It’s been twenty-one years since John Schaffer of Iced Earth and Hansi Kursch from Blind Guardian joined forces to create Demons and Wizards. It’s been nineteen long years since they released their self-titled debut album, and it’s been fourteen years since its successor, Touched By The Crimson King (Steamhammer), but after one of the longest prick-teases in metal, the Iced Guardian supergroup has finally arrived to play their first ever show in the UK. Continue reading
Now in its 11th year, Manchester’s SOS Fest is going from strength to strength and firmly establishing itself as one of the very best small festivals going. The key to the festival is family, the whole thing is family run, and has the kids firmly at its heart. For every parent wondering if it’s time to start their kids at a festival then this is the one for you. There are kids everywhere, from playing happily in the kids’ area, performing sets on the acoustic stage, doing press, and generally rocking out it’s clear from the atmosphere that SOS really is THE family festival. Continue reading
Day 3.
SATURDAY
If you were one of the first hundred people to enter the New Blood tent on Saturday morning, then first band of the day Ward XVI (8/10) would reward you with a goodie bag full of stuff like CDs, stickers and t-shirts etc. I strolled over to the tent a good half an hour before they were due on, only to find that half the festival was already in there. It’s amazing how people, no matter how tired or hungover, will always drag themselves out of bed on the promise of free stuff. Goodie bags aside, Ward XVI were a great way to start the Saturday fun. Eclectic and fun, they combined chuggy metal riffs with bouncy Psychobilly, creepy gothic melodies, and at one point, what appeared to be Russian folk. The band’s costumes and make-up were interesting, but like vocalist Psychoberrie‘s strait-jacketed ballad (Alice Cooper and ‘The Ballad of Dwight Frye’ anyone?) they all felt a little too familiar. Continue reading