Satellite 15… The Final Frontier,” starts out promising with Satellite 15’s dark cyber-metal buildup, but then turns boring and generic after it kicks into the title track.  I don’t really understand what they were trying to do here, but anyways…  The third and fourth tracks, “Mother of Mercy” and “Coming Home,” respectively, are the obvious filler tracks on the album that frankly sound like rejects from the “No Prayer For The Dying” and/or “Fear Of The Dark” albums – personally my two least favorite Maiden albums of all time.

The remaining two tracks yet to be discussed – “Starblind” and “When the Wild Wind Blows” – fall into that mediocre category that I mentioned earlier.  Although both songs are lengthy and have one or two standout parts, particularly during the middle breaks, there are even more unnecessarily drawn out parts that could have easily been trimmed and/or eliminated to make for a much better song.

In summary, if you’re an old-school Maiden fan hoping for another “Number of the Beast” or “Powerslave,” then “The Final Frontier” is definitely not for you.  On the other hand, if you happen to be a fan of “Brave New World” and beyond, then the chances are you’ll enjoy this album as well and it will grow on you over time.  While the technical side of their playing is much simpler these days, the songwriting as a whole has definitely matured.  All in all, it’s another fairly respectable effort from the band that effortlessly rings up $20,000 bar tabs. 

Matt’s Rating:

King says: “Yes, age does bring maturity and grace… nothing a little makeup and hair dye can’t fix!”

Have A Listen:

Iron Maiden – El Dorado:

Download audio file (ElDorado.mp3)

Despite mainstream television distancing themselves ever further from what’s cool, and a handful of other disappointing “metal” ventures, 2009 surely showed us a good time.

First and foremost, this was a killer year for releases from both veterans and young-bloods alike. Quality albums seemed to be dropping on a weekly basis (including some great re-releases), and the fall release schedule was unlike anything I’d ever seen… chock full of outstanding records from the likes of likes of Baroness, Immortal, Skeletonwitch, Slayer and more. There was barely enough time to keep track of everything, and I’m certain I’ll still be listening with fresh ears well into the new year.

This year also presented us with some amazingly well-crafted documentaries in Flight 666 and Anvil! The Story of Anvil. In addition to being extremely enjoyable, both films have received critical acclaim, and hopefully, helped dispel some of the bias towards metalheads worldwide (we’re not all dip-shit losers after all).

2009 has also given us a variety of cool things to spend our money on, including but not limited to: Mercyful Fate shoes, heavy metal cookbooks, Enslaved vinyl box sets, Precious Metal, and plenty of challenging tracks for the little plastic baby guitars we all own.

From the looks of it, 2010 will continue to ride the wave of awesomeness with new releases from Dillinger, High on Fire, Meshuggah, Nachtmystium, Torche (and more); as well as fantastic tours and another promising documentary for us to enjoy. Here’s to hoping we all continue to deliver. Happy New Year y’all.

Stay Heavy.

Mark’s List:

20. Nile – In Their Darkened Shrines (Relapse)
Karl Sanders’ masterpiece is the perfect soundtrack to releasing spirits from a cursed Egyptian tomb.
Check Out: Execration Text

19. Iron Maiden – Brave New World (EMI/ Sony)
Bruce and Adrian are back… well, Jannick is still there, but still, this Maiden album makes us forget the previous four and brings us back to 1986.
Check Out: The Fallen Angel

18. Killswitch Engage – The End of the Heartache (Roadrunner)
Hello Howard Jones, pleased to meet you, your band rules… and so does this album.
Check Out: Rose of Sharyn

17. Strapping Young Lad – Alien (Century Media)
Devin and the boys melt faces on an album that stands up to the legendary City.
Check Out: Zen

16. Skeletonwitch – Beyond the Permafrost (Prosthetic)
Thrash came back in a big way in the 00’s, and these guys lead the way.
Check Out: Upon Wings of Black

15. Opeth – Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner)
The proggiest of the Opeth releases was also one of the best.  Swedish metal meets George Harrison’s Maharishi.
Check Out: The Baying of the Hounds

14. Slayer – Christ Illusion (American)
Another return from some big names, this time it’s Lombardo and Rubin and voila!, Slayer makes their most inspired record in years.
Check Out: Skeleton Christ

