Detritus
Issue #290
Week of October 4, 2004
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*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
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Tim Wadzinski, Editor
tsw512@...
Steve Shumake
vongoober@...
http://www.vongoober.com/
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*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
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-A few random bits of News/Rumors:
Angra's newie, TEMPLE OF SHADOWS, reportedly received a 100/100 review
in Japan's _Burrn!_ magazine. Wow. Can't wait to hear this one!
Animal, featuring ex-W.A.S.P. guitarist Randy Piper -- and possibly
Chris Holmes as well, but we're not sure anymore -- is moving its Web
site to The Animal Cave,
http://www.animalcave.net/ .
There's a cool interview with Steve Blaze (Lillian Axe, Near Life
Experience, Angel) on-line now at
http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showinterview.php?id=738&lang=en .
The releases of Circle II Circle's upcoming single/EP and album have
been pushed back to January and February, respectively.
GetReadyToRock.com has new interviews with Ritchie Blackmore, Bernie
Torme (Gillan), Timothy Drury (Whitesnake, The Eagles), Jordan Ruess
(Dream Theater), and female guitarist Lori Linsruth. See
http://www.getreadytorock.com/interviews.htm for more.
Kamelot announced the working title for its next album is THE BLACK
HALO, due out early next year on Steamhammer/SPV Records. Song titles
include "March Of Mephisto," "When The Lights Are Down," "Moonlight
Falling," "The Black Halo," "Abandoned," and "Master Of The Game." The
disc was produced by Sascha Paeth and Miro and features Stratovarius
keyboardist Jens Johansson and Epica vocalist Simone Simons as guests.
See
http://www.kamelot.com/ for more.
Mystic Prophecy's next album, NEVER-ENDING, is due out October 25 on
Nuclear Blast. (The Japanese version will have bonus tracks and is due
in February.) The band just finished filming a video for the track
"Burning Bridges."
A clip of Steel Prophet's new video for "Leatherette" is available at
http://www.steelprophet.com/sounds/Steelprophet_Leatherette.mov . The
song is from the band's current release, BEWARE.
Thanks to
reckert@...,
TxTiger128@..., and Jason Ritchie for
help gathering some of this information.
-R.I.P. Rodney Dangerfield!!! Man, that sucks. I'm sorry to see him
go. I can't tell you how many times I've watched "Back To School" and
"Caddyshack" over the years. (My brother absolutely loved "Easy
Money," too, but I never quite got into that flick...) Anyone else
remember the "Rappin' Rodney" single and video from like 20 years ago?
Classic, silly stuff.
-Check out Sean's interview with Chris Caffery and a bunch of reviews
from Keith and Neal below.
-Now in my current playlist: Chris Caffery - FACES, Edguy - "Lavatory
Love Machine" single, Pink Cream 69 - THUNDERDOME (better late than
never!). - Tim
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*** PRESS RELEASE #1 ***
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-Gun Shy's After Dark Reissued On Perris Records
Perris Records is proud to announce the reissue of the highly sought-
after CD from Philadelphia's Gun Shy. After Dark was produced by
Michael Kelly Smith (Razamanaz, Britny Fox) and contains the 8
original album tracks as well as 8 bonus tracks. Recorded in the mid
'90s, After Dark had a small pressing run in the Philadelphia area and
was not widely distributed, until now! Gun Shy features Tommy Krash
(American Sugar Bitch, SINN) on guitar and the band has that
Philadelphia hard rock style a la Heaven's Edge, Cinderella & Ivory
Tower. The 8 bonus tracks consist of live tracks and demos. Check out
www.perrisrecords.com for info on track listing and how to order!!!!
http://www.perrisrecords.com/
http://www.tommykrash.com/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #2 ***
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-Shadows Fall Debuts At #20 On Billboard Top 200 Chart
In its first week of release, the new Shadows Fall album, The War
Within, SoundScanned an impressive 39,251 copies, debuting at #20 on
the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The disc also checked in at #1 on the
Nielsen SoundScan Independent Labels Chart and #2 on the Nielsen
SoundScan Hard Music Chart (behind Chevelle). This is the highest
first-week SoundScan and Billboard chart debut of any Century Family
artist to date. Shadows Fall's first week numbers also surpass those
of Atreyu, Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God, a further notable
testament of the band's genre status. The group is featured on the
cover of Revolver's November issue, which is currently on stands.
This accomplishment comes after almost a decade of relentless touring,
four studio albums and an undying work ethic. After touring the world
with the likes of Hatebreed, Kittie, Mushroomhead, Children of Bodom
and The Dillinger Escape Plan, the band were invited to take part in
Ozzfest 2003. They were heralded as the breakout band of the year and
consistently sold more records every week than any other sidestage
band. This led to being the only band invited for a two-year stint at
Japan's Beast Feast, the 4th annual Take Action Tour (alongside
Avenged Sevenfold and Poison The Well) and then co-headlining the
first annual MTV2 Headbanger's Ball Tour with Killswitch Engage and
Lamb of God. Videos for the tracks "Thoughts Without Words,"
"Destroyer of Senses" and "The Idiot Box" were greatly embraced by
U.S. television programs Headbanger's Ball on MTV2 and Uranium on
Fuse; two shows where the band appeared as guests several times. All
of this exposure enabled Shadows Fall to watch both their fanbase and
record sales explode. Their previous album, The Art of Balance, went
on to SoundScan over 100,000 copies in the U.S. becoming the first
album in Century Media history to reach this illustrious milestone.
Shadows Fall's stunning new offering was produced once again by Zeuss
(Hatebreed) at Planet Z Studios and features 10 tracks of sonic
devastation. The first pressing of the disc is limited to 150,000
embossed Digipak copies and is packaged with a bonus DVD, featuring a
video for "Stepping Outside the Circle" from The Art of Balance, two
live videos, guitar lessons with Matt Bachand and Jon Donais, a drum
lesson with Jason Bittner and a Century Media sampler.
Shadows Fall will also embark on a massive co-headlining U.S. tour
alongside Damageplan and The Haunted, which kicks off on October 27th.
"Shadows Fall are the leaders of the thrash metal renaissance."
--CMJ New Music Monthly
"[Shadows Fall] ... have crafted the perfect metal album."
--Revolver
Official Band Website -
http://www.shadowsfallrocks.com/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #3 ***
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-Swirl In The Garageband.com Top 50!!!!!!!!
On September 29, 2004... out of 1,132 tunes Swirl's "Controlled
Emotions" has climbed up to #45 and is in the third round with a 4.5
rating.
Awards for Swirl's "Controlled Emotions" to date on garageband.com:
· Track of the Day on August 9, 2004
· Best Male Vocals in Rock, week of August 16, 2004
· Grooviest Rhythm in Rock, week of August 16, 2004
7 MP3s are available at the link below...
http://www.garageband.com/artist/_Swirl/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #4 ***
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-Metal Storm Records' Pearls From The Underground: Blaze
BLAZE Same (CD-R)
Facts:
-First CD (2001) Demo as CD-R only but with printed booklet
-Hard Rock from Japan in the NWOBHM-vein
-10 minutes playing time, 2 catchy songs
Prices:
1 CD: 8 ‚¬
Prices plus postage !
Postage (please add!)
with jewel case: (non registered / registered)
Germany: 1,50 ‚¬ / 3,50 ‚¬
Europe: 4,00 ‚¬ / 6,00 ‚¬
World Sea Mail: 6,00 ‚¬ / 8,00 ‚¬
World Air Mail: 8,00 ‚¬ / 10,00 ‚¬
you can save postage:
without jewel case: (non registered / registered)
Europe: 2,50 ‚¬ / 4,50 ‚¬
World Sea Mail: 4,00 ‚¬ / 6,00 ‚¬
World Air Mail: 5,00 ‚¬ / 7,00 ‚¬
METAL STORM RECORDS
Jens Haefner
Wolliner Str. 1
D-26215 Wiefelstede
Germany
Fax 0441/6640601
Trades also welcome.
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*** PRESS RELEASE #5 ***
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-Robin McAuley's New EP Available Now
Robin McAuley has a new project called Bleed he is working on and now
has an EP available. Joining Robin are Dave Bates on guitar, Bjorn
Englen on bass, Bob Pace on rhythm guitar and Craig Anderson on drums.
Track list:
1. Falling Down
2. Thrown It All Away
3. Tail Of The Gun
4. We Breathe
MP3s will be made available soon. Click here:
http://www.robinmcauley.com/bleedep.html .
Robin also has 2 more shows coming up... don't miss 'em!!
10/16 - Paladino's, Woodland Hills, CA
11/5 - Synergy, West Chicago, IL (Rainbow Foundation annual toy drive)
11/6 - Impulse Music, Roselle, IL (in-store appearance)
For more information/tickets visit
http://www.robinmcauley.com/ .
