A "Shock"ing Thanksgiving in Ottawa!

Heading south to Toronto on Thanksgiving Monday by 7am to hop a bus bound for Ottawa with a return trip slated for 1:30am departure, I was off to check out a band that I'd been waiting to see since I discovered them.  Actually I was introduced to them via a friend writing for a competing website, consorting with the enemy perhaps you could say.  The disc quickly became a  favorite, appearing on my top of 2013 and a review on each of the three websites I'm involved with!  The Once Denied CD is still just as fresh now and often gets me through the early morning silence of prep time at work in the restaurant.

Meister at the Houses of Parliament

Lost in the nations capital shortly after my disembarkation of the bus, I had naturally walked the wrong direction out of the bus terminal through a rather sketchy looking area of town.  Finally returning and going the other way I found myself on Bank Street heading up to Wellington, which turns into Rideau, the location of Mavericks.  A photo of Meister reppin' the Shock tee at the Houses of Parliament before settling in at a Scottish pub for fish & chips and a beer, or two, or three until the doors to Mavericks bar opened.

Nearly immediately upon entering the rather small venue I met bassist Steve Monette.  Great to finally meet Steve in person, guitarist John Tennant joined us shortly and they both introduced me to vocalist Tony Ve.  There was quite a lot of chatting all around and beer purchasing as they humbly thanked me for my efforts to attend the event.  No, boys thank-you for the great music and all you do.

Leading band, Rusted, were also one of the attractions for me, having again been introduced to the band through the same competitor who brought me Shock.  They entered the tiny stage to  

Rusted-photo by The Meister

Europe's "The Final Countdown", ripping through their opening selection that I was not familiar with.  "Two At A Time" was next up as the Montreal boys were rocking hard and all over the stage, well, as much as they could be with the limited space.  Two support poles/pillars at either side of the stage effectively blocked the bass and rhythm guitarist from a clear view.  What a stupid place to put a stage with these poles blocking views.  "Scream in the Night" saw lead vocalist Tony Rust donning a huge skull head in a bout of gimmicky showmanship that sits well in my book.  The sound in here had a huge echo and did not seem to improve as Rusted went on tearing up the stage.  "Rock Patrol", title track to their debut album, came next and I was able to capture this album title track on video including the lead guitarist, Tommy D. Eagle, jumping from the stage and running through the audience.  "Young Wild & Free" was the swan song of Rusted's awesome high energy set.

Joe Thrasher was the next band to crowd the stage and their name was more than appropriate.  The band seemed extremely tight, but the music just wasn't overly appealing to me.  Probably the most surreal moment took place between Joe Thrasher and Shock's sets as I was approached by a guy who remembered seeing me at Judas Priest in Rochester!  How about that?  I'm not the only crazy Canadian to travel far and wide for rock and metal!

Tony Ve & Steve Monette-Meister

Now for the main event: well at least my main event, Shock, no offense to Blaze Bayley.  First thing I noticed was that the sound had noticeably improved and Shock were sounding awesome right off the bat with "Fighting Chance".  John Tennant and Tony Ve's fingers were sheer blurs of motion over the guitar strings as Steve Monette's thundering bass lines backed them up.  Shock's newest member, the drummer, looked extremely young pounding on the kit, but there was no shortage of talent as he bashed the skins.  I was loving every minute of this band and so happy that I decided to make the arduous journey up here to finally catch the live experience.  The setlist was comprised of a healthy selection off the Once Denied album, seven of the eight contained therein to be precise.  Each and every one had me singing along and more than a little headbanging, although I have to remember to tame both actions down during any videos I take.  Headbanging as it quite obviously shakes the picture and singing as I'm totally tone deaf, something not assisted by large amounts of beer.  Shock served up a heaping plate of old school thrash style metal based on chunky riffs, thunderous bass lines and a pounding back beat, sprinkled with blistering guitar

