This spring has really come to prove just how spoiled I am as a heavy metal fan in Denver, CO. I grew up in the middle of farm town Iowa and constantly had to watch amazing tours come to the United States, but nowhere near me. Moving to Denver in 2010 was probably the best decision I ever made – as just about every heavy and power metal tour makes a stop here. I remember a few months back when the Primal Fear and Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody tour was announced; I just about cried of excitement. Now I’ve seen Primal Fear before; their set list was perfect and I loved every second of the show. Primal Fear is up there in my all-time favorite bands, as they have yet to release an album I don’t totally love, (and yes, Ralph Sheepers is a god). Luca Turilli however, is a legend all his own, and I never thought I’d be able to see him perform live.
The night started out on a pretty sour note, as apparently when setting up for the show, the band’s cymbals were stolen right out of their trailer. The show was delayed slightly as the band had to wait for rental cymbals to arrive. Interestingly enough, though we are not implying anything, according to the band’s tech, the local support band that no one in the crowd seemed to have heard of, originally showed up – and then disappeared.
Back to the good stuff; the show kicked off with LT’s Rhapsody playing “Knightrider of Doom” from my personal favorite album, ‘Power of the Dragonflame‘. Alessandro Conti belted out the vocals perfectly, sounding as great as he looks, and had me asking “Fabio who?!” I have to add, he winked at me a couple times throughout the night (/swoon) and had me wanting the band to take me back to Italy with them. Also on the set list were classics like “Unholy Warcry”, “Pride of the Tyrant”, and “Dawn of Victory”. The set also featured a fantastic drum solo from Alex Landenburg, who has played with Axxis, 21Octayne & Mekong Delta. Patrice Guers also took the spotlight with a great bass solo. For the encore, Denver was treated to “Emerald Sword” and next up was Primal Fear.
Primal Fear put out a fantastic new album, ‘Rulebreaker’ earlier this year, and played five songs from the release, including the gorgeous ballad, “The Sky is Burning”. “In Metal We Trust”, “Running in the Dust”, “Chainbreaker”, and “Metal is Forever” were among the songs played, and the only complaint I have about this solid set list is that they didn’t play “Seven Seals” – a personal favorite of mine. They did play “Rollercoaster” from the same album of the same name, so I can forgive them I suppose! As expected, these guys delivered a great metal party, and even took some time to congratulate guitarist Tom Naumann on becoming a father recently, despite being on tour and missing the birth. I had to point that out, because holy hell, that is dedication to your craft.
I can’t stress this enough; this was one of the best shows I have ever seen. My face hurt from smiling so much. Everyone on stage seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, and Luca Turilli is an absolute mad man running around the stage like he is trying to run away from a swarm of bees. He almost fell into his guitar rack off to the side of the stage, after jumping off of the drum riser, but kept a smile on his face and riffs going the entire time. Primal Fear was equally as energetic and on point, with Mr. Muscles Ralph Sheepers leading the way, they sounded crystal clear. I just love when you can truly see passion and love on a musician’s face, and these guys have it. I have heard from my friends around the country that some cities had an unfortunately low turnout, but Denver delivered a good crowd and in turn got one hell of a show. I feel sorry for the people that missed these guys this time around, but if you see a date in your city – you have to go! Take off work, get a sitter for the kids, or the dogs, and go! No excuses. No regrets. Metal is forever!
Also check out our Photo Gallery of the gig here!