Another Point Of View: Bon Jovi (Review By Paul)

Bon Jovi – Cardiff City Stadium June 12 2013

As a 17 year old, I stood in a crowd of 60,000 at Castle Donington and watched one of the leading lights in rock and specifically the genre of ‘hair metal, bring the 1987 Monsters of Rock Festival to a close with a cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s We’re an American Band. The day had been graced by such metal luminaries as Cinderella, WASP, Anthrax, Metallica and Dio and during the final song Jon Bon Jovi was joined on stage by Paul Stanley (Kiss), Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) and Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) who provided a very jovial finish to a great day. 26 years later, I arrived at my spiritual sporting home, the Cardiff City Stadium, in time to take my (cheap) seat as Bon Jovi took to the stage. Now, one thing is obvious. The path Bon Jovi has followed since 1987 is pretty different to the other bands who shared the stage at the MOR festival all those years ago. Opening with That’s What The Water Made Me, one of four tracks aired from their latest album, the band played two hours of radio friendly pop rock which was lapped up by the healthy crowd. First sing along of the night followed with You Give Love A Bad Name, which was quickly followed by Born To Be My Baby and full audience participation of Raise Your Hands. 

 The stage set was impressive with the front grill and bonnet of a 1959 Buick Electra, dazzling lighting and three large screens to allow those anywhere further than about a metre back the opportunity to see Jon’s Hollywood smile in all its glory. Bright? I’ve still got retina scorching. Whilst the crowd around us lapped up every word and the band seemed happy enough, there was one thing missing. The absence of Richie Sambora (perfectly adequately replaced musically by Phil X) massively reduced the on stage interaction and it appeared just a little bit flat. Original members David Bryan (keyboards) and Tico Torres (drums) did their best but Sambora has a presence which really helps. Jon Bon Jovi’s voice remains as good as it ever did, even if he has morphed into Cliff Richard physically (check out some of the pictures from the gig). Bon Jovi are very good at what they do. No band sells 130 million albums without having something. The problem is that, when you hear 15 tracks back to back they all kind of merge. Plenty of sing along moments during the set which included a seamless segue during Keep The Faith into Let Me Entertain You (sadly the Robbie Williams version and not the belter from Queen) which got many of the females in the crowd very excited (maybe because they actually recognised it?). This appropriately illustrated the audience that BJ now attract. Pink cowboy hats, best outfits on whilst clutching their pints; it was like being at rugby international or a Sterophonics gig. Attention waned during the slower part of the set before audience participation ramped up again for set closers I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead and Bad Medicine. At this point I have to say I’d seen enough and we exited before the six song encore. I’m not sorry I went as it’s rare to get tickets to see a stadium band for £12.50, but I’m glad I didn’t pay any more than that. They do what they do very well. No question about it. Their crowd annoy me more than anything else and I think that having members of the valley commandoes (female pink hat branch) collapsing before the band came on stage and sleeping through the entire gig may have clouded my judgment a little. I fear that Bruce Springsteen next month will attract a very similar audience. 6/10

Reviews: Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath: 13 (Vertigo)

Firstly let me make this clear if you don't know who Black Sabbath are then stop reading this blog until you have listened to everything they released and then come back (even the Tony Martin years). Right now that that is out of the way we can continue, 13 marks the return of 3/4 of the original Sabbath line up (Bill Ward refused to join after contract problems) still Iommi, Butler and Osbourne are all back for their first album together since 1978's Never Say Die and from the opening doom laden riff of End Of The Beginning you can tell that this is classic Sabbath as they start off slow and menacing before Iommi switches tempo and brings the gallop middle, solo and then the melodic outro. As an opening track this mixes all eras of Sabbath starting off on the debut before moving through the pacier Vol. 4 era and then ending in the more melodic Never Say Die territory. A perfect encapsulation of the Sabbath sound in one song. 

 The band sound revitalised, Geezer plays his bass like a lead guitar as per usual, drummer Brad Wilk (RATM) does a great job of doing just enough to emulate Bill Ward but doesn't really have the flourishes that the great man had but is a perfect fit for the album, Ozzy is on fine vocal form with his unique delivery sending a shiver down the spine and then finally there are Iommi's riffs and I do mean riffs, there are at least four different ones in every song, he really is the sound of Sabbath and on the descending scale of down tuned notes on God Is Dead? kick off you are transported back to the evil roots of the debut and realise that doom would be nothing without these same sounds that Sabbath pioneered all those years ago.

 God Is Dead? then turns into a gritty heavy riff at the end to really get the heads banging. Unlike the newest Purple album this is pure old school Sabbath heavy riffs, rumbling bass, and the haunted wail of Ozzy, backed by some progressive time changes and intelligent lyrics (we've come a long way from rhyming masses with masses). The fuzzed voodoo of Loner has some of the classic Paranoid charm before everything goes all Planet Caravan on the bongo fuelled Zeitgeist which brings to an end what used to be side one. Here it is time to note that the production is absolutely perfect sounding old school but also crystalline, Rick Rubin has outdone himself again but the engineers and mixers also deserve a hand too for making this album sound huge.

