Sanctuary / A Sound of Thunder / Burning Shadows @ Baltimore Soundstage 10/14/2015

I went to see Sanctuary ($20), with A Sound of Thunder opening for them at the Baltimore Soundstage. I saw Ariel, Bobbie, Armon, Raul, Chris Crazy-Wolf, Dan, Tom, Jessica, and Jason W (and ASOT of course) there.

Empire Farewell - Next to None, A Sound of Thunder, Yesterday's Saints, Iris Divine @ Empire 5/3/2015

I went to see the final Empire show ($15), with progressive metal/rock band Haken (rhymes with Bacon apparently) headlining. A number of local bands were added in addition to Iris Divine (who was the only original billed local). I saw so many people there- Neil and Michelle (and their brood!), Ariel, Ruby, Annie and Amy, Alie and Nathan (w/ a J), Mr and Mrs. Nina, Jesse, Chris H, Josh, Navid, Witt, Matt Rice, Heathen, Nick n JennG (!!), Mike AG, Tom, Superfan Dave, Patricia, Scott, Martin, Sako and Greg, Daniel G and Nick, Avi, Sean, Catherine L, Dorothy, Lacy, and of course- Metal Chris. WHEW. I bet there is someone I missed.

Mike Portnoy

Doro / Archer / A Sound of Thunder @ Empire 3/4/2015

I went to see the METAL QUEEN Doro ($17) at Empire! I saw Ariel, Yave y Sara, Bobbie, Miss Patricia, Rene, Nina, Mr. Nina, Chris, Jesse, Josh, Superfan Dave, Sako, Ray C, Tom, Mike AG, and most of the Dogs and Daydrinkers -Dan with Eric and Erich! Were we ready for a night of true metal?

A Sound of Thunder / Benedictum / Leather Leone / Dark Sermon / Metanium / Darker Half @Empire 6/26/2014

I went to see Benedictum and more at Empire ($13), including 2 of my favourite local bands!  There were a number of people I knew there- Renae, Gloomy William, Brian B, DAVE, RUBY, Gori y Omar, Ariel y Ilem, Yave, Mr. Nina, Bobbie, Sean, Henry, Martin, Alex T and Johnny, Sako and Greg, and METAL CHRIS (seemed like a bit of an odd show since he likes the heavier stuff!).

Ashes of Ares / A Sound of Thunder / Ghost of War / Martyrd @ Empire 5/17/2014

I Went to see Ashes of Ares ($10) with a solid set of openers. I saw a ton of people- Kris, Ariel, James, Nathan with a J, Sean, Lisa, Brian B and Samjhana, Maery and JASON, Bobbie + Nick, Nina and Willie, Dave, Dickie, Joel, Ethan, my boot brother TJ, Martin, Cascade, Allie,Greg n Sako, Mike and even met some new friends (Erika, Jorge).

Iced Earth / Sabaton / Revamp/ A Sound of Thunder @ Empire 4/21/2014

John, Kate, and I went to see ICED EARTH (with others) at Empire ($27). There were a ton of people there- Scott, Milla, Brittany, DanPaytas, Amberley, Ethan, Paul n Christine, Neil and Michelle, Brian B, Ciara, Sean, Jason, Dave, Nathan with a J, Ariel, James, otherSteve, Bobbie, Sako and Greg,  Greekgirl, Miss SketchyLindsey, Marie, Avi, Nina, Josh, Jesse, Chris, Renae, Ray, Tony Dio, Mike AG, Joe H, Mari and Bridget, Steve Miller, Chris Crazy-Wolf, Daniel G and Nick, and maybe one or 2 more??? whew!  I was super pumped for this show because I'm a huge Iced Earth and Sabaton fan. oh and ASOT is one of my top local bands and I was curious about the ReVamps.

Overkill/ Kreator/ Warbringer/ A Sound of Thunder @ Empire 11/22/2013

I went with John to see Overkill headline on this night of thrash ($30!) at Empire/Jaxx. Now, this was a pricey show, but it was a night full of thrash. This was a nearly if not sold out show (a rare sight at Empire these days!), so it was strangely crowded. I saw Dorothy, Ariel y su Mujer, DanPaytas, Scott, Bobbie, Dave, Tom, Brittany, Ms Lindsey, Nathan with a J, Ray, Michelle, Neil, Nicole and Dan, and more!

Rock Harvest II: Ashes of Ares/ A Sound of Thunder @ House of Rock, 11/7/2013

I went to the much metaldramafilled and kind of Pricey ($25) Rock Harvest II to see Ashes of Ares and A Sound of Thunder. This was the first concert of 3 shows at the House of Rock that was initially slated to have like 30 bands of various fame levels, but many rarely seen, to play for the charity Fallen Blue. Various reports of bands dropping off, reasons why, conflicting stories, and a tiff with Metal Sludge's Stevie Rachelle all fed into the who is actually playing factor. Bands dropping off until and including the day of! This is no Maryland Deathfest here, people. I did see a number of people including Nick and Bobbie, Dave, Tom, Brian B, the A Sound of Thunder crew, and maybe someone else.

