Lordi - Tour Beast Or Not Tour Beast, A Live Review (May 11th, 2013)

 It's Saturday night, and the only place for any self-respecting metalhead or rocker to be is Nottingham's Rock City. May 11^th proved to be a riotous night of singing and headbanging, not just from the headlining act, either!

Rock City has always been my favourite gig venue. Small enough to offer an intimate atmosphere between band and fan, but big enough to give the bands and the fans ample room to play, headbang, mosh,and drink, it really is the perfect place to let loose. And my word, Saturday May 11^th, there was a hell of a lot of all of the above – with added monsters...

HOSTILE – Jay Mills (Vocals), Jack Young (Guitar), A.J. Mills (Guitar), Alex Hill (Bass), Gunga (Drums)

The opening band on tonight's bill was Hostile. A UK band heavily influenced by Pantera, Hostile are part of KK Downing (ex-Judas Priest)'s project to bring metal back to the so-called Black Country, where the genre was born. Not only did he produce their record 'Eve of Destruction', but he also wrote a song for the band – 'Addiction'. *

The band put on a solid performance, with much shredding and headbanging. Vocalist Jay Mills prowled the stage like a younger version of Phil Anselmo, while behind him, Gunga beat the shit of his drumkit. Although many Lordi fans have a love, perhaps even a preference, for old-school metal, Hostile had no problem winning over the Nottingham crowd, and provided the first sing-a-long anthem of the night, shortly after running through the excellent 'Addiction' – a well-timed rendition of the Priest classic, 'Breaking The Law'. A solid performance from a band who I expect to be hearing a lot more from, very soon...

*On a side note, bassist Alex Hill's dad is Ian Hill, the bassist for Judas Priest!

KALDEON – Alexe Mele (Lead Guitar), Marco Palazzi (Vocals), Paolo Lezzioli (bass), Tommy Nemesio (Rhythm Guitar), Massimiliano Santori (Drums), Daniele Fuligni (Keyboards) 

Kaledon, an Italian power metal band, were next on the set. The band performed as five-piece on this tour, as keyboardist Fuligni wasn't present. While this might have affected the scope of the show, it didn't hinder the band in any obvious way. They tore through a brilliant set, despite a muddy sound at the start, and gave a lively performance. Although there were a few technical issues, when Lezzioli's bass broke, the band just made a joke out of it and soldiered on.

Cut from the same cloth as Stratovarius (and there are some connections within the band) and Rhapsody, Kaledon's 30-minute set featured fast-paced, upbeat power metal tunes, providing a nice contrast to the groups on before and after them. It was a funny, ripping show that kept the audience entertained, which is no mean feat! I really hope Kaledon come back around again, maybe on their own tour, so we can appreciate them in all their glory!

LORDI – Mr Lordi (Vocals), Ox (Bass), Mana (Drums), Amen (Guitar), Hella (Keyboard)

Now it was time for the main attraction. After the stage had been set up, the lights went down, and the immortal KISS song 'God of Thunder' was blasted out of the speakers. The atmosphere was electric, and it intensified when KISS morphed into the instrumental tribute to late drummer Otus: 'Otus' Butcher Clinic'. Lordi had arrived.

After the intro, the band exploded into 'We're Not Bad For The Kids (We're Worse)', from their latest record, and all hell broke loose. Seeing Lordi live is an experience that will stay with you forever, and catching that first glimpse of them on the stage is just incredible. Ox and Amen gave it hell, while Hella's twitchy psycho-doll routine added a layer of creepiness to the metallic shenanigans. The song was held up nicely by Mana's utterly relentless drum-bashing, and Mr. Lordi himself was on fine form, screaming like a demon posessed.

New quickly gave way to classic, when the band revisited their break-through album 'The Arockalypse' for song 2 – 'Bringing Back The Balls To Rock'. Singing (shouting? Screaming? Roaring?) along to “Hail in the name of rock and roll!” on a Saturday night with Lordi is about as perfect as a gig can get. And it had only just begun!