 Side two begins in earnest with the stone age bludgeoning of Age Of Reason which has some backing choral effects to make it sound more gothic than it already is. The immediacy Live Forever with its percussive drive has to be the sequel to Fairies Wear Boots. The album ends in fine style with two 7 minute epics the first is Damaged Soul which has the Ozzy vocoder at full delivery making his vocal sound wounded on the slower bluesy number that features some superb solo's from Iommi who shows his slow stuff is as good as his faster stuff and ends with Ozzy honking on bobo in the true blues tradition. The final track is the epic Dear Father which again twists and turns through Iommi riffage and brings together all of the Sabbath hallmarks even ending with the thunderstorm and bell chiming that so memorably opened their debut. I have mentioned the word classic here a lot and that is what this is it's the sound of a band using their heritage to their advantage and have created something that is both original but also sounds exactly like the Black Sabbath that you remember and this is a hard trick to pull off but one that Sabbath have done masterfully! 10/10 (could it be anything else?)  

Out Of The Beyond 27

ReVamp: S/T (2010)

ReVamp is the solo project of former After Forever vocalist Floor Jansen (currently the interim vocalist of Nightwish) so you can expect the opera-metal styling's of her previous band but also she has a much wider range of influences, opener Here's My Hell is the track most like After Forever as it has the huge orchestral keys, heavy riffs and features some guest growls from George Oosthoek. Sweet Curse is a piano ballad that sounds like Evanescence and features Symphony X's Russell Allen on vocals; there is a technical metal feel to Distain which features Speed from Soilwork on co-vocals. The album is full of strong symphonic metal that is only right considering the musicians Jansen has drafted in to help all of the guitars (lead, rhythm and bass) are handled by Waldemar Sorychta who brings the thrashy riffage to the heavier end and also the acoustic strumming of the slower tracks, the drums come from Koen Herfst who blast beats his way through the album, the major contributor however is After Forever keyboardist Joost van der Broek who brings the pounding synths, keys, pianos, programming as well as being the producer, engineer, mixer and arranger of the classical quartet that supports them on the majority of the tracks. the album moves between fast paced melodic symphonic metal and slower ballads featuring Jansen's superb vocals, and do believe me along with Amanda Somerville and Simone Simmons, Jansen is one of the best vocalists in metal having a strong powerful mid and a huge mezzo-soprano high. This is a good album for fans of female fronted symphonic metal however if you don't like the genre then you won't get much out of it. 7/10

Powerwolf: Bible Of The Beast (2009)

Powerwolf are a German power metal band that are a major juxtaposition as they play upbeat power metal full of galloping bass and drums, bombastic keys, shredding guitars and strong vocals, however they also wear corpse paint have Gothic overtones and pretend to be Werewolves. Imagine Sabaton if they sang about Satan instead of war. Powerwolf are a good band and come from the Helloween school of speedy, OTT, metal that also has some seriously melodic keys, after the scene setting intro, Raise Your Fist Evangelist has a Latin spouting intro before a chunky riff gets things going backed by a Gothic organ. The guitars are dirty and match frontman Attila Dorn's strong, almost operatic, vocals that do sound a lot like Joakim Broden from Sabaton, things then move into the hammer (and sickle) pounding rhythm of Moscow After Dark. As you can probably tell the band don't take themselves very seriously with titles like Catholic In The Morning...Satanist At Night, Panic In The Pentagram and the very silly Resurrection By Erection. This is a silly, well performed, darkened power metal that has some great playing and also big hooky sing along power metal anthems. 7/10 

Painside: Dark World Burden (2010)

I will be honest I had never heard of Painside and I bought this album on a bit of a whim, well I'm glad I did as this is a great album, full of proper heavy metal that bridges the gap between traditional heavy metal and thrash. Painside are from Brazil but sound like latter period Judas Priest full of heavy thrash-like riffage and some killer soloing. The band have heavy pounding modern metal in tracks like Where Darkness Rules, bass led Iron Maiden style metal on Collapse The Lies which even has the whoah's in the centre. What strikes you about this debut is that the songs are really strong, the riffs of Carlos Eduardo Saione snarl like caged animals and the solos of Eduardo Fernandez melt the fret board (see The Deviant) the drums destroy, the bass rumbles and the vocals are excellent equally adept at crooning and some helium filled high notes that in places sound like Rob Halford and in others sounds like Bruce Dickinson/Tobias Sammet kudos to singer Guilherme Sevens for being able to effectively move between these two greats. It's not all metal bluster though as This Dark World shows with its acoustic intro and massive bridge before speeding up into the heavy middle section again full of fret wankery. This is simply stunning album that I have played repeatedly it is the perfect mix of, classic and modern metal with tracks that sound like Maiden/Priest and others that bring to mind the more aggressive styling’s of LOG (Serpents Tongue). Like I said a great metal album that sums up everything that is awesome about metal and any album that ends with a duet featuring Chris Boltendahl from Grave Digger is ok in my book. Seek out this album! 9/10

