Agalloch, with Eight Bells and Taurus, July 13, 2012

Yes, I went to see Agalloch a month ago.  Why have I not written about this sooner?  Well, it's been a trying summer for me and I'm behind with everything.  Obviously, it would be ideal for me to have written this closer to the time it happened rather than a month later, with things fresh in my mind, but alas, sometimes that doesn't always happen.

I went to this gig, at the Rickshaw, which is located in BC's most infamous neighbourhood, the DTES, quite spontaneously.  I didn't find out they were even playing until the Monday evening before, and I knew I had plans for early Saturday morning.  I was not keen on getting home by transit at 2am and then having to get up for another event only a matter of hours later.  But I was really wanting to see Agalloch, since I know they don't tour much.  I'm not even a huge Agalloch fan, but I have a friend who is and I know she adores them, and has even followed them around on mini tours in the EU.  This was a show that might be a one and only occurrence for me, and she encouraged me to go.  So, as my roommate packed up to go for a date, I prepared myself to go to the gig, alone, in the DTES.  It was a bit of a ride on the wild side, considering the transit trip home and the event next day.  But what the hell?  I had nothing better to do, the cover was $20, and I thought it would be a good experience.

Haley Weiner of Eight Bells 

And it was...an experience.  I walked through the DTES alone, something that isn't generally recommended, and got to the gig at 8:45.  I wasn't familiar with either opening act, the first being a band called Eight Bells, and the second being called Taurus.  Both were bands from from Portland, Oregon, where Agalloch is from.

In fact, these two bands turned out to be one of the most interesting parts of the evening.  Both are female fronted; in fact, Taurus is a female duo.  While neither plays my cup of tea musically, I was impressed with them both live.  Granted I came to the gig late and missed most of Eight Bells' set, but as soon as I sat myself down and started listening, I regretted not coming earlier.

But Taurus stole the evening for me.  They play a type of metal I am not into at all, sludgy, drony stuff that didn't seem to me to have much rhyme or reason, and very little in terms of vocals.  Basically, we have a guitarist and a drummer, and some electronic thingy making the vocals all echoey.  But the thing about it was that their set, which consisted of the two tracks from their EP Life (which I wound up buying eventually), included not only a visual component comprised of a silent video show on a screen to the side of the stage, but the music was bookended with a voice over narration featuring a guy named John Cage, apparently a composer of some distinction I'd never heard of before.  Well, I know who he is now.  The speaking parts in Taurus's set can be heard in this YouTube video, and when combined with the music of Taurus, I had quite the transforming experience.  The narrative by Cage provided a lot of context for me, and it really made the music make sense to me, whereas, had it been just on its own, I think I would  have been lost.  But I found the set quite mesmerizing.  I was really impressed by the sophistication and power of this band, and I appreciate that I was introduced to another metal subgenre in such an enjoyable way.

Agalloch

Agalloch came on stage at about 10:20.  This is where things get a bit weird.  The Rickshaw, I found out later on FB, was trying out there new fog machine that night (along with some new lighting, which was cool), but also, Agalloch is apparently into incense - big time.  When they were set up, a guy (who turned out to be lead singer & guitarist John Haughm) came onto stage with a bunch of stuff I couldn't recongnize, but I thought it at first to be candles.  I thought maybe he was setting up an altar or something.  But no, it was, it turned out, two very large pyres of incense.  Now, for reasons I don't know, the Rickshaw had curtained off about 2/3 of the seating in the theatre and there was only a narrow curtained hallway to enter and exit the gig space from.  The gig was very well-attended with a good 200+ people there, but we were all crammed into a very small space.  When I was there last for the Arkona/Korpiklaani gig in December, all of the seating was available and there were two entrances/exits.  It was as hot night, but if they were hoping to save on A/C I don't know how effective just curtaining off extra seating was.  But what I can say is that the air quality in the room was absolutely awful.  The new fog machine combined with the incense, plus all the humanity, plus the stench of booze and pot...the air was like a heavy stew you could slurp up and chew.  It was terrible.  And it really affected my enjoyment of the gig.

Agalloch's music was great to listen to live.  I'd heard some of their studio work, but their live performance was much more engaging and emotional.  Lead guitarist Don Anderson was very animated, and the bass player, Jason Walton, was also interesting to watch.

As I said the gig was well-attended, and it seemed to me to have an older, more mature crowd than I'm used to seeing at these things.  Previous gigs I've attended have included a lot of 19 year olds in odd make-up and dressed in scene kid type clothing.  This crowd was there for Agalloch and they obviously knew the band well and appreciated the show.  There was one woman there dressed in a skimpy dress, 5" stilettos, and a mink stole (of all things!) and one over the top metal chick who texted on her cell all night in a chair not far from mine, but other than that, the people watching wasn't that interesting.

