Lori Wiar -
September 24, 2005The Jumping Turtle -- I stepped into the club and must’ve hit a time warp, AND IT WAS GOOD! Metalheads of all ages attended the Powerslave.com show Saturday the 24th at The Jumping Turtle in San Marcos. The club was packed when I got there, and the first band was ready to go. Legendary rockers Helstar were slated to (headline) the night, but thanks to Hurricane Rita were stuck in Texas to ride out the storm. Neil Turbin (original vocalist for Anthrax) with his band Deathriders, along with “Cryudown, “The Midas Touch, and Agent Steel turned it into a night to remember nonetheless.
Cryudown hit the stage first; delivering a searing performance that made the hair on the back of neck stand up with the thrill of guitar and vocal-driven metal. Vocalist Virgil Nickelson set the pace, delivering a charismatic performance, sounding everything like the love child of Bruce Dickenson and Rob Halford in the flesh. His vocal range and the ability to scream in perfect pitch was a treat for the ears. Seriously, I was absolutely riveted by their performance. Oh. My. GOD. Lead guitarists Paul Elliot and Jason Carter tore it up and tightened the delivery fueled by the pounding rhythms of bassist Rick Burdick and drummer Matt Mikoz.
Next up were Escondido thrashers The Midas Touch. The underage crowd thinned out as the clock struck 10PM, but not by much, as they dimmed the lights and opened up their set with intensity suitable for a much larger stage. Together since the summer of 2002 and true to their old school metal roots, they stepped up to the plate as singer Josh Hansen delivered an astounding set complete with wide ranging vocal calisthenics that rivaled many of the best ever seen onstage. They may have been the youngest group that night, but they have a certain something, a stage presence so rare and so fascinating. Driven by the opening act, they delivered a killer performance. I listened carefully, absorbing every note and beat, knowing that these guys have quite a future ahead of them. I eagerly await their upcoming, as yet unnamed release- visit their website at www.tmtcom for more details.
Then, a legendary founding father of Metal: Neil Turbin. Backed by his band “Neil Turbin's Deathriders"; they took command of the stage. If anything, his vocal prowess has grown over the years. It says a lot to me that so many of the Metal “Hair Gods” from the 1980’s and 1990’s have stuck it out long enough for their style of metal to come back into the mainstream. Towards the peak of his set, Helstar vocalist (and legend in his own right) James Rivera, a former resident of North San Diego County and the only member of the band to make it to the show (thanks to Hurricane Rita), jumped onstage to deliver an aural and visual treat for all of the diehard Metalheads in attendance. I watched all this through the lens of my camera trying to capture the perfect shot of these two legendary greats pooling their considerable talents to the delight of everyone in attendance. The crowd was mesmerized and wound up, and their groove totally fueled the band’s intensity. Of the myriad of “Metal” categories, the one style that has endured over 25 years is fast, HARD, guitar driven with the perfect scream doctor holding a microphone. A simple, and yet oh so effective recipe for happy headbanging that several generations of fans seem to enjoy to this day. Guys can properly bang their head, throw their beautiful long hair around and around, while the girls dance and get freaky with one another. So much eye candy, too little digital memory in my camera!
Rounding out the evening, a rare treat, Los Angeles old school die-hards Agent Steel, set up and took the standing room only crowd all the way through to last call performing five new songs: “Wash the Planet Clean”, “Liberty Lying Bleeding”, “Hail to the Chief”, “Fashioned From Dust”, and “Fire Dragon”. Formed in 1984, the band has released 5 albums to date, the last 2 featuring current vocalist Bruce Hall. Backed by Bernie Versailles and original member Juan Garcia on dueling guitars, Karlos Medina on bass, and Rigo Amezcua on drums/percussion, they tore through their set with more energy than I thought capable. The crowd stayed right on top of it, screaming and headbanging to their heart’s content.
All in all, the theme, the continuity of musical styles- whatever you want to call it- made the evening exciting and inspirational. That what we call “Old School” never left- and it will NEVER grow old in my eyes. Should any of these bands come to a venue near you, get off your ass and go see them! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
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