Reviews: Black Star Riders, Buckcherry, Evile

Black Star Riders: All Hell Breaks Loose (Nuclear Blast)

So the band that have been touring as Thin Lizzy had a reshuffle and a rename before releasing this album of new material, mainly out of respect for Lynott's legacy. This is a noble idea but the song, as Zep said, remains the same. That's right much of the musical output on this record is similar in style to Thin Lizzy's recorded output. With the only original member in the band being guitarist Scott Gorham it means that a lot of the dual guitar riffage he helped invent is present meaning that this coupled with Ricky Warwick's uncanny Lynottisms, this album has the Lizzy hallmarks. From the first four tracks this is obvious with the strutting title track opening things in strong style, before Bound For Glory is all hard rock bluster with a riff half inched from Waiting For An Alibi before the Celtic flavoured Kingdom Of The Lost makes everything sound very Emerald and also has a massive helping of Over The Hills And Far Away by former Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore, before the heavier delivery of Bloodshot makes everything go a bit like Massacre. Musician wise Jimmy DeGrasso does his best to be Brian Downey (who declined to take part in the recordings) providing the thunder (and lightning) on the heavy rockers and also a subdued backing on the slower, Marco Mendoza does what he does and provides some sterling bass work playing it like a six stringer, Gorham is as usual excellent but special kudos goes to Damon Johnson who is Brian Robertson, Gary Moore and John Sykes all rolled into one and also to Ricky Warwick who has a great voice with enough Lynott-like delivery to make it authentic but enough of his own grit to make his contribution more than just a cheap rip off. It's not all Lizzy though as Kissing The Ground You Walk On sounds like The Almighty but for the most part this is twin-lead flailing classic rock that has all the trademarks of the previous namesake. A rose by any other name? Very much so Black Star Riders are just classic rock class with a new moniker. 8/10

Buckcherry: Confessions (Eleven Seven Music)

L.A sleaze rockers Buckcherry return with a new album after their strong showing on 2010's All Night Long which took them back to their hard party attitude and this continues on Confessions but they also vary there sound too. The opening punky riffage and repetitive hook of Gluttony is pure rock and roll reverie and this continues on the violent Wrath but things slow down on The Truth for the album’s first power ballad. If you haven't guessed from two of the tracks this album is based around the Seven Deadly sins which become part of an overarching concept that encompasses the anti-capitalist cry of Greed, the piano and orchestral ballad Sloth, the country tinged exorcism of Pride and final one-two of the bass propelled Envy and the hard rocking Lust. As per usual the performances of guitarist Keith Nelson and vocalist Josh Todd are excellent with Nelson peeling off riff after dirty riff which are bolstered by Stevie D's rhythm playing as well as Jimmy Ashurst's snarling bass and Xaiver Muriel's wild drumming, at its most volatile on Seven Ways To Die. As usual Josh Todd is commander-in-chief with his unique voice leading the charge on all the tracks. This is a more adult album than the party hard ethos that was on All Night Long and their self-titled debut, the conceptual nature means that they can spread their musical wings a bit but still maintain their hard rock ethos and because of that this album is not going to be played in strip joints around the world (much like their hit Crazy Bitch has been) but it does show that the band have some serious musical chops and can adapt their sound if they need to. 7/10

Evile: Skull (Earache)

Four albums into their career and it seems Evile have to once again prove their thrash credentials after the 'mainstream' approach they took on Five Serpents Teeth and especially its first single Cult. Well it looks like the band have taken offence to the accusations of mainstream pandering as right from the off Skull tries to rip your face off with pure thrash fury, things kick off with the furious maelstrom of riffage that is Underworld which immediately lays out their stall with its Slayer like ferocity and stomping bridge that turns into some super-speed soloing from Ol Drake. In fact the King et al influence has been plain to see in Evile's albums since the debut and this album is the first since the debut to be faithful to the old-school thrash of Slayer, Testament etc. Underworld is an excellent start to the album hitting you like a battering ram right out of the gates before things continue on the title track that is driven by Ben Carter's drumming and tells of alien worlds and has a chant along middle section straight out of the Hetfield playbook. Speaking of Hetfield it is worth mentioning that Matt Drake's voice is at the best it has ever been on this record he truly sounds like a frontman now with a clear but rough edged delivery. Things slow a bit on The Naked Sun which features an acoustic intro and outro Head Of The Demon gets heads banging again (albeit slower than on the wind-milling openers). Evile have raised their game again on their fourth outing mixing everything they have learned together meaning that they can easily move from the furious thrash, to more complex arrangements like Tomb which has got a little whiff of One to it with the multi layered electric and acoustic guitars, slow burning opening and then the dramatic increase in noise where everything gets much louder before a massive solo brings things to a head. This is a strong album that shows that you can aim for success while still maintaining your underground roots and Evile have merged all their previous efforts together and thrown in a few nods to their influences to produce another excellent album. 8/10