John Tennant-by Meister

 solos and screeching vocals.  Before they launched into "I'm Dangerous" guitarist John Tennant addressed the assemblage briefly, asking if anyone had come further than Toronto for the event.  When no responses greeted him, he dedicated the show to The Meister!  Super cool shout outs like that never get old for me.  Among the Once Denied selections of "Flaming Towards Earth", "Full Speed Ahead", "Slashing to Live", "Driven To Kill" and "Paths of Glory" they debuted three new compositions.  What was printed on the setlist as"YMYL", I can only assume is just an acronym for the actual title, "Patriot" and "Sonic Assault" were excellent additions to the Shock library and I'm totally stoked for the new album, hopefully coming soon, boys?  I know that Blaze Bayley is the promoted headliner for this evening but Shock was 100% the real deal for me and reason for the trek.  If you're unfamiliar with Shock, correct that pronto by contacting the band and checking out the videos I captured at the show coming soon on the Decibel Geek YouTube Channel.

Shock @ Mavericks Ottawa October 13, 2014 - photo by The Meister

More beer flowed as I congratulated the Shock guys on a truly killer set.  Blaze Bayley took the stage with Maiden Quebec as his backing band and he apologized to us for the lack of attendees.  "Lord of the Flies" got things underway and I remarked at how engaging Blaze was with the crowd

Blaze Bayley Ottawa 2014-photo by The Meister

(well gathering of about 100).  Throughout the set he several times offered a heartfelt thanks to those that made it out, the few but mighty he called us, and for the selling out of his CD/DVD on this first tour in Canada in 15 years.  He also, at one point, proclaimed that he was living his dream right now even though some would say that a less than half full room was not much of a dream.  He granted us all the day off tomorrow and invited us to stick around for a beer with him after as he was going to go straight to the bar after the set.  A man of his word he literally was assisted off stage by some fans and went directly to the bar, no quick stop at a dressing room even!  A very charismatic and engaging performer, much more so than when I saw him teamed with Paul Di'Anno at Sweden Rock 2014, but Shock stole the show for me.  Blaze's set included: "The Clansman", "Ghost in the Machine", "Soundtrack of My Life", "Silicon Messiah", "Futureal", "Man on the Edge" and more.  I was surprised when we also were awarded the Maiden classics of "Running Free", "Wrathchild", "Iron Maiden" and "Wasted Years" before he headed to the bar.

After helping the Shock guys load up their gear it was off to catch the 1:30am bus for a five hour trip back to Toronto and then straight to work Tuesday morning.......ahhh it's a "Rock n Roll Life"!

Look for videos from the show coming soon to Decibel Geek's YouTube Channel

Cheers,
The Meister

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PHOTO CREDIT: RICH "THE MEISTER" DILLON 2014

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Redemption of My Soul in Rochester

A Judas Priest fan through and through, the iconic British metal band is of course one of the elements of my full sleeve tattoo.  The tattoo depicts a guitar case stickered with the logos of about
30 of my favorite bands.  Although not having seen "the Priest" live as many times as I would have liked, I am filled with determination to make up for that now before I lose the window of opportunity.  I was able to catch the previous two stops in Toronto, both shows were awesome and had their own merits.  Finding out that this new tour supporting the not too long ago issued Redeemer of Souls album (Redeemer of Souls Review) included special guests Steel Panther only served to add to the excitement.  Finding out that the tour would not be stopping in Toronto was near devastating, the closest venue (Casino Rama) being a place about two hours away and difficult to get to via public transport.  My good friend (and reviewer for another website) could also not make the Casino event and suggested Montreal, which eventually also turned out to be not in the cards.  Rochester popped up on the radar, only a three hour drive away and a date that worked well for us both, we were "Hell Bent For Leather" once more.  I received excited text messages from him during the ticket purchasing, it seems to be all general admission he exclaimed!  Wow a general admission Judas Priest concert, doubtful we'd ever see that in Toronto!

