TESTAMENT, Ex-JUDAS PRIEST, SCORPIONS, NIGHTWISH Members Perform At Israel's TITANS OF METAL Despite BDS Boycott

December 18, 2015

More than 20 international metal and hard rock artists performed at Israel's first-ever edition of Titans Of Metal festival, which took place on December 17 at Tel Aviv's Theatron Club. The show was held despite the activities of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, spearheaded by ex-PINK FLOYD member Roger Waters, which calls for the financial and cultural boycott of Israel for what BDS claims is mistreatment of the Palestinian population.

Patrick Losinsky, who owns Israel's Progstage Productions, the event's promoter, said: "Israel isn't a prefect state, and we have our own percentage of religious extremists, but the fact is the BDS movement fails to see this is not a black-and-white situation. The roadblocks it protests against have been built in the Palestinian areas because of 70 years of terror attacks on Israelis, and Gaza is under a naval blockade because the Hamas organization which rules it has been smuggling in huge amounts of rockets and weapons it uses to fire at Israeli cities — without any provocation."

He continued: "There should be peace, and extremists from both sides are an obstacle for peace, but the fact is the BDS is partly motivated by blind hate, and fails to understand the complexity of this. Instead of striving for a solution, they seem to think hatred and scare tactics will change anything here, not unlike the terrorists who think that violence, of any kind, can change things for the better. Above all that, metal is not about politics, it's about music. It's about musicians playing for their fans, and if anything, using their influence to call for a mutual understanding and unity, and not divestment, boycotts and one-sided hate.

Losinsky added: "Musicians from Germany, Norway, USA, Sweden, Italy, Greece, France and Israel all came together for one purpose — heavy metal.

"I thank each and every one of the artists involved who came here to play music, to share their gift with like-minded metalheads, in the audience were Jews, Muslims, Christians — from all over Israel, all music fans who came for the one thing that unites us all despite of all our differences — music."

Among the participating artists were:

* Sean Peck (CAGE, DEATH DEALER, DENNER/SHERMANN)
* Michael Denner and Hank Shermann (MERCYFUL FATE, DENNER/SHERMANN)
* Goerge Kollias (NILE)
* Anette Olzon (ex-NIGHTWISH)
* Mats Levén (CANDLEMASS)
* Oliver Holzwarth (ex-BLIND GUARDIAN)
* Fabio Lione (ANGRA, RHAPSODY OF FIRE)
* Roland Grapow (ex-HELLOWEEN, MASTERPLAN)
* Jorn Lande (JORN, AVANTASIA, ex-MASTERPLAN)
* Chris Amott (ex-ARCH ENEMY)
* Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT)
* Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR)
* Olaf Lenk (AT VANCE)
* Hannes Grossmann (ex-OBSCURA, ALKALOID)
* Mike Terrana (TARJA, ex-RAGE)
* Uli Jon Roth (ex-SCORPIONS)
* Ross The Boss (ex-MANOWAR, DEATH DEALER)
* Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND)
* Joe Amore (ex-NIGHTMARE, DO OR DIE)
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH)

The musicians played songs from their own current and previous bands, as well as covers of other rock and metal classics, in rotating lineups.

Among the 30 songs performed:

"Holy Diver" (DIO cover)

* Ripper Owens
* Oliver Holzwarth
* Mike Terrana
* Roland Grapow

* "Stormbringer" (DEEP PURPLE cover)

* Jorn Lande
* Roland Grapow
* Boris Siper
* Hannes Grossmann

* "Smoke On The Water" (DEEP PURPLE cover)

* Jorn Lande
* Mats Leven
* Uli Jon Roth
* Oliver Holzwarth
* Hannes Grossmann

* "Amaranth" (NIGHTWISH cover)

* Anette Olzon
* Fede Taich
* Boris Siper
* Itzik Shtemer
* Artyom Tenenbaum

* "Come To The Sabbath" (MERCYFUL FATE cover)

(first performance ever by DENNER/SHERMANN band)

* Sean Peck
* Michael Denner
* Hank Shermann
* Oliver Holzwarth
* Hannes Grossmann

* "Paranoid" (BLACK SABBATH cover)

* Sean Peck
* Michael Denner
* Hank Shermann
* Oliver Holzwarth
* Hannes Grossmann

* "I Want Out" (HELLOWEEN cover)

* Ralf Scheepers
* Roland Grapow
* Olaf Lenk
* Hannes Grossmann
* Sacha Latman

* "Hail And Kill" (MANOWAR cover)

* Sean Peck
* Ross The Boss
* George Kollias
* Sacha Latman

* "Am I Evil?" (DIAMOND HEAD cover)

* Chuck Billy
* Chris Amott
* Alex Zvulun
* George Kollias
* Ross The Boss

"Emerald Sword" (RHAPSODY cover)

* Fabio Lione
* Fede Taich
* Hannes Grossmann
* Bob Katsionis

* "Wasted Years" (IRON MAIDEN cover)

* Fabio Lione
* Olaf Lenk
* Chris Amott
* Hannes Grossmann
* Oliver Holzwarth

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