Event:	Freedom Call: Ride of the Shadowking Tour 2010
Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	11.11.2010
Galleries:	Freedom Call - Wakefield, England, 7th November 2010 by Baz Anderson (22)

Wakefield is not usually the place for internationally recognised metal bands, let alone German "happy metal" band Freedom Call. The Snooty Fox, the venue for the evening wasn't your typical pokey room however. The biggest bands to play here have previously been Blaze Bailey and Evile, but this venue may be the most technologically advanced and yet still true to its rock and metal roots, small venue around. Ceilings and walls covered in posters, the venue looks great, but also two mobile cameras and a static camera broadcast the live shows straight to the internet and televisions around the room.

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First band on of the evening was Yorkshire's Conquest Of Steel. This band appear to have somewhat of a cult following around these parts, which hasn't been hindered at all by the band's appearance at the Bloodstock festival. The modest audience had already been warmed up by the sound guy, so when the band were revealed beneath the screen covering the stage, they got a good reaction. Musically the band explored no new ground with their extremely generic, yet enthusiastic form of traditional heavy metal, but at a few moments in the set the band did pull out some nice moments from the hat. Conquest Of Steel are Yorkshire's own Manowar, they brought the passion for metal to Wakefield as well as a sword for the singer to brandish in a very metal manner. The set was enjoyable to an extent, but much more of the same could have driven some people to insanity.

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Neonfly are a young and coming London-based power metal band, who even in their very early days have shown some nice promise for the future. The band presented themselves extremely well to the Wakefield audience, and kicked off the set with the fantastic up-tempo power metal cracker "Broken Wings". The quality in music did somewhat dwindle at points in the set, but the band also had other high points, such as "Ship With No Sails" and the final song "I Think I Saw A UFO". The singer found himself bounding around the stage, even standing on the front barrier and literally hanging off the ceiling at one point in his own ball of energy. The whole band were extremely competent and open to the audience trying to make a good impression. Neonfly are definitely a band to keep your eye on, this promising set may just be the beginning for this bright new band.

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Freedom Call themselves probably didn't know what to expect. This was the last date of their mini-UK tour, and certainly the band's first time ever in Wakefield. The wide ranging audience from all the usuals to middle-aged couples in their Freedom Call shirts were all ready and waiting for the German metal invasion. With the release of the band's sixth album earlier in the year, Freedom Call aren't short of choices of songs to bring on tour. They selected a very good mix of songs from all of the albums, but had a slight tendency towards the new album more than any other - which posed no problem at all, as songs like "Out Of The Ruins", Tears Of Babylon" and "Merlin - Legend Of The Past" all sounded cheesetastic, well up there with the popular older material. "Warriors" also provided a good opportunity to sing, as did "Far Away" that Chris Bay had the audience singing at each chorus. Chris with smiles as always was keen to make the audience sound like they were "five-thousand-strong", and considering the small venue size, did a pretty good job, always referring back to the people who may have been watching the live stream on the internet. The sound was quite good, although the bass drums could have been a bit louder. The audience were loving it, and the band put on quite a long set too. A great time was had by all, audience and band alike. Smiles all 'round.

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Thanks to Frederick Thunder for the accreditation.
Written by Barry Anderson.
Photos by Barry Anderson.