Pentagram / A Sound of Thunder/ Despite Charm/ Sons of Eddie @ Empire 8/3/2013

I wanted to catch A Sound of Thunder again, Sons of Eddie, and wanted to check out Pentagram (again, after dropping the ball when they opened for Down). I saw a bunch of people there- Neil n Michelle, Dorothy n Thereze, Brian B, the Sound of Thunder gang, Mr Nina, Bobbie, Dave, Metal Chris, and I think maybe a couple more people.

A Sound of Thunder/ King Giant/ Blood Corps/ Sons of Eddie @ Empire 6/8/2013

We went to see A Sound of Thunder's album release show for their just released "Time's Arrow."
Saw Bobbie, Dave, Sako + Greg, Neil + Michelle (and their brood), Matt, Zachary, Ray, and Heavy Metal Chris! Great company!

Raven/ A Sound of Thunder/ Cab Ride Home @ Empire 4/19/2013

I went to see Raven w/ A Sound of Thunder (and Cab Ride Home) last night. I  noticed that the doors opened later than anticipated, so I actually got there in time to see all bands, for once. I actually saw more people than I expected there- Dave, all of ASOT (of course), Mr. Nina, Sako n Greg (Wolverine), Those Mexican metal guys (who aren't Mexican), Gerber, Christina n her dude, THAT GUY FROM CAB RIDE HOME (Chris) , Neil n Michelle, guy from Ripper, maybe someone else!

Doro/ Sister Sin/ A Sound of Thunder @ Empire 2-3-2013

Went to see Doro/Sister Sin/ A Sound of Thunder on Superbowl Sunday. I met up with Dave and his friend before hand and chilled a bit. Headed over to Empire and did something I've not done in ages- wait in line for the doors to open. They were holding a superbowl party in the Alchemy room also, so we saw many purple clad people.

Fozzy @ Empire 11/1/2012

Went to see Fozzy w/ Candlelight Red, A Sound of Thunder ($15), and others last night. I met up with Dave (ASOT superfan!) and one of his friends, and we ranted about wrestling, music, and the like. I got there around 8ish, but had trouble getting in due to a missing sheet of names (for tickets). Thankfully Nina and co. sorted it out and I entered a little after 8.

Kamelot @ Empire 9/14/2012

Went to see Kamelot with Milla, John, and Kate as the final show of the metal show gauntlet this week. I got tix before hand ($20) from the local band A Sound of Thunder. Cassandra Syndrome and A Sound of Thunder opened for them, but we got there too late to see Cassandra Syndrome. There were a lot of people there, the floor was packed. It was even rough as we had to park further away. I was looking forward to this show for a while, as I am a big Kamelot fan. Dorothy showed up at some point too- I think she has some business dealings with Alissa from the Agonist. Dave was there too and we totally chatted about METAL and WRESTLING. cool!

Sabaton @ Empire- 5/21/2012

Went to see Sabaton @ Empire (Jaxx) with Milla n John. Got some cheap tickets from local favourites A Sound of Thunder, so that was even better. About one hundred people were there (kind of a poor turnout, but it was a Monday and it was raining earlier). The good part about that was that there was plenty of personal space then! I think attendance may have also been affected by the show in Baltimore the previous night. I don't know how that show was how many people went to that one, but a couple people who did go then were here too!

As we got there, we heard some sort of string music, sounding like masterpiece theatre. Very surreal. I think it was the...interesting... choice of opening band 'Amphibious Apes' some sort of avant /indie band. We stayed in the hallway and chatted with Josh from ASOT instead.

Eventually we made our way in to see what merch there was and um drinks of course. Sabaton had some CDs, including their double live (all $15@), so I made a note to get that one later. They had 3 patches for $10@, and some t shirts that I didn't think were particularly interesting. ASOT had their usual stuff and some new wristband. I think I was expecting more shirts for Sabaton.

ASOT came on a little after 8:30 and played until about 9:20 or so. They played mostly newer stuff (which was mostly fine cause their new album is very good). Milla was trying to start a pit, but I didn't think there were any really great moshing times. At one point, Nina demanded to see the best windmill. I had no chance, but Milla, with hair down to her waist was a sure winner. A girl who looks like she doesn't go to metal shows was pretty active and they threw her a shirt. I think that was fine cause  hey, lets make a new fan. We already come to all the shows :3  ASOT sounded good as usual, but their set seemed shorter than usual.

Sabaton when played their opening intro (Europe's "The Final Countdown", I'm sure other people were singing along we me... I think). They stormed out to the stage with energy equal to if not more than last year's performance (at Jaxx). With that much anticipation and energy flowing i don't see how anyone would not have a great time!  They sounded good from the right side of the floor, but then I went to my usual back/middle spot and the sound was a lot more even. I was headbanging constantly.