'The Riff', the main single of 'To Beast or Not to Beast' was very well-recieved, driven by Hella's catchy keyboard theme, and the soaring guitar-work of Amen. It must be a great feeling for a band to hear people singing along to their new material as well as the older stuff. A sign that they have still got it!

'Who's Your Daddy' and 'Girls Go Chopping' follow, the latter accompanied by two PVC-clad strippers grinding sparks on stage. And that was only the start of Lordi's on-stage shenanigans. Their stage show on this tour was brilliant. We had Ox chopping off the head of a guy in a cloak, and Mr. Lordi shooting cold smoke at the crowd, or blasting water from a chainsaw water pistol (yes, really). My absolute favourite moment was during Hella's solo, though. 

She was playing a beautiful tune on the keyboard, and then she would suddenly start twitching, bashing her hand on the same note over and over. Being a toy doll, somebody had to come on stage to fix her. This happened a few times, before the technician actually removed her head! Even better, while the technician held Hella's head in his hands, we could see Hella's headless body still playing the keyboard! It was clearly done with mirrors, but it doesn't matter. It looked absolutely fabulous, and highlights just how much effort the band put into their show.

All the band members had their own solo spots. Amen had a wonderfully creepy guitar solo, with moody lighting and a big wheel spinning beside him as he shredded. Ox gave us a groovy and very heavy bass solo, while Mana did a wicked drum solo that was relentless in its intensity. I can't wait to hear what he brings to the next Lordi record!

The setlist itself was excellent, a nice mixture of old and new. 'Blood Red Sandman' was followed by 'Schizo Doll' and the slow, Sabbath-y 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', before tonight's only ballad, 'It Snows In Hell', echoed around the hall, as snow-like foam fell from the ceiling.

'I'm The Best' was another new song brought to life, and Mr. Lordi stole the show when he was given a bunch of flowers and a tiara to wear. Camp as Christmas, it was a delight to watch him giving his all as a beauty queen winner as the band played around him. Hilarious, and fun. That is the essence of a Lordi show. Fun. Aggression, headbanging, screaming...and having a bloody good time. Once 'The Devil Is a Loser' ended the main-set, I realised that the time has gone nowhere.

The final encore comprised of two classic Lordi songs, a new song, and a very special treat: 'Hulking Dynamo'. This song was supposed to be on their first ever record, which wasn't released to the world until last year, but ended up being cut. It was included as a bonus track on last year's released, and is perhaps one of the oldest and rarest Lordi songs the band have ever performed live. 

 

We then get 'Hard Rock Hallelujah', the quintessential Lordi tune, and yet another one that threatened the vocal chords. 'Sincerely With Love' came next, inciting much shouting of “Fuck you asshole!”. And finally 'Would You Love a Monsterman?', complete with the PVC-strippers eating fire, and Mr. Lordi shooting confetti into the crowd.

Saturday night's show was one of the best gigs I have ever been to. Great supporting bands, and a flawless set from the main attraction. Lordi get a lot of criticism in the press, and I just think that if they all went to see the band live, they'd shut up. Lordi are at the top of their game right now, and I know that the sky is the limit for this monster metal band. One day, the legends of shock rock will no longer be with us. On that tragic day, we will need somebody to step up and take the mantle. Lordi are absolutely that band.

11/10

*

I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview Lordi's drummer, Mana. You can hear the interview on Tuesday, May 21st, at 7PM UK Time, on Heavier Than Time! See you there!

LORDI - The Riff

So, Lordi's latest album, 'To Beast or Not To Beast', hit the shelves last week, and now we have a fantastic new video from them, for their first single, 'The Riff'.

The video bears absolutely no relation to the song lyrics at all, centering around a half-naked woman shopping for toilet roll, in a supermarket crawling with zombies. Lordi themselves are performing in the supermarket in a ring of bog roll, while behind the scenes a bizarre chef man-handles bloody body parts.

It's a great video because it shows just how little Lordi care about the general opinion of their band. They aren't afraid to do a video that is so silly it's bordering on self-parody, whilst at the same time featuring much more blood than ever before in a Lordi music video.