The Armory-photo by Meister

We got "Heading Out To The Highway" in the afternoon and amazingly succeeded in getting a little lost on roads we were both familiar with, the evils of non stop chatting about rock!  I remarked that even though I like the surprise of not knowing the setlist prior to the show I also cannot resist looking it up.  I couldn't find anything for this event as it was the first show of the world tour.  We joked about a previous long drive venture to the US to see a concert on the initial performance of a tour (Motley Crue Show Review), one that did not go so well and hoped that we were not in for a repeat.  Arriving in Rochester we cruised by the venue, The Main Street Armory, which at first appeared that it could have been a church but in fact was more like a castle.  It was about an hour before the doors were set to open and we found there to be quite a few folks waiting.  After a horrible experience at a nearby Wendy's we became successful in securing some "not to sketchy looking parking" and joined the now doubled in size line formed down the sidewalk out front.  Once inside we instantly became like kids in a candy store upon seeing that it was in fact general admission with some seating on an upper balcony circumferencing the hall.  Not only was it general admission, but a surprisingly small arena, similar to Toronto's Sound Academy for those who are familiar with that place.  Think high school gymnasium!  We had time to breeze by the awesome looking merchandise booth, peruse

Inside The Armory-photo by Meister

 the vantage points from the balcony and still secure positions two people back from the barrier at the front of the stage!  The phrase "We definitely have to hit more of these US venues" floated back and forth between us as we discussed the cheaper ticket pricing and much, much better seating availability based on our two experiences.  It wasn't long before we ran into another rabid Priest fan and fellow Canuck who had made the journey from Ottawa for the occasion as well as everyone else around us, hey we're friendly Canadians...lol.

Satchel-photo by Meister

Tickets were printed that doors opened at 6 and show at 7pm so by the time 7:15 hit everyone was starting to check their watches.  As we watched 7:30, 7;45 and 8pm pass, our phrase became "Perhaps no more first show dates for us".  After we beat a dead horse with the "What are they Guns 'n' Roses?" jokes, we ourselves had become tired and claustrophobic in the steamy, sweaty gymnasium with a decided lack of air circulation.  The crowd was becoming increasingly hostile and were growing restless.  The colossal booing from the audience began around 8pm amidst chants of "let's go", "come on" and similar demands.  Around 8:15pm we could see bassist Lexxi Foxx and drummer Stix Zadinia milling around side stage, making no hurried effort to get going.  Methinks that Steel Panther will not be well received, a thought backed up by the huge deep booing that Stix received as he finally took up his stool behind the kit at 8:23pm.  Steel Panther quieted down the restless natives quite quickly

Michael Starr-by Meister

  as they wasted no time in ripping into "Pussywhipped" followed closely by "Party Like Tomorrow's the End of the World".  Michael Starr (vocals), Satchel (guitar-formerly of Fight with Rob Halford), Lexxi Foxx (bass) and Styx Zadinia (drums) are something to behold if you haven't already delved into the sensation that is Steel Panther.  The music is pure 80's "hair band" (I'm not a fan of that term, but it works) style material, but the lyrics are a little more sexually explicit, some may say crude.  With a Panther show you also get some stand up comedy as they banter back and forth with each other throwing insults at themselves and the crowd.  The jokes are quite funny, but they do get a little old

Lexxi Foxx-by Meister

 after seeing them a few times. They may not be exactly the same but basically the so, although this time they managed to fit in some quips regarding the late start.  All in all a rousing opening set by a fun and talented band that did a great job considering the frustration and hostility of the crowd with the near hour and a half late start.  Other selections in their hour long stage appearance consisted of "Asian Hooker", "Just Like Tiger Woods", "Gold Digging Whore", "Girl From Oklahoma" (which sounds a lot like Extreme's "More Than Words" to me at the start), "Community Property", "Eyes of a Panther", "17 Girls in a Row", "Death to All But Metal", and "Party All Day (Fuck All Night)".