Setlist wise, it was good to have some different songs from last time, but I really wanted to hear "Screamin' Eagles" :(  Regardless, it was a pretty well rounded set. Some of their songs work very well with the crowd participation ("Swedish Pagans"). I mean there was so much positive energy that they got me jumping up an down ("Primo Victoria" I think) and *very* briefly in the pit ("Attero Dominatus" I think).

Sabaton had a bunch of new people (google for the band drama), but I detected no weak links. On oddities-

• There was what looked to be a faux vagina (part of a fleshlight?) on one of their mic stands
• There was a huge stuffed orange animal that the singer was holding up at one point on stage near the end
• a roadie w/ a sombrero stumbled on the stage during "Metal Crue"
• the singer put on some shirt that  someone threw up at the stage (a um Saw IV shirt I think), soaked it with his sweat and threw it back
• Getting a shout out during "Metal Crue"

My favourite part- during "Metal Crue," near the end, the singer got up on the monitor and is looking out on the crowd, and points at me and My Rainbow- "Long Live Rock N Roll" shirt and motions back and forth across his chest (indicating he's seeing /reading my shirt)- and "the RAINBOW takes you Home!" Since "Metal Crue" is one of their tribute songs to other bands they like/were influenced from and RAINBOW is one of those bands, it was a nice touch. I was totally marking out after that \m/

Picture/drawing
A Sound of Thunder photos
Sabaton photos

I think all had a great time. I mean at least John and I were totally still pumped the next day from this \m/


Setlists

A Sound of Thunder

• Tubular Bells intro
• ? (older song..Walls?)
•  Fight til the end
• Night Witch
• Calat Alhambra
• Murderous Horde
• Out of the Dark
• A Sound of Thunder

Sabaton

• The Final Countdown (intro tape \m/)
• Intro: The March to War
• Ghost Division
• Uprising
• 40:1
• Cliffs of Gallipoli
• Midway
• The Art of War
• Into the Fire
• Carolus Rex
• Swedish Pagans 
• Attero Dominatus
• The Price of a Mile
• Coat of Arms
• Primo Victoria
• Metal Crue

alt version: http://www.metalsetlists.com/showthread.php?p=468190#post468190

A Sound of Thunder @ Empire, March 31,2012

Went Jaxxpire to see local band A Sound of Thunder's (ASOT) album release party for their new album. Went with John and we got there a bit early (they threw in another band that I didn't know about, so my time estimates were thrown off). Saw some people there who went to PAGANFEST this past Thursday as well. Overall there were about 50 or so people there (about as much as Anvil's crowd...maybe more).


We heard the last 2 songs of Death Penalty's set- Josh (of ASOT) was playing guitar for them- maybe he is in that band too? Their guitar work was good and I could not dislike their cover of Paranoid.


A Cab Ride Home came on next and I was a bit underwhelmed. They did not seem to have the vocalist that they had last time, and he was underage. This part was hilarious cause he was shouting about drinking beer and holding one up during a song or 2... and he clearly had an 'X' on his hand (and had no wristband allowing drinks). They were not great- some decent guitar work, but the vocals were bad IMO. They did an OK cover of "Episode 666," citing the reason "Because In Flames won't play it anymore." Hilarious. They had a small crowd (10-15 people) on the rail moving decently. On their last song, about half their audience was invited on stage.

I got some CDs and a photo with ASOT at about this time. Josh recognized me  (and my Rainbow shirt), so that was fun. They had a lot more merch this time (or it was displayed better?)- shirts, CDs, patches, etc.

Chopper Trike Rebels had a lot of Motorhead imagery (Motorhead-skull looking thing, inside a spade shape...), but sounded more like...Damageplan...of all bands. Some OK guitar work, but rather generic rumbling sound throughout. :/  There was not much of a crowd on the rail (maybe 6 people?) during their set...



 FINALLY ASOT came on around 10:45 (a little bit late) and they sounded very good as the other times I've seen them. They played a lot of new stuff (to promote their new album, of course!), and I really have no complaints except that Nina (singer) needs to have some sort of different mixing on her vocals to make it crisper. The power is there and she has no trouble with being on key or anything like that- just would be nice (for me) to hear some crisper words. Josh shredded thru the whole set. The other guys sounded good too- solid rhythm section indeed. 

photos forthcoming

SetLists

Death Penalty
Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)

A Cab Ride Home 
Sobriecide
Episode 666 (in Flames cover)
One Last Liver

Chopper Trike Rebels
Last Rites
Mirror

A Sound of Thunder
Tubular bells intro
Queen of Hell
Fight until the End
The Night Witch
Out of the Darkness
Guitar Solo (w/ Balls to walls , The Sentinel, 2 minutes to midnight...more)
The Day I Die
Calat Alhambra
Drum solo (DAMMIT...)
Kill That Bitch
Discovery
Murderous Horde
A Sound of Thunder
Blood Vomit