 The first band of the night was the very aptly
named DEATH VALLEY PILEDRIVER. I was half expecting
the wrestler The Undertaker to be in the band.
They just exploded onto the stage with massive
riff after riff. They are definitely one of the
best thrash bands I’ve seen in a while and
I was pleasantly surprised to see a band like
this on tour with Fozzy. There was a definite
stage presence which kept the crowd’s attention
and had them head banging along. There were quite
a few great choruses that had everyone singing
along even though most had never even heard of
the band before. By the end of their all to short
set, the fans were cheering and wanting more.
I’m sure it won’t be long before they
get snapped up by one of the metal labels, then
we can see them on their own tour and we’ll
get a full set of music to mosh along to.
Next up was SYMPHONY CULT who have a totally
different vibe going. I’d already heard
their album so I knew kinda what to expect. I
also knew it would be a bit different with only
one guitarist now instead of the two on the record
plus a new bass player was drafted in. I’m
not sure how good an idea it was to put them on
after DEATH VALLEY PILEDRIVER, who had the crowd
all worked up. Imagine something between Evanescence
and Lacuna Coil and that’s what the crowd
were seeing. They are good at what they do and
have a definite maturity onstage for such a young
band but it was kinda anticlimactic because they
just didn’t have the big songs to follow
the openers. I did enjoy them, they do have some
good catchy songs which definitely sound better
with only one guitarist. Their big song at the
moment is Until Tomorrow which got a decent crowd
response, it has a very Evanescence feel about
it. All in all they are good at what they do which
has been backed up with the fact they’ve
been on tour with the likes of SEVENDUST but it
was a bad idea to put them onstage after a brutal
thrash metal band.
 From the second SYMPHONY CULT left the stage
the crowd came alive once more. There were chants
of Y2J and JERICHO and FOZZY. Once the stage setup
was complete, everyone was shouting and chanting
louder. All went quiet and the stage went dark.
A few seconds passed and QUEEN’S We Will
Rock You started playing over the sound system.
The band hit the stage apart from Jericho and
got set up and into position. About 90 seconds
into the song he burst onto the stage and it was
the start of a whirlwind set that no one in attendance
will forget in a hurry. From start to finish it
was a high energy, fun and very accomplished performance
from a band that has come a long way since their
days as a side project for Rich Ward away from
his duties with STUCK MOJO. The crowd sang along
to every single song with gusto and a few times
it felt like the roof was going to blow off the
place. Definite highlights of the night were Let
The Madness Begin, Martyr No More and of course
their last song, Enemy. Another highlight was
when Jericho promised to write sick notes for
everyone in the crowd so they wouldn’t have
to go into work the next day. That’s just
the kind of fun energy he had all throughout the
set. He was running around the stage, up and down
the front row, slapping hands with the fans and
really getting them involved with the show. The
guy is a world class entertainer and gave everyone
their money’s worth and then some. It was
rock, metal and entertainment at it’s finest
and just seemed to end all too quickly. Kudos
have to go to the rest of the band also, they
are very accomplished musicians and showmen and
they all fit perfectly together.
DVP - 4/5
SYMPHONY CULT - 3/5
FOZZY - 5/5
Review By Craig Young |
