Scorpions and Judas Priest

Manchester Apollo

Monday 21 March 2005

Thank heavens for some unashamed, old fashioned heavy metal, it is reassuring to know that there is still some sanity left in the world. These two groups and everything they stand for would be totally anathema to the typical misanthropic Guardian reader, but so what, it was brilliant music played at full throttle and every second of it was a pleasure.

I must admit to having had some trepidations before ordering my ticket for this concert. Not for fear of mixing with a bad crowd, but simply because these were two groups that I had always appreciated, but were never really near being my favourites. As I became interested in other types of music and when I started buying CDs and rationalising my record collection, I'm sorry to say that all my final of these two groups was thrown out and wasn't top of my list for replacing. Therefore, when I decided that I couldn't afford to miss this concert as it might be my last chance to see them, I also felt it might be an idea to get one or two of their best CDs, so that I could at least reacquaint myself with their material. This turned out to be something of an inspired move, as since before Christmas I have been rediscovering a wealth of excellent heavy rock music that I had never properly appreciated before. They both have new albums out, so I bought those and was rewarded with yet more brilliant stuff.

The problem I have had with both groups is really one of image and style of music. Although both set out in the early to mid 1970's, when Deep Purple and Black Sabbath still ruled the roost, they didn't make their real breakthroughs until 1979, at the height of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This was at the point when I was really getting into rock music, and my tastes had largely been formed by the stuff prior to the NWOBHM, so whilst I generally liked it, I was much keener on the traditional stuff.  Neither group, like Motorhead, was technically part of the NWOBHM, but in a sense they came to signify it par excellence. This was partly because of the new type of "image" which they indulged in, namely the spandex, leather and studs, and partly because the music was different. They both pioneered the speeded up, twin lead guitar approach with more melodies, which seemed so different to the traditional Black Sabbath style approach. This was why neither the Scorpions nor Judas Priest ever made it into the ranks of my favourite groups, why I disposed of my vinyl records of theirs - but was also why I retained a fondness for them which meant I just had to attend tonight's concert.

After more than three months worth of doing my homework in rediscovering a fantastic heritage of rock music, I  was thus looking forward to this concert with almost as much anticipation as I had looked forward to Rush, and by gum, I was not disappointed. I was so impressed that I continued listening to their stuff in the weeks after the concert, and in "Painkiller" and "Sad Wings Of Destiny" by Judas Priest, I have discovered two of the most absolute classics of all time. From different ends of the spectrum as far as time is concerned, and also radically different musically, ranging from heavy progressive rock to out and out thrash metal. How I have made do all these years without knowing these two classic albums is a mystery that is difficult to fathom.

On to the music. It got off to a very good, and somewhat lucky start, because I arrived in the theatre just as the Scorpions were taking stage – therefore none of the dull, boring hanging around waiting for support acts to come on, bore, and then wait for all their stuff to be cleared away. The Scorpions are owed a big debt by the rock world, but they are never paid it and must be one of the most underrated groups of all time. They are Germany's best ever export since Warsteiner, and therein lies their problem: heavy rock is a quintessential English thing, and whilst it's possible to accept Americans and Australians doing it - at a pinch - the thought of Germans playing heavy rock will always have been a step too far for many people. Klaus Meine is a class singer, but his English isn't too brilliant, which means that the Scorpions must come over a bit "twee" to some people, and there is something just indefinably continental about their melodies, which doesn't sit well with the hard nosed Black Sabbath style. Anyway, this didn't put me off, I have rediscovered the Scorpions and they really should be up there on a pinnacle with the all time best - but they won't be, for the reasons mentioned. In a funny sort of way though, they haven't progressed a great deal since 1979, which doesn't help. Prior to that, with guitarist Ulrich Roth (see "Monsters of Rock" concert review) they had specialised in a unique type of heavy prog rock, but after his departure, and acquiring Matthias Jabs, they hit upon the twin guitar melodic approach mentioned above, and haven't deviated much since. Their melodic side has been especially revealed in many excellent power ballads, the prime example being "Winds Of Change". Whilst this is an undoubted classic, I was actually glad that it, and others like it, wasn't played tonight because this is a rock concert, and "Winds" in particular is very clichéd and much overplayed elsewhere. The Scorpions put on an excellent, highly professional set, and it fully met up to expectations in terms of sound quality and loudness. The disappointments, what there were, were a result of them essentially being a support act on the night. They didn’t have nearly as much time as they should have had to make an impact with more of their classic material, and I would really have appreciated more from their new album after having given it a good listen. Also a consequence of being the support act was that the stage set was very small, what with having to accommodate all of Judas Priest's stuff behind it. The biggest sin though was that the Scorpions wrote, in "Make It Real", one of my all time favourite rock tracks, yet they didn't play it. Criminal. Seriously though, it was a superb concert and I would certainly pay up in the future, if possible,  to see them headlining their own concert.

