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013, Tilburg, The Netherlands28th of December 2008
Christmas Metal Symphony
The Christmas Metal Symphony is an initiative from Joost van den Broek. He is the keyboard player in the Dutch band After Forever. For this Symphony he didn't use his own band (not all of the members at least) but musicians from metal bands all over the world. All these musicians and vocalists were accompanied by the Magnum Opus Rockestra. The perfect orchestra for the occasion.
Music & performance
The band for this evening consisted of Koen Herfst (Epca, drums), Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged, guitar), Johan van Stratum (Stream of Passion, bass), Frank Schiphorst (Symmetry, guitar), Jeffrey Revet (Stream of Passion, keyboards) and Joost van den Broek (After Forever, keyboards).
On both the left and the right side of the stage were large screens. Here videos of the 'storyteller' were shown. During the entire show the story of Jonathan was told. Jonathan discovers music, heavy music and in the end forms his own band.
The back of the stage was decorated with what looked like church windows and in the front were two Christmas trees. There was little room for the band members; most of the stage was filled with the orchestra.
One of the first vocalists to come to the stage was Marcela Bovio from Stream of Passion. She performed 'Victim of Changes' by Judas Priest with Mats Leven and some of her own songs such as 'Out in the Real World'. Marcela showed a more classical side of her voice which is not her strongest side it seems.
Now it was up to Ian Parry. He performed 'Enter Sandman' and 'Paranoid', the crowd sung along to most songs. It is of course great to hear all these great old and new metal songs. For 'Breaking the Law' Doro joined in. A fine choice of course because she has a cover of this song on her own album. Doro was then joined by Floor Jansen, vocally the combination might not have been so strange but in length they differ so much that it is a funny sight.
The images on the screens adapted with each song. For Doro's 'I Rule the Ruins' there were pictures of female warriors. During the evening there were also pictures of a snow covered winter wonder land which was of course perfect for a Christmas party!
After the ladies it was time for the men to rule the stage. Chuck Billy from Testament was warmly welcomed by the audience and with good reason. His performance was great. He gave a powerful performance and let us hear an even more powerful voice. Then Mats Leven and later even George Oosthoek joined in this night could not go wrong anymore.
Another guest which was performing this evening was Johan Edlund. Wearing a tight vinyl shirt with a hoody he looked quite mysterious. It was a great performance. The cooperation with Marcela Bovio was a definite success. This evening presented the audience with more great duets than anyone could ever dream of. Let's hope that this will become a returning event every year.
The grand finale of the evening was sung by Russell Allen and Floor Jansen: 'The Phantom of the Opera'. This song played by an orchestra and sung by great vocalists was the perfect end of the evening.
After this all performers came back on stage to bow for the ever clapping and shouting audience. The curtains closed and it was over; all good things must come to an end.
Setlist
--- story teller ---
01. Blood Of Kingu (Therion) (with Mats Levén, Marcela Bovio and orchestra)
02. Victim Of Changes (Judas Priest) (with Mats Levén)
03. Son Of The Staves Of Time (Therion) (with Mats Levén, Marcela Bovio and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
04. Passion (Stream Of Passion) (with Marcela Bovio)
05. Out In The Real World (Stream Of Passion) (with Marcela Bovio and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
06. Enter Sandman (Metallica) (with Ian Parry and orchestra)
07. Paranoid (Black Sabbath) (with Ian Parry and orchestra)
08. Breaking The Law (Judas Priest) (with Ian Parry and Doro Pesch)
09. All We Are (Doro) (with Doro Pesch and Floor Jansen)
10. I Rule The Ruins (Warlock) (with Doro)
--- story teller ---
11. Souls Of Black (Testament) (with Chuck Billy and orchestra)
12. Return To Serenity (Testament) (with Chuck Billy, Mats Levén orchestra)
13. More Than Meets The Eye (Testament) (with Chuck Billy and George Oosthoek)
14. Arise (Sepultura) (with George Oosthoek)
15. At The Mountains Of Madness (Orphanage) (with George Oosthoek, Floor Jansen orchestra)
16. A New Level (Pantera) (with George Oosthoek)
--- story teller ---
17. Cain (Tiamat) (with Johan Edlund orchestra)
18. Brighter Than The Sun (Tiamat) (with Johan Edlund and Marcela Bovio)
19. When The Smoke Is Going Down (Scorpions) (with Johan Edlund)
--- story teller ---
20. My Pledge Of Allegiance part 1 (After Forever) (with George Oosthoek, Floor Jansen and orchestra)
21. Equally Destructive (After Forever) (with Floor Jansen)
22. The Evil That Man Do (Iron Maiden) (with Floor Jansen)
The band for this evening consisted of Koen Herfst (Epca, drums), Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged, guitar), Johan van Stratum (Stream of Passion, bass), Frank Schiphorst (Symmetry, guitar), Jeffrey Revet (Stream of Passion, keyboards) and Joost van den Broek (After Forever, keyboards).
