Discovering Bloodbound as a part of my searching/learning process for the bands listed at what was to be my first venture across the ocean for Sweden Rock Festival in 2013, I liked their power metal
Bloodbound - photo taken from AFM Records press kit
sound. In becoming an ever bigger fan of that category of metal/rock I quickly collected their catalog consisting of 2005's Nosferatu, 2007's The Book of the Dead, 2009's Tabula Rasa, 2011's Unholy Cross and 2012's In the Name of Metal. Bloodbound began life in 2004 with Fedrik Bergh (keyboards) and Tomas Olsson (guitar) being the original creators. The band started out with Urban Breed handling the vocal duties, but for the second release he was succeeded by Michael Bormann. Breed returned to the fold for Tabula Rasa until he was replaced with Patrik Johansson for Unholy Cross and forward. The rest of the band on Stormborn alongside Bergh, Olsson and Johansson are: Anders Broman (bass), Henrik Olsson (guitar) and Pelle Akerlind (drums).
Stormborn begins with a 1:43 intro, "Bloodtale", that I suppose is intended to be creepy or devilish, but serves to me as not much more than a waste of time. "Satanic Panic" turns things around and rips out of the gates running rampant with piercingly tight vocals, riffs, thrash style pace and a huge chorus. "Iron Throne" is a little high pitched and screechy at times for my particular likes but it has been chosen as the lead single/video, included below. "Nightmares From the Grave" is more like my expectations from Bloodbound with a chanting chorus and a children's choir segment. The title track "Stormborn" is a stomping power metal anthem beginning ominously with the clap of thunder and rain falling, to choir vocals, to the pounding beat driving the track forward. "We Raise the Dead" begins with a charging riff, powering forward into the thumping track for one of the best of the compilation and probably my top pick. Anthemic "Made of Steel" had my air drumming off to the races and is exactly what the title would suggest, hard driving, first pumping, chanting metal, perhaps this will be my top pick instead. "Blood of My Blood" keeps things moving in the same vein as Stormborn just seems to get better and better as it moves forward. A truly epic track with "When the Kingdom Will Fall" appears next and "Seven Hells" is a thundering delight. Stormborn wraps up with the ripping "When All Lights Fail" to bring the album to a nice close on a high note.
An excellent entry into the year's album race, Bloodbound's Stormborn is a solid bet for all power metal fans. Johansson's soaring, piercing vocals and Bergh's keyboards add to the orchestral and Gothic feel of the record backed up by lyrical themes of pirates, dragons and more. This shall be loaded onto the MP3 player immediately!
The undisputed Metal Queen, Dusseldorf Germany’s Doro Pesch rolled into Toronto with her 30th Anniversary tour on October 16, 2014. It had been about a year and a half since her last visit, which was my first time seeing the live Doro experience. I have long, long been a Doro/Warlock fan, getting into the band with the True As Steel album that we pilfered from my buddy’s older brother’s collection in our hunger to discover new hard rock/metal music that we had recently become exposed to. From there we moved both backwards and forwards simultaneously as we saved our allowances and paper route gains to collect the previous Hellbound and Burning the Witches albums as well as the recently (at the time) issued Triumph & Agony. We were fifteen or sixteen and in Canadian High School when we both enrolled in a German class teaching the basics of the language and culture. One assignment was to bring something German into the next class that we would discuss. We teamed up and produced the Triumph & Agony cassette when our name was called. I’m not sure that the rest of the class or the teacher enjoyed that session as we listened to and discussed the album and the band during the class. Fast forward to 2013 and the first time I had the chance to see her live in a truly incredible performance in Toronto despite the horrible snowstorm outside of the club. We raged inside while Mother Nature raged outside. Around that same time, at the age of 40, I had finally decided to take the leap into body art and get my first tattoo. My love of music was the clear choice of subject. With the assistance of comic artist Rob Armstrong and tattoo artist Guy Abergel at Art Studio Tattoos, Toronto the tattoo became a full sleeve piece depicting a guitar case “stickered” with the logos of about 30 bands that helped shape or affect my life in some way. While there are still many great bands missing (not enough arm space), Doro Pesch is the only band to appear twice with both the Doro and Warlock logos! That shows you where the Metal Queen sits in my hierarchy of life. Again in 2013 I had been seriously getting closer to making the dream of attending a European festival a reality when I saw the lineup announced for Sweden Rock 2013. With Doro in the roster, my choice was cemented and tickets were booked and purchased, Sweden here I come! (A Canadian Decibel Geek in Sweden).
