Striker/ Seven Kingdoms / Beast in Black: That rare triple bill where all three bands are essential.
The music from these bands is catchy, heavy, accessible, well-written, well-produced, and full of life. All three of them should be household names, with their tunes all over major “recommended” Metal streaming playlists and Metal radio. But hey, it’s the mainstream’s loss and our gain, because it’s pretty great to catch them in intimate clubs and theaters.
Striker kicked off the night, and absolutely left the crowd wanting more. “Heart of Lies” is a perfect set opener, full of aggression, energy, and melody. They managed their performance like a dominant team on a power play, in total control of the action and absolutely certain to get their goal (Striker are from Edmonton, the hockey metaphor fits them). They ham it up a little bit, but endearingly - - these are just a bunch of guys playing great music and having as much fun onstage as everyone in the audience. The five of them smiled through the entire set. Dan Cleary has everything it takes to be Metal’s next great vocal-specialist frontman, in the tradition of Joe Elliott, Sebastian Bach, Mark Slaughter, or Jeff Keith. Even when the songs are loud and jumping, Striker’s music often veers as light as Tesla or Night Ranger - - so it was a canny decision to open and close HEAVY, kicking things off with “Heart of Lies,” and ending with a cover of the intro (just the intro) to Slayer’s “Reign in Blood.”
Up next were Seven Kingdoms, who are possibly the most criminally underappreciated act in modern Metal. Their lineup is drums, two guitars, and vox, with some backing tracks to lead in the songs and fill out the bottom end. No, this isn’t cheating - - the real live performance is in those four. Camden Cruz and Kevin Byrd are dynamic stage presences and killer lead shredders - - but really, their shining star is vocalist Selina Cruz.
She comes across as a beloved part of the gang, engaging and enjoying the interplay with the crowd and her fellow bandmates. Selina is one of the absolute best voices in modern Metal. Her vocal power is stunning on record, but she delivers even more in a live setting. Their set was a blast, which included a bunch of new songs and their excellent cover of Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”
Beast in Black were the headliners. They continue the energy brought forth by their North American tourmates, bringing new levels of cheese, fun, and guilelessness. The synchronized marching in place for “Highway to Mars” is supremely silly, but also endearing and memorable. Their material has evolved from Power Metal to something closer to Euro Dance Pop. On some of the songs, I expected a disco ball to come out. Even so, they have a strong catalogue, and they command the crowd well. It was a small audience at The Nile on this Thursday night, but BiB had their faithful eating out of their hands.
Striker Setlist:
Heart of Lies
Born to Lose
Deathwish
Strange Love
Phoenix Lights
Too Late
Fight for Your Life
Seven Kingdoms Setlist:
After the Fall
Empty Eyes
Neverending
The Water Dance
Valonqar
Universal Terrestrial
Diamond Handed
The Boys of Summer
Chasing the Mirage
Beast in Black Setlist:
Blade Runner
From Hell With Love
Beast in Black
Highway to Mars
Born Again
Cry Out for a Hero
Bella Donna
Moonlight Rendezvous
Hardcore
No Surrender
Sweet True Lies
Die by the Blade
One Night in Tokyo
Blind and Frozen
End of the World
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