For the ones that ignore the CHINA name, this band - in the period 1988-1992 - was one of the most kick ass bands in melodic Hard Rock scene that Switzerland had to offer. Now they are back with a 'best of' collection which includes three new tracks, while their new album will be released, hopefully, around Autumn (as Eric St. Michaels told me after the show). With such a comeback, I took the chance to attend their concert in Transylvania.

Just to mention, this venue is literally in devil's asshole, and honestly I did not expect to see lots of people. But it was quite a surprise for me to see around 200 fans there. The start was made at 21:15 with DARK SKY, a German AOR_melodic band that played - for about three quarters - songs, naturally influenced from the AOR era, and included a cover of Maniac from Michael Sembello!!! I was always of the opinion that the melodic Hard Rock_Glam style is the 'disco' thing of the metalhead so, it is nice to get such examples from bands, hehe! The band overall had a very good onstage appearance -given the size of the stage- although the Swiss crowd was not that excited (this is another story and I prefer to end the report with it). After DARK SKY, it was time for the Swiss metallers CHARING CROSS to hit the stage around 22:20.

CHARING CROSS seemed to have most supporters that night, around 30; I am talking only about the ones in the front row (don't worry, there was no second row). They delivered fifty minutes of Heavy Metal; to be more specific, Power_Heavy Metal. The stage appearance was not that exciting, and the highest moment was when one of the guitarists used an electric screwdriver to enhance the drilling sound of his guitar. The vocals needed some attention as they were out of tune and lacked duration. But in general the band did interact with the crowd well and it was an OK appearance.

]At 23:30 the main act appeared and in the front row there were fifteen people. But who cares? CHINA entered dynamically with sounds of their glorious past (first three albums). Rock City broke the silence and they carried on with Medicine Man and Dead Lights. Eric St. Michaels was constantly interacting with people, trying to make them dance. Shout It Out, In The Middle Of The Night, the Ain't Talking About Love cover (VAN HALEN) followed. By that time it was about 7 people dancing and singing. Some new stuff was played, as CHINA released recently a 'best of' with three new tracks (already mentioned) and it was a chance to hear them live - Stay, Trapped In The City and Girl On The Screen. Cannot say much about those songs, since the sound was not that great in order to form an opinion.

I believe that in all three bands the sound could have been better. In the case of CHINA things were a bit worse, as they appeared onstage only with Claudio Matteo on the guitar. But they did take out the best of it, and personally I could say that it was a great show.

P.S.: Seven people dancing, fifteen people on the front row...WTF? What does motivate people to go to concerts after all?

(photos by Maria)

DARK SKY

CHARING CROSS

CHINA