[Gig Review] Iced Earth @ Trix, Antwerpen (Belgium) - January 11, 2014

[Thane Vakarian]

RR TASK

 

Who: Iced Earth
Where: Trix, Antwerpen, Belgium
When: 11th January 2014
Guest artists: Elm Street, Warbringer

 

SETLIST:

 

Plagues of Babylon

Invasion

Democide

Dark Saga

Pure Evil

If I Could See You

Disciples of the Lie

Jekyll & Hyde

Among the Living Dead

Red Baron /Blue Max

Blessed Are You

Peacemaker

Vengeance is Mine

Cthulhu

My Own Savior

The End?

A Question of Heaven

 

ENCORE :

Dystopia

Watching over me

Iced Earth

 

ABOUT THE GIG:

 

Two words: Pure awesomeness.

 

Ok, not enough for most people, so here's the rest

 

I consider myself lucky, seeing my dear wife Chaelca got me VIP-Tickets for the gig. That included a meet & greet with the band, early entry and ofcourse a goodiebag. I saw the tickets were available on november 1st, so the gig was quite some time away. I had a little talk with my wife, and the tickets were bought that day. The countdown could begin.

 

Doors were open to everybody at 19:00. BUT... my friend and i had VIP-tickets. That meant we could go in at 17:45. We did all the necessary paperwork and got lead backstage. After a 10 minute wait, we (my friend, me and two other lucky people) got to meet the members of Iced Earth. I have to admit, and this may sound cheesy, but it was awesome talking to the people who inspired my own guitarplaying style. They seemed happy to be able to talk with some fans, and the entire meet & greet took place in a brotherly atmosphere. We talked friends, family, importance of those for everybody, guitartech (ofcourse) and touring in general.

 

After the meet & greet, we had the opportunity to have first pick at the merchandising shop, installed at the gig. Got a shirt for myself and Chae, and we could leave our goodiebag, received at the meet & greet, there so we had our hands free for the gig.

 

First band to kick off was Elm Street. They had a good vibe, lots of energy on the stage, and all in all, a very good performance. Still need to get some of their stuff. I didn't know them before the gig, but i'm interested in hearing more of them. They got a good response from the crowd, even if everybody clearly came for the main act of the day.

 

Second to go was Warbringer. Good, old school thrash metal. As Elm Street, i didn't know them before that day. But, i have to admit, i was pleasantly surprised. The singer looked like he was a psycho at times, but he had good interaction with the crowd. I do remember being hit in the head by the singers beercan ,but that didn't spoil the evening. It was going to miss me, but someone else who didn't manage to catch it, made it fly forwards instead. No damage done, i enjoyed the rest of Warbringer, and was waiting for the main act.

 

Finally, Iced Earth. With Stu Block, they have found a singer worthy of being in Iced Earth. Really cool and laid back guy, and what a singing technique he possesses. From the first note on, i knew i was in for nearly 2 hours of metal heaven. The sounds was right, the vibe was right, and one could tell that the bandmembers were having fun on stage. The energy that came off them worked well on the crowd, it was a metalfest. Jon Schaffer and Troy Seele on guitars is the right mix. They compliment eachother wonderfully. I loved the fact that for the acoustic parts, they actually used a semi-acoustic on stage. This made the entire feel of the songs even more intense. With Luke Appleton on bass, they have acquired a great live player. Backing vocals were nailed, and the band really worked and played as one. To make that happen, you need drums. And boy, they were great. I didn't think it was possible to do the intro drums of Democide live... but i was wrong. If anything, it sounded better live. Iced Earth is a band. Not just music, but nearly a band of brothers. Brothers in music.

 

What a night, what a night. Lots of headbanging,lots of singing along. An estimate of 1100 metalfans, including me, had this years night of the year in january already.

 

a quick impression:

 

 

[F Horn of Valere]

Sounds like a really good time! I'll have to play the videos later when not in a room with people watching TV.

[Thane Vakarian]

that evening beat "a really good time" one of the most memorable evenings of my life

 

You can find more vids on youtube using Iced Earth Trix 2014, there should be a total of 4-5.

[Cass]

Sounds awesome - especially the part about the meet and greet and finding two new bands! How lucky you are!!!!

[Thane Vakarian]

And i owe it all to Chaelca *proud hubbie*

[BridMorgan]

Thane - 2

Horn - 1

Eb - 1