MariaV: How easy is to say 'no' to Metal God's call, especially if you are under the influence of a bad cold flu and you have to drive about an hour in the middle of the most cold night of December so far? I don't have an answer for your case but METAL TEMPLE braved the elements and visited the historical House Of Blues for one more time in December to watch HALFORD, supporting by the very interesting PHILM which have Dave Lombardo on drums and was the pleasant surprise of the evening. You'll be able to read the exclusive interview Mr. Lombardo gave on METAL TEMPLE in the following days, few minutes before the PHILM show started.

The time clocked five minutes after 8.30 when the garage/punk/psych/electro trio from L.A. stepped on the glorious stage of House Of Blues and it was almost a fact that everybody waited for PHILM's appearance, especially those who hadn't the opportunity to watch any related videos with this band in Youtube. A metalhead could be disappointed that night because of their non-Metal music style but not the House Of Blues customers who seemed astonished at the PHILM show and watched every move that trio did on stage. You know, it's not easy to synchronize bass and drums under frenetic and continuously alternate rhythms, especially if there aren't involved any keyboards in the game. Dave Lombardo and Pancho Tomaselli worked so hard on that, having Gerry Nestler on doing the rest on vocals and guitar. They presented us four PHILM tracks plus a different version cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Symptom Of The Universe" that rocked literally the House.

It's so difficult to describe PHILM's music with one term/word: I could use the respectful name of ORBITAL but in a more punky way; on the other hand, it's not enough. You have to watch this band live to get into its mood and see the world through its philm…

PHILM setlist:

1. "Vitrolize"
2. "Sex Amp"
3. "Mitch"
4. "Amoniac"
5. "Symptom Of The Universe"

DimK: PHILM was an, at least, interesting opening band and overall did a good job in getting our attention. To my surprise Lombardo seemed to have stage fright and this became obvious when he addressed the crowd via the microphone. Anyway, the heavy curtain fell in front of the stage and the preparations for the Metal God begun. I had caught a cold and I was expecting something more from the usual (and very good) performance by Halford to take my 'pain' away. And when I say 'usual' I mean the tight setlist that gives the impression of more like a solo act rather than a full time band. I think by the time the light had gone out, 700 faces were in the venue and that was good news despite it was a working day.

The photo pit was no limits for all the photographers so, I had to do the job from a good viewing point in the arena. But, that was not the case since the security guys kindly guided us somewhere near the soundboard making it very clear that we had the first three songs to take the needed photos. I won't lie to you and I will say that this was an almost turn-off; I did not understand the reason for this annoyance but, after a while the logic kicked in convincing me that it was the artist's choice and we had to respect it.

Without a surprise the gig opened with "Ressurection". Halford showed wearing the trademark sunglasses in his leather outfit reminding to everyone how he is called Metal God. The ultra high pitched vocals in this track were a loud answer to all the 'connoisseurs' of Metal who claim that "Rob has lost his ability to sing" and other similar crap. And on top of that, Rob had also the flu and many times during the gig was taking short breaks hitting the tissue box and zipping a hot beverage. Despite all these, the mood was in high levels and the rest of the HALFORD band looked solid as hell. Rob has highly skilled musicians around him but this is not the only element that makes this band look and sound that great; the chemistry between these guys is amazing and many times take the front position in the spotlight from Rob. Roy Z and Metal Mike Chlasciak is a killer guitar duo exchanging the lead parts in way that one could say they have been together for many years. And, what tops things off with the two axemen is the fact that they have maintained their personal style and sound embedded in the rock solid HALFORD id. Mike Davis and Bobby Jarzombek have done many tours of duty with many bands and have also brought their signature in this band that I bet after the JUDAS PRIEST split up will have more time to work their music.

After the first three tracks all cameras were strictly placed in the holding bags, Rob took off his glasses and leather jacket revealing a really relaxed face with a distinct mood to have a good time with the Chicago fans. And the mood was lifted even more! "Made Of Metal" came from the new and very good album (read the review here) followed by the ultra heavy "Nailed To The Gun" from the FIGHT days. The new album was honored with four more tracks; "Fire And Ice" (killer twin guitar work), "Thunder And Lighting" (with the MAIDEN-esque riffs), "Like There's No Tomorrow" (catchy melodies) and the groovy "Undisputed". These tracks sound amazing live and I believe many should reconsider their low rating on Halford's new album.

The news that JUDAS PRIEST have reached the end of the road were already in the mouth of many fans that night and Rob was eager to pay tribute to those days. Actually, he remembered a past PRIEST concert in Chicago when they did "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)". Of course, this track came next and every one was singing! Again, Rob nailed the vocals and made his flu look like a joke despite his red nose. Next, PRIEST stop (more of a reference though) was another cover song on Joan Baez's "Diamonds And Rust". Fortunately, they chose to do the "Sin After Sin" version and not the one PRIEST did with Ripper on the vocals. Don't get me wrong, Tim was great but this song needs the heaviness of the distortion, the groove and Rob's expressional singing! Without pausing, Metal Mike Chlasciak stood in the front of the stage and threw the trademark guitar intro of "Jawbreaker"! That was a killer treat from an album that is filled with cutting edge riffs and high pitched vocals!

After "Cyberworld" the band said goodnight after almost 70 minutes and left me thinking that this could be the end since it was a working day and we were in House Of Blues with the ridiculous time curfew. So, I was prepared for a short encore before saying the last 'goodnight'. But, that did not happen (maybe due to the approaching Xmas holidays) and the band returned with renewed energy, hitting us with six tracks. As he usually does, Rob included "Heart Of Lion", a song that was written during the "Turbo" days. This one is a hidden gem I tell you it gains a lot when played live. And then Rob said that they were to do something special for the sake of the approaching holidays and did "I Don't Care If It Is Christmas". Personally, I hate this album but I did swallow this one since it sounds way better live than in the studio.

"Saviour" was the closing track of HALFORD's gig in Chicago clocking almost a 2 hours set.Again I have to say how solid this band looked/sounded and if I wanted to foresee the future, I would say that there will greater things for HALFORD especially now, after the end of PRIEST. I hope that many will clean their gummy eyes and agree with saying:

(photos by the Sentinel)