Good as the Scorpions were, the evening was undoubtedly all about Judas Priest. As with the Scorpions, I always liked them, but they were never - until now - in the big league. Most of the reasons for this have already been discussed, but with Priest, it is a bit more to do with the "image". I always found something vaguely off putting about the dark, sado masochistic image of their black leather, motor bikes and whips. It always seemed to senselessly play straight into the hands of the sort of misanthropic kill joy Guardian readers who would belittle heavy rock given the slightest opportunity. Of course, I now have the benefit of maturity, and I fully realise that like the Scorpions so called sexist album covers and lyrics, it was all done massively and overwhelmingly tongue in cheek. After seeing the Darkness concert, and comparing it with the Robert Plant concert, it dawned on me that the only people who take themselves seriously in the rock world are the boring old has been farts like Robert Plant - he's very much the rock equivalent of that favourite imaginary person of mine, the kill joy misanthropic Guardian reader. The black leather and studs might have put me off Priest twenty five years ago, but they certainly didn't tonight, it came over as exactly what it was, a gloriously camp, completely over the top fancy dress stage show. Like the Darkness, Judas Priest acted out a parody of all the excesses and clichés that heavy rock is known for, and Priest were so utterly camp that there is little doubt where the Darkness must have got a good deal of their inspiration from.  A sign of how much I had fallen out with Judas Priest was that until I started listening to their stuff a while ago, I had forgotten that Rob Halford had left the band and that the album that he has just done was his first with them for fifteen years - how time flies! This tour is therefore something special, being in the nature of a reunion tour, much like Ozzy Osbourne rejoining Black Sabbath. I don't know whether Rob Halford has a bad back, but he was quite immobile on stage. This didn't unduly effect the performance though, because the very nature of him being so static made him look even more menacing and threatening - and even more camp. I thought that the opening, with him way above stage, stood still in a massive eye (for Electric Eye"!) was particularly threatening and chilling! From then on, they came close to matching Rush in the sheer brilliance, loudness and intensity of their performance. The selection of classic songs was faultless, I couldn't think of anything that was unduly missed out - from "The Ripper", through "Breaking The Law" to "Painkiller", it was all there, in total excess!  A big bonus was a healthy selection of tracks from the brilliant new album "Angel of Retribution" - it's only been out for just over a week, and I pre ordered it on Amazon so had it from more or less day one. There were one or two tracks I didn't know, but there were a few albums that I hadn't listened to by the time of the concert, although that has now been mostly rectified.

All in all, it would be difficult to imagine a more satisfying night of musical entertainment. Against the odds, two groups that I had generally seen previously as also rans have now emerged as triumphant front runners. For pure fun it's hard to beat, but ultimately, the Rush concert still comes out on top. Despite the classic tracks, brilliant playing and loudness on offer tonight, Rush had something else altogether, which basically boils down to a proper philosophy of life and the world. Great as it is, the Scorpions and Judas Priest philosophy boils down to great music, fun and spectacle - for true life defining  brilliance that little extra "je ne sais qua" is needed.

29.05.05.