Kai Hansen and his band Gamma Ray have finally returned to Portugal, 2 years after their gig on Vagos Open Air, to celebrate 25 years of loud and fast power metal, and with them came as opening acts Serious Black and Neonfly.
Neonfly a young band dress to impress with their exotic costumes, brought with them their latest studio album, “Strangers in Paradise”, that was released last year. They mostly played melodic metal songs, and made the first attempt to awake the crowd, but they weren’t very successful at it. The only response they had was when one of the guitar players did a very nice solo.
Serious Black, a new “super group” made by former members of giant power metal bands such as Helloween, Blind Guardian or Tad Morose, had pretty much the same formula to present. Although they released, and presented their debut record “As Daylight Breaks”, which was released earlier this year, the audience only started to show some movement when they did a cover medley of “Rock Like An Hurricane” and “I Was Made For Loving You Baby”. Two bands very alike, that some might dig after the show.
To the introduction of “Bad Reputation”, Gamma Ray made their entry with “Heaven Can Wait” and “Last Before the Storm”. The crowd finally started moving, completely compelled to the presence of the band, and to the new vocalist of the band Frank Beck. After a short talk about what the band didn’t know what to expect, after the cancelled show in Porto, clearly the audience decided to show to the band that they we’re they to be taken away by Kai Hansen and company, as they played “Fight” and “One With the World”. The first moshing pit happened when the band played the classic “I Want Out”, that Kai underlined as a song of his own, not an original from another band. Rights apart, the show had to go on and what we had the chance to see was a mature band, more than used to party on stage with great songs that don’t easily catch an eye, but they’re definitely something the audience enjoyed a lot. The medley “Rebellion In Dreamland / Heavy Metal Universe / Ride The Sky / Something Out In Space” was probably the highlight of the night, picking the best parts of each song and making something to remember, especially the mosh pit during “Ride The Sky”. The party ended with “Send Me A Sign”, and the audience thanked for the last 25 years of great songs.
Words by: Daniel Lemminkainen
Photos: Paulo Marinho & Nýtt Lyf
Special thanks to Prime Artists
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