Thank you for helping to support Robin McAuley.
http://www.robinmcauley.com/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #6 ***
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-Arch Enemy Set Release Date For The Dead Eyes See No Future EP;
Embark On Headbangers Ball Tour
Swedish extreme metal titans Arch Enemy continue their worldwide
rebellion this fall on MTV2's Headbangers Ball Tour alongside Cradle
of Filth, Bleeding Through and Himsa. The group will be releasing the
Dead Eyes See No Future EP in the U.S. on November 2nd, which features
the following tracklisting:
Dead Eyes See No Future (studio version)
Burning Angel (Live in Paris 2004)
We Will Rise (Live in Paris 2004)
Heart of Darkness (Live in Paris 2004)
Symphony Of Destruction (Megadeth cover)
Kill With Power (Manowar cover)
Incarnated Solvent Abuse (Carcass cover)
We Will Rise (Enhanced video clip)
Mike Amott (guitars) further describes the group's excitement over
their new EP and upcoming tour, "Well -- finally! Back to the U.S.
again! After some of the problems we had earlier this year in America,
it's a relief to know we'll be back again before the end of the year
to shred it up for all you maniacs one more time! It'll be a real
blast coming out with Cradle of Filth, not only will it give us a
chance to play to a slightly different audience, but it'll also be
like a family outing for the drumming brothers Adrian (CoF drummer)
and our very own Daniel. Obviously Daniel's going to enjoy showing
Adrian how it's really done every night -- we'll see!! We're also
pleased to get a chance to get back to Canada again -- we had such a
great response last time we played there with Iron Maiden, we wanna
see if they still remember us.
"The decision to make this EP started to come about after we played a
particularly intense, sold-out show at the Elysee Montmartre in Paris
this past April, which we were taping. Most of the recording came out
sounding great, so we thought we should give you guys the chance to
own a slice of prime live Enemy, especially for all the people who
haven't seen us play yet! The inimitable Andy Sneap was on hand to do
the actual live recording, and he also mixed the whole thing at his
studio (where we did all the sessions for 'Anthems...'). The cover
songs on the EP -- we had a real blast working out our take on these
classic metal tunes, especially the Carcass song... I was expecting to
find it kind of strange to play it with the AE guys, but I have to say
they made an amazing job of it -- in my not-so-humble opinion!! Being
a huge fan of Megadeth, I must admit it's a tough task to better the
original there...we just did a very, very heavy version of the song.
The Manowar track turned out unexpectedly brutal, this was always a
favourite song of mine from my early 'heavy metal daze'! I love the
speed and intensity of this song -- it sounds very Arch Enemy with
lots of guitar shredding! So a fairly spur-of-the-moment idea actually
turned into something good enough to let you guys get your teeth into
it so enjoy."
Arch Enemy w/ Cradle Of Filth, Bleeding Through, Himsa
11/04 - Starland Ballroom- Sayreville, NJ
11/05 - Electric Factory- Philadelphia, PA
11/06 - The Palladium- Worcester, MA
11/08 - Bogarts- Cincinnati, OH
11/10 - House Of Blues- North Myurtle Beach, SC
11/11 - Masquerade- Tampa, Fl
11/12 - House Of Blues- Lake Buena Vista, FL
11/13 - Masquerade- Atlanta, GA
11/14 - Ziggy's- Winston-Salem, NC
11/15 - The World- Pittsburgh, PA
11/17 - The Beaumont Club- Kansas City, MO
11/18 - Gypsy Ballroom- Dallas, TX
11/22 - Ogden Theatre- Denver, CO
11/24 - Marquee Theatre- Tempe, AZ
11/25 - House Of Blues- West Hollywood, CA
11/26 - House Of Blues- Anaheim, CA
11/27 - Soma - San Diego, CA
11/30 - The Premier- Seattle, WA
12/01 - Commodore Ballroom- Vancouver, BC
12/03 - Shaw Conference Center- Edmonton, AB
12/04 - Sun Centre- Currie Army Barracks- Calgary, AB
12/06 - The Quest- Minneapolis, MN
12/07 - House Of Blues-Chicago, IL
12/08 - The Eagles Club- Milwaukee, WI
12/10 - Harpo's Concert Theatre- Detroit, MI
12/11 - House Of Blues- Cleveland, Oh
12/12 - Kool Haus- Toronto, ONT
12/13 - The Medley- Montreal, QUE
"One of the top 25 most important bands in metal,"
--Alternative Press
"Arch Enemy are Sweden's death metal messiahs,"
--Guitar World
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*** PRESS RELEASE #7 ***
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-Ethereal News
Ethereal's currently adding the final touches to the recording and
mixing procedures of its next full-length album, entitled "Towers of
Isolation", that will hopefully be over and done with next November.
Much like its forerunner, the new work continues the conceptual
approach regarding its lyrical branch, featuring seven individual
symphonies of approximately an hour length, with a rather heavier and
murkier musical theme when compared to the debut. The new song titles
are:
1. The Darkest Room
2. Rebirth
3. Haven of Hallucinations
4. The Altar of Disharmonic Anthems
5. Transcendence - Envenomed
6. Moments
7. Towers of Isolation
Soon you'll find photos, excerpts of the recording developments in
video format and an updated studio report in relation to the album's
closing production process on the group's official web den.
Ethereal
http://www.etherealrealm.org/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #8 ***
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-Former Skid Row Vocalist Confirmed To Play At Bang Your Head!!! 10th
Anniversary Festival
The band lineup of next year's installment of Bang Your Head!!! is
gaining shape: former Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach was confirmed
to play at the event set to take place in Germany at the Messegelände
of Balingen on the 24th and 25th of June. Bach played this year's Bang
Your Head!!! as well: He was hired as substitute for White Lion as the
reunion of the latter failed last minute. Bach turned out to the huge
surprise act of the festival ans delivered an frenetically acclaimed
live set with an high-energy performance of many Skid Row classics.
Bang Your Head!!! 2005 will be the 10th Bang Your Head!!! in a row and
is therefore themed "The Best of ten Years". The celebrate this
anniversary, the festival's organizers invited the most popular acts
of all former events, among them prominent names like Twisted Sister
and Motorhead. Alongside 22 acts that have rocked the festival's stage
before, another well-known very special guest will be invited.
The list of artists set to perform at the Bang Your Head!!! festival
2005 at Balingen, Germany, 24th/25th of June:
TWISTED SISTER
MOTÖRHEAD
DIO
SAXON
DORO
SEBASTIAN BACH
GAMMA RAY
NEVERMORE
KROKUS
AXEL RUDI PELL
DESTRUCTION
AMON AMARTH
TANKARD
JAG PANZER
NASTY SAVAGE
VICIOUS RUMORS
DEMON
+5 more huge acts
+1 very special guest
All further details about the Bang Your Head!!! may be found at the
Bang Your Head!!! homepage at
http://www.bang-your-head.de/ .
Tickets are availaible at ticket-hotline (+49-74 57-9 13 93) and via
homepage
http://www.bang-your-head.de/ . Prices are 59, - Euro (plus
shipping) at presales. Tickets are limited to a number of 20000. By
this the organizers want to ensure that the special and relaxed
atmosphere of the event won't suffer.
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*** PRESS RELEASE #9 ***
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-Rivera/Bomma News And Updates!!!
* R/B just came back from performing @ THE A.C.M.A. (American
Christian Music Awards). We had lots of fun a meet great artist!!!!
* The second release of R/B entitle "I AM GOD" is in its finishing
stages. Our producer Mr. Rambaldi is currently mixing and will soon
begin to master it for hopeful release by late Nov. '04!!! We will
keep you posted for sound bite that will be available @ Silent Planet
Promotion.com.
* Rivera/Bomma live!!!! Rivera/Bomma live!!!!
R/B will be performing live in Puerto Rico!!!!!
October 30 and 31, 2004
God bless you all
Rivera/Bomma's info Web site:
http://www.silentplanetpromotions.com/
Rivera/Bomma's record label:
http://www.truemetal.org/secretport/
For lots of extra info on R/B go to:
http://www.google.com/
(type seach word "rivera/bomma")
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*** PRESS RELEASE #10 ***
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-Shadows Fall Launch National Co-Headlining U.S. Tour With Damageplan;
Complete Tour Itinerary Announced
Shadows Fall are set to embark on a massive co-headlining U.S. tour
with Damageplan this fall. The trek, set to begin on October 27th
running through December 4th, covers major markets and will see both
Shadows Fall and Damageplan swapping the closing spot each night,
which will also feature The Haunted in the support slot. This highly
anticipated tour is Shadows Fall's first nationwide run in support of
their critically acclaimed new album, The War Within, which
SoundScanned 39,251 copies and debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top 200
Chart in its first week. The complete tour itinerary is below.
Shadows Fall w/ Damageplan, The Haunted
10/27 - Masquerade- Atlanta, GA
10/28 - Masquerade- Ybor City, FL
10/29 - House Of Blues- Lake Buena Vista, FL
10/30 - Floyd's Music Store- Tallahassee, FL
10/31 - House Of Blues- New Orleans
11/02 - Numbers- Houston, TX
11/03 - Sunset Station- San Antonio, TX
11/04 - Ridglea Theatre- Fort Worth, TX
11/06 - Marquee Theatre- Tempe, AZ
11/07 - House of Blues- Anaheim, CA
11/08 - House Of Blues- Las Vegas, NV
11/10 - House of Blues- West Hollywood, CA
11/11 - Grand Ballroom- San Francisco, CA
11/13 - The Big Easy Concert Hall- Spokane, WA
11/14 - Showbox- Seattle, WA
11/15 - The Big Easy- Boise, ID
11/16 - Lofi Café- Salt Lake City, UT
11/17 - Ogden Theatre- Denver, CO
11/19 - The Quest- Minneapolis, MN
11/20 - The Rave- Milwaukee, WI
11/21 - House of Blues- Chicago, IL
11/22 - Clutch Cargo's- Pontiac, MI
11/24 - The Palladium- Worcester, MA
11/26 - 9:30 Club- Washington, DC
11/27 - Trocadero- Philadelphia, PA
11/29 - Irving Plaza- New York, NY
12/01 - Phoenix Concert Theatre- Toronto, ON
12/02 - Le Spectrum- Montreal, QUE
12/03 - Webster Theatre- Hartford, CT
12/04 - Starland Ballroom- Sayreville, NJ
Shadows Fall's stunning new offering was produced once again by Zeuss
(Hatebreed) at Planet Z Studios and features 10 tracks of sonic
devastation. The first pressing of the disc is limited to 150,000
embossed Digipak copies and is packaged with a bonus DVD, featuring a
video for "Stepping Outside the Circle" from The Art of Balance, two
live videos, guitar lessons with Matt Bachand and Jon Donais, a drum
lesson with Jason Bittner and a Century Media sampler.