I couldn't stay until the bitter end because I had to make sure I caught a certain bus home.  It turned out to be a very interesting transit ride home, but that is a story for another time.

I am very glad I went to the gig.  I had a good time even though I was by myself.  I had the delightful surprise of discovering two new female fronted bands, and I enjoyed Agalloch a lot.

Next up at the Rickshaw is Korpiklaani - again! this will be their 2nd headlining show in Vancouver in less than a year - WTF? - supported by Tyr.  I am going to go and see Tyr (Korpiklaani doesn't do much for me but I really like Tyr) on Sept. 9, and then on Sept. 21 Swallow the Sun is supporting Kreator.  I just hope the Rickshaw sorts out its air quality issues.  That was very unpleasant, but then again, I don't think Korpiklaani or Tyr or these other bands are known for their incense use.

The full Flickr set - such as it is; I don't have a fancy camera that takes good pics in these dim environments - is here.

Metallica's "Just A Bullet Away" thoughts and reaction

To be honest, I hesitated to listen to this track mainly due to the fact that their recent debacle Lulu was such an epic disaster! The first thing that caught me was the aggressiveness of this track. "Just A Bullet Away" really sounds like something Metallica would have wrote on Master of Puppets or ...And Justice For All, however it isn't quite up to par with any songs off those albums. It is basically a mid tempo thrash song with a clean bridge section reminiscent of "Master of Puppets". The guitar work is very thrashy at times, and the melodic solo during the bridge section is pretty impressive I must say. Overall, the song isn't super incredible but it is a hell of a lot better than that other crap they put out a month ago! I'd say it's a decent Metallica song. It's worth listening to if you are actually still a fan of the band after Lulu.

More than likely, I will review the entire EP Beyond Magnetic soon once I hear the other three tracks off of it. A recommended listen for a bit of 80's Metallica nostalgia.

Echoterra Review

Echoterra, symphonic power metal from the States featuring ex Visions of Atlantis front woman Melissa Ferlaak, is releasing their new full length album, Land of the Midnight Sun, on October 17.  As a reviewer for Sonic Cathedral's web zine, I was fortunate enough to get an advanced promo copy of the CD to review, and you can read my review up on the zine here.

Some news

1. Nightwish’s  "Imaginaerum" film will be done with mostly Canadian actors/actresses. Post-production will take place in Canada and Finland. The names of the actors who have two of the main roles in the film are Marianne Farley and Quinn Lord. Behind the scene photo gallery.

2. Sonata Arctica changed release date   of the new  DVD "Live in Finland". The DVD will be released November 11th, Europe and November 15, North America. Teaser can be found here.                        

3. Delain completed the songwriting process for its third studio album, which will be released in the spring 2012. Videos from the studio can be seen here.

4. Opeth released the official music video of their first single "The Devil Orchard" from the new album "Heritage".

5. Evanescence's new song "Made of Stone" with lyrics is now avaible for streaming on their official site.

Snippets of Dream Theater's new songs

Recently, Dream Theater has been releasing 70 seconds long snippets of their new songs from the upcoming album "A Dramatic Turn of Events" on their official site.

The songs are "Breaking All Illusions", "Beneath the Surface", "This Is the Life" and "Lost Not Forgotten" which you can see below.

Come Cover Me: Little Lion Man by DareDevil Squadron

Power meta/progressive/hard rock band DareDevil Squadron from New York covered my favourite song "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons.
DareDevil Squadron came up with new genre (if we can call it like that) or perhaps term - "Next New Wave of British-Inspired American Heavy Metal" shortened - NNWOBIAHM. To find out more about DareDevil Squadron visit their official website.

"Little Lion Man" is a song by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. This song received Grammy Award  nomination for "Best Rock Song".

I might be biased, because Mumford & Sons are one of my all time non-metal favourite band, but I really miss the "lightness" of the original version. The folk-ish touch is replaced with guitar riffs and I also find DareDevil Squadron's version less emotional than Mumford & Sons'. OK I know that this is a cover so it is different but once and again I prefer origianl version over covered one.

DareDevil Squadron    

                                                 

Mumford & Sons

Short sample of Evanescence's new song

Amy had previously described the song as being "really different" from previous songs. "What You Want" is probably  the heaviest song Evanescence have ever made. According to Amy, the song is about freedom her relationship with the music and the fans.

The single "What You Want" will be released in early August and the new album "Evansecence" will be released on 11th October.

To see the short interview and hear the song check here.

Dream Theater's new single

"On the Backs of Angels" became the first single from band's new album "A Dramatic Turn of Events".
The album feature new drummer Mike Mangini and will be released on 13th September.