Reviews: Christopher Lee, White Wizzard, New Device

Christopher Lee: Charlemagne: The Omens Of Death (Charlemagne Productions Ltd)

With this being Sir Christopher Lee's second album I was expecting more of the symphonic style metal of his first Charlemagne album, unfortunately two things struck me when I pushed play, the first was that the narration and orchestral parts that made the first album very good had gone and they had been replaced by just the few guest singers and some strong Judas Priest style metal (which could be because the musical arrangements come from current Priest axe-man Ritchie Falkner) while this has streamlined the album, it does mean that it seems a little less like an event which suited the performance style of Lee, who is at his best when he has large film-like orchestral swells with a metal edge. The second thing that struck me is that this album isn't new, it is not a sequel to the first album  I thought it was going to be. It's the same album; I mean EXACTLY the same, the same songs, in the same order (albeit with different names) with the same lyrics and guest singers as there were on the debut. This was very disappointing as it seemed a bit of a cop-out that this album is just a more metal rehash of the first album. yes the music is good and Lee has a very strong voice for a man of 91 but if this had been the debut then it would have been good however because the debut already exists this just seems to be money making exercise aimed at those who thought the first album wasn't 'metal' enough. 6/10

White Wizzard: The Devil's Cut (Earache)

White Wizzard have returned and they have changed their line-up yet again since their last album Flying Tigers with a new singer in the form of the screamer Joseph Michael, a new drummer and two new lead guitarists. The only member remaining is Bassist/rhythm guitarist Jon Leon who makes no bones about White Wizzard being his band which could be the reason for many line up changes but I digress. On the previous release White Wizzard split the album with half being their brand of galloping early Iron Maiden like heavy metal and the second half being more of their more progressive latter years. This album is shorter than it's predecessor but it mixes the more progressive aspects on the opening salvo of Strike The Iron which is full of time signature changes and lots of little electronic samples, the middle track of the slow burning Steal Your Mind and the final track of a 9 minute epic in the style of Hallowed Be They Name it's these three tracks that are the most progressive pacing the album excellently, the rest of the tracks are full pelt, rampaging heavy metal with Leon providing the meaty bass and rhythm guitar riffage, Giovanni Durst doing his best McBrain smashing and the twin leads of Jake Dreyer and Will Waller pull solo's galore on tracks like Lightning In My Hands, Storm Chaser and the title track. I do hope that White Wizzard maintain this line up for future albums as it is strong especially with vocalist Michael who has tremendous voice. Another strong album in the White Wizzard catalogue yes they are generic but they are also fun. 8/10

New Device: Here We Stand (Abstract Sounds)

London band New Device have come back with their first new album since 5 years and it's the same but different. The line up has changed but singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist Daniel Leigh remains and as New Device is his brainchild it's only proper that he does. As far as sound goes New Device are aiming straight at  the American radio with a sound somewhere between Buckcherry, Metallica, Fall Out Boy (mainly from Leigh's vocals) and 30 Seconds To Mars. The band have a distinct heaviness with a three guitar attack providing the big metallic riffs on the title track, Away From Here, On Your Knees and Feel The Wrath but they also have some massive hooks especially vocally Leigh has a fantastic voice which are the obvious high point of the band. The band are not just about heavy hook filled metal they have a soft side as well with lots of chart bothering ballads like New York, the orchestral Do Or Die, and the massive arena anthem of Another Life which is where the 30STM influence comes in. In between this there are some more hard rock style tracks like the single Save Your Life which does have all the hallmarks of a number one. This album is a bit ballad heavy, which could be because of their aim to be arena headliners and if they keep evolving and mixing the heaviness with the more radio-friendly stuff then they will achieve that goal. 8/10

Reviews: Anvil, Children of Bodom, Artlantica

Anvil: Hope In Hell (The End Records)

Since their biographical expose Anvil! The Story Of Anvil, the Canadian metal bands have had something of resurgence in popularity. With Juggernaut Of Justice the band then saw their first release since 2004 and it was another slice of the bands hard hitting, tongue in cheek hard partying metal. This is there 15th album and it's an if it isn't broke don't fix it approach as even though long term bassist Glenn Five has left core members, frontman/guitarist Lips and drummer Robb Reiner still remain the main creative force, meaning that this album retains the classic Anvil sound of driving heavy metal all of which features some superb drumming from Reiner. Things kick off with the Sabbath-like title track before the pace picks up on the trashy Eat Your Words. This continues throughout with mid-paced heavy rockers mixing with the speedier metal passages meaning that the album mixes things up throughout but maintains the Anvil trad-metal sound with every song giving off the strong but familiar style and tone of some of Anvil's older material. Sure the lyrics aren't Shakespeare (in fact they are from it!) but this is no frills meat and potatoes metal at its best from a band that don't take themselves seriously, and yes some of the songs are a bit too silly in places but the Canadian comeback rolls on and the band still manage to churn out some big, dumb, heavy metal. So grab a beer (maybe a vibrator) disengage your brain and enjoy! 7/10 