Click here to stream their new video for "The Power of I and I":
http://mp4.centurymedia.com/shads_i.ram
"Shadows Fall are the leaders of the thrash metal renaissance."
--CMJ New Music Monthly
"[Shadows Fall] ... have crafted the perfect metal album."
--Revolver
Official Band Website -
http://www.shadowsfallrocks.com/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #11 ***
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-Brainstorm Update From Andy B. Franck
"How are you? Have you already heard about the Brainstorm show at this
year's ProgPower?
"What a blast! I've never heard fans screaming that loud... holy shit!
We got voted as 'Best Band of the Weekend' and one of the best
performances of all time at ProgPower so far! All shirts were sold out
after 15 minutes.... Normally the signing sessions are around 45
minutes. Only 'big names' sit there a bit longer... maybe around 1
hour. Our signing session took more (!) than 2 hours... the promoter
and everyone there said they've never seen anything like this before!
Awesome! I don't think this was one of our best shows... but the fans
liked it a lot! Holy shit... that was a real blast!"
http://www.truemetal.org/brainstorm/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #12 ***
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-Metal Blade Records Signs Distribution Deal With Two Significant
Underground Labels!
Metal Blade Records has recently signed on to handle distribution for
Blackmarket Activities, Guy Kozowyk from The Red Chord's label, and
Iron Clad Recordings, Trevor Phipps from Unearth's label. This means
that fans that have been having a hard time locating releases from
either of these labels will now be able to find them in all the stores
that Metal Blade Records and its distributor RED works with. Both
labels will be re-releasing certain CDs, some which will have revamped
packaging and bonus material. For more information on what the re-
releases will contain you can check any of the labels' or bands'
websites. Release schedule is as follows:
10/19/04 - PsyOpus - Ideas of Reference - B.M.A.
10/19/04 - From A Second Story Window - Not One Word Has Been Omitted
- B.M.A.
11/02/04 - Paria - Misanthropos - B.M.A.
11/02/04 - Born From Pain - Sands of Time - B.M.A.
11/02/04 - If Hope Dies - The Ground Is Rushing Up To Meet Us - Iron
Clad Recordings
02/22/05 - Since The Flood - Valor And Vengeance - Iron Clad
Recordings
"We are very excited to welcome both Blackmarket Activities and Iron
Clad to the Metal Blade family. We will be distributing releases for
each of the labels and are excited to work with their great artists."
- Brian Slagel Owner/CEO Metal Blade Records
http://www.blackmarketactivities.com/
http://www.ironcladrecordings.com/
http://www.metalblade.com/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #13 ***
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-Z Records News
ONLINE STORE PROBLEM FIXED:
Our online store is now fully operational, apologies to everyone whom
attempted to buy any of our new releases during the last few days. The
pricing problem has now been amended so check us out at
www.zrecords.net.
WAR & PEACE CONFIRM US DATES WITH GREAT WHITE
War & Peace have confirmed the following dates during october with
Great White:
October 7, 2004 - Club Vodka Hollywood, CA
October 9, 2004 - Murphy's Irish Pub Simi Valley, CA (With Great
White)
October 10, 2004 - Club Ibiza Whittier, CA (With Great White & Atomic
Punks)
ADAM BOMB UK DATES THIS WEEK
Adam Bomb continues his UK tour this week at the fowlloing venues,
check him out at:
Tuesday October 5 - SHEFFIELD Classic Rock Bar
Wednesday October 6 - ACKWORTH Boot & Shoe
Thursday October 7 - SCARBOROUGH Murrays Bar
Friday October 8 - GLASGOW Barfly
Saturday October 9 - CARLISLE Brickyard
Sunday October 10 - MOTHERWELL Starka
Monday October 11 - CHESTERFIELD Barrow Boy
http://www.zrecords.net/
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*** PRESS RELEASE #14 ***
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-Cosmo's Moon - Website Update
Thanx to all who came and saw us rock McCoy's last night! The place
was packed and it was great seeing so many CM fans in the audience!
Thanx again to all of you who support original music on Long Island!
Our next show will be on Saturday, October 23rd, 2004 at Mr. Beery's
in Bethpage!
The pics from the 9/11 Fundraiser Show have been posted, so check 'em
out at
http://cosmos_moon_band.tripod.com/ .
To hear some vintage CM tunes, check out
http://www.myspace.com/cosmosmoon/ .
To see and hear Mark Valentino's websites and solo album tunes, check
out
http://mv_music.tripod.com/ &
http://profiles.myspace.com/users/7142807/ .
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*** PRESS RELEASE #15 ***
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-Metal Blade: DJs wanted!!!
That's right! Metal Blade Records are looking for DJs in all European
countries to spin their monster tunes. So if you DJ at your local
metal club or bar, and would like to get some killer Metal Blade music
like the compilation below, just send us an e-mail at
info@... . We will then send you a form for you to fill out
and return stamped and signed by the venue. And then the fun begins...
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*** PRESS RELEASE #16 ***
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-Philadelphia Rock Club Looking For Bands
[Note: We're not 100% certain this club is actually in Philadelphia.
No city is mentioned anywhere in the press release, and someone else
besides the release's author told us it might be Philly. - Tim]
Thursday October 7th
Pale Divine • Umin • All For Nothing • more to be announced
Friday October 8th
GONG SHOW
Miss Argentina • more to be announced
Saturday October 9st
NO FRILLS
DJ's: Lex, Prom King & more
Wednesday October 13th
LOUD & PROUD!
DJ's: El Duce Allin • English Robbie @ Nocturnal 215.869.9502 • Eddie
Kes @ Tattoo Eddies • King Met • Bands: NEED 2 BANDS
Friday October 15th
Neurotic Swingers [France] • Blessed Muthas • more to be announced
Saturday October 16th
Inuman • Umin • more to be announced
Friday October 22nd
Merauder • Agents Of Man • more to be announced
Saturday October 23rd
Rock N Roll Rumble
Saturday November 6th
Metroplex • more to be announced
Saturday November 13th
Last Call • Save Yourself • Let Go [members of Burning Bridges] more
to be announced
Saturday November 20th
Sex Slaves • Omegalord • more to be announced
Attention all bands: The Manhattan Room is a new club in Fishtown that
is now booking bands full time. Above is a list of shows that we are
doing to give you an idea of the type of bands we're looking for.
Wherever you see "more to be announced" is places we need bands to
fill shows. For all you metal bands, every Monday will be "Metal
Mondays" which is almost like an open mic for metal. Just email me and
we'll get you on the list to play. We will do up to eight bands every
Monday. Thursdays is the Gong Show party which feature two to three
bands and our version of The Gong Show. So if you have some weird
talent email me and we'll get you on the list to perform. Every
contestant gets something wether it's a couple drinks or a stack of
CDs or a $50 bar tab to the winner. Being we are in the beginning
stages we're giving almost anyone a gig. So if ya need a show email
toodhype@.... If you would like to check out the club it's at 15
West Girard Avenue which is between & Front.
Thanks a bunch,
Met
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*** PRESS RELEASE #17 ***
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-Emperor Multimedia Media Release
Diskery, our sales division, has announced effective immediately, that
all prices are slashed 10% below their previous cost. No, this is not
a pre-Christmas sale but a new low price and mnakes Diskery one of the
most affordable music sites on the Internet. This price adjustment
coincides with a complete change in the Diskery Wholesaler program.
Wholesalers will no longer have to use e-mail and pre-fabricated price
charts but can now finally purchase directly from the website using
just about any payment method they desire (including credit card) and
receive their wholesaler discount directly, and in doing so
eliminating a bulky administration. A third change to the Diskery
sales methods was announced today with the installation of the long
awaited "street team"; bands of people who signed up for free to
promote and encourage the sale of Diskery sponsored items for a
commission of their share of the sales. Wholesalers and Street Team
members can join for free.
That's all for now. Cheers.
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #18 ***
*
-Samples Of Former Crimson Glory Vocalist Midnight's New Material
Available
Midnight and The Staff Of themidnightmansion.com would like to invite
you to a long awaited preview of his new music which is currently
posted at the website. We also would like remind you that these are
only 5 out of 12 tracks that will appear on the new project and the
first 5 that you will hear represent the stranger side of midnight.
The next 5 that will follow will appeal more to the metal fans that
have been loyal to him for many years. We here at The Mansion hope you
enjoy what you hear and we invite you to comment at our forum located
through the door on the left side of the stage. To listen to the
clips, enter the door on the right of the stage and click on the
birds.
Thank you for being a part of our family here at The Midnight Mansion.
http://www.themidnightmansion.com/
Regards,
The The Official Midnight Mansion Forum team.
http://www.xsorbit1.com/users/juggernaut//index.cgi
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #19 ***
*
-IcebergRadio.com's Metal Radio Adds
The following albums have been added to IcebergRadio.com's Metal
Stations: BWBK.com, '80s Hair Bands, Budweiser Radio, BlackDeath,
ProgPower, Hair Transplant, Doom & Distortion, '80s Aggression, Roots
Of Metal.