Rob Halford-by Meister

The bitterness evaporated and the mood lifted, we chatted lightly as a colourful Judas Priest banner enveloped the stage while roadies were clearing away the Panther gear.  At 10:15pm the house music and lights dimmed in preparation for the main event.  "Dragonaut" from the July issued Redeemer of Souls album led the charge of the heavy metal machine known as Judas Priest.  Rob Halford (vocalist) set aside the cane that he had been using during the opening number and was surprisingly quite active around the stage during "Metal Gods".  I decided to video (available soon on Decibel Geek YouTube) the next song, elated to hear the opening chords of "Devil's Child", a song I was hoping to hear tonight but not expecting.  "Victim of Changes", a metal masterpiece, was delivered next complete with a bone chilling, piercing wail ala Rob Halford to complete the song.  As the audience was reeling from the obviously still strong vocal prowess of the Metal God himself the band greeted us with

Glenn Tipton-by Meister

  another new song in "Halls of Valhalla".  Halford with his intense facial expressions again absolutely nailed the scream near the beginning of that one as well, squashing any rumors that you may or may not have heard about his voice deteriorating.  Absolutely marvelous especially considering the man has breached 60 years of age!  "The Priest is Back"!  In all my tone deaf glory I sang along to "Love Bites" at the top of my lungs, apologies to those within earshot, and continued headbanging in time with "March of the Damned".  We had heard chirping outside in line and in the auditorium about this Armory place being notorious for poor sound quality.  I'm happy to say that we did not find that at all.  Panther sounded quite good, but Priest was awesome, a perfect blend of Ian Hill's thumping bass lines, the dual axe slinging attack of Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner all against a

Ian Hill-photo by Meister

backbeat served up by Scott Travis.  Mr Halford would leave the stage via a curtain at the side and change jackets for near every song and this time he appeared wearing a silver full length coat that must have been swelteringly hot up there.  He addressed the cheering crowd noting that the Rocka Rolla album had turned forty a couple of weeks back, so this tour was in celebration of forty years of Judas Priest.  Rob also gave a heartfelt thanks for the reaction to Redeemer of Souls and it's reaching number six on Bilboard charts.  The album's title track was served up now followed closely by the quintessential heavy metal ballad "Beyond the Realms of Death" as introduced by Halford.  Another surprise inclusion with "Jawbreaker" from their 1984 album, Defenders of the Faith fit in nicely ahead of "Breaking The Law".  The revving of a motorcycle could be heard off stage as it roared for

Tipton & Travis-photo by Meister

several minutes before Halford rode in on the steel horse to signify the beginning of "Hell Bent For Leather".  The band left the stage this time and you instinctively knew that it was time to call them back.  The chants, cheering and roar of the obviously pleased despite the wait to start crowd was deafeningly loud.  Halford returned to the stage leading the audience in some "Yeah, yeah, yeah's", a telltale sign of "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"'s appearance.  The conclusion of the metal anthem, which included a Richie 

Halford-photo by Meister

Faulkner guitar solo again saw the band exit the stage as we all screamed for another song.  Our pleas were answered in "Living After Midnight" followed by "Defenders of the Faith" to wrap up the performance.  "Defenders of the Faith" saw Ian Hill take up a rarely seen position at the front of the stage, normally relegating himself to the background.  The band tossed out pics and sticks before collecting center stage for a final bow.  Rob Halford lingered a few moments on stage behind his bandmates and lead the crowd in chanting "Judas Priest, Judas Priest", walking off as we chanted.

Cheers,
The Meister

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 (Buy: Steel Panther - All You Can Eat)

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(Buy: Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls)

AC/DC Drummer Delivers Head Job

Most of us know the name Phil Rudd as synonymous with Aussie rock stalwarts AC/DC.  Phil joined AC/DC in 1975 and remained with the band until 1983 when he was reportedly dismissed due in part to a conflict with guitarist Malcolm Young.  He moved to Tauanga, New Zealand and filled his time away from AC/DC with the purchase of a helicopter company, racing cars, becoming a farmer and building his own recording studio.  Rudd re-joined the AC/DC camp in 1993 and has since appeared on the albums Ballbreaker (1995), Stiff Upper Lip (2000) and Black Ice (2008).  He also owns a steak and seafood restaurant in Tauranga New Zealand.

