Picking up where part 3 left off, Birdman, Jason, and myself keep rambling about our favorite shows of 2017 with the second-heaviest shows we saw all year!

Birdman – #2: Iron Maiden and Ghost at the Prudential Center

 

Birdman: Second for me was Iron Maiden and Ghost In Newark.

Jason: Dude, you stole my two!

Anthony: That was my number one.

Jason: I caught ’em at night one at Barclays. Your thoughts on Ghost?

Birdman: Ghost sounded really good in that stadium. Especially with an opener like Square Hammer.

Anthony: Ghost put on a great opening set even if Papa looked like a Tim Burton reject this time around.

Jason: They were okay. I at least heard a wrestling theme live for the first time. Square Hammer was done for one of the NXT Takeover events.

Birdman: That’s basically every ghost show, right? Papa Emeritus and then the other guy as a singer.

Anthony: It’s crazy how ‘Maiden still sound so spot-on live.

Jason: This was also a first time for something show. First time I caught ‘Maiden.

Birdman: Yeah. So you know how the trooper is an overplayed song? It Sounded so fresh live.

Anthony: My second time. And still blown away.

Jason: Definitely.

Anthony: “The Trooper” and “Number of the Beast” kind of need to be played.

Jason: Those two are definite staples.

Birdman: Didn’t like how most of the set was from Book of Souls. But I got to hear “Children of the Damned.”

Jason: “Fear of the Dark” I was happy with. It was the only ‘Maiden song I moshed to, which happens to be my all-time fave.

Anthony: Another stellar track. I liked Book of Souls, actually.

Jason: Yeah, I still like that album.

Birdman: And of course, I filmed my favorite metal song “Number of the Beast” being played live.

Anthony: Glad to hear “Blood Brothers” love too.

Jason: “Blood Brothers” was epic live at Barclays.

Anthony: I hope I get to hear “Flash of the Blade” live one day.

Jason: “Rainmaker” for me. Especially given I’m a Kazuchika Okada fan (Japanese rasslin’ related).

Birdman: Hopefully one day I’ll hear more Paul Dianno era songs sung by Bruce.

Jason: But overall the setlist was a good mix between the classics and newer stuff. War epics, namely “Paschendale” and “Longest Day” need to be played one day.

Anthony: So It’s time for my number two, and I have the cliche of including this every time, but whatever.

Anthony: #2 – Maryland Death Fest (Saturday)

 

 

Jason: Two words: Insect Warfare

Birdman: Oh, people would not shut up about that set.

Jason: That was my number one. That set was fucking violent.

Birdman: So were they the most violent band you’ve ever seen?

Jason: Not exactly. At the fest, yes, plus they sounded so good live. That day had a lot of treats in general, though.

Jason: It featured a pretty strong back to back with ANB (Agoraphobic Nosebleed) and IW.

Anthony – I skipped ANB for Root, who were just magic at that fest.

Jason: Thanks to return to the pit, I was pretty well documented for ANB.

Anthony: Let’s not forget Grave and Exhumed’s sets. Uada did great too

Jason: Exhumed were great.

Birdman: This fest is becoming a world phenomenon now. Did you hear Quebec Death Fest will debut next year?

Jason: Yeah I heard

Anthony: What also made the day so good happened before the bands. We ate at this place called “Dick’s Last Resort.”

Jason: Oh yeah, I heard of that place.

Birdman: Does it feature ice cream and hookers?

Anthony: It has great crab cakes and the employees insult you as they serve you and act trashy and obnoxious. It was hilarious.

Jason: LOL.

Anthony: We said we were there for the fest so he kept making jokes like “should I say it in tongues?”

Jason: LMAO!

Anthony: I’d say the best non-Saturday shows though we’re Gost, Sargiest and Autopsy.

Jason: Gost were great. They got me into synthwave for the latter half of 2017. Chepang and Organ Dealer who played on Friday were pretty violent.

Anthony: Best was seeing people moshing and awkwardly dancing.

Jason: Can’t handle the synth?

Birdman: Do Autopsy have a mostly old-school set? They have so much output since reuniting.

Anthony: Yes. They played a bit of everything, though. It’s always cool to see a drummer sing too.

Jason: They played a lot of stuff after the first two albums, I believe.

Anthony: As for Sunday, Terrorizer were great. They played all of World Downfall and it was intense.

Jason – PLF was some fun violence. Wish there was more of that in Iron Lung.