ALL ELSE FAILED - This Never Happened (Abacus): BWBK.com, Budweiser
Radio
BLOODSHOTEYE - Without Any Remorse (Galy): BWBK.com
DEVILINSIDE - Volume One (Abacus): BWBK.com, Budweiser Radio
DRY KILL LOGIC - The Dead And Dreaming (Repossession): Budweiser Radio
FU MANCHU - Start The Machine (DRT): BWBK.com, Doom & Distortion
GWAR - War Party (DRT): BWBK.com
THE HAUNTED - rEVOLVEr (Century Media): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
HELMET - Size Matters (Interscope): Budweiser Radio
HOUSE OF SHAKIRA - First Class (Lion): Hair Transplant
KING DIAMOND - Deadly Lullabyes Live (Metal Blade): BWBK.com
MELIAH RAGE - Barely Human (Screaming Ferret): BWBK.com
NECROPHAGIST - Epitaph (Relapse): BWBK.com
JON OLIVA'S PAIN - 'Tage Mahal (SPV): BWBK.com, ProgPower
SCUM OF THE EARTH - Blah... Blah...Blah... Love Songs For The New
Millennium (Eclipse): Budweiser Radio
SEVEN WITCHES - Year Of The Witch (Sanctury): BWBK.com
SHADOWS FALL - The War Within (Century Media): BWBK.com, Budweiser
Radio
SONATA ARCTICA - Reckoning Night (Nuclear Blast): BWBK.com, ProgPower
TORN WITHIN - Allied With Bitterness (Galy): BWBK.com
TWILIGHT OPHERA - Chaosworm (Crash Music): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
VADER - The Beast (Metal Blade): BWBK.com, BlackDeath
Brave Pick Of The Week:
MEGADETH - The System Has Failed (Sanctuary)
BWBK.com is BW&BK Magazine's noisy audio brother and can be found at
www.BWBK.com and via the Metal News section at www.HardRadio.com!
For more info about BWBK.com contact metaltim@icebergmedia or
metaltim@...
BWBK.com is the noisy audio brother to BW&BK Magazine!
www.BWBK.com - 24/7 Audio Assault!
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #20 ***
*
-Kevin Zugschwert Releases Over The Limit
AURORA, CO -- Kevin Zugschwert releases his full-length debut record
entitled "Over The Limit." An instrumental rock album, featuring
melodic and technical guitar stunts with a powerful rhythm section.
Plus, additional textures of piano and synthesizers with acoustic
guitar. Walking a line between the soaring leads of Joe Satriani and
the skull crushing riffs of Testament, Kevin Zugschwert gives
instrumental rock a different and unique perspective. Recorded in
Colorado and mastered earlier this year.
Kevin Zugschwert is a marvelous, metal guitar virtuoso with a keen ear
for song structure, melody and atmospherics. Not to mention the
almighty riff itself. This is high quality instrumental rock with a
powerful rhythm section; keen to back up the gorgeous lead and
palpable riffs with a tight backdrop. The fast paced, catchy as hell
opener "Into The Night" features a marvelous intro/chorus melody that
drives the song's appealingly haunting aggression -- contrasting well
with the atmospherics of the far darker "Love Hate."
"Fire Dance" is a very progressive song with strong drumming and
teasing guitar licks whereas the piano led "Pearl In The Sky" offers a
sanctity with its "calm in the eye of the storm" intermission slot and
demeanor. There are plenty of '80s metal influences -- some
accessible, some less so. "Chasing A Dream" is one of the more
accessible, with powerful lead guitar that harkens back to the '80s
block busting movie "Top Gun."
With songs like the haunting, almost Latin flavoured "Black Rose" in
attendance, Kevin Zugschwert has produced an instrumental record that
could even convert those amongst us completely loathed to sit and try
and enjoy 10 tracks of instrumental fannying about. However Zugschwert
has struck a balance between catchy structures, power house riffs and
an entertainment factor that defies the need for vocals and lyrics. If
you are a fan of the timeless alternative metal/rock sound -- checking
out this record is a must; you will be utterly gob smacked at just how
engaging and on occasion relaxing this talent filled album can make
you -- with such a mix of beauty, "Sandras Song," and aggression,
"Fire Dance," there really is a song for every occasion.
Standout Tracks: "Into The Night," "Fire Dance," "Pearl In the Sky" &
"Black Rose."
Kevin Zugschwert's "Over The Limit" can be purchased at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/zugschwert/
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.towerrecords.com/
http://www.kevinzugschwert.com/
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #21 ***
*
-Satyrica Release: Memories Of The Future
Durango, Colorado -- With their ability to draw on endless talent and
creativity, up and coming virtuosos Satyrica have released their new
album, Memories of the Future. The Four Corners region of the American
southwest has spawned a new era in rock/metal that brings Satyrica to
the forefront of a movement finding itself immersed in many styles of
music. From classical to bluegrass, death metal to pop rock, Satyrica
holds the vision for this new and exciting generation of multifaceted
musicians.
With Russell Hallock on guitar, vocals and keyboards, Jim Belcher on
bass and mandolin and Aaron Lombardo on drums and percussion, Satyrica
have created an album rich in musical heritage that still brings a new
feel for the masses. "I've just felt I always had to do this for my
sanity," says Russell Hallock. "I've always had this idea for a strong
album instrumentaly that goes along with a message to all that we
don't have to think like everyone else. There are so many more
interesting things to discuss that go beyond CNN!"
*
*** PRESS RELEASE #22 ***
*
-Legendary Iron Maiden Unveils 'The History Of Iron Maiden - Part 1;
The Early Days' 2-DVD Set Through Sanctuary/Metal-Is Records on
November 9th
'The Early Days' is a unique collection of archive material packed
onto 2 DVD's that covers the beginnings of the band's career from the
struggle to get gigs in East End pubs through to becoming within just
5 years a band capable of headlining arenas anywhere around the World
and achieving this without any radio support to speak of at any time.
This isn't simply a band history but more the intense and personal
voyage of a remarkable group of individuals who shared one vision and
worked hard to achieve that goal without any compromises along the
way. It also demonstrates the band's unique relationship with their
fans, the foundation for which was laid right back then ...at the
beginning.
The first DVD contains nearly 2 hours of archive Maiden live concert
rarities that demonstrate the energy and power that propelled them to
the forefront of World Metal.
The first program of DVD 1 is Maiden's first ever concert video 'Live
at The Rainbow' which was produced by EMI back in 1980, shortly after
they were signed and was one of the first ever concert VHS releases.
This title has not been widely available for some time so fans can now
see the band fronted by Paul Di'Anno singing such classics as
"Killers" and "Phantom Of the Opera".
The rest of the footage on DVD 1 consists of two shows neither of
which has ever been fully available. Beast Over Hammersmith was filmed
at the beginning of the 'Beast On the Road' tour that to many fans at
the time was the first introduction to Bruce Dickinson. Songs like
"Hallowed be Thy Name" and "Number of The Beast" have proved to become
regular features in the Maiden live set since this was first recorded
in 1982 and now thanks to some modern reconstructive work fans can
enjoy the highlights from this rare footage.
To complete the first disk is 'Live At Dortmund', a massive concert in
Dortmund in December 1983 originally filmed for German TV with Maiden
headlining a stellar Metal bill as part of their 'World Piece Tour'.
Originally the show was broadcast live across Europe but has not been
seen since until now. Research into the footage shows that all the
original film has since been destroyed so this is truly now a rare
piece of Maiden history.
DVD 2 includes the feature length (90 minutes) Documentary titled "The
Early Days" with extensive interviews and photographs and historical
detail.
The documentary which forms the basis for the title contains over 90
minutes of extraordinary interviews with the colourful cast of
characters involved with Maiden over this early period - current band
members, a whole host of ex band members, managers, agents,
journalists, photographers, EMI execs past and present, crew,
promoters, fans - all of whom have their own perspective of the events
and process that led up Maiden's Worldwide success, and the fun and
hard work involved.
It chronicles their early struggles in the mid to late 70's in
London's East End where the hardest thing was just keeping a line-up
together for more than a couple of pub gigs, through the early
successes of their eponymous debut album and "Killers", their first
World Tours, the colossal impact on the Rock World that was "The
Number of the Beast" and through to the end of their first full
headlining World Tour - 'Piece of Mind' - in 1983.
A very honest and revealing (but also entertaining) insight into just
what it was like early on in the World of Eddie and Maiden, its also a
guide book to the problems faced and attitude and talent needed to get
a band off the ground and to the pinnacle of Worldwide success - and
then to keep it there!!! It is a fascinating and compelling story for
any music fan.
Also on Disk 2 is a 30 min TV Documentary by LWT shown in 1980 on the
rise of Heavy Metal featuring the band and footage of them performing
at The Marquee in 1979 and an insight into the new breed of music fan
that arose out of the ashes of the punk era.
Possibly one of the rarest items on The Early Days is a 45 minute home
video recorded by the band of them performing at The Ruskin Arms in
East London. This footage was originally feared lost forever however
by complete chance a surviving copy was found in Steve's Harris' home
and the delicate tape was processed and now included in it's entirety.
With the exception of a very short clip used in 12 Wasted Years this
has never been seen by anyone except the band themselves making it
such a rare gem for the collector.
Extras include rare TV appearances like their first 'Live' performance
on Top Of The Pops and Rock and Pop on German TV, Special photo
gallery revealing never before seen personal pictures taken by the
band and crew and a thorough overview and detail of all the bands
artwork, tour programmes and imagery both on tour and their studio
releases, plus of course some hidden goodies.
