1989 Year in Review Part 1 - Ep167

It's been six months but this week we return with another Year in Review; this time it's one picked by our very own listeners.

Aaron and Chris take you on a journey of the first half of 1989. You'll get discussion of news stories, sports, movies, the price of bacon, and pop culture happenings highlighted by tons of music discussion and tunes from artists like Extreme, Lizzy Borden, Skid Row, Sepultura, Tesla, Blue Murder, Badlands, and much, much more! It's a trip in the way back machine going back 25 years. Join us!


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"Some Girls Do".....A Lee Aaron Concert Review (Including Photos by Shawn Irwin)

Lee Aaron - @ Barney's in Whitby, Ontario - photo by Shawn Irwin

There was some dividing and conquering of the Canadian Decibel Geek team for this trio of Lee Aaron shows in the southern Ontario area.  Photographer Brian Ronald attended the sold out London, Ontario show on Friday December 5th, 2014 and had rave reports for The Meister and photographer Shawn Irwin, who hit up Whitby's December 6, 2014 show.  Here's my (The Meister's) account of the Whitby event including a photo gallery from Shawn Irwin and a couple of The Meister's videos from the show.

Our initial reaction to this new venue for us was at first less than positive.  There seemed to be bit of a bottleneck just through the entrance doors as patrons collected behind the soundboard.  With a bar on the right side stretching the length of the venue and booth seating on the other it made for a crowd in this area and poor vantage points for ones of challenged stature such as ourselves.  Once we pushed through, however, there was relatively no one on the floor area and this is really where you need to be for a rock/metal concert anyway.  I noticed that the only way on and off the stage was via stairs at the front and center, a poor design.  I can't imagine trying to clear drums and equipment during set changes if this was a packed house with everyone crowding the front of the stage!  Other than that I loved the size of the venue, the balcony which would provide great views of the concert (but I'd rather be down front!) and the sound was awesome.  I do hope that this venue succeeds, I'd definitely make the three hour public transit trek there again to see a great live band.

Cindy Weichmann

It began to look a little like The Rockpile in here as we spotted a couple of our regular concert attending friends and even another random guy sporting a Rockpile t-shirt.  The opening band, Nail (featuring Cindy and Rainer Weichmann, once members of Helix), had a thick and heavy, rather industrial sort of sound and I'll have to check into their music.  As we caught up with our Rockpile friends and met some new friends at the same time, Nail were wrapping up with their final song, a radio friendly track titled "Fuck Off and Die".  It was actually about women getting out of a bad relationship, I believe, and was a great song with Cindy Weichmann's strong powerful vocals leading the charge.  At one point she left the stage into the crowd (few people milling about) and stopped to sing in front of us, pushing me in the chest a couple of times as she sang the chorus.

Heavens Fire was up next and having seen them a couple of times before, I was looking forward to their show.  Actually they're not using the Heavens Fire name at this time due to some internal legal band disputes to my understanding.    Darren James Smith (Harem Scarem/Warmachine/Red

Jesse Jack-Heavens Fire-photo by Shawn Irwin

Dragon Cartel) was the former lead singer but he has moved on to front Jake E. Lee's Red Dragon Cartel and so Jesse Jack has stepped in to fill the void, and does so excellently I might add.  I noticed that the guitarist was different, JT Harris being absent, but this new guitarist did a fantastic job and had a great tone.  Perhaps Harris' absence has something to do with the use of the Heavens Fire name, at least that was the rumor going around.  In any case Heavens Fire ripped through a spirited set comprised mostly of songs from the Judgement Day CD.  The original version of the CD featured Darren James Smith, but the band were passing out the re-recorded version at the show featuring Jesse Jack and titled Judgement Day A.D. (which I assume stands for After Darren?).

Drew Masters, editor of M.E.A.T. Magazine (a staple in my days of youth), bounded on to the stage bringing with him the lady of hour (or should I say "Lady of the Darkest Night"?).  After Drew's introduction and welcome to the stage Lee Aaron and her band, Sean Kelly (Guitar), Dave Reimer (bass), John Cody (drums and Aaron's husband) and Matt Weidinger (keyboards) ripped into "Hands On" from her 1989 release Bodyrock.  I was able to capture this opening track on video.

Post by The Meister.

"Powerline" followed as everyone in the audience sang along with Canada's "Metal Queen".  During "Rock Candy" Aaron was sure to give some special attention to the gentleman in the front row at the
foot of the steps as she came right up and sang directly to him.  Lee Aaron stole the hearts of men all over the world in 1984 and she's still doing it today!  "Handcuffed to a Fence in Mississippi", "Sweet Talk" and "Baby Go Round" all followed bringing us to a real treat for Lee Aaron fans.  Lee Aaron with guitarist Sean Kelly have been working on new music and she let us know that they are hoping to have the new album out by December 2015 at the latest.  They debuted "If You Don't Love Me",

Lee Aaron - photo by Shawn Irwin

one of the new tracks and it went over extremely well from what I saw of the audience, both Decibel Geeks gave it "two thumbs up".  "Some Girls Do" had the crowd rocking and saw Lee Aaron invite a young lady up on stage to join her for a few seconds of chorus singing.  Although I do appreciate many styles of music it's the hard rocking that's true to my heart and so, subsequently, the following selection of "I'd Love To" from Aaron's Jazz era was not a favorite for me.  "Odds of Love" took us to the emotional ballad "Barely Holding On" which Aaron struggled to promote and get played on Canadian radio upon it's release back in 1986 she told us.  I marveled at just how strong and ridiculously powerful her voice was, "Barely Holding On" a complete showcase for these talents.  I readied the video camera once again and caught "Metal Queen", a song that as I understand, Lee Aaron dropped from the setlist for a number of years.  But for me, that song alone was well worth the admission price.

Post by The Meister.

Our friend from the Rockpile found himself being invited on stage for a few moments as Lee plucked his hat from his head to wear herself and quipped that she'd found Walter White in Whitby (prompted by our friends fashionable headgear).  "Watcha Do To My Body" wrapped up the set, but the crowd at Barney's in Whitby would have none of that!  Aaron and band were soon back to deliver a two punch encore set.  Aaron invited two gentlemen concert goers from the crowd up on stage to be her "Go-Go dancers" for "Sex With Love".  The guys looked to be having a lot of fun and "selfie" photos were being snapped all over as they danced, flanking the "Metal Queen" on either side.  "That was awesome!" one exclaimed as he exited the stage afterwards and I recalled that exact feeling when I was called up on stage to sing in the past with other bands.  "Bad Boyfriend" was the final song for the evening and Aaron announced that she would be over at her merchandise table to sign autographs and pose for photos after the set, so please come and say hi she invited.

Shawn Irwin's Photo Gallery (71 Photos)

Another excellent night of homegrown Canadian rock featuring some of the best performers Canada has to offer!

Cheers,
The Meister

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PHOTO CREDIT: SHAWN IRWIN 2014

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(Barney's Website) (Black Moon Entertainment Website)

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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(Kissin' Dynamite Website) (Kissin' Dynamite Facebook) (Kissin Dynamite Twitter)

(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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(A Sound of Thunder Website) (A Sound of Thunder Facebook) (ASoT Twitter)

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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(Skid Row Website) (Skid Row Facebook)

PHOTOS: Concert photos by The Meister 2014