sabaton_bullet_2006_11

» Sabaton+Bullet 2006 11 17

~ Review and pictures by David
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Special guests: Thunderbolt, Altair
City: Kristianstad, Sweden
Venue: Nöjesmagazinet
Date: 17 November 2006
Thunderbolt: 40 minutes
Altair: 35 minutes
Bullet: 60 minutes
Sabaton: 75 minutes

Competing with Iron Maiden in Stockholm, The Unholy Alliance Tour (Slayer, In Flames, Children of Bodom …) in Malmö and Arch Enemy in Karlskrona, this evening of metal in Kristianstad was a bit set aside. Naturally there were not so much people to begin with. But I am surprised how many that showed up after all, in time for Bullet. In the end the venue turned up to be in perfect size for the arrangement.

Thunderbolt

With a singer that falls somewhere in between Bruce Dickinson and Michael Kiske it is no surprise that these guys make you think about Iron Maiden, with a touch of Helloween. I waited for them to express their own little speciality somewhere in the jungle of ordinary good musicianship and standard metal sound. But I waited in vain this time. Thunderbolt did their best to entertain the crowd of about thirty people, but there will be no permanent memories of this gig in a row.

6 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Altair

I didn't have that high expectations on Altair, from the little I heard this summer (also in Kristianstad at Tivolirock) but they did work better inside in the dark club than outside in the summer daylight. They also offered some variation to the evening with their thrashing metal. There were still not a lot of people, but those who attended started to get sweaty. A perfect warm up act for the evening to come.

6 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

Bullet

What is it about Bullet that always guarantees a party where they play? First it must be the songs. They are specially designed to make everyone in a good mood. All nine songs in the setlist are from the debut album Heading For The Top, and they all hold very high standard. Second, the guys genuinely seem to like what they do and they know how to pass this on to the audience. There can't be many seconds without a smile on the faces of Hampus Klang and Lenny Blade. Perhaps Dag Hofer still needs to work on his talking between the songs. But besides from losing one of the high tones in Speeding In The Night, he seems to sing more powerful now than a year ago. Third, Bullet has a sound that is filling out an empty room these days. A simple, uncomplicated, straight rock 'n' metal that is neither pretentious nor mass-produced. Most of all it is the right talent in the right time and place. To tour with Sabaton, another Swedish band on their way up, must be a great way to get the right experience, inspiration and contact with the future fans.

For those of you who remember the article about Bullet's tour bus… this was the maiden voyage for the old pearl. It stalled just a couple of times on the way down. But a couple of small adjustments will probably fix that and it just recently passed the vehicle inspection. It is now painted in red, white and black with the Bullet logo on the side. It even has its own bar disk, with a vinyl player. Guitarist Hampus Klang was however a bit worried about taking the bus out on a European tour. It might be too risky if the engine will collapse halfway.

8 chalices of 10

SETLIST:

Midnight Riders (Riding Free)
Hard Luck Lady
Heading For The Top
One Deal With The Devil
Speeding In The Night
Turn It Up Loud
Rambling Man
Leather Love
Bang Your Head

Sabaton

I am still amazed how a long, quite slow song like Rise Of Evil can work so perfect live. It has a certain groove and heaviness, embedded in a simple but sticking melody that makes you almost spellbound. Not to mention the dark lyrics, theatrically accentuated by Joakim Brodén. That is a bit of Sabaton's strength. They have a concept that has a clear read thread, but also a broad variation of songs from that concept. Fast and slow, evil and happy, catchy and heavy.

As always the guys from Dalarna delivered the party. But in the end this was not the most inspired and stirring gig I've seen with Sabaton. Maybe I have raised my expectations after the high standard they have shown so far. And maybe I've even seen them a bit too often lately. Or, I was perhaps sensing that there was something even bigger to come the next night, at Växjö Metal Festival. This was Bullet's night for me beforehand, and Bullet's night it became.

6,5 chalices of 10

SETLIST:

Panzer Battalion
In The Name Of God
Rise Of Evil
Into The Fire
Hellrider
Wolfpack
Attero Dominatus
Purple Heart
Back In Control
A Light In The Black
Primo Victoria
Metal Machine/Crüe