"The Early Days" is the first of what will eventually become a series
of DVDs to be released over the coming years. Each release will
extensively cover a period of the bands career to become a collection
of not only re-mastered footage but also previously unavailable and
unseen material taken directly from the bands own personal
collections, along with extensive interviews.
Says Steve Harris, "We haven't had any of our original live videos
available for some time so when we started looking at this project we
thought lets make each DVD a real document of not only the shows but
everything around that time. Everybody has been digging through the
archives to make this the most complete it can possibly be and I'm
really proud of the end result. A lot of the footage we'd thought had
been lost for good like the home video of the Ruskin Arms. Both disks
contain some real collectors stuff. For example we filmed the first
Hammersmith Odeon shows with Bruce but because of various lighting
issues we never felt that it was really good enough to use. It just
never really captured the excitement of show or the spectacle that it
was - but by the time it was on film we could do nothing about it.
However with technology being what it is now we've revisited and
repaired some of the problems with the original masters to get it to a
point where we can finally keep our fans happy by making it
available."
"I have to say that I've really had a lot of fun recalling the early
beginnings and we've managed to interview just about everybody who was
ever part of Maiden from the very first line up in 1975 through to the
band that everyone knows now. I found things I thought I had lost over
the years and sometimes the smallest thing can remind you of exactly
why you started doing this in the first place and the struggle
everyone went through. I think the fans are going to love this."
Plans are currently being put together for Iron Maiden play some
festival and stadium dates next summer and bring the 'Early Days' back
to life. The band will be linking in the look and feel of their
beginnings in the stage set as well as performing some classic tracks
from that time which haven't been heard live for a while!! Dates will
start to be announced in the near future.
Says manager Rod Smallwood, "On reviewing all these great shows it
just reminded us all of the great songs that the band have in their
repertoire. It's always difficult when touring a new album to include
too many of the older songs which the fans always ask for as the band
would end up playing for 4 or 5 hours! The plan for next year is to
recreate the power and energy and look of their early shows and
eventually continue this idea with each subsequent DVD release."
The next in series will be the spectacular 'Live After Death' which
will cover the bands legendary four sold out shows at Long Beach Arena
in 1984 through to the Somewhere in Time tour in 1987.
The full contents of THE EARLY DAYS are -
Documentaries (115 min)
The Early Years – 90 minute Feature Documentary
20th Century Box – Heavy Metal (1980) – 25 minute feature.
Live At The Rainbow – 1981 (35 mins)
Ides Of March
Wrathchild
Killers
Remember Tomorrow
Transylvania
Phantom Of The Opera
Iron Maiden
Live At Hammersmith 1982 - Beast On The Road (45 mins)
Murders in The Rue Morgue
Run to The Hills
Children Of The Damned
Number Of The Beast
22 Acacia Avenue
Total Eclipse
The Prisoner
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden
Live at Rock & Pop Festival 1983 Dortmund - World Piece Tour (35 mins)
Sanctuary
The Trooper
Revelations
Flight Of Icarus
22 Acacia Avenue
Number Of The Beast
Run To The Hills
Live at The Ruskin Arms – 1980 (40 mins)
Sanctuary
Wrathchild
Prowler
Remember Tomorrow
Running Free
Transylvania
Another Life
Phantom Of The Opera
Charlotte the Harlot
Extras (40 mins)
Live on Top Of the Pops – Running Free and Women In Uniform
Live on Rock and Pop – Germany TV – Running Free
Promo videos – Women In Uniform / Run To The Hills / Number Of The
Beast / Flight Of Icarus / The Trooper
Rare and unseen Photo gallery featuring over 150 pictures and images
Full tour listings/ Discography/Tour programmes and artwork galleries.
http://www.ironmaiden.com/
http://www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com/
*
*** SPECIAL REPORT ***
*
by Sean P. Gahgan (
lof@...)
-Interview w/ Chris Caffery (Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
I had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Chris Caffery regarding his
brand new debut solo double CD FACES/GOD DAMN WAR, as well as many
other topics, before his stellar performance at ProgPower USA V in
Atlanta. I have been a fan of Chris' ever since he joined the Savatage
family back in 1988. I have always admired how much he respected Criss
Oliva's playing and played his solos note for note, and now over time,
he has become a guitar hero himself, and this is quite apparent after
hearing this new release. Chris was very humble and down to earth when
we spoke and it was apparent over the course of our conversation how
much of himself that he had poured into his first solo project. How
his life and experiences up to this point are all well represented,
thus appropriately called FACES.
DETRITUS: Thanks for taking some time and talking to Detritus today. I
would first like to tell you that I have been a fan a yours and
Savatage for a long time. Savatage is one of the few bands that I can
honestly say, whenever they have come out with a new CD, it never
disappoints.
CHRIS CAFFERY: Cool.
D: It's good to know that when you expect something, it's going to be
good... I don't even think twice about buying it, it's automatic. When
POETS AND MADMEN came out, I said to myself that if all Savatage
played in concert was the new CD and nothing else, I would be
satisfied. How often can a fan say that? I also liked the fact that it
was all you on guitar, with the exception of one solo of Al Pitrelli's
that was kept. Finally the light was on Chris Caffery.
CC: Thanks.
D: Don't get me wrong, Al is a great guitar player...
CC: He's phenomenal...
D: I have seen Savatage a number of times and I always appreciated how
true you stayed to Criss' (Oliva) solos, I thought that was very
respectful.
CC: Thanks man, I appreciate that.
D: So...onto your CD... First of all, why two CDs instead of one?
CC: Well...in the demo stage I recorded 65 songs and of course I
couldn't put 65 songs on one record and trying to narrow things down
to one CD was almost impossible... I think I got down to maybe 25
songs and I'm thinking, I don't know... I was trying to split them
into a list of heavy songs, slow songs, fast songs, but I noticed that
I have a lot of songs that are about me and a lot of songs that are
about the war. So, I called up my label and said this is the problem.
I am really having a difficult time narrowing this stuff down, could I
do something like Iced Earth did with "Gettysburg," to where you have
the additional CD, so originally I would do three or four songs about
the war and have that as an additional thing... And then it was
eventually five or six songs...and then I wound up recording an
additional 14, and then all together 30 and the label's like, it's too
much stuff to put as a bonus CD so we came to a compromise. There are
nine songs on the bonus CD... There is still more but the reason I
wanted to make sure that stuff was there was because a huge part of me
is Heavy Metal music and the war songs tend to be the more traditional
true metal songs and I didn't want to leave those off the record. So
I'm sitting here thinking how am I going to do this but they didn't
really fit in with the personal stuff. Eventually in the end I decided
in a time when people are complaining about stealing music, I would do
something really crazy and I would pay for the recording of the
additional songs and give them away.
D: And you thought this was the best way to represent both sides?
CC: Yeah, I think this is the best introduction for me as a singer and
as for a solo record saying, this is Chris Caffery, and in the future
I would like to supplement the WAR CD with some additional music, like
another eight songs. But for right now I think this is a good way for
me to say, here I am, and then take it from there and the records from
that point will just develop.
D: I am assuming the title FACES is used because it reflects the many
sides of Chris Caffery...
CC: Oh most definitely.
D: And then GOD DAMN WAR, is it truly a concept CD with a continuous
story or just a collection of songs about the war?
CC: Actually, I'd been watching the news writing songs about what was
happening as I saw it... I live in Astoria in New York which is a very
Greek neighborhood and a lot of my friends watch Greek satellite TV
and I was seeing what they saw on the Greek news in the morning and I
saw what we saw on US news at night and it was two completely fuckin'
different things about the war. The Greek side was showing the
industrial and economical push for the war and America was showing the
cheerleading against terrorism side of the war. I was just writing
about all of these contradictions that I would see every day. I am not
anti-war, but I am anti-senseless death and I think there are a lot of
things about this war that we didn't know for sure. As time went on, a
lot of what I saw on the Greek news ended up becoming true, so I felt
kind of weird about that because America has suffered socially from
this war. When Savatage first hit in Europe in 1990 everywhere I went
with a United States passport people were like, "Hey...American...hi."
I remember the 1996 Olympics were going on I was walking around with
Europe with a red, white, and blue leather jacket, a red, white, and
blue hat and a U.S.A. shirt -- if I did that now I would get spit on.
And something happened to cause that with this war and that's kind of
what I doing, I'm just kind of questioning everything with it. I wrote
songs as time went on; there is a little bit of fantasy element in it
as I have planets singing and the missiles singing and the war itself
as a character but for the most part it is just a timeline of what I
saw on the news.
D: How old are some of these songs?
CC: Really only a couple of year old. There may be a few pieces that
are a little bit older but for the most part but 90% of the stuff has
been written in the past couple of years.
D: You put a studio together for your self recently, didn't you?
CC: Yeah that's where I was doing the writing and that's where I
actually discovered I could sing. As I was getting people some music
-- you know sometimes when you do songs for people and you are
chugging on an A chord, there's a certain beat and an obvious melody
that might come out, and you don't sing it and somebody else does and
you're like, "That's exactly what I had in my head" and you're getting
less publishing sales and then you're like, "Well let me scratch down
some of these melodies..." Then I went from scratching down melodies
to writing a lyric to finishing a song and I'm listening to it
thinking, "Hey, I don't really suck that bad..." Then I started doing
more and more and I think it was about five or six songs into it that
I said I want to do this. I didn't get a lot of support from my
friends or my business partners on it for a few reasons. I didn't
really know how to record the vocals at first and I was rushing
through it so I was kind of acting as my own A&R guy on it where I was
hearing things in a virgin state and knowing what I could do with it
whereas other people nowadays, you have to hit them with a fuckin'
brick before they know something is good. So, as much as everyone kept
telling me no I can't do it, I just kept saying, "Yes I can."