Rudd has now taken a stab in the solo album department with the recently released Head Job.  He wrote and recorded the effort with two friends, guitarist Geoffry Martin and bassist/vocalist Allan Badger.  I had previously investigated the advance video release of "Repo Man" and found it to be enjoyable but I had my doubts on what the whole thing would sound like.  Let's see if I was right shall we........

The title track "Head Job" gets things underway fantastically.  I played it four times through before I could move forward.  I can't say enough good things about this track that remained in my head for days afterwards no matter how many times I listened to it.  In fact as I would be singing the chorus
under my breath to the beat rolling in my head throughout the day it often came out in answer to a question I was asked by co-workers.....this action elicited some very questioning looks!  The subject matter is not sexual but according to Rudd the track is about "going to the pub to commiserate with your mates about someone doing your head in".  If this track doesn't get your toe tapping you may well need a visit to the hospital for life support systems!  What an opener to an album and an instant fave for me, hope to hell this quality keeps up!  "Sun Goes Down" sits in the second position of the collection, filled with a bluesy swagger and a great driving beat for another excellent straight ahead rock song.  The slower but still infectious groove of "Lonely Child" keeps things rolling but so far nothing matches "Head Job".  "Lost in America" continues the vein but my excitement is beginning to wane.   After that we get "Crazy" an almost country-ish and frankly weak tune that I just don't enjoy.  "Bad Move" brings back the distortion and heavier sound in this plodding number that grows on me with every listen.  The funk of "No Right" is catchy but "The Other Side", the longest composition, gets skipped during almost every listen.   "40 Days & 40 Nights" fixes everything and has a groove that you can't miss, while "Repo Man" is just the way Southern Blues Hard Rock should be.  "When I Get My Hands On You" is the final entry and another solid one at that.

Bottom line:  While I found a couple of the middle tracks of Head Job to be a little flaccid Phil Rudd and his friends have created some amazing and catchy Southern blues, swagger-filled songs.  Take note of "Head Job", "Repo Man", "40 Days & 40 Nights", "Sun Goes Down" and "When I Get My Hands On You".

Cheers,
The Meister

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(Buy: Phil Rudd - Head Job)

Caught in the Storm of Blades

In my novice days of joining the Decibel Geek ranks (seems so long ago now) one of the early articles I chose to write was about an awesome band that I had recently discovered at the time.  That band's name was Bullet originally formed in Vaxjo Sweden in 1996 and comprised of Dag "Hell"

Bullet Bus-photo by The Meister

Hofer (vocals), Adam Hector (bass), Gustav Hjortsjo (drums), Hampus Klang (guitars) and Erik Almstrom (guitars).  The band has issued four albums prior to 2014's Storm of Blades, Heading For the Top (2006), Bite the Bullet (2008), Highway Pirates (2011) and Full Pull (2012).  Every album is fantastic exuding their straight ahead hard rock sound oft compared to that of AC/DC.  I was excited and fortunate to get the opportunity to see them at Sweden Rock 2013.  While there I even happened across the Bullet Bus (too bad no-one was in it when I passed by) that carries the band from gig to gig.  (Days 1&2 at Sweden Rock 2013) (I Bit The Bullet)