MORC Meet & Greet with Doro-photo by Danny Verret
2014 brought another chance to experience the live performance as Doro was slated to appear on that year’s Monsters of Rock Cruise. Two wonderful shows by the entire band took place there on the high seas. I spent the entire cruise looking for Doro as the one person that I wanted to meet aboard ship, but alas to no avail. I was, however, able to meet wicked bass player Nick Douglas and skin basher Johnny Dee (who I’d also met briefly in Toronto 2013), but Doro eluded me. Forced to attend the meet & greet aboard ship as my only chance to meet her, I had a few precious seconds to display the artwork of my arm and smile for a shot with the entire band before being herded along to the next photo session. It was still a complete dream come true getting a few seconds with the lady who helped shape my rock tastes and days of teen angst.
…And now we get to the present and specifically October 16, 2014. Presented by Inertia Entertainment and performing at The Hard Luck Bar would again be Doro and her incredible band. That announcement months earlier brought an immediate ticket link clicking and sheer elation that the price tag was a mere $22.50 CDN….that’s almost free! Perhaps this low price was due to the fact that The Hard Luck is a terribly small and totally shitty venue with the tiniest stage and possibly worst sound in Toronto. All that aside this would definitely be the most intimate show opportunity to see Doro! Coupled with all of this, the little and perhaps not obvious drop-down menu displayed a higher price option that included a meet & greet VIP and early entry option. This ain’t no Motley Crue “rip-off meet & greet”….it was only another $18-20 to add this to the ticket! Hell Yeah! Thanks Inertia Entertainment and Doro for this amazing and more than affordable opportunity.
Doro Toronto Oct 16, 2014-Brian Ronald
The evening finally arrived and I set out, meeting up with some friends for dinner prior to the show. We had gotten word that the meet & greet had been pushed back to after the show as the band had only recently arrived in Toronto. My good fortune stayed with me and good things come to those who wait as one of these dinner friends, Amy, was actually friends with a member of the band! How cool is that? In what almost seems like a dream to me now, before I knew it, on our way to the club we were pit stopping to pick up a carafe of coffee for the band, which shortly saw us on the tour bus! What, on the tour bus? Yes, yes we were! Doro and most of the band were present and I stood a few feet away from where the “Metal Queen” was sitting on the couch. Perhaps the blonde bombshell has discovered the fountain of youth as she definitely looks every bit as good and hot as she did in her youth! All the buzz was immediately evident as true in that she (and actually every single member of the group) really appreciate their fans as she chatted lightly with us. Somehow (thanks to Amy I believe) it was pointed out that I was adorned with a Doro tattoo and before I knew it I was shrugging out of my jacket to display Guy Abergel’s work. No sooner did I have the jacket off and guitarist Luca Princiotta remarked that he remembered the tattoo from the cruise meet & greet (very cool on that score alone!) as Nick Douglas (bassist) and Doro herself moved in to get a closer look. All of a sudden I was posing for photos with my German Metal Queen heroine, a few with her pointing to the tattoo. As we readied ourselves to depart Doro asked our
Doro & Meister Toronto Oct 16, 2014-by Brian Ronald
group if there was anything that we wanted to hear tonight. They all turned towards me, I gave a few moments thought wading/flipping through the tons of choices that instantly popped into my head. I wanted to choose something I’d not heard live before, but something that stood a chance of getting played. I settled on “We Are The Metalheads (Wacken Hymne)” to which she responded “OK”. Elated beyond belief and totally on cloud nine we all gushed an outpouring of thanks as we departed to give them what little time there was to get rested and ready to perform. I almost didn’t need the show now, that was so cool thanks Amy Mech, you rock!
Doro @ Hard Luck Toronto Oct 16, 2014 - Brian Ronald
I reported to position at the front of the stage on the side of guitarist Bas Maas. What followed could only be described as pure magic as we got a heavy dose of Warlock to get the show going. The crowd was pumped up and were all surging forward, fists in the air and screaming with the opening bars of the Warlock rager “I Rule The Ruins”. “Earthshaker Rock”, “Burning the Witches” and “Fight For Rock” all followed. Time for a double shot of Doro solo material next with “Night of the Warlock” and “Raise Your Fist” from the current, awesome album of the same name before a deeper and rarely played cut off 1984’s Burning The Witches release in “Without You”. Prior to the tour there had been a Doro fan poll in which the question was asked “What would you like to hear on this tour”. There were a lot of deeper cuts on the list and “Without You" is only one example, with other choices being things such as "Beyond the Trees" and "Unholy Love". The band listened to their fans and worked some of those fan favorite songs into
Doro Band Toronto Oct 16, 2014
