Ok, so more than one person reading this site is going to say “why are they featuring GOTTHARD, who cares about them, they aren’t metal”. Well maybe they’re right based on what metal is in 2012, but this is a band that is extremely popular all over the world. They play all of the bigger festivals in Europe, and are the most successful act to hail from Switzerland. They are consistent chart toppers, having eleven straight number 1 albums, and selling millions of albums worldwide. How many “cult” or “pure” bands can do that? Are they more AOR than MASTODON? Yeah, you’re probably right with that assessment, but they aren’t exactly RHIANNA either!
Firebirth is their first release in three years, and the first after the tragic loss of their lead singer STEVE LEE. For those of you that don’t know, Steve died in a freak motorcycle accident, 50 miles outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. I have to assume the title comes from the fact that the band was forced into a re-birthing process of sorts. On a side note, I have always found it interesting when fans of a band are in an uproar over the switching a lead singer, as opposed to someone dying, and the band moving forward with a new component. Why is one usually accepted, while the other isn’t? People seem to forego the notion that musicians are humans, and humans are in and out of relationships, namely marriages all the time. Why is this accepted for the most part with someone’s personal life, but not in a band atmosphere?
Getting back on point, Firebirth is chalked full of anthems, a few ballads, and what you would expect to hear from an AOR band. The musicianship is there, but so are all of the cliché’s you have come to expect as well. I already mentioned the ballads, but ever since SCORPIONS, and later BON JOVI started using a talk box, it made it a necessity to use the effect on ever album that sounds remotely like the latter band. As a result you’ll hear it on the track “Right On” which is a mix of BON JOVI, and Dr. Feelgood era MOTLEY CRUE. The track n’t the strongest on the album, but it is solid none the less. And let’s be honest, there is nothing new under the sun, so if you can pull something off that’s entertaining, and maybe tips your hat to your influences, why not? It isn’t a carbon copy rip off, which would be worse in my opinion, and quite frankly there are enough bands doing this at the moment. Ripping others off, or ripping themselves off in an effort to rekindle past glories (if they even exist).
The strongest tracks on the album are the first two, “Starlight” and “Give Me Real”. The opening track sounds as if it should have been on the logical follow up to DEF LEPPARD’s Adrenalize. The second track “Give Me Real” is one the heaviest track on the album, drawing influences from old school WHITESNAKE. “Fight” probably takes the title as the heaviest on the album, and is another solid track off of the album. “Yippie Aye Yay” is a country flavored track that could honestly land them on CMT, or on any of the poppier country stations out there. “The Story’s Over” is a mid-tempo bluesy track that showcases NIC MAEDER’s range as a singer. “S.O.S.” or Saint or Sinner, is another mid-tempo rocker that mixes a blues influence with some 80s hard rock shredding.
Firebirth is a nice return to form by the band after having to deal with such a difficult situation. Although new lead singer NIC MAEDER doesn’t sound exactly like STEVE LEE, he does a good job at filling such a difficult position. The band isn’t doing anything new here, and this is in line with previous albums they’ve released. That said, it is a must listen for anyone that is remotely interested in AOR.
Rainbow, Deep Purple and classic Whitesnake fans rejoice.
Close, but no cigar
Although rough around the edges, The Highway manage to kick out an impressive number of jams here on this oddly titled record, evoking classic images and memories of 1970s riff excess and over-the-top songwriting.
Sounding big, bold ‘n brash Voodoo Highway possess a secret weapon in the form of axeman Matteo Bizzari and organist Alessandro Duo, whose excellent, involved interplay lend this record an immense sense of rock power. With riffs and melodies ripped straight from the Ritchie Blackmore and Mick (Uriah Heep) Box handbooks, Broken Uncle’s Inn is an energetic and fun record which aspires to nothing but ROCK, and rock alone.
The end result is surely derivative-which is what happens when you’re just a clear product of influence-yet profoundly enjoyable at the same time. In fact, the only real downfall of Voodoo Highway are the less-than-stellar lead vocals of Federico di Marco; a voice which, although fine and in tune, doesn’t really possess the level of personality or charisma necessary to pull off the required attitude for such a band. In other words…David Coverdale, this guy is not.
Unfortunately, di Marco’s vocals don’t get any better as Broken Uncle’s Inn carries along, nearly ruining the otherwise punchy jams of “Window” with his sometimes painful whine. A band of this musical caliber deserves a swaggering, sexy frontman with balls to spare…not a relatively ineffectual afterthought. Once Voodoo Highway can capture these soulful blues, THEN we can talk about ‘next big thing,’ but until then Broken Uncle’s Inn is still an album with massive, unattained potential.
I knew practically from the first few minutes of Witch Mountain’s latest that I was gonna dig the band’s satisfyingly vintage take on proto-metal riff madness.