Bullet at Sweden Rock 2013-photo by The Meister

For Storm of Blades Erik Almstrom has departed the Bullet fold and Alexander Lyrbo stepped in to take up the second guitar position.  The album opens with a near minute long "Uprising" intro that doesn't really seem to serve much purpose in my mind, as most intros don't.  After the intro the 
charging guitar riff of "Storm of Blades" leads into the classic sounding Bullet cut which was issued as a single and video back in July.  "Riding High" is up tempo and has a catchy chorus to it while "Tornado" features a great little guitar solo.  The ferocious "Hawk Eyes" is up next but "This One's For You" seems a little like filler to me and is one of the weaker selections, but don't get me wrong it's in no way bad.  That filler feeling doesn't last long as we get into the totally awesome pumping anthem of "Hammer Down" followed by the infectious "It's On".  "Crossfire" is again a strong composition but the blistering pace of "Run With the Hunted" is a thing of beauty.  Things wrap up with the longest running track "Coming In Loud" which reminds me of a sweeping epic somehow....maybe it's just been a long day, no matter it's a stellar track as is the whole album.  I better hit "play" again right now!

I guess there's not really a glaring "standout" track contained here rather a tight collection of AC/DC (I wonder how they feel about all the AC/DC comparisons) style balls out rockers that collectively surpass their previous Full Pull release.  If I was forced to pick I'd say "Storm of Blades", "Hammer Down" and "It's On" are the top three.  I hope against all hope that there's a US/Canada tour coming up soon, but if not hopefully I can get my fix and take in a Bullet show while I'm over there for Sweden Rock 2015!

Cheers,
The Meister

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(Buy: Bullet - Storm of Blades)

The Meister is Filled With Blind Rage!

 When iconic German metallers Accept, Wolf Hoffman (guitars), Peter Baltes (bass), Herman Frank (Guitars) and Stefan Schwarzmann (drums) joined forces with former TT Quick vocalist Mark Tornillo in 2009 the resulting album would be the first of new Accept music in fourteen years.  Blood of the Nations dropped in 2010, its follow up Stalingrad in 2012 and recently 2014 sees the completion of the trilogy, if you will, in Blind Rage.  All three albums are the highest charting Accept albums to date, Blind Rage the first to reach number one on German charts.  The latest, like the previous two is helmed by Andy Sneap and in a more "bang for your buck" play Accept has also included a DVD of their full concert in Chile in 2013!

We find the eleven song collection on Blind Rage starting strong out of the gates with the previously released in video format "Stampede".  This is a perfect opener and follows suit of the rejuvenated formula we received on Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad.  In "Dying Breed" we find Accept paying tribute to some classic bands such as Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin among others proclaiming "They're the last of a dying breed and we salute you".  The slower, but still heavy pace of "Dark Side of My Heart" is reminiscent of old classic Accept.  "Fall of the Empire" is again a slower composition with a chanting background chorus but certainly no ballad by any means.  "Trail of Tears" picks up the pace once again starting out at a blistering pace while "Wanna Be Free" is a more mid-tempo selection leading off acoustically.  Tornillo's gruff and gravelly vocals shine in "200 Years" and "Bloodbath Mastermind" begins slow and soft before exploding into one of the best on the album.  "From the Ashes We Rise" takes us through to the absolutely awesome and longest running track, "The Curse", a sweeping epic of a track.  Another melt your face off rocker closes this awesome effort in "Final Journey".


With only a couple of songs contained here under the five minute mark Accept have submitted a worthy edition to their catalog in Blind Rage.  While perhaps just a smidge below (and I mean only just) its predecessors of Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad it's still an absolute must for any metal fan.  Sort of like completing the trilogy of the original Star Wars movies.

Cheers,
The Meister

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(Buy: Accept - Blind Rage)

The Meister's Kissin' Dynamite!

German band Kissin' Dynamite released their debut album, Steel of Swabia in 2008 when they were but 15 and 16 years old.  Since then they've followed it up every two years with another solid
effort, Addicted to Metal in 2010, Money Sex & Power in 2012 and now the end of September sees Megalomania hitting the shelves.  The five guys from Swabia (a southern part of Germany), vocalist Hannes Braun, guitarist Ande Braun (Hannes brother), guitarist Jim Muller, bassist Steffen Haile and drummer Andreas Schnitzer formed as a school band.  They have opened for the likes of Steel Panther and U.D.O. who also lends his gravelly vocals to the title track on Addicted to Metal.