Children of Bodom: Halo of Blood (Nuclear Blast)

Alexi Laiho and his melo-death crew return a new album full of their particular brand of power metal influenced death metal. The band have been revitalised since Blooddrunk  and this rise from the ashes continues on Halo Of Blood which starts with the keyboard powered Waste Of Skin that has the classic COB sound that is full of razor sharp riffs and Janne Wirman's excellent keys. The title track takes a different tack by going full death metal with furious thrash riffage and Laiho's scarred screaming vocals and it's from here that the pace rarely lets up with the odd time signatures of Transference through the keyboard driven Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming) before the mournful Dead Man's Hand On You shows that they can work well at a slower pace and still be a formidably heavy band. Laiho is still clean and the songs are still very song matching the bands hedonistic heyday with new found focus. Technically the album is flawless as usual with the twin guitars of Laiho and Roope Latvala providing the main power to the songs with the extremely dexterous playing topped by Laiho's fret melting solos, the drums and bass provide the living dead backbeat (sorry) and Wirman's speedy keys match Laiho's solo's perfectly contributing much to the band’s sound as they always have. Through these 11 tracks ending with the retrospective Crazy Nights COB show that they are still one of the best melo-death bands around. Yet again these Finns have created another strong album full of hard riffage and killer melodies that contribute to some excellent songs. 7/10     

Artlantica: Across The Seven Seas (Steamhammer/SPV)

Artlantica are a new band and this is their debut album however when I first listened to them they sounded a lot like American prog metal crew Artension. After some research I found this is probably because this band features John West (sense a nautical theme?) on vocals and Roger Staffelbach both of whom were the vocalist and guitarist of Artension respectively, this album also features Artension bassist Steve DiGiorgio as the special guest bassist for the album. As far as the band's sound goes this is prime Neo-classical metal in the style of Yngwie Malmsteen, Symphony X and Artension (of course) that American bands seem to do very well. The songs feature lots of super-fast shredding, galloping bass and drums, melodic classical keyboard runs and some multi-octave vocals from West who has a superb voice. What hits you about this album is how strong it is, obviously Artlantica are not a 'new' band per-se but it is quite striking how accomplished they sound on what is essentially their debut album, they sound an awful lot like Symphony X who are one of my favourites so I was bound to like the album but with tracks like the Neo-classical rampage of Devout, You're Still Away, Fight For The Light and the piano-led ballad Ode To My Angel which shows off West's invocative range but also features a restrained but excellently played solo from Staffelbach who is a fantastic guitarist providing some supreme licks and serious soloing. Across The Seven Seas is a very strong neo-classical metal full of virtuosic playing but also some very strong songs which is the testament of a good band. Admittedly some may be put off by the ludicrous amounts of guitar solos, seen at their best on Demon In My Mind and on the instrumental Return Of The Pharaoh Pt.III or the helium fuelled vocals but if you are a fan of Artension, Symphony X or any kind of progressive, neo-classical metal then you will lap this album up in spades. Quality progressive/power metal that the Americans seem to do very well. 8/10

View From The Front Of The Room: Evil Scarecrow, Counterhold & Darksite

Evil Scarecrow, Counterhold & Darksite: Mojo's Newport

Into Newport for another night with Nottingham's premier purveyors of stupidly entertaining blackened metal, replete with silly names, silly costumes and silly songs. So it was into the bowels of Club Mojo (originally it was supposed to be 200 Club but this closed shortly before the gig) for a night of Stirling local supports and shameless masochism.

Arriving late we missed most of the set of openers Effigies Fate but from what I could hear, which was hard because of the poor sound that totally lacked bass, they were your typical modern metal fodder full of blast beats and screamed vocals.

