Death Angel Ends & Nefarious Begins: Euro Tour Part 2
- Bleeding Priest
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Phase 2 of my extended Euro vacation has commenced. I’m now traveling with Nefarious but let’s wrap up the second half of the Death Angel tour shall we? Let’s pick up where we left off.
After the trio of headliners we had a couple of days off in Germany. On one of those days I went to a pretty killer and true Metal record store in Essen called Yeah Records. Don’t let the name fool you, this place is the shit. The last time I was there the owner brought me into the back and got me drunk. This time around I had product and he took it. I always make sure to stop by here when I’m in the area.
Death Angel did a series of awesome shows with Testament. Metal Church were on some of these bills as well. The current lineup of Metal Church boasts a couple of heavy hitters with David Ellefson (ex Megadeth) on bass and Ken Mary (ex Alice Cooper, ex Flotsam And Jetsam, Fifth Angel) on drums. I’ve met Ellefson before but not Ken Mary and was very much looking forward to the meeting. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations.
I’ve been a fan of his drumming since the age of 14, when I heard Alice Cooper’s Raise Your Fist And Yell. Ken’s drumming on that record is next level to the max. His intro on “Lock Me Up” is incredible and I told him so. His performance on that album plays a huge part in why that’s my favorite Coop release. And I told Ken that as well. He didn’t have much reaction.
I was hoping we’d be able to discuss how he came up with the intro for “Lock Me Up” but he didn’t seem very interested in talking about that or to me quite frankly. I actually tried to talk to him a couple of more times and it was received with “Oh hey, nice to meet you”. I clearly made nothing of a lasting impression on him. Oh well, they all can’t be Away from VoiVod I suppose.
Metal Church sounded great nonetheless. Their set list was short but very effective with three tracks from their debut (“Beyond The Black”, “Metal Church”, “Gods Of Wrath”), three from The Dark (“Ton Of Bricks”, “Start The Fire”, “Watch The Children Pray”) and a newer tune.
Their current vocalist, Brian Allen (one of 27 former vocalists for Vicious Rumors) is nothing short of amazing. Not only does he do a faithful and spot on rendition of original Metal Church vocalist David Wayne (RIP) but also adds a whole new level of power, precision and life to these classic tunes. He’s a true talent in the classic Metal world and should bring Metal Church to a new tier. Everybody in the venue took note when he started belting it out at that first soundcheck.
Testament were on point as always. I love playing shows with these guys. It’s usually a guaranteed sold out crowd and they always treat us like family. Such a fun vibe with the band and crew. Believe it or not I’m stoked they’ve brought back “The Ballad” to their setlist after decades of absence. I’ve always liked that track and Chuck can still really belt it out.
In addition to the Testament shows we also played some kick ass festivals such as Brutal Assault in Czech (first time for Death Angel), Bloodstock in the UK, and Alcatraz In Belgium. Let’s talk about Alcatraz…
I did double duty at Alcatraz. Death Angel played one of the larger stages in the late afternoon and 50 minutes after the end of Death Angel’s set I was on one of the smaller stages rocking out with Nefarious. I maybe should have my head examined for agreeing to do that but in all actuality it wasn't so hard.
Both sets went off without a hitch and the whole experience was quite fun. Had it been the other way around with Nefarious first and Death Angel second it may not have been that enjoyable and probably would’ve been plagued with problems. Death Angel’s set is much more challenging with faster tempos, a larger catalogue of tunes and the live click track looming over everything. Death Angel’s songs are just more physically demanding.
I’m not gonna lie, after both sets were complete I was wiped the fuck out. When I got back to Death Angel’s bus I literally blacked out from exhaustion. I was in bunk alley and in a catatonic state put all my stage gear (bandanna, wristbands and sticks) in Ted’s bunk. I actually came to and realized I was standing in the middle of bunk alley and not in front of my bunk. Ted had to tell me later that my stuff was in his bunk. I’ve never blacked out like that before….alcohol free that is.
Death Angel ended the tour with two fantastic festival performances at Motocultor in France and Dynamo in Holland. As unorganized as Motocultor was, it was still a rad experience. We had a great time slot playing second to last in front of a capacity crowd. We actually went on after Godsmack…the way it should be.
And Dynamo is pretty familiar territory for Death Angel. We’ve played that festival more times than any other that I can think of. Tons of friends and familiar faces always makes it a party every time and a great perfect way to end a tour.
However it was much different for me this time being that the guys from Nefarious were there ready to whisk me away on another tour. So it was a tad weird. Part of me had that end of tour revelry, and satisfaction. A feeling of completion and a job well done with the rest of the band and crew.
And the other part of me was shifting gears and preparing for a whole ‘nother tour with a different band, different personalities, different songs. I basically moved off of one vehicle and onto another. So it was a tad bittersweet.
So now I’m out here with Nefarious. We played our first show (second if you count Alcatraz) of the tour the other night at this tiny Metal bar in Eindhoven called The Jack. A bar I’ve been to countless times and the show was PACKED! and an absolute blast. So many familiar faces. It was a great start to Nefarious’s first run across Europe.
So now we’re enjoying a few days off in Dusseldorf before we play our next gig in Belgium. To be continued…
–Bleeding Priest