13. Gojira – From Mars to Sirius (Prosthetic)
France’s metal titans give us one of the heaviest-sounding onslaughts in recent memory.  An open array of serenity and punishment.
Check Out: Flying Whales

12. Meshuggah – Nothing (Nuclear Blast)
The only album meant to be recorded with 8-string guitars. So heavy and hypnotic it’s made for the atmosphere of a different planet.
Check Out: Glints Collide

11. System of a Down – Toxicity (American)
An odd little metal band that turned into a huge, hard rock juggernaut after this combination of focused song writing, great production and heavy manic.
Check Out: Prison Song

10. Mastodon – Remission (Relapse)
Their first full-length release and the introduction for many to Mastodon.  The album that woke up the metal world in 2002.
Check Out: March of the Fire Ants

9. Lamb of God – Ashes of the Wake (Epic)
The album catches Lamb of God and the Adler brothers at their hungriest, right on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest bands in heavy music.
Check Out: The Faded Line

8. Baroness – The Red Album (Relapse)
A genius mixture of metal’s fury and indie-rock’s fuzz dragged through the sludge of the Georgia swamplands. John Baizley becomes a new metal hero.
Check Out: Isak

7. Cynic – Traced in Air (Season of Mist)
We waited for 15 years after Focus, and Paul Masvidal did not disappoint us.  An incredible journey of musicianship, virtuosity and elite song-writing.
Check Out: The Space for This

6. Opeth – Deliverance (Music for Nations)
The title track contains one of the best riffs of all time.  Wreath and Master’s Apprentices provide some bone-chilling moments.
Check Out: Deliverance

5. The Sword – Age of Winters (Kemado)
A hipster delight, but also a headbanging, weed-smoking, stoner-metal classic.  The raw power of every riff conjures the ghost of Iommi (wait, he’s not dead!)
Check Out: Iron Swan

4. QOTSA – Songs for the Deaf (Interscope)
Another popular release that includes perfect song after perfect song.  Dave Grohl leaves his mark, and his curse on future Josh Homme projects.
Check Out: Song for the Dead

3. Immortal – Sons of Northern Darkness (Nuclear Blast)
One of the best black metal albums of all time. Abbath creates an avalanche of riffs and mayhem.
Check Out: One By One

2. Opeth – Blackwater Park (Music for Nations)
Many consider this the breakout album for Opeth.  A collection of the band’s finest moments and some of the best metal songs of all time.
Check Out: The Drapery Falls

1. Mastodon – Leviathan (Relapse)
Mastodon’s perfect metal album and one of the best releases ever.  A true classic from the first notes of track 1.
Check Out: every song

Justin’s List:

20. Candiria – 300 Percent Density (Century Media)
Normally, shit this eclectic is reserved for prog snobs… it’s a shame they’re too busy sucking off Dream Theatre to appreciate the real deal.
Check Out: 300 Percent Density

19. Killswitch Engage – The End of Heartache (Roadrunner)
This album raised the bar previously set by Alive or Just Breathing. A feat every other modern metalcore band (including Killswitch themselves) have yet to surpass.
Check Out: Rose of Sharyn

18. Starkweather – Croatoan (Candlelight/Hypertension)
Ready for something completely new and exciting? Check out these old-timers.
Check Out: Slither

17. Skeletonwitch – Breathing the Fire (Prosthetic)
As I’ve said before… this is “Metal” personified.
Check Out: Repulsive Salvation

16. Immortal – Sons of Northern Darkness (Nuclear Blast)
Black Metal’s finest hour?
Check Out: One By One

15. Slayer – Christ Illusion (American)
Kerry King + Tom Araya + Jeff Hanneman – Paul Bostaph + Dave Lombardo = ‘Nuff Said.
Check Out: Flesh Storm

14. Baroness – The Red Album (Relapse)
Eclectic, yet cohesive. Heavy, yet poetic. Artsy, yet fucking awesome.
Check Out: Wanderlust

13. Type O Negative – Dead Again (SPV)
Absolutely epic songwriting from “The Drab Four”.
Check Out: The Profit of Doom

12. Craft – Fuck the Universe (Carnal/Southern Lord)
Black Metal’s finest hour.
Check Out: Thorn In the Planet’s Side

11. Mastodon – Remission (Relapse)
Riffs beyond your wettest dream. A game changer for sure.
Check Out: Mother Puncher

10. Torche – Meanderthal (Hydra Head/Robotic Empire)
The prefect blend of heavy and poppy. I assume this album is perfect for cruising for metal chicks on a hot summer evening.
Check Out: Healer

