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July 20, 2008 |
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30th ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2005
w/ CORROSION OF CONFORMITY/3 INCHES OF BLOOD/DAMN 13
April 14, 2005
Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
By Tony Antunovich
All photos Copyright © 2005 METALEATER - Do not use without permission.
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Thirty years. Count 'em - 30 YEARS! MOTÖRHEAD have been hard at it for so long now that it's virtually impossible to imagine the metal world without them. The thought is almost depressing. This band have not only made a profound impact on metal, but also on the music business as a whole. If you're a connoisseur of heavy music, MOTÖRHEAD's card is at the top of your deck. I'd be willing to bet that even the queen of their native England enjoys a good old dose of "Ace Of Spades" or "Eat The Rich" from time to time. Make no mistake about it - these veteran rockers have earned every penny throughout their three-decade run with blood, sweat, and tears.
To commemorate their 30th Anniversary, MOTÖRHEAD hit the road some three weeks back for an extensive trek across Canada and the U.S., and will make an appearance at this year's Monterrey Metal Fest on May 28, then back overseas at Hammersmith in mid June. Accompanying MOTÖRHEAD are veteran North Carolina-based heavy-hitters CORROSION OF CONFORMITY (COC), Vancouver's 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, and Torontonians DAMN 13. Now, Vancouver has been very stagnant for the last couple of months or so in terms of quality metal shows coming to town, but that dry spell came to a swift end on April 14, 2005 as the city was re-awakened to the deafening sound of metal once again. And what better way to kill that dry spell than with MOTÖRHEAD's 30th Anniversary tour!?!? Enough said. Apparently the Vancouver metal community felt the same as I because the Commodore Ballroom was jam-packed!
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
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DAMN 13 started things off a little earlier than expected (at least to my knowledge), and Roadrunner recording artists 3 INCHES OF BLOOD hit the stage shortly afterwards, delivering a high-octane performance full of guts, glory, and an intensity level that was beyond anything I'd experienced in a long time. Speed? Plenty of it. Aggression? That's a no-brainer. If any of you have heard their latest release "Advance And Vanquish", you'll know what I'm talking about here. These guys live and breathe metal 24/7, and it showed in the way they played their set.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
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Then there's COC. Here's a band that have been around since the mid-'80s, so they themselves are legends in their own right. The band have just released their brand new album, "In The Arms Of God", so being on this tour was the perfect opportunity to showcase some of the new material. Just prior to their first song, vocalist Pepper Keenan addressed the crowd by saying, "It's been a long time my friends". He was, of course, referring to the last time COC were in town, and they made up for lost time by launching a heavy-fueled assault on Vancouver.
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Their performance was very tight indeed. Keenan's vocals were strong as were his guitar licks, and the rhythm section of bassist Mike Dean and Jimmy Bower provided solid back-end support. Axeman Woody Weatherman was right into it from the get-go, walking across the stage going back and forth from screaming into the mic to pounding out the riffs. Dean basically stood on the right hand side of the stage while Keenan and Weatherman bounced around from side to side edging the crowd on - and it worked! COC delivered a consistent performance from start to finish, and I don't think they could have done a better job if they tried.
MOTÖRHEAD
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MOTÖRHEAD hit the stage at around 11:15 PM. I don't think I really need to waste time describing the crowd's reaction when Lemmy and Co. walked out on stage, but the "MO-TÖR-HEAD! MO-TÖR-HEAD!" chants was a clear indication that this band still has a larger-than-life following, even after 30 years. Lemmy, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looked into the audience and spoke the words (with his ever-recognizable growling voice), "We are MOTÖRHEAD, and we play rock 'n' roll!" straight into the microphone. What happened next was to be expected. Can we say LOUD? Holy smokes! Normally, it takes 4 or 5 guys to dish out this amount of power, but MOTÖRHEAD are a 3-piece!! Oh, and by the way.... this lasted throughout their entire set. Impressed? I was.
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With songs like "Iron Fist", "Dancing On Your Grave", "Rock N Roll", "Killers" and "In The Name Of Tragedy", MOTÖRHEAD head-charged their way through like a battering ram pounding against enemy barricades. Lemmy's voice still sounds like gold, and his confidence on stage makes it very easy for him to do his job well. What's more impressive is that he hasn't lost his edge at all, and this guy is pushing 60!!!! When it's in your blood, you just can't walk away from it. Phil Campbell's guitar playing abilities have not shaken either. He exudes an equal amount of confidence as Lemmy, marching across the stage playing every riff and solo with the utmost precision.
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Then there's master skinsman, Mikkey Dee. As a drummer myself, I always become enthralled when I watch a seasoned drummer performing so flawlessly during a live gig. Dee's technical ability is something to behold, as he hits every 16th note, triplet, crash cymbal, bass drum, tom, etc. with no effort whatsoever. The highlight of the night was his lengthy drum solo. Half-way through "Sacrifice", Lemmy and Phil left the stage for a quick break while Dee awed the crowd with a stellar display of stick to skin mastery. I was also quite impressed to find out that Dee can also play a few chords on the guitar, as he showed during the double-man acoustical jam "Whorehouse Blues" (featuring Lemmy on vocals of course). Finishing up with a big bang was a double shot of two immortal MOTÖRHEAD classics - "Ace Of Spades" and "Overkill". Hell may roll in on high heels, but one thing is for certain - MOTÖRHEAD ride on their own wheels, and they don't have to answer to anyone.
Thirty years is a long time for anyone to be doing the same thing year after year, but when it's something that you truly love, it's hard to give it up. In MOTÖRHEAD's case, it's no different. Judging from their performance at the Commodore a few nights ago, it doesn't look like the band have any plans to throw in the towel in the immediate future. I'm sure they could keep going for another decade to make it an even 40! Wouldn't that be something to tell the kids about one day!! [FIN]
As always, METALEATER.COM would like to express our gratitude to Kerry Goulding from Sanctuary Records for accomodating us with the press pass.
» Official MOTÖRHEAD Website
» Official COC Website
» Official 3 INCHES OF BLOOD Website
» Official DAMN 13 Website
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