the set, changing it up a little each night. The next track was a true treat for a fan like me with “Evil”, a song I’d never heard before and was actually completely unaware of it’s existence. Doro called out that the song was originally from 1985 and had not been released in Canada or US, so it would probably be new to us. What a total rager it was and I must add this track to my collection as soon as possible. “Metal Tango”, "True as Steel” and the ballad “Fur Immer" (Forever) kept the roster heavy in the Warlock vein as Doro offered her apologies on the sound quality (I gather there was some reverb/feedback in their monitors). So far there had been a few deviations from the setlist that was taped to the stage at the pint sized beauty’s feet and “East Meets West” was another of these. On the cruise Doro had been joined on stage by Ann Boleyn ("The Queen of Scream" from Hellion) for a duet on this one and since Hellion was indeed in town tomorrow I wondered if we might see a little cross performing, but it was not to be the case. During one of the choruses of "East Meets West" Doro moved to my side of the stage, worming between monitors and cords and coming to stop directly in front of me! Staring right at me, we each sang several lines of the chorus to each other as I felt a pat on my back from my friend Amy. Words cannot describe the feeling. “Out of Control” another rarely seen gem popped up next with a lengthy skin bashing solo including crowd participation from Johnny Dee. Doro returned to stage and announced that Johnny Dee (Britny Fox) had been with her for 21 years to date, offering her thanks to him for going above the call on
Johnny Dee @ Hard Luck Toronto Oct 16, 2014-Brian Ronald
this tour and driving the bus as well! Wow, I know that he was previously the tour manager, so if he’s still performing those duties he’s a busy and dedicated guy! Doro continued to talk to the rabid crowd explaining about the poll for setlist and the fan chosen favorites. Then she said: “We met some friends earlier this evening and one of them requested a song. This gentleman right here, (pointing at me with an outstretched arm) wanted to hear something. What was it?" She asked. ""We are the Metalheads",” I nervously replied in a fairly loud voice, a bit shocked at Doro calling me out. Again I felt the pat on the back from my friend Amy as she knew just what something like that and all these other exchanges really mean to metal fan such as myself. “Love Me In Black” was next as I still reeled from the previous, my throat nearly raw and harsh. “All We Are” of course closed up the regular set with a little crowd participation included and we just knew that there would still be more to come. After a short reprieve the band re-crowded the tiny
Nick Douglas Toronto Oct 16, 2014
stage for the encores as the audience cheered them on with everything they had. "Hero", composed as a tribute to Ronnie James Dio, lead the way followed closely behind by “Breaking The Law”, a Judas Priest cover that Doro has made her own. “Burn it Up” was the final song for the evening and as the band exited the stage we all remarked about the total awesomeness of what we had just witnessed and experienced. We milled around as concert goers filed out or to the bar for much needed refreshments. After a short while security hoisted out all the non Meet & Greeters and we were explained the rules. Simple: line-up, two things only signed by the band, walk by them all and quick chat as they sign, no photos, line up again and then photos will start. It all went remarkably smoothly and not anywhere near as drawn out as I would have thought. I of course had much more than two things to sign and the promoter had just handed out event posters to us all as well. I passed a couple of CD covers to friends ahead and behind me as they only had one thing each and we were off. Luca Princiotta was first and there were of course pleasantries about the show as I approached the table, shaking his hand. I asked him why they were not selling his solo CD this time around. I had considered purchasing it last time as he is an awesome and talented guitarist, but passed eventually. Preferring to buy direct from an artist if possible I waited for this show as my next opportunity to acquire the CD. He seemed shocked that I was interested and apologized that it was in the truck due to the late arrival, saying he might have one in the dressing room and would check for me after the
Luca Princiotta Toronto Oct 16, 2014
ordeal was over. Doro personalized my 25 Years In Rock...And Still Going Strong 25th Anniversary DVD/CD set and the event poster and I had a few brief minutes to chat with each member, thankful to them for coming to Toronto. We rounded around and formed up once again for photos. The whole band was “into” each fan’s photo taken with their own camera by one of the event staff. They even took two for everyone to be sure a good shot was captured. A large number of my group looked at the piss-poor lighting in the Hard Luck Bar, especially in the area we were using for photos and were dubious about the quality that their phones would produce. Meister to the rescue as I had my trusty little point and shoot camera already in hand. I ended up using my camera for a total of six peoples Meet & Greet photos! By the time I arrived home at 3:30am I was totally exhausted but made sure to get everyone’s pics posted and tagged for them on Facebook. Thank-you Doro Pesch, Johnny Dee, Bas Maas, Luca Princiotta, Nick Douglas and Harrison Young for a truly unforgettable experience and an awesome show!
Doro @ Hard Luck Bar October 16, 2014 Setlist: "I Rule the Ruins" "Earthshaker Rock"
Bas Maas Toronto Oct 16, 2014-Brian Ronald
"Burning the Witches" "Fight for Rock" "Night of the Warlock" "Raise Your Fist in the Air" "Without You" "Evil" "Metal Tango" "True as Steel" "Fur Immer" "East Meets West" "Out of Control" "Wacken Hymne (We are the Metalheads)" "Love Me in Black" "All We Are" Encore: "Hero" "Breaking the Law" "Burn It Up"
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 cutwhich 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!