For their latest effort, Megalomania, and quite frankly my introduction to Kissin' Dynamite, they barricaded themselves into their studio in Flensburg, Germany for a few weeks to write the songs.  The press release uses the word "zeitgeist" in a few places and after looking it up on wikipedia I found it to mean: "The Zeitgeist (spirit of the age or spirit of the time) is the intellectual fashion or dominant school of thought that typifies and influences the culture of a particular period in time."  Well, let's see if Kissin' Dynamite characterize the zeitgeist as the release claims shall we.

With ten tracks and only a 39 minute run time this is already different than several other reviews I've done lately in which there are 11 or 12 lengthy tracks and total run times over an hour.  "DNA" starts things off and quickly has my attention after the synthesizer beginning explodes into the pumping beat that drives the track.  The darker and pace changing "Maniac Ball" follows and does not live up to the preceding track.  "VIP in Hell" however raises the bar once again, with a breakneck pace but the downfall are the "rap-like" sections of the verses.  My total album killer curse "The Ballad" rears it's ugly head in the fourth spot with "Fireflies".  Not being a fan of ballads, a few classics aside mind you, this one fares better than most and does not squash my interest in the album.  The shortest track and arguably the best on Megalomania, "Deadly" appears next, great rocker with a little more modern tinges.  "I'm the God in you"
chants the beginnings on "God In You" before it opens up into an anthemic balls out rocker and in "Running Free" we are treated to more catchy hooks and melodic choruses.  The industrial flavored "Legion of the Legendary" is not really my style and it's followed up by another yawner ballad in "The Final Dance" instilling a growing loss of interest.  The album closes with "Ticket to Paradise" containing a crunchy beginning and an infectious sing along chorus in this melodic masterpiece that ends on a high point.

All in all Kissin' Dynamite's fourth effort is decent, but a little "all over the map" between the elements of sleaze rock, hard rock, industrial, power metal, speed metal and ballads but the songs I like, I like a lot.  They've certainly enticed me into a search of the previous three outings, remember these guys are in their early 20's with four albums already under their belts.  Let's see what they come up with next.

Cheers,
The Meister

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(Buy: Kissin' Dynamite - Megalomania)

Meister Hears A Sound of Thunder

A Sound of Thunder are a heavy metal band based in Washington DC and are set to issue their latest full length studio album on September 9, 2014.  The band is fronted with the operatic wails of pint
sized (standing a mere 5'2) classically trained (and hot) vocalist Nina Osegueda.  Osegueda has been described as "the lovechild of Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson" and also as a "heavy metal Swiss Army knife" for her ability to move from a delicate whisper to the overwhelming power of her vocal prowess.  The band began back in 2008 with the union of guitarist Josh Schwartz and drummer Chris Haren with the addition of Osegueda taking place in 2009.  It would take until 2011 before they found and completed the definitive line-up in bassist Jesse Keen.  A Sound of Thunder effectively combines elements of classic heavy metal, progressive and rock to formulate their unique sound.  the forthcoming The Lesser Key Of Solomon will be their fourth full length outing and a fine addition to the library I must say!  The album was funded with a crowd funding campaign in which their fans, dubbed "The Legion of Thunder" raised over $23000.