Eventually I wrote a ton of songs and went though a wave of rejection
on getting the kind of deal that I wanted...and then I was contacted
by this label out of Greece, Black Lotus. They flew me out to Athens
and I played them some music and from that point on everything's been
great.
D: Did you demo all the songs in your studio and then so somewhere
else to record the final tracks?
CC: You know, I wanted to go and do a record... Everyone said you can
pocket a ton of money if you do it in your bedroom but you know what,
I spent the last two years in my bedroom... I want to get out, go in
the studio, order takeout food, and make a record.
D: Did you work with a specific engineer?
CC: Yeah, actually the house engineer at the studio ended up
co-producing the record with me -- another Greek guy, just by
coincidence, his name is Nik Chinboukas. He actually played with a
band on Columbia called Collision. He's a singer and guitar player and
we just got along really well, it was fun to work with him.
D: Someone to bounce ideas off of and ask, hey what do you think of
this?
CC: Yeah, and when we were working with the vocals he helped me focas
on the performance and really relax.
D: What was the name of the studio?
CC: I recorded at a place called Spin Studios in Astoria, New York.
It's a real cool place we discovered when we were looking for a place
to record the next Savatage record which hasn't happened yet but we
went and demoed some stuff there and I just loved the studio.
D: What kind of vocal microphone did you use?
CC: I was using the same Sony mic that Mariah Carey and Sting used and
I forget what the name of it was... It's like an $8,000 Sony mic and
the funny thing was that I finished my record and the next project
came in two days later and the mic blew up! (both laugh) I told them I
must have spit on it too much.
D: From start to finish, when you hit Spin Studios, how long did it
take?
CC: Pre-production started the third week in January and I was pretty
much a 100% done by the last week in April. A couple little remixes
happened in May and I finished up some of the bonus track stuff and
then I mastered it over in Athens, Greece in June...then re-mastered
it...and re-mastered it...
D: How come?
CC: Different people have a sonically a different view of what you
want to hear...
D: And you knew what you wanted to hear and you weren't hearing it,
right?
CC: Yeah. That and it's still not...I still may re-master it for a US
release. (laughs)
D: I know what you mean. You are never going to be completely happy
with it and you always think it could be better.
CC: It's the little things that I notice that others don't...
D: It's like a child, there comes a point where you have taught and
guided then the best you can and you need to let them go and have a
life of their own.
CC: Exactly. I needed to move beyond that and get into just being the
guitar player and selling the record and being a singer and get past
the studio. I spent so much time doing the production myself that I
just had to move on.
D: What about the players on the record?
CC: I used Jeff Plate from Savatage on drums, Dave Z from TSO played
bass and an old friend of mine who also plays with TSO, Paul Morris
from Rainbow, came in and did some keyboards.
D: Did they contribute a lot or did you pretty much say hey, this is
what I want you to play?
CC: Um...I gave them an idea. Jeff probably did the most as far as
creating because he pretty much had just straight beats to go from on
my demos. Dave Z, you know... Dave, Jeff and I have played together
for so long, so he just came in and filled it up and did such a great
job! Paul, I let him go off, I just said come in and play... I added
what he did and it added just a real cool dimension to the music.
D: Is there a favorite song you have on here, one that really
represents?
CC: Ahh, I don't know... I look at it now and I just ...
D: Are you too close to it? Do you need a little separation form it
after working for so long on it to form an objective opinion?
CC: I think so. I think sometimes I do. I think the FACES record is
closer to me than the WAR record but the WAR record is a little more
fun to me. I get a little more emotional on the FACES record. I
finished my press tour in Europe and I hadn't listened to the record
in three weeks -- this was back in July -- I was listening to it at
the airport while waiting for a plane and I was like... "Wow...this is
a pretty emotional thing," the FACES album. It has a lot of me
battling myself on it and the song at the end "Abandoned" which I kind
of wrote about people and situations in my life who have kind of left
me to the point where I needed to do what I'm doing and it's got a
counterpoint section at the end and people go, "Oh, it's very similar
to a Savatage thing" and that's the reason I did, because the Savatage
thing is kind of a what abandoned me into having to do this. We had
one record in seven years and through that I needed to do this. TSO is
doing great, that thing is so...I mean we are headlining Madison
Square Garden this year. I make enough money to live for the year
working a couple of months doing that, but then I'm sitting home
waiting watching time go by I think that's what a lot of this record
is about, I didn't want to sit and watch time fly by. I knew Jon
[Oliva] was doing a record, I watched Zak [Stevens] do a record, a lot
of my other friends just keep putting out records every year, touring,
the festival season are going by and concert tours and I'm sitting
home, you know, going up and visiting my mom...cutting the lawn,
riding around on the lawn tractor going, what the fuck is going on, I
should be on the road right now, making music and touring... Not that
I mind cutting down trees and using the chainsaw and doing yard work,
but I'm a guitar player and I want to tour.
D: That's great lead-in to the next question, are you going to tour
behind this release?
CC: Yes, I have to.
D: When?
CC: We are going to start in Europe I believe in February... That's
going to go to -- I believe TSO is going to do a BEETHOVEN'S LAST
NIGHT tour -- so I will do a couple months touring, break for TSO, and
then go back over to Europe for the festivals. Then do Europe again
and South America, see what's going on in the States as far as how the
record is doing.
D: Unfortunately the climate in the States isn't the greatest for
Rock/Metal bands touring right now.
CC: Yeah but the Savatage fans are there and with the TSO base I could
go out and get my feet wet in some markets and see what's going on.
There is some music on this record that has a chance to cross over. I
have to get out on the road and get it to radio and see what happens
with it. There is a lot of building with something like this, it's a
new band...it's me but it's a new thing and I have to work it.
D: Maybe we could see you playing here at ProgPower VI next year?
CC: Yeah...I'm going to speak to [ProgPower organizer] Glenn
[Harveston] about that, I'd like to.
D: What did you use as far as guitars and amps in the studio?
CC: I did mostly every track of guitar with this one Jackson Randy
Rhoads guitar I have and the reason for that is, I could have used
other guitars but this one sounds so much better than the rest of
them. I mean you A/B it and it's like...why...it's so much better. For
amps I used a Soldano, my Marshall and a Peavey Classic 50 that I had
for a combination of rhythms... It was just the Soldano and Marshall
for leads.
D: An Older Soldano?
CC: The Snakeskin...
D: Oh...the limited edition Snakeskin [a very rare Soldano amplifier].
So what surprises do you have in store for tonight?
CC: Well unfortunately Zak Stevens chopped his finger off so we
adjusted the set around and Jon is going to sing mostly everything but
I'm going to sing a couple things.
D: You guys didn't drag Damond [Jiniya] with you?
CC: No.
D: I tell you I can't wait to here a CD with both Damond and Jon on
it. Are we going to see something like that soon?
CC: I am hoping... There is a Savatage anniversary record in the works
but with Jon's ['TAGE MAHAL] record out and him going to tour that it
is going to be a matter of when Jon is ready to go back in the studio
to do that... I want to hear Damond sing -- you might even hear Damond
and Zak on the next Savatage record. But with this thing tonight Jon
and I decided we were just going to handle things ourselves and just
go play. I think this set is going to be fun, we got some cool things,
something we never played before, something I never played before...
D: Any Doctor Butcher?
CC: Nooo, (laughs) no Butcher tonight.
D: Anything else you would like to say regarding the making of your
CD?
CC: Just that there is a lot of me on this thing...
D: Is this a true representation of Chris Caffery?
CC: It is a real good way for me to say to people that there is a lot
more to Chris Caffery than what you've seen and heard. I think from
here, when I go to do my next record I am going to be able to open up
even more because now the confidence with the vocals is there and I
know what I am capable of and it's getting better all the time and I
am enjoying singing more all the time and I think that is the next
step, for me to really develops songwriting with that in mind. There
is such a schizophrenic side to all of the music with this one... I
think with the next one I'm really going to zero in more on me as a
singer. I definitely was bouncing around vocally with different tones
and sounds on this one.
D: Had you always planned on singing the vocals or did you think, oh I
can get so-and-so to sing on this?
CC: Originally I was thinking about getting other people but the main
reason I did this CD was that I had to much free time. Schedules with
other people was getting a little weird and if I involve someone else
who had a different schedule than me and I need to tour this thing
when [Savatage and TSO] are not touring... I just figured the best
person to deal with is me. It's Chris Caffery and whoever can tour,
great, whoever can't, I can still go and do it 'cause I'm always going
to be able to be me... I'll be able to be me when I'm 50 years old.
There is a ton of guitar on this CD but it doesn't seem like it 'cause
it is all song-oriented but with 23 songs there is probably like 40
minutes of guitar solos on there. (both laughing) I am really proud of
what I did on this CD and I am just trying to give people as much as
possible 'cause I really appreciate the opportunity I have being able
to be a musician throughout the years so if I can give something back
then great.
Relevant links:
Chris Caffery
http://www.chriscaffery.com/
Savatage
http://www.savatage.com/
Spin Music Studios
http://www.spinmusicstudios.com/
*
*** FLAMES FROM THE LAKE ***
*
by Sean P. Gahgan (
lof@...)