It also has the heroine of the piece decapitating a zombie with a shopping basket, containing - yes, you guessed it - a roll of toilet paper.

As much as I enjoyed their feature-length 'Dark Floors' movie, I can't help but wonder if Lordi's film would have been much more fun with this level of randomness!

Enjoy....

 

 

 

 

Heavy Metal Review: Korotory - 'Chapter III: The Conquering'

 

 



1995 was a funny old year for metal. Slipknot formed, Accept disbanded (temporarily), and a new wave of heavy music was on the horizon. As the final embers of grunge died away, industrial and nu metal would both rise up from the ashes, taking the genre into new and exciting areas.

The mid-to-late 90's was also a time when some of these new ventures into metal would push the more traditional heavy bands onto the back-seat. A great many groups that dominated the world during the 1980's went back to the underground, while stupid rappers with silly red hats took their place singing about 'rolling'.

It wasn't all bad news, of course. Pantera, formerly a glam metal band, brought a heavy fist down on the radio-friendly sub-metal tripe that was infecting the airwaves and gained a great deal of respect for that. But they weren't the only ones....

 

1995 was also the year of Korotory. A band who, in their own words, were and are “the alternative to the alternative”. Much like Pantera, the emerged with a fresh sound inspired by the legends of old, but more extreme, and completely un-fazed by certain new movements within the genre.

For 6 years, Korotory would defend the faith and play gigs with bands as diverse as Hammerfall and Death, and releasing their debut album, 'Process of Elimination', before calling it a day in 2001. It wouldn't last. You can't keep a good band down, and in 2006, they returned from the grave, with a new bassist and a new, passionate fire raging within. Two more albums, 'Age of Rebellion' and 'God Less America' followed, along with more relentless touring and defending of the faith.

And that brings us nicely to Korotory's third studio album: 'Chapter III: The Conquering'. In this new age of metal, is it still acceptable to be the 'alternative to alternative'? Can a band that was born during a time when metal was almost lost to rap-rock still have something to offer? Any metal band can make big, sweeping statements about how they couldn't care less about the mainstream, and how they are true, pure metallers. But without the music to back these statements up, the band simply doesn't work.

Luckily, Korotory have the music. And it's heavier than a ton of titanium bricks. This is 'Chapter III: The Conquering'.

Chapter III: The Conquering

'Chapter III: The Conquering' lures you in with a suitably epic instrumental ditty titled 'Hell's Gate', with buzzing bass and classical piano chords, before the guitars come crashing in in unison, taking this short intro theme to its' peak before kicking straight in with 'Spineless'.

All of a sudden, the almost-power metal style melody of the opening track is bludgeoned to death by aggressive, thrashing riffage courtesy of guitar gods Chris Clemente & Matt Scriva. There's no let-up throughout as Ray Truhn screams like a man possessed, and Darren Markoff beats the shit out of his drum kit. Held together nicely by Brett Weatherston's sludgy bass playing, which holds its' own against the furious guitar soloing, 'Spineless' tells you everything you need to know about Korotory in one song. That they're fucking metal, fucking angry, and here to fucking stay. And slay.

The pace slows slightly for track 3, 'Conquering the Swine', thrash giving way to a slightly more death metal approach to begin with. The infectious riff hooks you from the off, complemented by some seriously pissed off lyrics roared out by Truhn: “You wanted a war, well you got a war!”. Once again, there is some lavish guitar soloing as the pace quickens mid-way through, as the band quickly flip from sludgy-death, to thrash, to NWOBHM in the space of just 3 minutes and 19 seconds. Not many would dare to carry off such a feat, but it pays off beautifully. This is a band that understand that melody and heaviness can exist together, which is where so many other extreme bands go wrong. I would say that 'Conquering the Swine' is a stand-out track on this record, simply because of the subtle diversity within.

'Absolute Zero' is another thrasher, Markoff's drumming powering the piece like the engine of a steam-train heading straight for Hell. There's also a strong Pantera influence presence here mid-way through, that goes nicely with the death-metal-esque solos and more raging anger from Truhn (listen to his roar 47 seconds in!). Once you think you get a handle on a Korotory song, they take it in a totally different direction without losing the essence of the track.