Possessing more than a bit in common stylistically with Canada’s OTHER Mountain, Black, as well as Toronto’s Blood Ceremony and America’s own Jex Thoth, Witch Mountain nevertheless stresses their own, unique take on neo-psychedelia via a down ‘n dirty blues influence which permeates the fuzzed out riffiness of it all.
Elsewhere, frontwoman Uta Plotkin channels her inner Joplin and Maggie Bell via an impressively impassioned delivery of raw, fractured emotional power. Her voice isn’t exactly one of consummate training, or even control…yet, even when Plotkin drifts in and out of tune, she pulls in that note-via falsetto or just plain, raw power-with enough effort to make that fucker sound good. This effort does not go unnoticed, and indeed does wonders in making the listener believe in Witch Mountain’s apparently tireless efforts in making their music sound refreshingly vital and legit inspired by 1970s blues-rock fury.
Of course, given the fact that Witch Mountain’s history actually goes way back to the doom hipster-free 90s, it becomes easy to see where the band’s journey has taken them over time. There is a distinct lack of ego lurking here within South of Salem; a refreshingly badass explosion of rock power which is defiantly UN-retro, created through a sheer joy of the source material. Check this one out.
Many rock and heavy metal fans know Eddie Trunk today from his television shows on VH1 Classic and from SiriusXM radio shows. However, most people don’t know that the knowledgeable and affable personality was a key figure in helping make heavy music popular in America. He has mined his career and his memories with his newly released compendium of bands he feels are indispensable.
Before Eddie Trunk became the host of That Metal Showhe had a career in radio and the music business, promoting underground bands on his radio shows and later as an integral member of Megaforce/Atlantic Records. It was there that he helped launch the careers of ANTHRAX, OVERKILL, RAVEN, KING’S X and MANOWAR. He also helped start and rejuvenate the solo career of ACE FREHLEY of KISS and promoted countless bands of the classic hard rock, glam rock, New Wave of British Heavy metal and thrash genres. Later on he appeared on the short lived, but amazing Q104.3 Pure Rock and Metal station in New York in the mid 90′s and that catapulted him to further success in radio that ultimately led to him hosting several nationally syndicated and satellite rock shows currently. His website is actually a good source of news and insights into the industry. Not only is he an in-demand MC for metal and rock shows, he organized the classic NY Steel show after 9/11 and was also the host of RONNIE JAMES DIO’s funeral.
Trunk is extremely thorough with the biography of each group, listing classic lineups and albums and often making keen observations about their impact on music. All of the entries are lovingly written with the seriousness of a journalist and the heart of fanboy in some cases. He makes no bones about justifying his many opinions and he tries to always back them up with strong facts. Most of the major bands from the seventies, eighties and nineties are covered in full detail such as BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, THIN LIZZY, JUDAS PRIEST, ALICE COOPER, KISS, IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD, VAN HALEN, AC/DC, RUSH, WHITESNAKE, OZZY, METALLICA, MEGADEATH, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, PANTERA, GUNS `N ROSES, MOTELY CRUE, POISON, BON JOVI and more. I recognize typing this that some of those names are no brainers that anyone would have and some of those names have never appeared before on Metal Army America at all! Critics bash some of the favorites he champions like his man-crush on UFO (historically important to some, others tire of hearing about them). He also didn’t play favorites with OVERKILL whom he is friends with personally, but only has a token entry. In addition the book is full of great lists, and trivia answers that are great conversation starters for your metal friends. There is also the phenomenal photography of bands and memorabilia by Ron Akiyama that is worth the price of the book alone. None other than the Metal God ROB HALFORD wrote the forward for the book and sang Eddie’s praises as a colleague and a friend.
If you are looking for modern era bands or any current underground genres you’ll need to go elsewhere as the newest band that came out and is featured is BLACK LABEL SOCIETY (whose entry to me is a bit suspect over some others). As Eddie often says about his TV and radio shows he loves many modern bands, but there are enough people covering other genres and the younger generation so he doesn’t need to. In fairness to him Eddie’s strength is he knows his territory, blankets it really well and scores points for not trying to be something he isn’t. If you have a friend, kid brother or sister discovering heavy music for the first time now, or your parents love rock and metal from 1968 to 2000 this is book would be the perfect gift for them.
Mighty, riff-fueled heaviness is what we have here via this reissue of Stone Axe’s debut album, courtesy of Ripple Music.
The band’s sound has clearly been well-forged and clearly thought out, with very little time devoted to meaningless meandering or endless riff repetition. Instead, Stone Axe craft a lean, mean killing machine of classic rock and doom-inspired metal; an effort which really is deserving of more attention.
Hopefully, this two disc reissue will garner Stone Axe the attention they need, bringing together a boatload of live footage, promotional videos and interviews–enough to bring any Axe neophyte up the speed with the band’s blower background.