A Dramatic Turn of Events track listing:

01. On The Backs Of Angels
02. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
03. Lost Not Forgotten
04. This Is The Life
05. The Shaman's Trance
06. Outcry
07. Far From Heaven
08. Breaking All Illusions
09. Beneath The Surface

Symphony X's new single "End of Innocence"

As part of an upcoming new album, here is Symphony X's new single "End of Innocence":



Their new album Iconoclast is set to be released June 17th 2011 according to metal-archives.com. I myself am very excited about it! Rock on! \m/

CD Review: Linkin Park's "A Thousand Suns"

It really irritates me when a band I love and have a long history with ups and changes their musical direction to something I'm not stoked on, thereby challenging my loyalty to them. I like to think of myself as a loyal person, so when something disappoints me, I feel torn. Such is the case with this newest effort by Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns.

I had a bad feeling about this CD when I wrote this post about their song "The Catalyst" but was more optimisic when I heard "Wretches and Kings." Now that I have heard the entire release, all I can say is...rip.

My first reaction when hearing the album for the first time was "where are the guitars?" Indeed, it seems this rather essential instrument is taking a back seat in the new dancier, electronic musical direction this band is taking.

There is way more emphasis on keyboards, which is nice, and I do like the political lyrical themes, which I thought was a strength of their last CD, Minutes to Midnight. Mike Shinoda also contributes more vocals than before, which is also OK; I love that guy. But unfortunately, that also means more hip-hop stuff, too. The hip-hip stuff on previous albums was completely fine with me, because there was a balance of that genre's elements and the angst and edge of metal. It worked for me. But now the focus seems to be more on the hip-hop beats and sounds combined with very irritating sound effects that, if I heard them in a club, would make me head to the nearest exit as fast as I could so I could fight off the inevitable migraine.

The clubbishness of this album is really off-putting for someone not into that kind of scene at all. There are songs on here that, even on low volume, give me a headache. "When They Come for Me" is one of them. There are also quite a few insipid tracks on here that I have no idea what these guys were thinking of when they made the decision to put them on the CD. Case in point, "Robot Boy" and "Jornada del Muerto." "Waiting for the End" is another.

I hate to say it, but there are more bad tracks on this album than there are good ones. Most of the songs are groaners. In fact, I can only honestly say that I like two whole songs here, the aforementioned "Wretches and Kings" and a nice, slower piece called "Iridescent." In the case of "Wretches and Kings," it does have some of those annoying sound effects I was mentioning, but it's the song most reminiscent of "old" LP. "Iridescent" sounds like something from Minutes to Midnight, which isn't a bad thing, since I did enjoy that album even though a lot of people did not.

And what happened to Chester Bennington's harsh vocals is a mystery to me. They only appear in "Blackout" and "Wretches and Kings." I miss them. His clean vocals are amazing as always, however.

Also, what is up with the cover? What is that? A dove? What? It also gives me a headache!

Altogether, a frustrating listen. Sorry, LP, but this is a horns down for me. /m\

New Linkin Park Song

It seems that a lot of stuff is coming out on Sept. 14: Tarja, Liv, and Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns. I made an iffy comment about LP's single "The Catalyst" here, but now they have a second song streaming, called "Wretches and Kings." You can listen to it here.

I like it WAY more than "The Catalyst" I have to say. I am all of a sudden looking forward to this album more!

Linkin Park's "The Catalyst"

LP's new single, "The Catalyst", is now streaming on the band's MySpace page, here. There are a bunch of other versions of this song where the band has allowed fans to collaborate online with them.

All I can say about this song is...Hmmmmmmmm....As for the alternative versions, all I can say is...no comment.

Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele dies at age 48

This news is a little old I know, but I just found out about this.

I was never that big of a Type O Negative fan myself, but the news of his death really shocked me! Whether you like his music or not, his input in the world of heavy metal/goth metal music is beyond words. His music influenced many bands for years to come.

He died on April 14, 2010 due to a heart failure. It seems that I got the news pretty late as I saw the news for it on MFF forum here. So anyways, RIP Pete. Your fans will never forget you!

Peter Steele (Petrus T. Ratajczyk)
(January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010)

Underrated Metal Bands #4: Pharaoh

For the longest time, it is believed that American metal has lost it's steam and hasn't really been good since perhaps the late 80s and early 90s. What came was a surge of alternative rock and nu metal, and good old fashioned American metal as we knew it was going completely out the door. Europe once again retook their position as kings of metal as soon as America ran out of steam. Though there are bands like Iced Earth who kept the old American metal sound fresh and of course Symphony X in progressive metal, it still was not enough as the music scene shifted into a different direction in the mainstream market. But there was one band who did not want to follow trends and wanted to show that American metal is not dead yet. This band is Pharaoh.