-Well ProgPower USA V kicked ass and it was a great experience, and I
recommend it to all! I hope you enjoyed my write-up last week. I
apologize for taking so long but these past two weeks have been crazy
busy. I just finished transcribing my interview with Chris Caffery and
I am working on finishing the awesome conversation Neal and I had with
the Mountain King, Jon Oliva. I will get that done soon. I also had
the pleasure of speaking to the incredibly talented Andy Kuntz (Vanden
Plas, Abydos) last week so that conversation is on its way also. My
time has been monopolized this week as I am over in Germany, which
leads me to my next topic. I have the unique and very special
opportunity to drive up to Gothenburg, Sweden, this weekend and take
in the concert of a lifetime as Evergrey records their show this
Saturday night, October 9 at the Storan, for an upcoming DVD release.
The set list that they have been rehearsing for this show is
outstanding and they are to be accompanied by a string quartet, two
background singers and the beautiful Carina (Tom Englund's wife) on
stage. This will truly be an amazing evening and as Evergrey has grown
into one of my favorite bands over the last five years, a memorable
experience for me. Plan on a full report within the next few weeks.
-Lyric of the Week: "Who will trade his karma for my kingdom / A
sacrificial rite to render truth / The fire in my soul rejects my
wisdom / 'cause all you do in life comes back to you" -- T.Y. & R.K.
-Song of the Week: "Afraid to Die" by Tad Morose
-Playing in the Lake of Fire this week: MODUS VIVENDI by Tad Morose,
THE INNER CIRCLE by Evergrey, MANDRAKE by Edguy, and LIONHEART by
Saxon.
*
*** FROM THE MEGA-VAULT ***
*
by Keith Abt (
keithabt@...)
-This Week: "LEMMY AND THE TWO DAVES"
Greetings once again from the wilds of New Jersey, where Autumn is
definitely in the air...the temperatures are turning cooler, the
baseball season is winding down (as of this writing, the first round
of playoffs will start tomorrow...GO YANKEES!), and the falling leaves
are beginning to cover my yard, which means I'm eventually gonna have
to get off my lazy ass and rake them. My desk here at the "Mega-Vault"
compound has also become covered with a large assortment of CDs, many
of which have been screaming to be reviewed for some time. I'll begin
to tackle those in a moment (leaf raking is my absolute LEAST favorite
outdoor chore, so I'd rather listen to CDs anyway) but before I begin,
I have a few random thoughts...
-When I heard that Iced Earth bassist James MacDonough left to join
the "new" Megadeth lineup for its upcoming tour, I realized that now
NO ONE from the Iced Earth lineup I saw during the HORROR SHOW tour in
2002 (except for Jon Schaffer, of course) is still in the band! The
lineup I saw back then included vocalist Matthew Barlow (replaced by
Tim Owens), guitarist Larry Tarnowski (replaced by Ralph Santolla,
who's also out of the band already), drummer Richard Christy (replaced
by Bobby Jarzombek) and MacDonough. Personnel turnover is nothing new
in the Iced Earth camp, of course, but that kind of wholesale change
in such a short period of time is definitely bizarre, to say the
least!
-Here's the weirdest news bit I've heard lately: Motorhead will have a
song called "You Better Swim" on the soundtrack to the upcoming
"SpongeBob SquarePants" movie! They will be featured alongside such
artists as Avril Lavigne, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, and of course
SpongeBob himself, on the album. It's rather bizarre company, but
imagine the possibilities of such a crossover. This could expose
Motorhead to a whole new audience of hyperactive eight-year-olds!!
-Allllllll righty then, let's dig into that heap o'CDs... Speaking of
Motorhead, I've been enjoying the hell out of their new INFERNO disc
(Sanctuary) these past few weeks. I could go on and on about how this
album rules and you should all go buy it immediately, but after all
these years, isn't reviewing a Motorhead album kind of unnecessary?
You already know damn well what you're in for with each new Motorhead
installment, and if you don't "get" Motorhead, then no amount of
glowing praise is going to change your mind. In other words, INFERNO
is yet another top-quality, no frills, cranium crushing Motorhead-ache
from Lemmy, Phil Campbell, and Mikkey Dee. The highlights for me
include the ferocious opening track "Terminal Show" (which features
Steve Vai on lead guitar!), "Killers," the self-explanatory "Life's A
Bitch," and "Smiling Like A Killer." The only respite from the
bulldozer roaring through your head comes in the form of the oddball,
acoustic (!) album closer, "Whorehouse Blues." Lemmy himself sums it
up best in the album's liner notes: "This album shakes fills in teeth;
jolly bloody good show." 'Nuff said! Since I've been listening to this
disc I've also realized how undernourished the Motorhead section of my
CD shelf is, so I plan to start haunting my local used CD stores soon
and start collecting as much Head trauma as I can get my hands on.
Expect to see a lot more of their albums turning up in my
column-ending Playlists in the near future! :-)
Even though they hail from my home state of New Jersey, I honestly
knew next to nothing about Monster Magnet (Except that they were a
"buzz band" briefly in the mid-'90s, and rumor had it that they liked
to sing about drugs) until a copy of their new MONOLITHIC BABY! disc
(SPV) recently crossed my path. Apparently I've been missing out BIG
time, because this is by far the best party rock album I've heard this
year! Monster Magnet take the best elements from heavy metal,
psychedelic rock, and punk, and put them together to create a potent
ass-kicking brew that doesn't sound dated or stuck in one particular
genre. Imagine a super group consisting of Ace Frehley on lead guitar,
the late Johnny Ramone on rhythm guitar, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward
of Black Sabbath holding down the bass and drums, and a screaming
maniac on vocals, and presto, you've got the Magnet! Dave Wyndorf's
hoarse vox may take some getting used to at first, but once you start
cranking throbbing dirt-rockers like "Supercruel," "Unbroken (Hotel
Baby)" and "Monolithic," (a scathing commentary on today's junk
culture-crazed society) you won't be able to pry this thing out of
your stereo. If you're tired of waiting for that endlessly-delayed new
Guns N' Roses album, miss The Cult, or you loved Warrior Soul's
punk-infused later material, then Monster Magnet may be your new
favorite band!
There was a time when the release of a new Metallica CD would be a
cause for celebration. That was LONG ago, of course, and my hatred for
the ST. ANGER album in particular is common knowledge by this point,
so when a freebie of the SOME KIND OF MONSTER EP (Elektra), released
to coincide with the band's documentary film of the same name, landed
in my lap recently, my response was a sarcastic "Oh, whoopee." (You
TRUE Metallica fans can even get this CD in a special package with a
limited edition T-shirt! WOWEE ZOWEE, kids!) I'll be fair and simply
say that the material on this EP isn't as god-awful as I dreaded, but
it didn't do much to vault Metallica back into my good graces, either.
It kicks off with the ST. ANGER album version of the title track,
which is just as under-produced and annoying as I remember (my copy of
ST. ANGER has been living with a friend in Texas for over a year now,
so I haven't heard it in a while) but the "edit" version of the same
song that closes this eight-track EP is a vast improvement, i.e., the
sound is cleaner and it's nearly four minutes shorter. I wondered,
"Wow, who remixed this song, it actually sounds good?" and was
surprised to find out that ST. ANGER (non)producer Bob Rock himself
was responsible for the edit. Hey Bob, if you could've made the ST.
ANGER material sound this good all along, why didn't you do your job
in the FIRST place? Maybe the album would've bordered on listenable!
Sandwiched in between the two versions of "Some Kind Of Monster" are
six live tracks recorded in Paris, France, in 2003 "during the hottest
day in French history," according to the liner notes. It's cool to see
that old chestnuts like "Leper Messiah," "Motorbreath," and "Ride The
Lightning" are still in the current set list, but Hetfield constantly
trips up lyrics in nearly every song! Is that due to heat exhaustion
or under-rehearsal? I leave it up to you to decide. Even funnier is
that nobody apparently bothered to set up audience mikes, because
every so often Hetfield invites the crowd to sing along, but we
hear...nobody!! In other words, this album is for diehard Metallica
completists only. Fifteen years ago I may have counted myself in that
category, but obviously I'm not one anymore, because SOME KIND OF
MONSTER simply makes me want to scream, "Next disc, please?" :-)
When Dave Mustaine suddenly announced that Megadeth was splitting up
back in 2002, he left behind a lot of confused fans and feeling of
"unfinished business." We should've known that Dave wouldn't stay down
for long, and BOY am I glad, because he has come SCREAMING back with
THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED (Sanctuary), the best damn 'Deth album since
COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION, bar none. Essentially a Mustaine solo album,
THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED was written entirely by Dave and recorded with
the help of studio musicians Jimmie Lee Sloas on bass and Vinnie
Colaiuta on drums (all together now: WHO?). Old fans will rejoice in
the surprising return of prodigal 'Deth guitarist Chris Poland, who
contributes guitar solos on nearly all the tracks. When you hear Dave
and Chris' fretboard duels all over this album, you'll swear it's 1986
all over again. Mustaine has said that this will definitely be the
final Megadeth album and tour (in addition to the aforementioned James
MacDonough on bass, Dave will be joined on the road by former King
Diamond guitarist Glen Drover and returning drummer Nick Menza) and
obviously he wants to go out with a bang, because THE SYSTEM HAS
FAILED strips away the radio-friendly veneer that dogged much of the
'90s albums and returned Megadeth to their roots in pissed-off,
politically aware thrash in the vein of classics like PEACE
SELLS...BUT WHO'S BUYING? and the ever-godly RUST IN PEACE. When the
album blasts out of the gate with "Blackmail The Universe," which
sounds like it could've come off of RUST IN PEACE, suddenly RISK and
THE WORLD NEEDS A HERO are forgotten and all is right in Megadeth
world! The killer thrash fest "Kick The Chair," the sinister-as-Hell
"The Scorpion," and the autobiographical "Back In The Day" will also
get your air guitar goin', while the sarcastic "Something That I'm
Not" seems to me, at least, to be aimed at a certain short Danish
drummer...but I'll leave it to you to listen and decide for yourself.