Darksite

I last witnessed Darksite playing their final gig with their first singer. With a new vocalist in tow the Welsh groove metallers brought an uncompromising set of tracks full of heavy riffage and some screaming vocals that showed off the bands ferocity and their huge amount of talent. However they would have been much better had it not been for the sound which meant that they sounded very muddy and made their set blend into one long song which is a big shame. Despite this a nice warm up for the rest of the night and they managed to pull people into the venue to see them ensuring that for the next band there was a reasonable crowd. 6/10

Counterhold

Locals Counterhold were that next band and this was a case of deja-vu as they supported Evil Scarecrow last time they played South Wales in Cardiff. However this time they were joined by their lead guitarist Dave Birbeck who was missing last time. This added to the bands brand of powerhouse melodic metal as they had the dual guitar riffage (with Dave joined by Karl Silverthorn) and the band’s sound was complemented by a heavyweight rhythm section, special kudos goes to drummer Ryan who completed the gig despite being extremely ill. Ploughing through a set of strong songs including The Beast Within, Disease, Charred Remains and the awesome Children Of A Lesser God the band were clearly loving every minute and the hometown crowd were receptive and appreciated the bands tour worn professionalism. Throughout the set frontman Steve conducted the proceedings like a general prodding, poking and bellowing for the crowd to shout along before showing everyone how it should be done with his fantastic set of pipes. A well-deserved hometown victory for Counterhold who should get bigger as soon as their album (called All Of Them Slain) is released. 9/10

Evil Scarecrow

The sight of five people covered in costumes and ghostly corpse paint in the middle of dance club (complete with THREE! disco balls) is interesting to say the least but it added to the ridiculousness of Evil Scarecrow. After the intro on which many shapes were pulled the band dove straight into Choose Metal which showcased the scarred black metal guitars of Dr Hell and Brother Pain, the rumbling bass of Viking like Kraven Mordeth, the blitzkrieg drums of Monty Blitzfist and the atmospheric keys of Princess Luxury. This was perhaps the most serious song on the set list which rapidly descended into madness from second song Vampyre Trousers. There was then the epic War And Seek which features some great time changes showing that despite their parody metal tag they are all very good musicians. The in between song banter was funny and slightly surreal in place with however the band didn't have many of the props they usually do, still they managed to put on an excellent show with Helldog being followed by ThunderCat's Theme (which should keep the RSPCA happy). Then towards the end of the set Evil Scarecrow showed one of the major reasons for their success, they inspire lots of crowd participation, which varied from the Black metal claws of Morbid Witch the side to side scuttling of new track Crabulon, the crying and wailing of emo anthem Blacken The Everything, before things really kicked went mad with the synchronised(ish) Robot dancing to favourite Robototron which ended in a stage dive from Brother Pain at the end. For a band that are madder than a box of frogs, they had met their match in the Newport crowd who actively took up every chance to participate before masochistically calling for the Final Countdown cover which meant everyone had to can-can for the entire song. The band seemed a little overwhelmed by how nuts the audience was and when all was said and done both band and crowd went home happy. Another fine showing from one of the best live bands in the country they are consistently brilliant and leave you smiling from ear-to-ear and there aren't many bands that can do that! 10/10

 (Just as a little side note the sound got better as the night progressed)

Reviews: Timo Tolkki's Avalon, Blood Ceremony, Leprous

Timo Tolkki's Avalon: The Land Of New Hope (Frontiers)

The former Stratovarius guitarist hasn't had much luck on the solo front since leaving the band he formed his Revolution Renaissance project tanked after three albums as did Symfonia his band that eh formed with Andre Matos. This apparently was the album that 'saved' Tolkki he says himself that he "sort of rediscovered myself musically" on this album. So has he? Well yes this is the strongest album since the Symfonia project. Things start off with driving Avalanche Anthem which features the three main voices on the album who are Symphony X's Russell Allen, veteran screamer Rob Rock and Amaranthe's Elize Ryd. The album is a concept that will work retrospectively over (hopefully) three albums Ryd is the main character (appearing on 6 out of the 10 tracks) and her voice is a perfect fit having the power and melody to fully compliment her billing. As for Rock and Allen they are both two of the best in the business and contribute to their songs excellently, the Allen parts make it sound similar to some of Arjen Lucassen's works with Ayreon and Star One though. Tolkki still stands up as an excellent guitarist with some lightning fast fret runs and some soulful phrasing, his production is also crystal clear and he has managed to recruit a glut of great musicians with all strings handled by Tolkki, drums come from Rhapsody Of Fire's Alex Holzwarth but it's with the keyboard players that he's gone all out on, Mikko Harkin also from Symfonia contributing the lion's share but both former BCC and Dream Theater man Derek Sherinian and current Stratovarius ivory tinkler Jens Johansson both add their two cents and duel on To The Edge Of Time. Vocally as well there is an all start cast with the aforementioned three main characters Tolkki has also wrangled help from Tony Kakko, Michael Kiske (hard to think of a concept/project without him) and Sharon Den Adel to fully flesh out the voices. However despite this being Tolkki's rediscovery, this album is a bit samey, it is full of galloping power metal with some orchestral backing (see soaring ballad I'll Sing You Home) but there are many doing this as well if not better, with a certain German coming to mind, still a good first whack that should see this last more than one album. 7/10  

Blood Ceremony: The Eldritch Dark (Rise Above)

