JUDAS PRIEST, HEAVEN AND HELL, MOTÖRHEAD, TESTAMENT
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Posted
August 28, 2008 in
Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go: Black Sabbath guitarist/songwriter Tony Iommi invented heavy metal. His granite slabs of industrial-strength, doom-laden riffage (ironically the result of his losing the tips of two fingers, which curtailed any bluesy widdling) have been the basic template—albeit sped-up, slowed-down, dressed-up or stripped-down—for everything headbang-y since Sabbath’s early-1970s heyday. So it’s a shame that his band (essentially the Ronnie James Dio-fronted Sabbath Mark II) have to appear as Heaven and Hell here and that they have to play second-fiddle to anyone—even if it is their Birmingham brethren Judas Priest, who added their own chapter to metal by introducing helium-fueled vocals, twin axes and the studded leathers still beloved of heshers everywhere. Fellow Brits Motörhead represent the next wave of hard rock, adding punk’s pacey boom-chik beats, hooligan vocals and fuck-you irreverence to the Sabbath/Priest formula in the late ’70s—and thus becoming the only metal band that was actually considered cool amongst the glue-sniffin’, mohawked mobs. Full marks to Motörhead for remaining steadfast through the dark days of hair metal, grunge and nü-metal—a big part of their prevailing semi-legendary status despite some decidedly dodgy albums along the way. On a night of innovators, bringing together three eras of metal’s hairy history, Bay Area bruisers Testament complete this respect-is-due, baton-passing package. Formed in 1983 and recently reunited, Testament were early and expert dabblers in thrash metal’s Motörhead-inspired, ultra-aggressive alchemy which fused hardcore velocity, Gattling Gun kick drums and bee-in-a-bottle, virtuoso guitars. Just think, in one night you can learn everything your dad—maybe even your granddad—already knows about heavy metal music. (Paul Rogers)
Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, Motörhead, Testament at the San Manuel Amphitheatre, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, (866) 459-9233. Doors at 5:30pm, tickets $40-$390
Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go: Black Sabbath guitarist/songwriter Tony Iommi invented heavy metal. His granite slabs of industrial-strength, doom-laden riffage (ironically the result of his losing the tips of two fingers, which curtailed any bluesy widdling) have been the basic template—albeit sped-up, slowed-down, dressed-up or stripped-down—for everything headbang-y since Sabbath’s early-1970s heyday. So it’s a shame that his band (essentially the Ronnie James Dio-fronted Sabbath Mark II) have to appear as Heaven and Hell here and that they have to play second-fiddle to anyone—even if it is their Birmingham brethren Judas Priest, who added their own chapter to metal by introducing helium-fueled vocals, twin axes and the studded leathers still beloved of heshers everywhere. Fellow Brits Motörhead represent the next wave of hard rock, adding punk’s pacey boom-chik beats, hooligan vocals and fuck-you irreverence to the Sabbath/Priest formula in the late ’70s—and thus becoming the only metal band that was actually considered cool amongst the glue-sniffin’, mohawked mobs. Full marks to Motörhead for remaining steadfast through the dark days of hair metal, grunge and nü-metal—a big part of their prevailing semi-legendary status despite some decidedly dodgy albums along the way. On a night of innovators, bringing together three eras of metal’s hairy history, Bay Area bruisers Testament complete this respect-is-due, baton-passing package. Formed in 1983 and recently reunited, Testament were early and expert dabblers in thrash metal’s Motörhead-inspired, ultra-aggressive alchemy which fused hardcore velocity, Gattling Gun kick drums and bee-in-a-bottle, virtuoso guitars. Just think, in one night you can learn everything your dad—maybe even your granddad—already knows about heavy metal music. (Paul Rogers)
Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell, Motörhead, Testament at the San Manuel Amphitheatre, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, (866) 459-9233. Doors at 5:30pm, tickets $40-$390
