Daniel P Carter, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie at the NIA Birmingham 29/11/12

When Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson announced that they were touring together for the ‘Twins of Evil’ tour, fans around the world desperately tried to get tickets. With two of metal’s biggest icons, it was a tour not to be missed.

First up on stage was Daniel P Carter, the host of BBC Radio One’s Rock Show. He played an interesting DJ set, with bands such as Rammstein and Slipknot. Although he played a good mix of different genres, it was instantly apparent that most of the crowd did not enjoy some of the alternative sounding songs.

Despite Marilyn Manson previously having some negative reviews of his live shows, this tour proved that he is back and stronger than ever. Opening with ‘Hey, Cruel World…’, the first track from his latest album ‘Born Villain’, he instantly had the audience in the palm of his hand. With moshpits appearing everywhere, the crowd went wild. His setlist was incredible, a mixture of his best hits over the years, including ‘Disposable Teens’, ‘mOBSCENE' and ‘The Dope Show’. Marilyn Manson had a wide range of different costumes and props on stage, and he even made it ‘rain’ from the ceiling of the NIA. He also played his infamous covers of ‘Personal Jesus’ by Depeche Mode and ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by the Eurythmics. Marilyn Manson has an amazingly powerful voice, and backed up by his amazing band and incredible stage antics, he’s definitely underrated and if you haven’t seen him live already I would definitely recommend that you do!

Rob Zombie is an incredible artist, at both his music and his films, and tonight the two perfectly merged together, giving his fans an unforgettable show. He opened with ‘Jesus Frankenstein’, a powerful song from ‘Hellbilly Deluxe II’. Despite Rob Zombie explaining that his voice was a little worse-for-wear, he still put on an incredible show and his voice still remained enjoyable to listen to. He also played two White Zombie songs, ‘More Human Than Human’ and ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’, which seemed to make the crowd extremely happy. As well as Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie had many props too, including a mars rover, huge bouncy balls and a massive screen behind him playing horror movie clips, both of his films and iconic horrors over the years. ‘Living Dead Girl’ was definitely a crowd favourite, along with ‘Mars Needs Women’ and ‘Sick Bubble-Gum’. Ginger Fish played an amazing drum solo, and John 5 also played an impressive guitar solo. They played a great cover of Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’, before ending the show with probably Rob Zombie’s most famous song, ‘Dragula’.

The ‘Twins of Evil’ tour has an incredible line-up, and it’s definitely one of 2012’s hottest shows. If you want metal, mayhem and fun, then this show is definitely for you! 

Calvin Harris and Rihanna 29/11/11

Calvin Harris and Rihanna are two of the biggest names in the music industry at the moment. After their collaboration song ‘We Found Love’ reached number one, it was the perfect line up for an amazing night of dance and pop music.

Calvin Harris arrived on stage with an amazing lightshow in the background. He entered the DJ box and despite only being able to see his silhouette it was apparent it was him from his amazing music abilities and voice. As well as playing his own songs, he mixed in popular chart songs such as ‘Party Rock Anthem’ by LMFAO to engage the crowd and to give them fresh new music to listen to. Through the use of his musical skills he was able to make the whole sold-out NIA Arena move around and become extremely excited for Rihanna. When he asked the crowd to scream so loud that Rihanna could hear them back stage the sound was almost deafening! Calvin Harris is an incredible versatile DJ and amazing to watch live.

As soon as the lights dimmed and a video of Rihanna started playing the tension was unbearable. When she appeared on stage it was amazing, she opened with her single ‘Only Girl (In the World)’, which sold over a million copies. Her voice was astounding, and proved that despite her sex-symbol status, she was still an incredible singer. She used many different props and pyrotechnics, including a car and dancing crash-test dummies for ‘Shut Up and Drive’, pole dancers for her incredibly unique cover of Prince’s ‘Darling Nikki’ and chains and whips for the provocative ‘S&M’. She even had a tank that shot out smoke for ‘Hard’. One incredibly lucky female was brought onto stage with Rihanna for ‘Skin’. Despite using so many props on stage she was still able to dance and sing incredibly, much more than most ‘pop stars’ around at the moment. She had many different costume changes including a leather corset, a beautiful yellow dress and sparkly underwear. ‘Unfaithful’ proved her voice was extremely versatile and has shown how much she has progressed in the past few years.

Rihanna is an incredible music icon and puts on a fantastic stage show. Anyone who has the chance to see her live should definitely take it up as no matter what genre of music you are into, you will be amazed by her stage presence and beautiful voice. 

Iron Maiden at the Birmingham NIA, 31st July

Iron Maiden have been going strong for over thirty years, and at this concert I truly realised why they are so highly regarded in the metal community and seen as influential to many generations. They are one of the best live bands I have seen and they do so much more than just play their songs; they put on a proper performance with amazing special effects and of course... Eddie!

The support band were Airbourne; a hard rock band from Australia. It was apparent through their playing style that they were heavily influenced by AC/DC, however, they did not have a unique enough sound to stand out and draw in the audience. Guitarist Joel O'Keefe is well-known for climbing objects on stage (including his infamous climbing incident at Sonisphere 2011), but there were no climbing antics at Birmingham, which was slightly disappointing as it would have given their performance the edge that it needed. They came on stage to the Terminator 2 theme and played a mediocre set including the songs 'Raise the Flag', 'Blackjack' and 'Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast'. However, 'No Way But the Hard Way' sounded much better than the rest of the songs in their set as it was played with more enthusiasm and they gained the crowd reaction they desired; moshing, dancing and happy 'metalheads'. Airbourne played well and I do not have anything against them, however, I do not think they were the right band to support Iron Maiden and there should have been another support band for the price of the ticket.

After a long wait (which had been longer anticipated by years by some fans), Iron Maiden's set began. They played songs that appealed to all variations of Iron Maiden's fan base, such as 'El Dorado', 'Blood Brothers' and 'Fear of the Dark'. The back drop changed frequently and with all the props and videos it felt more like a dramatic performance than a concert, but the music was of such a high standard too. Bruce Dickinson's interaction with the crowd was great and it was obvious he is a well-respected man with valued opinions. Although some people think the band are getting older and maybe 'less capable' in performing, this show proved their critics wrong as their performance was as energetic as it has ever been. 'Dance of Death' was performed perfectly and it was apparent that it was a real crowd pleaser. For their encore they played the three most commonly-known Maiden classics: 'The Number of the Beast', 'Hallowed be thy Name' and Running Free', and they were performed brilliantly and must have been a great form of nostalgia for the older generation of Iron Maiden fans.

All in all, it was a great concert and Iron Maiden deserve all the respect they have and more. Whether you loved The Final Frontier or hated it, there was something for every Iron Maiden fan to enjoy at this concert and I'm so happy I finally got to see such an incredible band.