Blood Ceremony are psych/doom band from Canada and their third album is another slab of down-tuned, fuzzed up retro riffage that also has an incredibly folky sound that comes from front woman Alia O'Brien's liberal usage of flute. The band all cite Black Sabbath as an influence (what self-respecting doom band wouldn't) however they also are part Uriah Heep, part Fairport Convention and also have a lot of Jethro Tull hanging around too. The record kicks off with the open chord San Fran haziness of Witchwood which plunges into an organ fuelled creep that bursts into a heavy middle section that turns into a trippy progressive outro. With some heaving bass lines and good drumming from Lucas Gadke (who provides some vocals on the acoustic fire side incantation of Lord Summerisle) and Michael Gadke, the band tear through a set of excellent doomy tracks that are topped by some fuzzy riffage from guitarist Sean Kennedy, it's Alia O'Brien though that makes this album (and band) as her smoky vocals enchant and bewitch as she moves seamlessly from organ to that beguiling flute adding a unique stamp to every track. The tracks move from heavy weight doom, to floating folk in heart beat sometimes having both in one track, the fiddles of Ballad Of Weird Sister hark to Sandy Denny and company and the massive freak out of The Magician ends the album in suitably gothic style. This is another strong album from Blood Ceremony that shows that occult influenced rock is still an interesting and entertaining prospect. 8/10

Leprous: Coal (InsideOut)

Leprous have had something of a schizophrenic nature being both a fully formed band with their own identity and the backing for black metal legend Ihsahn, this style of extreme progressive metal is noticeable in Leprous music but they have a much more broad progressive scope encompassing rock, folk, jazz and metal and throwing it all into one album. This isn't a case of backing band going into the solo arena as Leprous have been releasing their own material under their own name since 2004 and this is their third full length album. The vocals and keys are handled by dreadlocked frontman Einar Solberg who has been Emperor's live key player since 2009 it is in Leprous however that we get to hear that as well as being a superb key player he is also has a very unique voice that is slightly operatic in the way Devin Townsend's is; drifting from high melodies see the church-like middle/final section of opening track Foe, through to the more scarred screams and croons of the darker more extreme tracks of like Chronic which features some superb blast beats and off kilter percussion from Tobias Ornes Andersen as well as some tight black metal riffs provided by Tor Oddmund Suhrke and Oystein Landsverk. One of the major factors of this record is that it is very progressive with every track differing in style so the middle of the album has a very melodic and euphoric ballad in the shape of the The Cloak which moves into the bass heavy breakdowns of The Valley which has a distinct electronic crackle behind it. With the extremely progressive nature of this record it brings to mind bands like Porcupine Tree, whereas the darker passages are Katatonia and obviously Emperor but there is also major influence of more mainstream prog bands like Muse in places, this is a very good album from an extremely talented band. 8/10 

Another Point Of View: Rush (Review By Paul Hutchings)

Rush – NEC Birmingham 26 May 2013

Friends of mine will know that I have a small admiration for Canada’s finest power trio and, coming on the back of a magical three day visit to Venice, this was the perfect end to a spectacular few days. When Rush announced their UK dates almost a year ago, the cost of the ticket made me think twice if not three times before committing. However, as always, when the house lights dimmed and the anticipation rose, that dithering about whether or not to buy a ticket was dispelled immediately.

 

As the band headed on stage to a huge ovation (let’s face it they could fart Spirit of Radio and we’d love it) I realised once again that despite all their critics, this is one band who rarely play it safe. Opening with Subdivisions from Signals, the first part of the set was heavily based on the synthesiser era of the 1980s. Four tracks from Power Windows including the brilliant Grand Designs and Territories, two from Signals (Subdivisions and The Analog Kid) and another from Hold Your Fire (Force Ten) indicated that this was not going to be a greatest hits show (that was on the 30^th Anniversary tour). The first drum solo crashed in during the instrumental Where’s My Thing and the first set wrapped up nicely with Far Cry from the previous album Snakes and Arrows. As usual, there was plenty to keep you occupied; constant video backdrop changes, cartoons and close ups of the band in action, overhead shots of the Professor at work and random popcorn machines at the edge of the stage. These guys don’t lack humour, as demonstrated in the intro video and also at the start and end of the second half. Anyone who has seen the quite brilliant Beyond the Lighted Stage will appreciate that for all their professionalism, Rush really don’t take themselves too seriously. However, in terms of the quality of their music, they really are the most consummate professionals. Thunderous bass lines and ear splitting lead breaks make Rush a much heavier proposition live.