"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
The Oddities of The Meister's I-Pod (or Meister's Fresh Blood)
In conjunction with this week's Decibel Geek Podcast Episode #150-Fresh Blood Vol. #2 in which Chris and Aaron spin tracks from bands that you are probably unfamiliar with I decided to take a look at my current listening selection. Rather than do a specific album review on each and every one
of these I thought that I’d take a quick look at some of the albums playing on my I-pod
(actually I don’t own an I-pod and instead have an MP3 player, but you get the
idea and I-pod just sounded better) at the moment, something that does change
fairly regularly. I have left out the
regular, more mainstream, more well-known names in hopes of introducing you to
some new music.
Here’s five reasonably recently released "Fresh Blood" albums that you should take a
look at (listen to) that are currently in my listening mix:
Ammotrack (2014)-Raise Your Hands. Ammotrack are a Swedish band, one of the many
excellent outputs from that Nordic land.
I discovered them when their name appeared on the huge list of bands
performing at 2014’s Sweden Rock Festival in early June. Each year the names and a brief bio on all 80
plus bands of that year’s festival are posted on the Sweden Rock website
including links to some you-tube videos so the festival goers can familiarize
themselves with the bands. I liked the
brief listen I gave them prior to the event and they did not disappoint in the
live setting! Raise Your Hands is a compilation album taking material fromAmmotrack's previous efforts,
2008’s Ammotrack and 2011’s Come Die With Us. Leading off
with the title track, "Raise Your Hands", a new composition it seems that Ammotrack prefers their sophomore album. Of the remaining
eleven tracks seven are from the later issue, however the whole collection is
fully loaded with their brand of street rock/sleaze metal packed with anthem
choruses and melodic hooks. A couple of songs to check out: "Living Like An Angel" / "Hitman" / "Come Die With Me" Ammotrack Website / Ammotrack Facebook / Buy: Ammotrack - Raise Your Hands
Acacia Avenue (2014)-Cold. At first I suspected that this would be just
an Iron Maiden tribute album named after the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
pioneer’s song “22 Acacia Avenue” but
that is not the case. This is the
brainchild of Denmark’s Torben Enevoldsen who it seems is more of a one-man
show than a band, handling the writing, guitars, bass, keyboards and some
background vocals! Aside from the roster
of guest vocalists, a new/different voice on almost every track, the only other
musician credited is drummer Dennis Hansen.
Having the seven different vocalists also collaborate with the song
writing makes for a fresh and exciting melodic hard rock/AOR album from start
to finish. The two Steve Newman sung
tracks, the opener of “Time” and
catchy vocal chorus of “Angelina” are
my favorites but I’d venture to say that there’s not a bad composition in the
collection. Listening selections: "Time" / "Love Will Survive" Torben Enveoldsen Website / Acacia Avenue Facebook / Buy: Acacia Avenue - Cold Thundermother (2014)-Rock ‘n’ Roll Disaster. Another Swedish outfit, I seem to have a real
penchant for the Swedish metal scene, this time a quintet of ladies. These girls came across my radar while I was watching
another Swedish band (Sister Sin)’s concert video in which Thundermother were the next
band on stage and I haven’t looked back.
I caught their spirited set at 2014’s Sweden Rock Festival and have
become even more of a fan, wanting to purchase the CD and shirt at the festival
(I failed to achieve this). These ladies
could have easily been AC/DC had those guys been younger and of the opposite
gender with a little of a punk influence thrown in for good measure, a mix that
equals anything other than a disaster! As
for their debut release, Rock ‘n’ Roll Disaster, the lead
track, “Man With Blues” gets things
going, but it only gets better from there once we get into “The Dangerous Kind”, “Thunderous”,
“Please Me”, "Shoot to Kill" and “Cheers”. Chosen by Aaron Camaro to feature on this week's episode and previously reviewed by The Meister (Thundermother Review), take a listen to this no frills, ball busting
rock and roll! Thundermother Website / Thundermother Facebook / Buy: Thundermother - Rock n Roll Disaster
Skrou (2014)-Skrou. Skrou are an unsigned band based in Toronto
Ontario. The name is derived from a play
on words using the name of singer/songwriter/founder Sam Kirou. I’ve had the pleasure to catch the group live
on several occasions and they have always delivered a fantastic and spirited
set comprising of their original material and some classic 80’s metal
covers. Skrou saw their debut CD issued
in January 2014, but songs such as “A Place to Shake”, “No One’s Home”, "Cold
Heart”, "Ride On", and “Dirty Little Fantasy” are still members of my ever changing
set list. Behind Sam Kirou we find John
DeFino on guitar, R.C. Ricci on bass and Eric Bonatti behind the kit. Together these guys are booking shows all
over southern Ontario with over 70 scheduled so far throughout the summer of
2014. Skrou are also available for
private parties or functions…..maybe it’s time The Meister threw himself a
birthday party! Check out "A Place to Shake" with the recently filmed official video and message the band to purchase your own copy of the CD. Skrou Website / Skrou on Facebook /
