Hammerfall, Krokus & The Poodles
Venue: Store Vega, Copenhagen
Date: January 18th 2007

This concert was the opening of a European tour with the three bands, and naturally there were some twists and quirks which will probably be fixed before the tour ends. For instance, it took way too long for Hammerfall to get on the stage after Krokus had finished their act. 

The crowd was generally in a good partying mood, and both support bands were very well received (although there was actually a round of applause when the Krokus stage banner was taken down).

Overall: 67
 

The Poodles 

As it happened, the concert was set up the night before the new Swedish band The Poodles’ CD was released in Europe, and so there were a lot of people in the audience who did not know them. Luckily for The Poodles, about 1/3 of the audience was also from Sweden, so they did get a fair bit of support from their fellow countrymen. Their debut album was released in Sweden and Finland in May last year. 

In my opinion, The Poodles’ act was actually the best of the three bands. The only reason that I can’t give them a higher score than Hammerfall is that, being the first of the support bands, they only played for about 30 minutes. They were tight and professional, and their rather easily accessible hard rock was served with vitality and vigor. I’m guessing that by the end of the tour – when the CD has been in stores for a few weeks, it will be Krokus who goes on stage first.

Score: 62

  
 

Krokus 

If there are any hardcore Krokus fans who read this, please bear with me if I seem a little ignorant in the following. I must admit that before this gig, I hadn’t heard any Krokus material at all. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see this classic hard rock band give a show that indeed oozed with professionalism and experience. The Swiss band celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, and they have released 15 studio albums, so course they knew what they were doing.

What surprised me was how much they (in my opinion) sounded like AC/DC. A really nice [real, not just ‘oldschool’] old rock ‘n’ roll treat. To me, lead singer Marc Storace sounds exactly like Bon Scott. 

Krokus released a new album “Hellraiser” in September last year. To be honest, I don’t know the setlist, but the last song was definitely from that album (I guess it was “Rocks Off”), a very good song indeed.

Score: 57

  
   

Hammerfall 

After a very long wait, it was finally time for the headliners. Hammerfall went on the stage as such, with an impressive array of bass drums, one with each letter of the band name on it. Embarrassingly, during one of the opening songs “Riders of the Storm”, it turns out that the solo guitar is not in tune at all. 

The guitar was quickly replaced after the song, and Hammerfall could continue their act without further mishaps. 

The whole concert would have been a great triumph for Hammerfall, had it not been because they obviously wanted to test their stadium PA inside the confinements of Store Vega, which can only accommodate 1500 guests at most. It all came out too loud and too distorted to really enjoy. I guess I will have to get used to being referred to as “old” from now on, but the sound did suck. 

As said in the beginning, it was all in all a decent concert with decent bands. Hammerfall did perform well, with the sound problems as their only weakness.

Score: 67

  

Attending: Benny