I drove into downtown early to avoid rush hour traffic besides the show was starting at 4pm and they were going to start letting people in at 3. Only waited in line for a little bit and was inside the venue at 3:10. The show ended up starting earlier than 4 pm because Painmuseum went onstage at 3:20 pm. There weren't a whole lot of people there early on. Painmuseum played for 20 minutes and they sounded alright. I guess they have an album coming out later in the year.

Carnal Forge from Sweden hit the stage at about 4pm and also played for only 20 minutes. This was the first time I've heard them and to me they reminded me of The Haunted. They opened their set with "Welcome to your Funeral". They played about 5 songs and closed out their set with, "H.B.F. Suicide" from their latest release, The More You Suffer.

The place was starting to fill up when Behemoth came on stage. There were a bunch of people in the front and I headed up front to check them out. Having just seen them last month I knew they were going to be good. They opened up their set with, "Antichristian Phenomenon". They sounded good but when I talked to Nergal and Havoc later on they said they could have sounded better. Look for them to return to the states later this year with Danzig according to what they told me. They also played, "Christians to the Lions", "Horns ov Baphomet", and ended their set with "Chant for Eschaton 2003". I wish they would have had more time than the 20 minutes alotted to them.

Next up was Primal Fear fronted by Ralf Scheeper who looks like The Metal God on steroids. He sounds a lot like Rob Halford. They played for 30 minutes and everyone in the crowd up front was really into them. One guy in front of me kept holding up a CD and pen for Ralf to sign and eventually Ralf came over and signed it for him. They started their set with "Angel in Black" and closed with " The Final Embrace". They also played, "Battalions of Hate", "Chainbreaker", "Fear", and "Eye of an Eagle".

Black metallers Immortal were the next band to play. I was really looking forward to seeing them and moved up to the front. They were really good and Horgh is one hell of a drummer. The only thing that pissed me off about their set was the curtain was closed on them before they finished. So, they finshed playing and then poked their heads out and said they would be back. Some of the songs they played included: "Damned in Black", "One by One", "Tyrants", and "Battles in the North".

Another band that I was really looking forward to seeing was the return of Chuck Billy and Testament. They ended up being a huge disppointment. After the fourth song, Eric Peterson had problems with his amp and they spent like 5 to ten minutes fixing the problem. During this time Chuck said it was a good time for a beer and then said it was an even better time for a joint. Someone from the balcony threw a joint onstage for him and he took a couple of hits and then threw it into the crowd for everyone to take a hit. They should have played longer even with the problems they had with the sound. They finished off their short set with, "Over the Wall", and "Disciples of the Watch".

Then came the Metal God himself, Rob Halford, all decked out in leather but he didn't come out on his motorcycle and he also did not have his whip with him. He began his set with, "Painkiller", and closed out with "Electric Eye". Then came back out and did an encore of "Breaking the Law". Some other songs that I remember him playing were: "Ressurection", "Made in Hell", "War of Words", "Into the Pit", "Diamonds and Rust", and "Rapid Fire". His set lasted just over an hour long.

Overall it was a good show that could have been better if Testament played longer and if Immortal didn't have the curtains closed on them during their set. Some info I learned while talking to some people there is that Macabre are busy in the studio and going to see about putting another show on in July at the Metro to test out their new material in a live environment. And what better way to do that in their hometown of Chicago. Another local band from here, Enforsaken who have signed on with Olympic/Century Media will be heading into the studio at the end of May and their new CD should be out on September 23.