Battleaxe (2014)-Heavy Metal Sanctuary. Battleaxe enjoyed a short tenure as part of the NWOBHM
movement and existed during the early 80’s, spawning two full length albums. They re-united in 2010 and Heavy
Metal Sanctuary saw the light of day in early 2014. This album simply kicks ass from start to finish for old school metal lovers. The band started out under the moniker Warrior in early 1980 with vocalist Dave King, bassist Brian Smith, guitarist Steve Hardy and drummer Ian Thompson and this album sees Mick Percy and Paul Atkinson replacing Hardy and Thompson respectively. It seems that some things went south and there's some inner turmoil and confusingly two websites for Battleaxe, but the band is soldiering forward having just appeared at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in England with new drummer Ricky Squires. Here's the official the title track "Heavy Metal Sanctuary" for you to check out. Battleaxe Website / Battleaxe Facebook / Buy: Battleaxe - Heavy Metal Sanctuary
Photo Gallery of Thundermother at Sweden Rock Festival 2014
Rock 'n' Roll Disaster, the debut release from Sweden's Thundermother is anything but a disaster! You may not be familiar with this band,
and neither was I until one day I was watching a
Filippa Nassil-photo by The Meister
concert recording of
another awesome Swedish band, Sister Sin that they had posted on their
Facebook page. The next band on stage at the event was Thundermother. With AC/DC comparisons abound they were captivating, exuding a stage presence and energy that drew me
in right away with their original compositions. I eagerly awaited the
release of their debut album that my internet scouring had informed me was in the works and
Giorgia Carteri-by Meister
was stoked when
their name appeared among the 80 plus groups that would be performing at
2014's Sweden Rock Festival. Excellent, I would get to witness the
actual live act as I voyage from Toronto, Canada to Solvesborg, Sweden
for my second year of the festival event. The ladies were absolutely incredible
on stage that day fueled by periodic shots of "Fireball" and I was
forced to skip another act that I been waiting to see since 1990 as I
couldn't pull myself away from Thundermother! Day #3 at Sweden Rock 2014. I had planned
Clare Cunningham-Meister
to purchase the CD and also a t-shirt
at the festival, but somehow failed to complete this mission. I've now
acquired the CD, but the t-shirt I have yet to secure. The band
consists of a quintet of ladies, guitarists Filippa Nassil and Giorgia
Carteri being the original founders and after a long search involving
several players are now joined by Tilda Stenqvist on drums, Linda Strom
on bass and Irishwoman Clare Cunningham commanding the vocal position.
Their particular flavor of rock 'n' roll could probably best be
described as what things might sound like if Australia's AC/DC underwent
a sex change operation with a little Sex Pistols attitude thrown in for good
measure.
Thundermother performing at Sweden Rock Festival on Friday June 6, 2014-photo by The Meister
Rock 'n' Roll Disaster album cover
The album opens up, as did the Sweden Rock show, with "Man With Blues", the longest running song contained on Rock 'n' Roll Disaster. "Deranged"
follows and both these first two tracks are solid straight forward hard
rock songs featuring plenty of classic riffage. From there things
really ramp up with "The Dangerous Kind", a track that I was
familiar with through my you-tube adventures prior to heading over to
Sweden and likewise with the next in line title track. The three punch to the gut
combo of the best songs on Rock 'n' Roll Disaster come now in succession with the well named "Thunderous", the way too short "Please Me" and the lead single from the album "Shoot to Kill". "One For the Road" could be my least favorite and while "Cheers" may be rather campy, it's insanely catching and comes off really well in a live setting with, of course, a guest appearance from the "Fireball". "Saturday" closes the album on a high note with another fast paced in your face rocker.
The
ladies haven't re-invented the wheel here, but the album is filled with
good solid hard rock songs all possessing a heavy helping of cohones.
Check out what I mean through the official video for "Shoot to Kill" below.
Switzerland may be known across the globe for their army knives, banks and chocolate, but to me it's their contribution to the metal world with Krokus that stands out. The band that achieved success in the 80's in North America based on a string of albums such as Headhunter, Hardware, One Vice At a Time and The Blitz is back now in 2014. Actually there has almost always been a new Krokus record in the marketplace despite the rotating line up, at times with only one original member present as the revolving door scenario plagued the group. In 2008 the "classic" lineup reunited including distinctive voice of Marc Storace, guitarist Mark Kohler, skin basher Freddy Steady and "the long noses" guitarist Fernando Von Arb and bassist Chris Von Rohr. Steady departed after 2010's Hoodoo album and was replaced by Flavio Mezzodi, but not until after 2013's Dirty Dynamite. In between those drumming events saw Canadian born guitarist Mandy Meyer who had been involved with Krokus as far back as the 1982 tour for the Hardware album rejoin the fold creating a triple threat axe attack!
