Heavy Metal Maniacs Festival 2014

Picture by Rita van Poorten

"MIDNIGHT MESSIAH stands for high quality heavy metal. Two members of the band are from the cult NWOBHM band ELIXIR and these guys are the pillars on which this band will stand tonight for me. The other members have showed their skills already on their debut album “The Root Of All Evil”. If you already liked this marvelous album, then you’re in for a real treat. Almost without any breaks between the three songs, they open tonight with “Thirty Pieces Of Silver”, “Damned For All Time” and “Evil One”. And believe it or not, MIDNIGHT MESSIAH are making magic. This was an awesome start. The opener is easy on the ears and contains that well-known catchy ELIXIR sound, that makes it go down pretty easily. I think it’s one of the killer songs on the album and a perfect way to start your show. Goosebumps appear with the first ELIXIR cover “The Star Of Beshaan”. What a killer track!! You can hardly call this a cover of course, because almost half the band consists of ELIXIR members and with a jaw dropping performance of this ELIXIR classic, they prove that MIDNIGHT MESSIAH has got the same energy, the same drive and the same attitude as ELIXIR. With “Holy Angel” they have another surprise coming up. Phil takes the opportunity to go off the stage to join his fellow metal heads in front of the stage. Like I said already, this band makes magic happen, off and on stage. “Wise Man Of Roklar” and “Destiny” are on next and the band grabs a handful of songs from their new album. Dave Strange, the tandem mate of Phil, on guitar is from a different caliber than ‘Storming Norms’. He looks like a young version of Zakk Wylde and sounds a bit like Randy Rhoads here and there. But most of all, he is a capable guitar player that helps out Phil pretty well in the great guitar sound, that the band wants to create. Darren Lee proves to be a steady drummer, who forms a winning team with bass player Alex Machell. “Pandora’s Box” from the “Son Of Odin” album is on next. Talking about classics here?! It was written almost thirty years ago and still going strong. For two songs we return to “Root Of All Evil” with “You’re No Friend Of Mine” and “The Rock”. If you still don’t like the band by now, the MESSIAH will change this soon with two more covers from the ELIXIR era, namely “Treachery” and “Son Of Odin”. Especially this last track calls for some nice cooperation with the crowd, because the words ‘Son Of Odin’ are shouted out real loud. Fists are thrown in the air. Paul leads the way. He’s one of the finest frontmen of the NWOBHM scene in my eyes. What a voice! “King Of The Night” and “Midnight Messiah” are the last tracks of tonight’s show. You could hardly tell the difference between ELIXIR and MIDNIGHT MESSIAH. They have the same joy in playing live, the same high quality music and they are the same down to earth people, that are enjoying the great atmosphere at the P60. A real top act in my opinion and we were glad to meet up with singer Paul and guitar player Phil again. Both thumbs up, lads! It was good to have you back again after ten years and please come back again soon". Toine van Poorten, True Metal Fan

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