The second set started with the arrival of the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble, who proceeded to enhance nine songs from the 2012 album Clockwork Angels with an orchestral style. Remember what I said about playing it safe? Not this band. Not only did they play nine songs from a new album, but they rearranged Dreamline, Red Sector A and unbelievably YYZ to incorporate the violins, violas and cellos.  That’s right, YYZ, the air drummer’s dream. Played with strings!! This time I only counted three full air drummers and no-one throwing and catching the imaginary stick which happened on the last tour, I kid you not. Rush closed with The Spirit of Radio which tore the roof off the LG, everyone singing alone with Geddy whose voice remains incredibly strong and able to hit all the notes (unlike a certain Snake). (Now, now! M) To complete the evening, we were treated to Tom Sawyer and then 2112, Parts I, II and VII. Three hours of the highest quality music, lighting, sound and overall entertainment.  The comments made by Geddy at the end of the gig suggested strongly that nights like these will become much rarer in the future and once again I felt extremely privileged to have seen them again. Fingers crossed that they do cross the water again one day. It may well be the last chance and if so, I’ll finally realise my ambition to follow them around the UK. 10/10 (Sorry Matt, no surprise there!!)

 

A View From The Back Of The Room: Journey

Journey, Whitesnake & Thunder - Motorpoint Arena Cardiff

So another year another package deal featuring an opening band and a double headliner for a reasonable sum. This time it was on again/off again band Thunder, Dave Coverdale and his band of youngsters and the continuing resurgence of Journey. So with a night of classic rock ahead of me, myself and my friends piled into the Motorpoint.

Thunder

A band I have wanted to see for few years and finally my waiting paid off as with a hit of AC/DC's Thunderstruck and the band arrived on stage and plunged straight into Dirty Love looking like they'd never been away the guitars of Morley and Matthews riffed for their lives and Danny Bowes ran around the stage like a man half his age weaving his cheeky spell over the audience from the off and also treating us to some hardcore dad dancing. The hits continued with River Of Pain and the anthemic Higher Ground with every song the band oozed with talent with each member showing off their chops with particular praise going to Danny Bowes' voice which still is unbelievably strong and soulful. The band then launched into the guitar overdrive of Backstreet Symphony and the hard rocker The Devil Made Me Do It before the super ballad of Love Walked In. This was a short, sharp, shock of some sublime hard rock from the youngest band on this bill; let's just hope they stay together for a while yet. 9/10

Whitesnake

So ol' leather lungs burst into life after My Generation rang out through the arena they burst into life with Gimmie All Your Love and Ready And Willing. What immediately hits you is that despite the tight young band Coverdale can't really hit the notes but he still oozes rampant sexuality and prowls the stage like a panther. The wild swinging of the mic stand and the thrusting of hips were abound from the off. The set was a mix of classics and the two most recent albums, Can You Hear The Wind Blow from Forevermore blended into Don't Break My Heart Again before Gambler was unleashed in tribute to former members Cozy Powell, Mel Galley and Jon Lord. The lighters burst out in their masses for Is This Love before Coverdale went and rested while Reb Beach and the bleach blonde Doug Aldrich duelled and while both have talent it's Aldrich who really shines as the better guitarist of the two, the band returned with Steal Your Heart Away from Forevermore which featured a drum solo from veteran drummer Doug Aldridge who threw away his sticks halfway through an continued with his hands this was another break in proceedings but when Coverdale returned for Forevermore and sounded revitalised as they broke into the heavy metal sounding Best Years from Good To Be Bad before they started to wind things up at the end, Coverdale in full flight physically and vocally as they ran through the big hitters of Fool For Your Loving and Here I Go Again and then finally it was time for Still Of The Night which still remains the best song Zeppelin never recorded. An extremely noisy, hard hitting set of songs from the rock legends who built their set into a fitting crescendo that blew the audience away. 8/10

Journey

So with a slightly thinner crowd the opening keyboard pulse of Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) got the crowd moving from the off and started with a mass sing-along as Arnel Pineda blasted out the words with his superb voice that is every bit Steve Perry ever was if not better. The band were all on top musical form (as usual) but seemed a little rigid as if they were going through the motions, Pineda was animated as was bassist Ross Valory and keyboardist/guitarist Jonathan Cain however guitarist  Neal Schon was stoic and almost silent throughout. It was from Separate Ways into Any Way You Want It and the cavalcade of hits continued through to Ask The Only and Only The Young and then this is where things came unstuck. I realise that this was a day before Memorial Day in the USA however for Schon to play the entire Star Spangled Banner backed by images of fireworks and the American flag fell flat on its face with the Welsh crowd who were stunned into silence, this meant that it was hard for Journey to recover from this faux par with the next few songs failing to connect no matter how much Pineda tried to incite the crowd to get excited again. It was with Lights and the splendid Open Arms that finally got the crowd back on side which went into Escape and Faithfully even at this late stage Schon still insisted on mucking about between songs adding some unnecessary instrumentals before things returned to normal with Wheel In The Sky (My personal favourite) Be Good To Yourself and then 'that song' the sing-along Don't Stop Believing which ended the set on a massive high. However for a band like Journey, who were supposed to be the headliner, to have so much stalling in their set is not very professional, the sound too was against them with every song sounding muddied and in places even quiet (compared to the previous bands) this all played against Journey despite the musical ability on offer. So all in all Journey were good but were let down by two factors the muddied sound and Neal Schon's ego. 7/10