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Avengers AVENGED
MANTA KLANGBOONKRONG
THE NATION
January 23, 2015 3:31 pm
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American rockers Avenged Sevenfold blow away fans with their latest Bangkok show
WITH LAST YEAR'S international concert lineup mostly packed with pop singers, J-pop and K-pop groups and EDM DJs, 2015 kicked off with a loud bang Tuesday night as heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold's returned to Bangkok for their third concert - this time at an even bigger venue.
Eight years ago the American hard rock quintet had their debut show in the compact Studio 125 in Huay Kwang district, followed by the second gig in 2012 at the slightly larger but unfortunately worse sound-wise Thunderdome in Muang Thong Thani. This time around, the band didn't wait too long to perform for their growing legions of Thai fans and managed to fill Impact Arena, which is roughly three times bigger than the previous venue.
Young fans, almost all of them Thai and dressed in the proper and sombre hard rock black, arrived at the venue early to secure the best spot in the standing areas. The pre-show vibe couldn't have been any more distant from the average pop concert: no "I (heart) you" twinkling neon signs, no glow sticks and surprisingly few selfies in front of the posters. Even the queues at the beer stands were short. This crowd had come for the music and to show their support for the band.
"Bangkok, are you as happy as we are to be here tonight?" lead vocalist M Shadow roared as the band took the stage at 8.30pm. "It's been too f**king long since our last time. And last time was good, but this time it will be better!" And to confirm that promise, the band kicked off the show with a medley of "Shepherd of Fire", "Critical Acclaim", "Welcome to the Family" and "Hail to the King" as two small but vigorous mosh pits started to form at the both standing sections.
Most fans chose to get close and personal with the band in the standing sections, which were packed. There were gaps in the seating sections on the second and third levels but as the show continued, fans with sitting tickets got up from their seats and flocked towards the front to bang their heads in unison.
"Beast and the Harlot", a smash hit from the band's sophomore "City of Evil" was performed next, with masterly guitar solos from rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance and lead guitarist Synyster Gates, followed by mellower tunes including "Buried Alive" and "Seize the Day".
"I see that some of you crazy motherf**kers are starting something here," commented M Shadow as he took in the mosh pits that had now grown to take up almost half of the each standing sections. "That means we gotta do something fast to keep this going!" With that the band treated fans to a series of hits including "Nightmare", "Chapter Four" and "Almost Easy" before taking a short break, leaving Synyster Gates to wow fans with his guitar solo session.
Extra credit must go to drummer Arin Ilejay, who kept the performance on point, clean and punchy with his powerful double-pedal percussion.
The rest of the group reappeared after a few minutes and resumed the show with "Afterlife", "This Means War" and "Acid Rain". Fans were soaked in sweat but kept jumping, screaming and moshing. And when the lights went out, they waited eagerly for the encore.
"Do you want more? Or do you want to go home and go to bed?" asked the lead singer, his sunglasses still perched on his nose.
Not bothering to wait for an answer, the band swung into "Unholy Confessions" and "Bat Country".
"Bangkok, thank you and good night," M Shadow said as the group walked off stage.
The fans didn't move, holding their positions and shouting "Sevenfold, Sevenfold!" until the winged skull - the band's symbol - lit up once more and the band returned to the stage with "A Little Piece of Heaven" for the second and last encore.
The 90-minute show was fulfilling and a lot of fun though I suspect I wasn't the only one disappointed that the band only selected songs from their last three albums ("Avenged Sevenfold", "Nightmare" and "Hail to the King") rather than their older hits.
That said, the dynamics among band members, the showmanship, connection with the fans and excellent musicianship merely underlined once again that Avenged Sevenfold is one of the best live acts around.
