Well hello there my reader friends,
So, what have I been up? Glad you asked (Well, I am going to tell you even if you didn't. It would be a very strange blog if I just waited for suggestions. Though if you have any suggestion what I can do with my blog do tell. Polite suggestions anyway before anyone gets any ideas)
So last night, 23rd February 2023, I went to a heavy metal concert in Manchester. And it wasn't my first one let me tell you. Cause I like heavy metal music. I like it loud (though not too loud. Don't want to upset the neighbours!). The band were Beast In Black. Which you would know, or could at least guess, from this blog's title.
So Beast In Black are mainly from Finland though the lead singer is Greek. They play what is termed 'Power' metal and have quite a heavy use of keyboards and, at times, a disco beat. They have plenty of videos over on YouTube (doesn't everyone!). I actually first saw them in November 2022 when they supported Nightwish and thought they were pretty good so when they announced their own tour I bought a ticket.
The doors opened at around 7:30pm and though the queue was quite substantial when I arrived at Manchester Academy, once the security guys started letting people in , it wasn't too long before we entered the building and made our way though into the basement which was called the club area. Which was a strange room. There was the stage naturally and a clear area in front of the stage with the bar down one side. So far so normal. After this point however things go a bit different. Maybe about three quarters of the way down were the pillars supporting the roof with a further clear area. Beyond that and up a small set of stairs or a ramp was a seating area. It was too one side that held the merchandise stall for both Beast In Black and the support act Firewind. And here was once problem. If you were in the clear area next to the stage then you're view wasn't too bad (provided the person in front of you wasn't taller, wider or possibly both). After that you had the pillars to contend with. I'm guessing the room isn't necessarily set up for gigs, or at least not with the number of people present this time. I could be wrong.
So onto the music. Firewind, I had not heard of before though they seemed to have plenty of fans in the crowd. For me, they were ok. I wasn't blown away by them but they were decent enough that nobody slipped outside for a ciggie or a quick vape.
Ans so onto the main act. Plenty of energy from the band and frequent cries of "Ok Manchester!" or a variant of ensure the band quickly got the audience on side and kept them on side for the duration. There was a mix of the newer songs from the latest album 'Dark Connection' as well as older material from both 'Bersker' and 'From Hell With Love'.
Now, and this is probably I'm not an ideal person review this songs, Beast In Black are still a pretty new band to me so while there were some in the crowd who knew the songs within the first few seconds ,and though I did recognise 'Blind and Frozen', 'Crazy, Mad, Insane', and 'Sweet True Lies' straight off the bat, I wasn't one of them. It might have taken until the chorus at the very least the first couple of lines of the songs but I got there.
I'm also not one to start shouting, screaming and jumping around. It's just not me. If you want to go that way, then go for your life dude because I'm not going to stop you. I'm more of an observe and enjoy the whole atmosphere thank you very much. But enjoyed the evening I did and it was all over far too quickly and I and everyone else shuffled out in the Manchester night.
So did I enjoy the band? Yes.
Would I see them again? Yes.
Did I like the venue? Not so much. But with a smaller audience it might work ok.
Anyway, I hope you like these inane ramblings. Maybe I'll do another for the next gig I go to in April. This time it's turn of Sabaton and apparently they have a tank on stage...
Ta ta for now
