Rock Euphoria

SAN ANTONIO, TX — “We are Motorhead and we play Rock ‘n Roll!”  Those are the words I’ve been aching to hear live for the longest time, and I was finally getting my chance!  But first I had to endure Testament.

I didn’t know too much about Testament going into the show.  I vaguely remember them from when I was in high school, and I remember that I liked them, but that was it.  I was surprised and happy to see Alex Skolnick was playing guitar!  But despite him being in the band, I could’ve gone without them.  Maybe it’s my time away from hearing them, or maybe because I knew what was coming later that night and the anticipation was killing me, but I wasn’t too impressed.  All of their songs sounded the same, and it wasn’t exactly the same style of metal as the next 3 bands.  But still, they’ve endured the test of time and I respect them for that at least.

Now it was time for Motorhead!  Lemmy Kilmeister, Phil Campbell, and Mikkey Dee burst onto the stage with the sounds of Doctor Rock.  Hearing Lemmy’s voice, often compared to gargling broken glass, helped me to greatly appreciate the epitome of a true metal band.  Numerous bands have cited Motorhead as one of their greatest influences, and seeing them live helped me to understand why.  The band held steady with some of their greatest hits, like Killed by Death and Metropolis.  To close out their way-too-short 50-minute set, they hammered out Ace of Spades and pleased the metalheads with Overkill.

Up next, just as the sun was setting appropriately, was Heaven and Hell.  As one of the incarnations of Black Sabbath, although their not permitted to use that name (thank you very much Sharon), they showed us all from where true metal originates. Troll-like Ronnie James Dio is creatively frightening, and even though he is of very small stature, he wasted no time proving his gigantic influence on the genre and rocking his way through the powerful set. 

Starting out with The Mob Rules and continuing on with Children of the Sea was an excellent way to involve the metal faithful with these classic sing-alongs.  Later in the set drummer Vinnie Appice pounded out a killer drum solo, for which the crowd went wild.  Towards the end of the set was guitarist Tony Iommi’s solo, but unfortunately bass player Geezer Butler didn’t get his own personal time to shine.  Watching his magic fingers throughout the set was good enough though, they obviously have minds of their own.

Continuing through the set they played hits Neon Knights and Die Young, which were both well-received by the crowd.  To finish up they played an extended version of Heaven and Hell, of which the fans were very much involved.  If you know the song, you know why.  The chant can’t exactly be put into words.

Following those blackened masters of metal, the anticipation for headliners Judas Priest was raising itself to an extreme level, we couldn’t wait any longer!  Finally the thunder came crashing down, as the giant bust of ancient prophet Nostradamus was reveled as the stage backdrop, with red lights shooting from his eyes that surely penetrated the hearts and minds of all those in attendance. 

The instrumental Dawn of Creation opened the sure-to-be powerful set, as tandem guitar masters Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing took over.  They led into Prophecy, the second part of the opening tracks on the bands new concept album ‘Nostradamus’.  It was difficult to spot lead singer Rob Halford from afar, as he was perched on the upper left side of the stage, draped in a silver gown with his head covered and tucked down for the entire opening number.  It’s amazing how he can still alter his outstanding vocal range from that position!  That is the sign of an established metal god.

Speaking of Metal Gods, that was there next song.  Halford emerged from his disguise as the crowd loved his every move.  If you’ve ever seen him live, you know that he’s not very bouncy or energetic.  He doesn’t need to be.  His voice does the dancing.  The 20,000+ in attendance were on cloud 9 throughout the entire set, as they covered hits such as Between The Hammer And The Anvil, Breaking the Law, Electric Eye, and Painkiller, along with lesser known hits such as Hell Patrol and Dissident Aggressor.

Following the main set, Rob Halford slowly but triumphantly rode back onto the stage on his motorcycle; as the band played crowd favorite Hell Bent For Leather.  Finally, to close out a flawless performance, the great Judas Priest treated us with You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.

What a perfect night.  They say everything’s bigger in Texas, but I don’t believe Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, and especially not Motorhead needed the second largest state to lift them to be the masters they are, on the aptly named Metal Masters tour.

Photos by © Jake Roberts