Mystic Prophecy have just released their 7th album and to present Ravenlord live they chose Bochum's Rockpalast. The band frequently plays in Bochum (or at least the area) and a few years ago they recorded the show at the same venue - bigger stage - which became the bonus DVD at the Savage Souls album. So it isn't a surprise that R.D. 'Lia' Liapakis and his mates returned to Bochum.
The opening act was the local band Aleatory. Google just got me to their website which wasn't updated since late 2007. By now I know they have a Facebook site and MySpace profile, but well. The guys entered 'the stage' to present a mix of heavy metal and glam rock. Singer Jens obviously is a fan of Guns'n Roses. During their set he enlightened us that their second guitarist wasn't able to play the show and that a friend of theirs jumped in to make it possible. Some friends had come to support them and so the atmosphere was pretty good. I just remember they played Lordi's Hard Rock Hallelujah and at the end of their set Running Wild's Raise Your Fist. While the Lordi cover worked out well, I missed some heaviness / aggression in their Raise Your Fist cover. It might have give the song some power, if the backings would have been more powerful. The guitarist and their bass player all did backings, but not all at the same time which made me wonder, coz in case of the Running Wild track it's just one line....
After a short change over it was time for Mystic Prophecy. When the band started with Dark Forces someone was missing - Lia. Just in time Lia made his way down the stairs and joined in. Right from the start the fans were singing along, especially 3 guys in the front row. Lia talked a bit more than usual and so gave the drummer a chance to get ready for the next one. "Mystic Prophecy is back on the road, just after the release of our new album Ravenlord. Are you ready for a new tune? Eyes Of The Devil!" But after a few seconds it was obvious to the ones who know the new album, it was the title track Ravenlord. And so Lia explained the situation... "A week ago a mishap happened to our drummer, he broke his foot. Matt from England jumped in and learnt all the songs for the show. Thank you Matt! As you realized, it wasn't Eyes Of The Devil, it was Ravenlord!" And so they played that tune next. Even if the space 'on' stage was limited, the guys were always in action and put on quite a show - at eye level with their fans. Time to go back in time, time for Evil Empires! A classic. Sacrifice Me followed. Lia was joking about the little accident Claudio Sisto had and then announced Ravenlord. "We will now play Ravenlord - again, hope that's okay with you?" And the fans gave a positive feedback and sang along. They mixed old and new tunes, but one which made the fans go wild was the icebreaker Die Now. Guitarist Constantine joined his counterpart Markus Pohl more than once for a short duel while bassist Connie 'Connor' Andreszka cheered up the crowd. Before they headed into We Kill, You Die Lia thanked the fans for coming to their show and that as usual it's a pleasure to play Ruhr 'Pott' district and especially Bochum. He also wanted to know, if everybody got the shirt. The first 100 persons got a T-shirt for free and the ticket was only 7 €! But it's not the first time that Mystic Prophecy gave something back to their fans - remember the show where everyone could get guest list and so got named on the bonus DVD of Savage Souls! The show came to an end with a cover version, a track every metal fan knows - Paranoid! The regular set was over, but after a few minutes they were back. "That's it, we don't have any more songs prepared. But we can play one one more time. What do you want to hear?" Lia asked and after talking to their drummer offered 3 tracks to pick from. And so they finished off with Evil Empires!
The show was fun and I bet that everybody will be back in April when Mystic Prophecy tour with PowerWolf. Don't miss them, if they play your area! Thanks for another great evening with Mystic Prophecy!