You have to go back to 2015 since Fozzy were last here in Wolverhampton, with a headline show at the old Slade Rooms in support of Do You Wanna Start A War. It was a much larger crowd that welcomed them on stage at KK’s Steel Mill this time around, the band emerging to the strains of Smokie’s 70’s smash ‘Living Next Door to Alice’. No doubt some still dismiss Fozzy as merely an indulgence for Wrestling Superstar Chris Jericho but that does them a disservice; the band has been around for almost a quarter of a century, released eight albums and played countless shows to an ever increasing fan base. As a showman he is still at the top of his game, the audience hanging on his every word from the opening ‘Spotlight’ through to the raucous cover of ‘Blitzkreig Bop’ that closes the show 90 minutes later.
Fozzy are all about muscular modern metal, with Rich ‘The Duke’ Ward and Billy Grey providing in-your-face riffs, and along with bassist PJ Farley the guitar duo also contribute the backing vocals that are a feature of much of the bands material, leading to a sound that is heavily layered. Naturally, the larger than life presence of Jericho results in much between song chanting, the crowd alternating between “Fozzy Friday” and “Y2J” ad infinitum as he plays the role of ring master to perfection, blasting out a smoke cannon for ‘Do You Wanna Start a War’ and conducting the mosh pit during the cover of ‘Relax’. Although there was plenty of activity on stage to hold your attention, the rear screen was heavily utilised to provide additional visuals, notably on ‘Nowhere to Run’ (that used parts of Mad Max:Fury Road) and ‘Purifier’, which featured a montage of horror movies from across the decades.
Hard rock and the world of wrestling have always been well suited, and with Fozzy having now provided a parallel career for Jericho since the turn of the century he is clearly very much committed to the band and its audience. Signature song ‘Judas’ is held back for the encore and it still provides the nights knockout moment, the man once nicknamed the the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla making sure everyone left KK’s with smiles on their faces.
Setlist:-
Spotlight
Bad Tattoo
Painless
Do You Wanna Start a War
Lights Go Out
Relax
Sane
I Still Burn
Nowhere to Run
Burn Me Out
Spider in My Mouth
Purifier
Enemy
Judas
Blitzkrieg Bop