9. Cave In – Jupiter (Hydra Head)
The biggest 180 in the history of hardcore. But Cave In are certainly a better band for having taken the risk.
Check Out: Big Riff

8. Opeth – Deliverance (Music for Nations)
One listen to the title track and you’ll know why it’s on this list.
Check Out: Deliverance

7. Isis – Oceanic (Ipecac)
This album single-handidly turned the word “Neurosis” into “Neurisis”. Stock in metalgaze shoots through the roof.
Check Out: The Beginning and the End

6. Jesu – Jesu (Hydra Head)
Justin Broadrick shows the metal community there’s more to life than Godflesh. Much more.
Check Out: Friends are Evil

5. Converge – Jane Doe (Equal Vision/Deathwish)
Converge’s defining record… Jane Doe also happens to be the defining record for 98% of hardcore bands since.
Check Out: Concubine

4. Meshuggah – Nothing (Nuclear Blast)
Is there such a thing as “too heavy”? It turns out the answer is no.
Check Out: Straws Pulled at Random

3. Pelican – Australiasia (Hydra Head)
The perfect mix of skull-crushingly heavy and heart-breakingly emotional. The soundtrack to “flying” dreams.
Check Out: GW

2. Hopesfall – The Satellite Years (Trustkill)
An awesome post-hardcore band doing everything in their power to sound like Hum. Hey… it’s all green to me!
Check Out: A Man Exits

1. Mastodon – Leviathan (Relapse)
The metal equivalent of Dark Side of the Moon. Instant Classic. Period.
Check Out: every song

Speaking of commercials… please enjoy one before your video begins, courtesy of MTV… (I would’ve certainly posted a YouTube version, but the marketing department at camp BFMV apparently don’t like metal blogs making fun of their band, so they’ve disabled embedding).

Justin’s Review

Man… it’s been a long time since I graduated high school, but back then, dudes wearing Maiden and Slayer t-shirts weren’t the total pussies they seem to be nowadays. Good thing Bullet For My Valentine are around to show these wimps that all you need is a little patience, a remote wooded area, and 3 copies of Twilight on DVD to stand up to those jock fuckheads.

Wait a minute… don’t jock fuckheads listen to Bullet For My Valentine? OH SHIT… RUN!

Mark’s Review

If there’s one thing I hate more than TEACHERS and PARENTS, it’s fucking JOCKS! Everyone’s always telling me I need to change my ways, but fuck that, I’m true to MYSELF!!!. So when I watch this video, it’s like someone had a camera on my LIFE. Bullet for my Valentine is REAL, COMPRENDE??? They don’t follow trends like shitty Taylor Swift and Lifehouse (FAGS!! LOL!!). In fact, Matt Tuck once said he doesn’t give a SHIT about trends or “what his fucking hair looks like”, and I believe him, cause when I saw the band at the Mayhem Fest (sponsored by Hot Topic), they totally looked like they kicked ass!!! I hope this video inspires other kids like me that are total UNDERGROUND to change into werewolves and murder people who pick on them.

To call the first leg of Maiden’s 2008 Somewhere Back in Time Tour a “big production” is a bit of an understatement. The logistics of transporting the band, 70 crew members, and 12 tons of gear over 5 continents in a month in a half is staggering. Now factor in a show every other day… and oh yeah… singer Bruce Dickinson is flying the custom-built 757 that gets them everywhere. A concept so ridiculously awesome, it just screams “documentary”. Thankfully Iron Maiden agreed, and had the foresight to ask along the metal community’s favorite film crew… Banger Productions.

So here we are… April 21st… Maiden Day… the theatrical world premiere of Flight 666, the feature-length rockumentary chronicling the most ambitious tour in history (23 concerts in 21 countries in 45 days… fuck!). Rowdy Maiden fans both young and old packed the house for the near 2-hour extravaganza, and thankfully, not a one of them had to be escorted out (though the eagle-eyed Kerasotes employees did manage to stifle a few beer-drinkers’ fun).

