Metal Reviews

Alright metalheads, I've got a question for you. My band has a show coming up rather soon, and we've written a load of new material since out last show and are trying to figure out what order we should put them in. So I was wondering what you think about concert sets, what kind of song makes a great opener, what kind of song you'd most like to see as a closer, etc.

My thoughts are that you should close with the most epic song you've got, so that people feel that their balls had been thouroughly rocked off and leave satisfied. The bassist thinks that we should close with this really cool accoustic instrumental song that has a great climax at the end, but stills remains all clean tone and not especially rockoutable, that way you leave the audience wanting more.

So like I said, if you were at a concert, how would you like it to begin and end?

The opener needs to be in-your-face type of shit. A nice melodic build-up is cool, and then just—BAM! You know? Something that just gets the blood flowing, like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no2J-bXJWAk

Now, I know that's Def Leppard and a lot you younger people don't like that shit, but that videos is the perfect example. It's not a brutal opener, but it builds the momentum as it goes, and as soon as the song kicks in and that curtain drops it's just fucking awesome! That's how you open a show! Imagine being someone in the crowd at this show, that anticipation builds, and then the song kicks in. Badass! And underground bands can do this, too.

And yeah, end the show with your most epic tune, just make sure it's good and memorable. If you don't have a really epic tune, try to close the show in the same way you open it. You want people to remember the beginning and end.

Well in my opinion, you should start off with a fast catchy song with good melodies. If you have a slow song, make it third on your set list. The fast song which you open with will drive energy into all the fans....hype them up. I don't think something slow is a good closing song.....like you suggested, an epic one should do. Or maybe your best song...keep the crowd waiting for it.

All in all I think the set list doesn't matter. I prefer good showmanship skills and interactivity with the crowd. Even your lamest song could turn out to be a crowd favourite....all depends on your frontman.

i think opening and closing with the hardest-hitting (as in fast, heavy, etc.) songs is the way to go.

I remember Converge said they structured their setlists with the straightforward shit first, and then slowly transitioned to artsy-er stuff.

When Slayer played in Singapore, they opened with a slow song, South of Heaven. It really made the crowd crazy. I was expecting something faster, and BAM!! Slayer comes out from back stage with all their leather pants etc. But nevertheless starting with South of Heaven made us really wild. I guess it was the first time we South East Asians got to see them so we never gave a fuck whether the opening song was brutal or what so ever.

Yeah I've always been a fan of the opening slow, because it gets the crowd all psyched up because they know the heavy stuff will follow soon after.

I think your bassist is full of shit Morlock I would consider a slower song NEAR the end, but the very last song should really rip off the crowds face. (so your best/most epic song then as others suggested)

On the opener, a song with a build up would be awesome. Or even a slower song, which is immediately followed by a more energetic/faster/better song.

Hey what kind of band is it?

Edit: Are the songs on the myspace any of the new ones?

Reaper: No, we haven't gotten around to doing recordings of the new ones; the ones that we have up there were recorded about 6 months to a year ago, so they're pretty old. We were considering using the first one up there, Fireless Light, as our closer though, because people who've listened to us would recognize that song.

I remember seeing Ozzy at Donington years ago and he started his set with War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man! We were all a bit like, wtf is he gonna do now? So make sure your most 'famous' songs are spread out a bit.

I saw ...'Trail of Dead a few years back and they kicked off with the heaviest song in their collection which got the pulse racing, and ended with an instrument smashing rendition of 'Mistakes and Regrets' - their biggest hit to that date.

But I find mid-session 'acoustic interludes' a bit of a waste as they stop the momentum flowing (unless you're doing a three hour show and have an interval). Keep it varied in weight, own songs and covers, talk to your audience a la Henry Rollins and don't go acoustic.

Except if you're Blind Guardian where acoustic songs are expected

If your band is energetic and ballsy then yea, the first few songs should be all about getting everybody riled up. How long are you playing too? If its thirty minutes or less, fuck ballads, fuck slow songs, go out there and rock.


Plus, this is something that I've noticed about 80% of all live bands, make sure your singer is a frontman too. You know what's the equivalent of watching your parents fuck when you're at a show? The awkward mumbling silence when guitars are being tuned between songs and the singer is too much of a pussy to talk to the crowd and get them riled up. That just kills the mood and makes the band look like a bunch of thirteen year olds who don't know how to handle a pair o' tits for the first time.

Yeah no kidding. Our vocalist doesn't talk all that much so I usually yell stuff and throw CDs at people. But yeah our set SHOULD be around an hour or so. And we only have 11ish fully written songs so we can't really pick and choose WHAT we play, only the order.

Sacrifice one of the females in the audience.
Don't worry about playing music.

What annoys the fuck out of me is SA putting Blinded No More right after Misplaced on they're track list. Kills the speed.

Yup. You gotsta open with a 1-2 punch.

Now thats metal, I like it already. Problem is we have so few females in the audience that we'd like to save them for... other things if at all possible. Metal girls are few and far between.