Long Stick Goes Boom: Live From da House of Rust captures the live Krokus experience quite well and is the first live release since the excellent Fire & Gasoline in 2004 which saw a near completely different roster performing. Long Stick Goes Boom: Live From da House of Rust was recorded in Solothurn, Switzerland in a small club called The House of Rust on August 30th, 2013 and for those who haven't seen the band live this is the next best thing. I know, I had to travel to Sweden (one of my deciding factors in trekking to my first Sweden Rock Festival in 2013) to finally capture some live "Krok n' Roll" (Read about that show here). I'll be getting another chance for the live Krokus experience aboard 2015's Monsters of Rock Cruise as they've been named to the ship's registry. While you're (finally) over this side of the pond boys, I know a great club in Toronto that would love to have you!
The album wastes no time getting going as it fades in to the cheering of the crowd and the opening track "Long Stick Goes Boom", a personal Krokus favorite. Rapidly apparent is that Storace's vocal chords and prowess haven't lost a step and after the second chorus of the song they break into a snippet of The Who's "Pinball Wizard". "Are you ready for some crazy "Krok n' Roll"?" Storace calls out as they rip into "Hallelujah Rock n' Roll", "Go Baby Go" close on its heels. From there it's into a song covered by many bands, but none so well as this that I actually prefer to the original, The Guess
Storace at Sweden Rock 2013-photo by Meister
Who's "American Woman". We travel from America's women to the evenings of Tokyo next with "Tokyo Nights" and then into "Fire" both originally found on the Metal Rendez-vous album, "Fire" showcasing Meyer's talents. A medley appears next including 1981's "Rock City", surprisingly melded in with two current songs, "Better Than Sex" and "Dog Song" before the awesome power ballad "Screaming in the Night". "Screaming in the Night" is another choice cut of mine and sounds great here live, for some reason I can just imagine driving down a dark deserted road when I hear the beginning of this one. I was shocked to hear "Hellraiser" from my personal favorite Krokus album of the same name, as only Storace and Meyer were present on that 2006 issue that takes a more heavy metal direction. Three classic Krokus favorites are next in line with "Bedside Radio", "Easy Rocker" and "Heatstrokes" but they stumped me with "Live For the Action", a Krokus song that I was unfamiliar with! Turns out it was recorded as the anthem for the 2009 Hockey World Championships that were hosted by Switzerland. "Hoodoo Woman" closes things down as Storace gets the crowd singing along with him and this new Krokus classic.
A great Krokus album capturing the live spirit of the band, but I was a little disappointed not to hear "Our Love", my all time top Krokus track. Actually there were several surprising omissions to the setlist like "Headhunter", "Ballroom Blitz", "Rock n' Roll Tonight" and "Eat the Rich", but I guess with so many in the catalog choices have to be made! Having seen Krokus in concert at Sweden Rock Festival in 2013, this album takes me back to that day except that now I can just feel the dankness of a sweaty club through the recording. I dearly wish I had been there in Solothurn Switzerland on August 30, 2013 and MORC 2015 can't get here soon enough for me. Long live Krokus!
By now I'm sure that many of you have seen or heard the reports and
the lambasting of the debut or initial performance of Motley Crue's All Bad Things Must Come To An End
tour. I'm not gonna say that they're overly harsh or incorrect for the
most part. I was there, I know. Here's my story of Wednesday July 2nd,
2014.
A friend and I set out on an approximately six
hour road trip, very reminiscent of high school road trips in a beat up
old car with tunes cranked and snacks in hand, from Toronto Canada to
Grand Rapids Michigan. Upon arrival and check in at our hotel we met
some other Crue fans from Ontario for a couple of drinks before the
short walk over to Van Andel Arena. In a parking lot across the road
there was a cordoned off area set up with a bar, tables and a stage
with presumably a local band belting out some tunes. I got the feeling it was similar to the
tailgate party before an NFL game, but in any case the excitement was high and it's certainly something you
wouldn't see in Toronto. The time on the tickets indicated 7pm, yet the
entrance line was already around
the building at 6pm as we weaved around the protestors toting signs,
also something that you wouldn't see in Toronto. After wandering around
a little we discovered another, smaller entrance with a very short line
and wasted no time in getting into the arena. The merchandise booth
was terribly over crowded as I strained to see what was available.
Giving up, with a plan to return later, we hurried into the actual
auditorium as the opening band took the stage. In a growing trend of
concerts of late that I've noticed on several occasions, the opening
band begins substantially before the time printed on the tickets! This
is ridiculous! In the old days it would be printed Doors: 7pm on the ticket and the show would start at 7:30 or 8pm or Show: 7pm
to indicate the starting time. Having the opening band take stage at
6:40pm (20 mins before the time printed on the ticket) is extremely
annoying. In any case The Raskins played a half hour opening set and
they were not overly impressive in my mind. Our seats, however, were awesome, 24
rows back from the stage on the floor! The tickets, that surely would have
cost well over $600 if you can get past all the pre-sales to get them in
Toronto, we got for only $125 three weeks before the event!
