Nazareth, Red Reign at the Arcada Theatre (5/16/2024)

Hello fellow heavy metal maniacs! Yours truly has just returned from an absolute whirlwind of a weekend and is feeling every bit of it. While the lion’s share of this weekend’s happenings (Milwaukee Metal Fest) will be reported/reviewed on a later date (this Friday), today we’re taking it back a day earlier when the insanity band at the storied Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois. It may have been an unassuming Thursday night, but that didn’t stop veterans Nazareth and newcomers Red Reign from rocking the 1920s era movie house with one fiery riff after the next.

Red Reign

The evening began with a fervent set from my new friends in Red Reign. This Richmond, Virginia based outfit first came onto my radar last Fall, upon the release of their debut full length album, Don’t Look Back. As a staunch support of the “party metal” sound popularized by the likes of Van Halen and Dokken, I was immediately taken aback by Red Reign. Their no frills combo of powerhouse vocals, tubular riffage, four on the floor drumming, and an all around feel good atmosphere had me in a chokehold. Like I’ve said before, it can’t be death, darkness, and demons all the time!

Onstage, Red Reign’s songs ascend from mere 3-4 minute blasts of old school hard and heavy goodness to uplifting anthems. The crowd, perhaps initially weary of checking out any band formed after 1989 (as is the case with many of these traditional metal/hard rock shows), found themselves air guitaring and clapping in unison by the end of the band’s set. How could they not? Red Reign are a force to be reckoned with, eager to spread the glorious ’80s spirit to anyone within firing range. You won’t mind being in their crosshairs!

Nazareth

After a brief half hour intermission, the time had come for the main event. It had been a long 9 years since Nazareth last graced American shores. Considering the prolonged absence, Scotland’s finest chose to hit us Yanks with what we knew best, the hits. True to their “Greatest Hits World Tour 2024” moniker, Nazareth stormed through a 90 minute set of all killer, no filler classics, the soundtrack to many a headbanger’s life, if you will. And while a diehard like myself could wish they had played X, Y, and Z, as someone who had never seen any incarnation of Nazareth, I gratefully took what I could get.

At roughly 8:45 PM, Nazareth took the stage and opened with one of their heaviest numbers, “Miss Misery”. As much as I love this song (their fifth greatest) in all its Sabbathian glory, I found it to be an odd opener, especially considering they followed with the much more appropriate boogie metal rager, “Razamanaz”. True to its lyrics, I was up on my feet dance, dance, dancing as any good raver who savors the flavor would do. Following this was a string of songs from Nazareth’s ’80s era: “Love Leads to Madness”, “Dream On”, and “Holiday”. While these cuts are deep tracks by American standards, they were all smash hits in Europe and beyond, again sticking true to this tour’s “Greatest Hits” moniker.

It was when the band embarked upon a mini Hair of the Dog set, the smash album that sold over 2 million copies here in the States, that both the band and the crowd really kicked into overdrive. Their grinding and definitive rendition of Crazy Horse’s “Beggars Day” gave way to the swaggering “Changin’ Times”, which then set the stage for the one-two punch of their biggest hits: “Hair of the Dog” and “Love Hurts”. A lengthy jam-centric spin on their early classic, “Morning Dew”, closed the hit parade, before one last hurrah in a triple play encore of “Turn On Your Receiver”, “Where Are You Now”, and “This Flight Tonight”.

Considering founding bassist Pete Agnew is the sole surviving member of the band’s classic lineup, Nazareth are unfortunately an act who get lumped into the never ending discourse of what “does” and “doesn’t” constitute a “legitimate band”. How I see it is these songs are as much Agnew’s as they were Dan McCafferty, Manny Charlton, and Darrell Sweet’s (rest in power to all). Why shouldn’t they continue to be performed live? Furthermore, the players accompanying Agnew are no slouches themselves. Joining the warhorse bassist are his son Lee on drums, Jimmy Murrison on guitars, and Carl Sentance on vocals, the latter of whom you’ll remember from cult NWOBHM outfit, Persian Risk.

It should also be noticed that Lee Agnew has been in the band for 25 years now, and Murrison for 30. I’d understand the concern if this was some revolving door of hired guns à la the remnants of certain ’80s hair bands working the county fair circuit. It’s not. Nazareth is alive and well, and every self respecting headbanger should be thankful for such. Indeed, Nazareth razamanazzed us all night, and I hope it’s not another 9 years before they do so again.

Setlist