Frost and Fire IV

concentration as he broke out his
brand-new V guitar for the occasion.
As for vocalist Eric Claro, I swear I’ve
never heard him sound better than he
did today, his powerful, distinctive
voice cutting through the PA din, and
leading the charge on those new
songs. (Okay, yeah, he forgot the
lyrics to “Feel the Pain” momentarily,
but Rezendes got him back on track
and Claro kicked ass from there to the
finish line.) When a band’s got a chip
on their shoulder and something to
prove, it always shows. And today it
did. The result was a killer set
featuring my favorite songs from the
new album (“Sorceress,” “Deceiver,”
and “Feel the Pain”) as well as the
expected classics “Fist Held High”
(Claro bringing the mike around to let
audience members join in the chorus,
and at one point shouting “Kit!” and
thrusting (ha) it right in my face to
have a go at the chorus), “Overdrive,”
and “Posers Will Die.” I was so proud
of Thrust today. They showed up
with clear-eyed determination and
focus, and they put their best foot
forward. Great live band. Great
friends. Can’t wait to see them again.
Setlist: Deceiver, Sorceress, Fist Held
High, Immortal, Overdrive, Shadow of
the Cross, Blood King, Feel the Pain,
Posers Will Die.
British ‘80s metal titans CLOVEN
HOOF have been making the rounds
in the United States for several weeks
now on their first-ever American tour.
I had the pleasure of catching up with
the tour on a rainy Wednesday night
in New Orleans a couple of weeks
ago, so I knew what was in store.
Actually, I didn’t quite. That night in
New Orleans was musclebound fill-in
guitarist Joseph Whelan’s last show,
as wunderkind Luke Hatton finally
returned from his vacation in Kenya
to join up with the tour. So tonight
was my first time seeing Luke play on
this tour (he’d attended the New
Orleans gig in an observer capacity).
I spent the first three songs out in
front of the stage in the first row,
banging my head and singing along
gleefully to “Inquisitor,” “Cloven
Hoof,” and my favorite, “Nova
Battlestar.” As for the song “Cloven
Hoof,” the lads had regaled me in New
Orleans with stories of all the
mystical, bizarre things that had
happened while they played the song
live, particularly during the “witches
rune” part (you know what I mean if
you know the tune). Tonight I actually
witnessed one in person.
Bassist Lee Payne (the founder of
Cloven Hoof, a blur of onstage
energy, and a man I’m honored to call
my friend) was up there rocking out
with reckless abandon, as he always
does, when during the “witches rune”
part of “Cloven Hoof” the crucifix on
his necklace became detached and
fell into his hand. His facial
expression instantly changed to one
of vexed concern, and he made a
point of showing it to singer George
Call before the song ended. Creepy.
After “Nova Battlestar,” I was
summoned backstage to work with
Night Demon in preparation for their
set, which is when I was nearly kicked
out by that overzealous asshole
security guard I mentioned earlier.
The result was that I missed all of
“Highlander” and the first half of
“ G a t e s o f G e h e n n a ” b e f o r e
successfully making my way to the
s i d e s t a g e a r e a t o w a t c h t h e
remainder of Cloven Hoof’s set. Luke
immediately spied me and came over
to play his solo while leaning back
into me. And George came over for a
hug and a quick chat during the
instrumental bit. I had the best seat in
the house for the closing trio of Hoof
classics: “Crack the Whip,” “Laying
Down the Law,” and “Reach for the
Sky.” From my vantage point, I could
also see the audience very clearly.
They were going nuts, especially up
front where dudes like Visigoth’s
Jake Rogers were going batshit
crazy for Cloven Hoof. And rightfully
so. The band played brilliantly. The
classic Hoof tunes rule (though I was
a bit sad that nothing at all was aired
from their most recent album, the
outstanding Who Mourns for the
Mourning Star).