Alice Cooper-photo by The Meister
I
was looking forward to Alice Cooper, having just seen him perform a two
and a half hour show at Sweden Rock Festival. Unfortunately tonight he
was only scheduled for 50 minutes of stage time, but it turns out that
he would be a show stealer. The approaching 70 year old was a
consummate professional and ripped through the condensed setlist with
almost no dead air between songs and all the stage tricks that you would
expect from The Alice Cooper show. Behind a backdrop sheet of Alice
Cooper's eyes "The Underture" emanated as the curtain gave way to "Hello Hooray". From there it was into "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
and Alice Cooper's newest member, guitarist Nita Strauss seemed
ecstatic to be there and the most active at this early stage in the
game. Replacing the departed Orianthi, Strauss (Femme Fatale/Iron
Maidens/L.A. Kiss) joins drummer Glen Sobel (Sixx A.M.), bassist Chuck
Garic (Beasto Blanco) and other guitarists Ryan Roxie (Slash's Snakepit)
and Tommy Henriksen (Warlock) to make up Alice Cooper's backing band. "Under My Wheels" led us through to "I'm Eighteen" which saw Cooper holding court around the stage wielding a crutch high above his head. This was followed by "Billion Dollar Babies"
for which, as he did in Sweden, Alice appeared toting a sword filled
with bills. A quick flick of the rapier sent bills, no doubt featuring
Alice Cooper's face, into the first few rows of the crowd. The late
80's smash hit "Poison" was next up bringing us to
Alice Cooper-photo by The Meister
"Dirty Diamonds"
which saw The Coop tossing necklaces into the crowd. The King of Shock
Rock next treated us to "Welcome to My Nightmare" before appearing in a bloodied white lab coat for "Feed My Frankenstein" during which Cooper was strapped down and transformed into a large Frankenstein monster. "The Ballad of Dwight Fry"
saw him in a straight jacket, bursting out and stabbing his nurse for
which his head was severed in a huge guillotine. Alice Cooper's head
was then paraded around the stage as an intro to the song "I Love the Dead", a stunt that never gets old! The closer of "School's Out" featured some huge balloons, the introductions of the band and even a little of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In the Wall" before wrapping up. An incredible show as I had expected and I think, even better than his show in Sweden.
Motley Crue's All Bad Things Must Come To An End Tour-photo by The Meister
The house lights darkened and a recorded intro began to emanate through the PA system. Motley Crue blasted into "Motherfucker of the Year"
as their first song, one that's less than a favorite of mine and I
think a poor choice for an opener. Things picked up steam with "Wild Side" and the stage was graced by two scantily clad ladies helping out with the background vocals. In general the
Vince Neil-photo by The Meister
Crue seemed
to be sloppier in comparison to Cooper and Vince's vocals were not the
best by any means, but what do you expect? Vince Neil's vocals have
been talked about for a long time now and let's face it, with the history
of the band members, they're playing is not the tightest, but that's
not why you go to see Motley Crue! If you want that style of
performance go and see Rush, if you want a good time and a great party
and a spectacle of a show to blow your mind, you go see Motley Crue! It
was by the end of the third song, "Primal Scream" that things
would begin to go really awry for the boys. The song featured lots and
lots of super high flame pyro and smoke bombs/machines timed to the
music of the chorus and they were actually sounding pretty good until we
approached the end of the song. Drummer Tommy Lee had an issue,
apparently a broken kick drum, but hey, these things happen. Vince Neil
even exclaimed "Tommy broke it!" and commented on the issues of the
first night of a tour. Neil then asked the crowd for 3 or 4 minutes to
fix the issue and to fill the dead air while they scrambled to repair
the drum Mick Mars took center stage to perform one of the most
uninspiring guitar solos I've ever seen. By the end of the solo, which
did not completely fill the repair time leaving some dead air and the
house lights a notch higher, he was simply playing riffs and chords.
The guitar solo silenced at 9:33pm and it wasn't until the lights dimmed
at 9:42pm as Vince returned to the stage toting a guitar were we
underway once again. Technical issues can strike at any time and are
completely understandable, but as a professional act I think they could
have done a
Motley Crue-photo by The Meister
better job of covering the issue and keeping the momentum going with having Vince or Tommy addressing the crowd perhaps. "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)" went through without a hitch and then into "Looks That Kill" featuring the lady dancers in light boxes behind the drum kit. They successfully pulled off a deeper cut from the Too Fast For Love album, "On With The Show", but the follow up however was a different story. Guitarist Mick Mars blew the beginning of "Too Fast For Love" prompting a jibe from Tommy Lee to the effect of "It's pretty fuckin' cool when a band forgets it's own song! It's "Too Fast For Love" and it's only 35 years old!" On the second attempt "Too Fast For Love" was delivered and a new composition, "All Bad Things Must End",
followed, but it didn't last long. No further than 30 seconds into the
song and the guitars went out. I don't know if Mars forgot the notes
again or if it was a technical issue, but the house lights came on again to full
brightness this time. I vacated my seat during this stoppage to use the
washroom and before long they were back up and running once again but talk about a momentum killer!