From the opening notes of Aces High, it was obvious that Flight 666 was going to be an instant classic (and real treat to witness on the big screen). Sam Dunn and company have outdone themselves yet again… with top-notch production, excellent camerawork and brilliant storytelling which documents both the ridiculously inspired tour, and the lengths that crazed Maiden fans are willing to go to appease their Metal Gods. And therein lies the heart of the film. While Maiden’s music and live show speak for themselves, it’s the glimpse into the devotion of Maiden fans from around the world that really speak volumes here. From the Japanese girl who wants to “become Steve Harris’ daughter” to “Father Iron Maiden” to the Columbian man who is shown weeping uncontrollably after catching one of Nicko McBrain’s drumsticks, Flight 666 does a fantastic job showcasing the reaction of metalheads who are exposed to something that most concertgoers take for granted.

As a stand-alone concert piece, Flight 666 soars as well. The high-definition footage is outstanding, and they manage to include most of the hits you’d hope for (including Rime of the Ancient Mariner for all you super-nerds). On the documentary side, the film leaves few stones unturned (though I’m still curious as to where they sat 10′ Eddie on the plane), and provides an in-depth look at both an extremely talented band, and the legacy they continue to carve into metal’s long, winding road.

If you weren’t celebrating MAIDEN DAY at the theater, shame on you for not buying your tickets sooner. (PWNED!) But have no fear (of the dark… sorry couldn’t resist), Flight 666 hits the shelves in Blu-ray & a 2-disc DVD set on June 9th. Run to the hills and buy the fuck out of this one.

Justin’s Rating:

King says: “As a society, you know we’re heading in the right direction when Iron Maiden command more cinematic real estate than Jessica Simpson.”

Chris’ Review:

Although it is technically a documentary, Flight 666 is the best concert film I’ve seen. As a casual Iron Maiden fan, a straight-ahead movie of a concert would probably not keep my attention for long, but this documentary had me fascinated from beginning to end.

First, I was already aware that Bruce Dickinson was a pilot and could fly the Iron Maiden tour plane, but I always assumed it was one of those Lear jets that you’re used to seeing rock stars in. I had no idea he flew a 757 airliner, like the kind you fly around the world. Holy shit! Nobody flies airliners as a hobby. Or maybe singing in the definitive metal band is his hobby. Wait, nobody could do that as a hobby either. Similar profiles throughout the film of each band member paint a convincing picture of the confounding amount of talent in this band.

Such ‘behind the music’ material could easy slip into trite self-tribute but tasteful restraint keeps the narrative focused on Iron Maiden the band, and, like everything Maiden does, unapologetically true to Iron Maiden’s brand of music and Iron Maiden fans. For those fans, the film presents a number of songs performed almost in their entirety. Mostly the hits you’d expect, but filmed incredibly close and clear. If you’ve always wondered what it would be like to see Steve Harris’ armpit in high definition on a 20-foot tall screen, I’ve seen it. Suffice it to say, the footage of these middle-aged rockers is definitely “warts and all.”

And whether you’re a metalhead or not, Flight 666 gives you a unique look into the global subculture of Iron Maiden fans. The tour starts in Mumbai, and the footage of fans in India, Central America, or Australia are all incredibly similar. A sea of black t-shirts, mostly young males, all really excited to be here. (Seriously, how many Iron Maiden t-shirts are there?) In places like Bogota, Columbia and San Jose, Costa Rica, the excitement is intense; this really could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a band that basically laid the foundation of the metal culture that these young people use to define themselves.

I emphasize ‘young people’ because, as Bruce Dickinson ironically explains to the so-narrowly-target-marketed-that-he-is-culturally-irrelevant Eddie Trunk in the film, Maiden continues to draw new generations of fans in addition to the nostalgia crowd. The concept of the 2008 tour was to recreate an 80’s era Iron Maiden concert with the set from the Powerslave tour and a setlist from that era, not for the old farts to reminisce, but for the newer fans who would otherwise never have a chance to experience Maiden as fans in the 80’s did. Mercifully, the stage costumes were modern.

As befitting a band that traverses borders, cultures, and time, Flight 666 transcends beyond fan product to a view into the source of this global phenomenon. A view into the heart of the beast, if you will.

Chris’ Rating:

King says: “One time I piloted the Merciful Fate tour bus. Bad idea.”

Iron Maiden – “Flight 666: Official Trailer”