An impressive crowd had gathered in Rock City by the time Welsh rockers, Scarlet Rebels, took to the stage and got them warmed up for the evening. Escape The Fate hit the stage next and it was clear that they had quite a lot of supporters in the crowd. Certainly they seemed prepared for the impressive circle pit that took place near the end of the set and gave us the first and second crowd surfers of the evening, the first being from the audience, the second, the guitarist.

When Fozzy finally took to the stage the room exploded. Chris Jericho took his position on a raised platform at the front of stage as they belted out their opening number, Sane from their latest album, Boombox. I have to wonder if Jericho has somehow cloned himself, given that he appeared on stage in Manchester two nights prior, while also putting in an appearance at a live edition of AEW Rampage in Atlantic City, New Jersey on the same night. Either that, or he has simply mastered control of time and space. After all… He is a Wizard.

On that note, the chants of “Y2J” were quickly supplanted by chants of “Fozzy” with a little encouragement from Jericho, and those chants would continue throughout the entire evening between the songs, maintaining or exceeding volume each time from a crowd that was clearly heavily invested in the band. The set covered hits from previous albums such as One Crazed Anarchist and Martyr No More, as well as newer tracks, I Still Burn and Purifier.

During one of the breaks, Jericho explained the health issues he faced last time the band toured that forced them to cancel some dates, including one in Nottingham. He talked about the band’s relationship with Nottingham and the support they have received over the years playing the smaller stages in Rock City, but always having a huge crowd, and it was with genuine emotion when he spoke about how he felt now that they had graduated to playing “The Big Room”.

Other highlights from the set included an incredible cover of Relax and one of the most breathtaking guitar solo duels between Rich Ward and Billy Grey that I have ever witnessed. The set drew towards a close with crowd favourite, Judas. The fact that Judas is used as Jericho’s entrance music on AEW has cemented this tune as one of Fozzy’s most recognised and loved tunes, and I’m sure that it has drawn in many a wrestling fan into being fans of the band, and their music. And so it was with a bonus cover version of AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds” that Fozzy sent the Nottingham crowd home with smiles plastered across their faces as backstage (in my mind at least) Jericho opened a wormhole to take the band to their next destination…

Originally posted on https://www.hrhmag.com/2022/11/17/live-review-fozzy-at-nottingham-rock-city/