On both the left and the right side of the stage were large screens. Here videos of the 'storyteller' were shown. During the entire show the story of Jonathan was told. Jonathan discovers music, heavy music and in the end forms his own band.
The back of the stage was decorated with what looked like church windows and in the front were two Christmas trees. There was little room for the band members; most of the stage was filled with the orchestra.
One of the first vocalists to come to the stage was Marcela Bovio from Stream of Passion. She performed 'Victim of Changes' by Judas Priest with Mats Leven and some of her own songs such as 'Out in the Real World'. Marcela showed a more classical side of her voice which is not her strongest side it seems.
Now it was up to Ian Parry. He performed 'Enter Sandman' and 'Paranoid', the crowd sung along to most songs. It is of course great to hear all these great old and new metal songs. For 'Breaking the Law' Doro joined in. A fine choice of course because she has a cover of this song on her own album. Doro was then joined by Floor Jansen, vocally the combination might not have been so strange but in length they differ so much that it is a funny sight.
The images on the screens adapted with each song. For Doro's 'I Rule the Ruins' there were pictures of female warriors. During the evening there were also pictures of a snow covered winter wonder land which was of course perfect for a Christmas party!
After the ladies it was time for the men to rule the stage. Chuck Billy from Testament was warmly welcomed by the audience and with good reason. His performance was great. He gave a powerful performance and let us hear an even more powerful voice. Then Mats Leven and later even George Oosthoek joined in this night could not go wrong anymore.
Another guest which was performing this evening was Johan Edlund. Wearing a tight vinyl shirt with a hoody he looked quite mysterious. It was a great performance. The cooperation with Marcela Bovio was a definite success. This evening presented the audience with more great duets than anyone could ever dream of. Let's hope that this will become a returning event every year.
The grand finale of the evening was sung by Russell Allen and Floor Jansen: 'The Phantom of the Opera'. This song played by an orchestra and sung by great vocalists was the perfect end of the evening.
After this all performers came back on stage to bow for the ever clapping and shouting audience. The curtains closed and it was over; all good things must come to an end.
Setlist
--- story teller ---
01. Blood Of Kingu (Therion) (with Mats Levén, Marcela Bovio and orchestra)
02. Victim Of Changes (Judas Priest) (with Mats Levén)
03. Son Of The Staves Of Time (Therion) (with Mats Levén, Marcela Bovio and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
04. Passion (Stream Of Passion) (with Marcela Bovio)
05. Out In The Real World (Stream Of Passion) (with Marcela Bovio and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
06. Enter Sandman (Metallica) (with Ian Parry and orchestra)
07. Paranoid (Black Sabbath) (with Ian Parry and orchestra)
08. Breaking The Law (Judas Priest) (with Ian Parry and Doro Pesch)
09. All We Are (Doro) (with Doro Pesch and Floor Jansen)
10. I Rule The Ruins (Warlock) (with Doro)
--- story teller ---
11. Souls Of Black (Testament) (with Chuck Billy and orchestra)
12. Return To Serenity (Testament) (with Chuck Billy, Mats Levén orchestra)
13. More Than Meets The Eye (Testament) (with Chuck Billy and George Oosthoek)
14. Arise (Sepultura) (with George Oosthoek)
15. At The Mountains Of Madness (Orphanage) (with George Oosthoek, Floor Jansen orchestra)
16. A New Level (Pantera) (with George Oosthoek)
--- story teller ---
17. Cain (Tiamat) (with Johan Edlund orchestra)
18. Brighter Than The Sun (Tiamat) (with Johan Edlund and Marcela Bovio)
19. When The Smoke Is Going Down (Scorpions) (with Johan Edlund)
--- story teller ---
20. My Pledge Of Allegiance part 1 (After Forever) (with George Oosthoek, Floor Jansen and orchestra)
21. Equally Destructive (After Forever) (with Floor Jansen)
22. The Evil That Man Do (Iron Maiden) (with Floor Jansen)
--- story teller ---
23. Intro Based on 'The Odyssey' (Symphony X) (orchestra)
24. Evolution (The Grand Design) (Symphony X) (with Russell Allen and orchestra)
25. Paradise Lost (Symphony X) (with Russell Allen)
26. Dawn Of A Million Souls (Ayreon) with Russell Allen and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
27. Phantom Of The Opera (Nightwish version) (with Russell Allen, Floor Jansen and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
23. Intro Based on 'The Odyssey' (Symphony X) (orchestra)
24. Evolution (The Grand Design) (Symphony X) (with Russell Allen and orchestra)
25. Paradise Lost (Symphony X) (with Russell Allen)
26. Dawn Of A Million Souls (Ayreon) with Russell Allen and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
27. Phantom Of The Opera (Nightwish version) (with Russell Allen, Floor Jansen and orchestra)
--- story teller ---
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 9
Light: 8
Total: 9 (8,9)
More photos on page 2
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