That would seem to be the worst of the issues and the latter half of the
show went much better as they ripped into "Smokin' In the Boys Room", "Without You" close on it's heels. Vince Neil looked confused and maybe annoyed during "Without You" as confetti fluttered from the rafters, but that didn't stop him from serenading a lady from the audience as she was pulled on stage to sit on a lone chair. The boys exploded into "Saints Of Los Angeles"
next featuring lots of flame pyro once again that you could feel the
heat from where I was seated 24 rows back! Nikki Sixx took the mic for
what I'm sure was intended to be a touching
Tommy Lee's Drum Coaster-photo by Meister
moment
that just came off awkward and annoying. He called for everyone to sit
as we were attending a funeral for Motley Crue, but we hardly parked
our butts in the seats before he instructed: "On four scream and we'll
break into a Sex Pistols song 'cause that's how the Crue does
it!".....uuuhhh Nikki, that doesn't even make sense! Never-the-less we
were served "Anarchy in the U.K." followed by "Too Young to Fall in Love"
before the stage went dark again and a recorded intro played. The
recording seemed to go on forever and with all the earlier issues I
wondered what was next, but eventually it was apparent that the stalling
was designed to get Tommy Lee strapped into his newest drum gimmick.
This time he rode a roller coaster that stretched along the ceiling of
the venue out over the crowd to a small satellite stage at the rear of
the floor seating area. No doubt about it this was a cool trick as the
kit spun 360 degrees as it slowly traveled over the audience. What I
didn't enjoy however was the mash up mix of recorded music that he
played to during this journey, including songs from artists like Bob
Marley, Jay Z and Rage Against the Machine. I understand how it must be
difficult to play spinning in the air, but if you're going to use a
recording to play to why not perform this solo during a Crue song even
if much of it is recorded? It would certainly be better than what we
heard Tommy play along to
"Home Sweet Home"-photo by Meister
and
maybe the whole thing wouldn't have seemed like the colossal waste of
time that it really was. Nikki Sixx was the highlight of "Shout at the Devil" with his flame throwing bass guitar preceding "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)".
Throughout the whole show the two dancing girls were present for just
about every song in a different costume and I had the thought that they
were the most organized thing about the whole affair! "Live Wire", "Dr. Feelgood" and "Girls, Girls, Girls" were all a hit with the crowd and the booing from earlier seemed long forgotten as they ate up every minute. "Kickstart My Heart"
closed things down under the huge lighted pentagram suspended above the
stage with tons of flame pyro and smoke bombs. In fact the smoke was
so thick by the end of the song and the final bow that it was difficult
to see the stage at all! Motley Crue returned for a one song encore of
the ballad "Home Sweet Home" which they performed on the small satellite stage near the rear of the floor area.
One
thing cannot be denied and that's the totally over-the-top stage show
at a Motley Crue concert and even with all of tonight's issues there's a
kind of magic with these four guys on stage. Bottom line is this: you
shouldn't be going to a Crue concert to see the most technical and
perfect performance, if you want that go and see a band like Rush! You go to a Crue
show for the spectacle, to have a good time and let loose with some of
the music that helped shape your life. And that's just what I did, it
may have been messy at times but over all I had fun and that's what Crue is all
about to me! It will be interesting to see what the show is like in
August as they roll into Toronto!
Stormborn begins with a 1:43 intro, "Bloodtale", that I suppose is intended to be creepy or devilish, but serves to me as not much more than a waste of time. "Satanic Panic" turns things around and rips out of the gates running rampant with piercingly tight vocals, riffs, thrash style pace and a huge chorus. "Iron Throne" is a little high pitched and screechy at times for my particular likes but it has been chosen as the lead single/video, included below. "Nightmares From the Grave" is more like my expectations from Bloodbound with a chanting chorus and a children's choir segment. The title track "Stormborn" is a stomping power metal anthem beginning ominously with the clap of thunder and rain falling, to choir vocals, to the pounding beat driving the track forward. "We Raise the Dead" begins with a charging riff, powering forward into the thumping track for one of the best of the compilation and probably my top pick. Anthemic "Made of Steel" had my air drumming off to the races and is exactly what the title would suggest, hard driving, first pumping, chanting metal, perhaps this will be my top pick instead. "Blood of My Blood" keeps things moving in the same vein as Stormborn just seems to get better and better as it moves forward. A truly epic track with "When the Kingdom Will Fall" appears next and "Seven Hells" is a thundering delight. Stormborn wraps up with the ripping "When All Lights Fail" to bring the album to a nice close on a high note.