What really lends Stone Axe its unique vibe is how well its creators venture back and forth between their varied forms of inspiration, without sounding derivative. Whether its the blues-soaked swagger of classic Whitesnake of “Black Widow” or the Sabbath/Purple template of “Riders of the Night” and “My Darkest Day,” Stone Axe always sound large and in charge, taking influence but never devolving into plagiarism.
Although the stoner/70s/doom scene is a crowded one these days, Stone Axe possesses more than enough classic rock cred to stand out from the legions of imitators as a true, exciting force. Bring on a new LP!
Notable for their up-tempo and energetic proto-thrash sound, the NWOBHM outfit known strangely as the Tygers of Pan Tang were one of the more consistent of the early British lot, releasing a trio of excellent albums in the early 80s before beginning that inevitable trip down commercial lane so many of their contemporaries did at this time.
The Tygers also served as a fertile breeding ground for the rough ‘n ready riffs of guitar maestro John Sykes. Sykes-who would also make a name for himself with his early group Streetfighter and the ’82 Crazy Dream EP-played with the Tygers of Pan Tang throughout all of their most fertile period, lending his influential licks to the Spellbound and Crazy Nights elpees before bowing out gracefully to stake his claim at more lucrative fields.
It’s the guitar work here which really shines with a bristling energy; bluesy, streetwise riffs tempered with hard rock swagger which work perfectly with the warm, powerful voice of Jess Cox. The Sykes-Cox partnership on Spellbound proved to be a particularly fruitful one, creating a number of iconic NWOBHM jams which remain definitive of the genre’s creative high point to this very day.
Such brilliant, hard rocking classics as “Gangland,” (covered by German thrashers Kreator on their Out of the Darkness, Into the Light EP) “Spellbound,” and “Silver and Gold,”-a brilliant track where Cox sounds frightfully close to a young, vicious Rob Halford at points-are most certainly among these, although credit must also be placed at the feet of vocalist Jon Deverill, who did an admirable job on such killer Crazy Nights tunes as “Never Satisfied” and “Running Out of Time.”
Crazy Nights signaled the return of founding guitarist Robb Weir, who joined Sykes and the Tygers for a dual guitar attack. Weir-who had crafted such early Wild Cat Tygers classics as “Don’t Touch Me There” and “Euthanasia” seemed to work well with Sykes, but it wouldn’t be too long before the notoriously difficult Sykes would depart the Tygers for a slot in Thin Lizzy (for the excellent Thunder and Lightning album) before leaving Phil Lynott equally high ‘n dry for a gig with Whitesnake and his own band, Blue Murder.
Unfortunately for the Tygers of Pan Tang, the band never really recovered from the loss, with resulting efforts The Cage in 1982 and 1987′s Burning in the Shade opting for decidedly more commercial and AOR-oriented pastures.
Shame, really, because for a slight, shining moment there were few NWOBHM out there as reliably heavy as the Tygers of Pan Tang.
1948 Rudolf Schenker, gutiarist of THE SCORPIONS is born.
1963 Reb Beach, guitarist of WINGER and WHITESNAKE is born.
1967 Gene Hoglan, drummer of FEAR FACTORY, DEVIN TOWNSEND, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, and TESTAMENT is born.
2004
UK medical magazine Thorax issued a warning to music fans saying that listening to loud music in the car can give you a collapsed lung. One 19 year-old had been treated in Bristol after his left lung collapsed as his 1,000-watt bass box boomed out in his Fiat Panda.
SLASH, ULI JON ROTH, TONY FRANKLNIN, and BRENT FITZ cover JIMI HENDRIX.
Video footage of legendary guitarists Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N’ ROSES), Uli Jon Roth (ex-SCORPIONS), bassist Tony Franklin (ex-THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER, WHITESNAKE) and drummer Brent Fitz (ex-ALICE COOPER, VINCE NEIL) performing the JIMI HENDRIX classic “Little Wing” at this year’s G-TARanaki International Music Week 2010, which took place August 11-15, 2010 in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, can be viewed below.
Slash performed in concert on Saturday night at TSB Stadium and also in the Saturday night Midnight Session at Puke Ariki, New Plymouth. G-TARanaki was the only opportunity for fans to see Slash, performing exclusively for the first time in New Zealand since playing to 52,000 people at Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium with GUNS N’ ROSES in 1993.
G-TARanaki is New Zealand’s only international guitar festival which brings some of the world’s best guitarists to Taranaki to educate, entertain and inspire music lovers. It provides the opportunity to learn from legends who really know their stuff. It’s about making A-list artists accessible to New Zealanders through concerts and intimate Midnight Sessions; creating awareness of the opportunities within the music industry through panel discussion forums and developing the artistic talents of young aspiring artists through the Sky Academy workshops and master classes.
1950 Tommy Aldridge, drummer of WHITESNAKE, is born.
1997
Tony Nicole Tony Records filed suit against Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS for alleged intentional interference with KISS drummer Peter Criss’ contract with the label. The suit maintained that Simmons and Stanley convinced Criss to break his contract with the label.