:-) THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED has been ruling my player since I bought it
on the day of release, and it would appear that my top 10 of 2004 list
has yet another major contender. Welcome back, Mr. Mustaine, we've
missed you!
There are still more discs on my pile but I see that I've already come
to the end of my self-induced word count (I don't want to bore you
people TOO much in one column) so I think it's time to take a break
and come back next week with reviews of a whole 'nother batch of
assorted metal goodies. Smoke 'em if you got 'em, and I hope you'll
join me next time in this exact same space... Till then, in the words
of Megadeth's "Back In The Day," if you weren't there, it doesn't
matter, cuz you wouldn't understand!
-THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST: Dio - MASTER OF THE MOON; Bride - SNAKES IN THE
PLAYGROUND; Van Helsing's Curse - OCULUS INFERNUM; DragonForce - SONIC
FIRESTORM; W.A.S.P. - THE NEON GOD: PART 1 - THE RISE. (Decided to
revisit this one due to the release of the sequel this past week...and
I STILL yawned. So I'm not in too much of a hurry to check out PART
2.)
*
*** REVIEWS ***
*
THE FLOWER KINGS - ADAM & EVE (B+) InsideOut Music, 2004
10 tracks, RT: 78:10
[
http://www.flowerkings.se/ ]
[
http://www.insideoutmusic.com/ ]
[
info@.../ ]
THE TANGENT - II: THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH (B+) InsideOut
Music, 2004
5 tracks, RT: 59:04
[
http://www.thetangent.org/ ]
[
http://www.po90.com/ ]
[
http://www.theflowerkings.com/ ]
[
http://www.guymanning.com/ ]
[
http://www.theotravis.com/ ]
[
http://www.insideoutmusic.com/ ]
[
info@.../ ]
I'm going to review these two CDs together because they are similar in
style and I feel about the same way towards both of them. I'll be the
first to admit that I am not an expert on progressive rock, I have
listened to it for a long time and enjoy many aspects of the genre but
there are others far more qualified to write about albums like ADAM &
EVE and THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH. Now that we have that out of
the way, my thoughts. Progressive bands love their long arrangements;
whenever I get a new CD by a band labeled progressive I can be pretty
much assured I'm in for some songs well over 10 minutes in length. The
Flower Kings and The Tangent are no exception to this rule, with
several songs on each album running over 18 minutes! Now there is
nothing wrong with this and progressive bands are expected to stretch
out and display their musicality along with a myriad of moods, but all
too often this results in a loss of intensity, at least to the ears of
this hopeless metalhead. Make no mistake, the music on these albums is
very good, ranking right up there with the best in the business. If
you know yourself to be a connoisseur of prog rock then you will
definitely be interested in checking out both of these releases; I'm
not as quick to recommend them to hard rock and metal fans because
they don't strike with an immediate impact, taking many spins and
ideally, prior familiarity with bands like Jethro Tull, Yes, Genesis
and Marillion. The Flower Kings' ADAM & EVE features Daniel Gildenlow
from Pain Of Salvation (now a full member of the band) and you can
hear some of the ideas commonly used by Pain Of Salvation throughout
the disc, which is typically filled with intelligent lyrics, elegantly
structured compositions and masterful playing. "Love Supreme" opens
the disc and at 19:30 I have to admit it runs a little long for my
tastes but man will you find a variety of tones within! "A Vampires
View" is darker and features some really emotional vocals from Daniel,
while the title track allows band leader Roine Stolt some interesting
guitar interplay with excellent bassist Jonas Rhinegold and
keyboardist Tomas Bodin. "Drivers Seat" is another lengthy track
clocking in at 18:20 and more stellar playing; check out the awesome
drumming of Zoltan Csorsz and the percussionist Hasse Bruniusson,
really tight! Moving on to The Tangent, we find three members of The
Flower Kings present (now you understand why I wanted to review these
together!): Roine Stolt, Jonas Reingold and Zoltan Csorsz
collaborating with mastermind Andy Tillison from Parallel Or 90
Degrees on keys and vocals, Sam Baine (also from Parallel Or 9O
Degrees) on piano, acoustic guitarist Guy Manning and saxophone/flute
player Theo Travis. Like the Flower Kings, The Tangent play complex
arrangements full of precise musicianship, quirky vocals and
compelling storytelling, once again favoring some long pieces such as
11:09 opener "The Winning Game," and "A Gap In The Night," running at
a mere 18:22. The Tangent have a little more of a jazz and Celtic
flavor to their music, sometimes reminding me of what you hear in good
theater productions. To be rather simplistic, if you like Jethro Tull
mixed with a healthy dose of jazz flavors you will probably enjoy The
Tangent, while those more into Yes with elements of Pink Floyd might
want to investigate The Flower Kings. You'll need a lot of patience
and a musician's ear to really appreciate what both bands do, but
those in possession of these qualities will be richly rewarded. You
have to give them full marks for their virtuosity and compositional
skill, but for me some of the songs go on too long or move too slowly
to maintain interest, so I'll average it out to a "B+" for both. Once
again adjust your score up if you are a full progressive rock devotee
-- these are for you! - Neal Woodall (
MysticX10@...)
JOE STUMP - SPEED METAL MESSIAH (B+) Lion Music, 2004
14 tracks, RT: 69:01
[
http://www.joestump.com/ ]
[
http://www.lionmusic.com/ ]
I didn't know Yngwie Malmsteen had a new CD out -- wait, it's Joe
Stump! Sure, Joe's playing bears more than a passing resemblance to
that of the fleet-fingered Swede but he does have his own approach to
Neoclassical shred. Cool thing about Joe, he plays real heavy metal
along with the lighting scales and arpeggios. I actually like a lot of
his rhythm playing better than Yngwie's; you can crank it up and enjoy
the riffs complemented by simply effective keyboards, bass and drums,
all mixed well (production courtesy of Michael Vescera,
ex-Yngwie/Loudness/Obsession). Check out "The Red Priest" and "Eastern
Beast" for great examples of what I'm talking about -- pure metal. To
be sure, there are a few weaknesses here, one being that Joe plays so
fast he sacrifices precision at times as blur chops become slur chops,
but for the most part he is intense and accurate. Another thing is
this type of music can get repetitive fast but somehow Joe manages to
keep things interesting pretty much throughout the disc, with lots of
strong melodies and even some slower tempo things such as "Reflection"
making for a good contrast. One of my favorite tracks is "Unleashing
The Fury," clearly a tribute to Yngwie and Ritchie Blackmore in which
shredmaster Stump lets loose with some nicely picked broken chords at
breakneck speed. Another standout is "Psycho Shred Suite 1st
Movement," and its complement "Psycho Shred Movement 2 Presto," both
galloping along with killer lead sections. Bottom line: if you've
enjoyed Joe's previous releases you will most likely get into this,
although I doubt it will hold any real surprises for you. Those who
are not familiar with Joe but are up for an overdose of shred guitar
will probably come away from this quite happy. Personally, I am
looking forward to hearing Joe in the context of a two-guitar band (he
is rumored to be working with Vescera on a new lineup of Obsession,
sweet!), as I think he has gone about as far as he can with this type
of solo release. Still, I like SPEED METAL MESSIAH for what it is, an
ostentatious display of instrumental guitar firepower heavily
influenced by Malmsteen but possessing a unique charm of its own. -
Neal Woodall (
MysticX10@...)
SYBREED - SLAVE DESIGN (C+) Reality Entertainment, 2004
12 tracks, RT: 59:04
[
http://www.sybreed.com/ ]
[
http://www.reality-entertainment.com/ ]
I was all ready to hate this when I heard the death metal vocals kick
in, but Sybreed actually play some competent and valid modern metal,
somewhere between Static X and Fear Factory with an interesting goth
element thrown in. I can't say they have won me over as a convert to
this bleak style of musical expression, but there most certainly will
be those in the audience who are persuaded. SLAVE DESIGN opens up with
eerie sound effects and quickly establishes itself as metal for the
current generation of headbangers with "Bioactive," a driving rocker
complete with plaintive vocals and some promising keyboard background;
unfortunately, the singer all too quickly switches into death/black
metal "bark" mode, all angry and ready to kill someone. "ReEvolution"
follows with more of the same, heavy post-Pantera metal with no lead
guitar in sight and vocals that alternate between anguish, sorrow and
enraged at the drop of a hat. "Decoy" is next and it one of the better
tracks on the CD, a subtle melodicism created by the vocals, keyboards
and guitar. For what they do, Sybreed are quite good, surely the equal
to just about any of the bands making the rounds on "Headbanger's
Ball" these days but frankly, there is too much of this type of thing
out there right now, every vocalist seemingly in competition to see
who can out-screech the other. If Sybreed were to focus on
distinguishing the vocals (perhaps putting more emphasis on the goth
style and exploring more emotional range), expanding the role of
keyboards and adding more in the way of lead guitar work they could be
quite a force to be reckoned with, as they certainly play with a crisp
intensity and seem to mean it. The mix is decent, there are some
captivating melodies integrated and final song "Critical Mass" offers
a bit of a change from the somewhat detached riffing and growling
vocals of the rest of the album, but it's too little, too late to save
SLAVE DESIGN from ultimately being a study in repetition. They have
potential, but for now I'll leave this one to the pissed off teens it
was meant for. - Neal Woodall (
MysticX10@...)
*
*** OUT ***
*
=====
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