I just discovered this band about 2 hours ago, got to listen to most of their discography and wow, I am impressed, especially for a modern American power metal act! The quartet power metal band from Philadelphia was formed in 1997 with the intention that America can compete in the genre of power metal once again. Led by vocalist Tim Aymar with his amazing voice and honestly can be ranked up there in skill along with the likes of other great American metal singers like Dio, Russell Allen, Jon Olivia, and James Hetfield. Their guitarist extraordinaire Matt Johnson is also worth noting. He has shown in this band that he can play as well as anyone in power metal.

Pharaoh has three albums out, with Be Gone being perhaps their best out of the three of what I heard. It is difficult to find good or hell any kind of power metal in America these days, but I really have found a gem in this band. Very underground and very real, they cannot be missed. So if you are into good old fashioned power metal mixed with some of the elements that Dio and Savatage have put together over the years plus with some European and NWOBHM influences, then this is up your alley! Very underrated indeed! Rock on! \m/



Links:

Pharaoh's Last.fm page

30 Day Music Challenge, Day 12: A Song from a Band I Hate

Well, I don't really "hate" any band, in the end. I just accept that people have different musical tastes and listen to what I like - and I try not to complain too much.

There are a lot of bands I just don't get, though, and Slipknot is one of them. I don't get the masks for one thing, and I don't get the costumes. I don't get their image. I don't like the vocal style of what's-his-name. I don't like their creepy videos. I don't like their sound. I just...don't see the draw with these guys at all.

But if you do, that's fine. Like I said, it's just a different musical taste, that's all.

Anyway, here is a song from Slipknot to fulfill the requirements of today's installment of the 30 Day Music Challenge!

Underrated Metal Bands #3: Savatage

Anyone remember this band? Or how about this: does anyone know of the “Christmas metal” band Trans-Siberian Orchestra? Well believe it or not, Savatage actually features most of the members from TSO. But before TSO came Savatage and it is astonishing how this band got so under the radar over the years!

The origin of this band goes back to when the Olivia brothers, Criss (guitar) and Jon (vocals), founded the band Avatar in 1978. This newly formed band, along with Steve Wacholz (drums) and Keith Collins (bass), played in various bars in and around the Tampa, Florida area. In 1983, due to copyright issues, the name “Avatar” was no longer allowed to be used for the band. Thus the new and current name of the band, Savatage, was born mixing the names “Avatar” and “Savage” together.



Savatage’s early music was influenced by early heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath and NWOBHM acts like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. They played a very aggressive, fast paced heavy metal style (speed/power metal) and eventually formed their own signature sound with the Olivia brothers doing what they do best. Jon Olivia’s
voice is unlike anything in metal as he just uses every moment he takes to create one of metal’s most menacing voices. He was very underrated and never got the credit he deserved. Same with his brother Criss, who in my opinion was one of metal’s finest guitar players, but never got the kind of respect he deserved either.

In 1987, four years after their stellar debut “Sirens”, the group released their zenith album “Hall of the Mountain King”. It remains their most commercially successful album and in my opinion is a classic American heavy metal album. The self titled track “Hall of the Mountain King” is the band’s best and most popular song to date. The song and music video would be played on MTV’s Headbangers Ball on a consistent basis. This was the turning point for the band and would ultimately make them go in a different direction musically.



With the release of “Gutter Ballet” in 1989, the band went from the straight forward heavy/power metal sound to being more progressive. Fans of the band had mixed reactions of the change in style at that time, but in the end, the band proved this to be a successful move and their new sound was just getting underway. In 1991, the group released “Streets: A Rock Opera”. Again, it was another experiment by the band to be even more progressive and less heavy metal. The fans had mixed reactions again, but it proved to be another move that would later influence their new group, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which plays and performs a style similar to what Savatage played at that time.

The release of their 1993 album “Edge of Thorns” brought new and different changes to Savatage. For the first time in the band’s history, Jon Olivia stepped down as the lead vocalist and was replaced by Zachary Stevens, who in my opinion is no where near as good as Jon at vocals. This change was not well accepted by the fans and many thought that the group was beginning the lose some of it’s steam. But nothing would be as devastating to Savatage as to what happened later in that year. On October 17, 1993, Criss Olivia (left picture) was killed as a drunk driver took his life on impact around 3:30 in the morning near Tampa, Florida on Highway 301. This tragedy left the band and his brother Jon in shock. Many thought that Savatage’s future was in jeopardy, but Jon kept the band going and released another album entitled “Handful of Rain” a year later. This album brought back some of the heavy/power metal elements the band had abandoned with their new progressive sound. The album was mainly a tribute to Criss, especially with the song “Alone You Breathe”.

Since 2002, the group has been primarily inactive and put on hiatus, but at the same time most of the members are focusing on their more popular project of TSO. So if you have not heard this band before, I recommend them to anyone who likes old school progressive/power metal, or just anyone who likes good metal music. Savatage is indeed one of the most underrated as well as one of the greatest American metal bands of all time. Rock on! \m/

links:

Savatage's main website , Savatage's last.fm page