Bang Your Head!!! Festival — 2006
Locomotive Records
Rating: C
Cramming two days of metal
mayhem into two DVDs is a dicey proposition. At
best, viewers get fleeting glimpses of their heroes;
at worst, viewers get fleeting glimpses of their
heroes.
Put it another way: get ready
for a "Reader's Digest" condensed version of last
year's Bang Your Head festival. The June 22-23 event
drew tens of thousands to Balingen, Germany for an
outdoor celebration of all things loud 'n' sweaty.
And what a lineup! With Stratovarius, Jon Oliva's
Pain and Helloween in the power-metal corner,
Flotsam and Jetsam upping the thrash ante, Y&T and
Armored Saint representing traditional hard rock and
metal and Foreigner — yes, Foreigner! — giving props
to AOR-stadium rock, there's something for everyone.
Even Rik Emmett shows up to dust off some Triumph
chestnuts and prove that one of Canada's finest
still fires on all cylinders.
Surprisingly that in a metal
festival, Emmett and Foreigner deliver some of the
strongest sets. "Lay It On The Line" reinvents
itself with jazz twists, while "Head Case" and "3
Clouds" showcases Emmett's backing band. Even
death-metal fans surrender to "Magic Power's"
positive message. Check out the audience smiling and
applauding in unison. Seems Classic Rock
Revisited can't praise Emmett highly enough. The
golden boy's plugging in once again and dazzling
longtime fans. Here's hoping Gil and Mike enter the
picture soon.
Other DVD highlights include
Armored Saint, Helloween and Leatherwolf, with
former Crimson Glory vocalist Wade Black easing into
the 'wolf's frontman position. Just try resisting
"The Calling's" call to bang.
While several bands explode
beneath the German sun, others wilt. Raven, for
example, sound flabbier than guitarist Mark
Gallagher. And why give the British trio two songs —
with even more in the club portion of special
features? They're past their prime and, without
Wacko bashing skins, what's the point? Elsewhere,
Powerwolf borders on parody, with Dracula Attila the
silliest costumed cutup this side of Turbonegro.
Still, the disc's stronger performances outweigh the
weak ones, making Bang Your Head!!! — Festival 2006 a
joy for those of us unable to experience these
legendary European metal fests.
— A. Lee Graham
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