The Lesser Key of Solomon begins with a more than two minute long, basically instrumental, intro titled "The Nexus of Realities" which doesn't do much for me but I stick with it as the opening riffs of "Udoroth" begin. "Udoroth", is a headbanging, power metal delight and medieval fantasy treat, a lyrical theme that is carried throughout the album.  The album has some definite progressive elements and style combined with a NWOBHM sound that works all around.  The compositions for the most part are lengthy in run time and serve as a showcase for Osegueda's emotion laden vocal prowess and ranges as exampled on tracks such as "The Boy Who Could Fly".  Guitarist Josh
 Schwartz's soaring solos and bludgeoning riffs are peppered throughout the release.  The real progressiveness comes out on the near ten minute long "Elijah" containing many changes and even some spoken word story telling, none of which, I confess is my usual style but it just works for me here.  "Master of Pain" is reminiscent of the great Dio and another opus with the 8 1/2 minute long "Blood From the Mummy's Tomb" adds another depth with the inclusion of tinkling bells.  The slow build of "Black Secrets" serves as a playground for Schwartz and "One Empty Grave" is a definite standout for me from this album, but it's not the only one that's made it onto my MP3 player's regular listening rotation.  "House of Bones" serves as the final inclusion, another approaching the nine minute mark and is again a standout, helping me to find the latter half of this release stronger than the beginning.

Throughout this record I can hear the influences of great artists such as Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Dio and King Diamond combined with A Sound of Thunder's unique blend of the progressive elements.  With A Sound of Thunder issuing this kind of high quality metal it's no wonder they've developed a loyal fanbase dubbed "The Legion of Thunder"......so to join the legion do I have to sign in blood?

Meister Music (The Meister's top tracks): "Udoroth", "Master of Pain", "Black Secrets", "One Empty Grave" and "House of Bones".

Cheers,
The Meister

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Meister Spends Some Time on Skid Row

Skid Row promo poster

"Sebastian who?" was a text I received from a friend during the Skid Row concert in Toronto on Wednesday August 20, 2014.  He was situated across the Virgin Mobile Mod Club in a different vantage point than I was for the show and this text came by the end of the second song of the setlist.  I had caught the live Skid Row experience previously while at Sweden Rock Festival 2013 and learned the advantages of vocalist Johnny Solinger over Sebastian Bach but this was my friend's first experience.  Solinger has been a full fledged member of Skid Row for over fourteen years now, longer than his predecessor, the arrogant Sebastian Bach and handles the material of both eras well, an excellent and crowd appreciative frontman.  Many say things like "No Bach, no Skid Row", but I personally can do

Johnny Solinger-by Meister

without the arrogant, insulting and offensive attitude that we all know Bach to possess, something I witnessed during Bach's performance at 2014's M3 Festival.  In any case Solinger and the rest of the band, originals Dave "Snake" Sabo (guitar), Scotti Hill (guitar), Rachel Bolan (bass) and relatively new drummer Rob Hammersmith delivered a high energy, raucous rock n' roll experience in Toronto that night.  The boys whipped the "decent sized for a Wednesday night" crowd into a frenzy with a setlist encompassing almost everything you'd want from the 

Scotti Hill-photo by Meister

early days of Skid Row and a selection of more recent compositions scattered throughout.  They began with "Let's Go" from 2013's EP United World Rebellion: Chapter One and from there it was over to 1989's self titled debut album for a wicked four pack of "Makin' a Mess", "Big Guns", "Piece of Me" and "18 and Life".  By now the floor was a little tighter packed as everyone surged closer to the stage, fists high in the air, caught up in the frenzy of an awesome rock n' roll show.  We also rocked out to classics such as "Riot Act", "In a Darkened Room", "I Remember You" and "Monkey Business" as well as newer tracks like "Thick Is the Skin", "Kings of Demolition" and "Ghost".

Rachel Bolan-by Meister

 Also in the mix was a Rachel Bolan sung version of The Ramones' "Psycho Therapy" and the three punch to the balls encore set of "We Are the Damned" (from Rise of the Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two), "Slave to the Grind" and "Youth Gone Wild" to raise the house lights.  Grab your copy of Rise of the Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two through this link: Buy: The new Skid Row EP and don't miss Skid Row on tour!  Keep an eye on the Decibel Geek YouTube channel for a couple of videos from the Toronto show being uploaded soon Decibel Geek YouTube Channel

Cheers,
The Meister

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PHOTOS: Concert photos by The Meister 2014