There is some let-up with 'Probing the Nether', a 94-second instrumental led by an incredible guitar solo and some nice bass noodling. It can be so easy to gloss over instrumental tracks, to disregard them. But it's these little slices of music that emphasize the talent Korotory has, the musicians free to let themselves go without restraint, before reigning in the more overtly-melodic tendencies for the 'proper' (for want of a better word) songs where heaviness is key. In short, 'Probing the Nether' is fucking beautiful.

'Ophidia' starts off with a wonderful sound-bite from a serial killer, a common and much-loved theme within metal. And then the song starts proper, and once again a host of different styles are present, from a bouncy thrashy main drive, to a nice black metal rhythm in the background, and another amazing guitar solo that kicks off at 1:12. Lyrically, the song is sound, dealing with insanity, murder, hatred, and schizophrenia, believably rasped by Truhn, between incredible bass and guitar solos that spring out of nowhere and texture the track with melody and awesomeness. The song fades out a bit too quickly at the end, I think due to the content of the tune it would have been better to linger a bit more on that final scream, but this little niggle aside – perfection! Another contender for favourite track, easily!

'Dehumanization' is one of the heaviest tracks on the album. Truhn not only rasps and roars, but also goes full-on death metal for some ugly as Hell cookie monster growling. The chainsaw guitars cut dangerously through the song, the melodic solos replaced with darker noodles, undercutting and complementing the razor-sharp riffs, whilst Markoff's infectious drum beat carries things through. Certain to be a favourite among death metal fans!

'Sanctified' goes back to the Pantera-esque groove with occasional blast beats that wouldn't be out of place on an Immortal album. Lyrically, this song is a call to arms - “I AM UNSTOPPABLE!”, an inspiring and empowering anthem of the sort that metalheads love so much. With a wicked chorus and killer drive, the only thing that perhaps lets this song down is the fact that it's so short. Another guitar solo in the middle would have given it a bit of something extra, maybe, but despite this, another tune to add to your list of metal anthems, alongside 'United' by Judas Priest, 'Motorbreath' by Metallica, and anything by Manowar!

And so finally we reach the end of the album, with closing track 'Rise' – a song I proudly blasted out on Heavier Than Time recently. Like 'Sanctified', 'Rise' is something of an anthem, a song about revolution and standing as one. Despite being the only radio-friendly tune on the album, it's still a heavy song. Catchy, yes, but relentless. The drums pound, the guitars crush, the bass rumbles, and the vocals soar. Korotory know this is the end of the album. And they want it to end with a bang so big you won't forget it in a hurry. And trust me, you won't.

In short, Korotory's latest record is an absolutely essential piece of listening. This is a band that take every single one of their influences, and utilise them without ruining the final effect. Every musician brings something unique to the table, with some of the best guitar solos I have ever heard, an unstoppable drummer, and a bassist so good it took me a few moments to realise that certain solos in the songs were actually bass solos! Truhn is an incredible vocalist, and the lyrics are full of anger, rage, and even hope.

Death, thrash, groove, NWOBHM, extreme, sludge, black metal – if you enjoy any of these musical genres, then Korotory will have something for you.

'Chapter III: The Conquering' is an apt title. Because with an album as good as this, Korotory will conquer. This is their moment!

STAND-OUT TRACKS:

• Conquering the Swine
• Probing the Nether
• Ophidia

Korotory is:

Ray Truhn – Vocals

Chris Clemente – Lead & Rhythm Guitar

Matt Scriva – Rhythm & Lead Guitar

Brett Weatherston – Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals

Darren Markoff – Drums

Chapter III: The Conquering

1. Hell's Gate

2. Spineless

3. Conquering The Swine

4. Absolute Zero

5. Gemini

6. Ophidia

7. Dehumanization

8. Sanctified

9. Rise

For more information on Korotory:

www.facebook.com/korotoryofficial

www.reverbnation.com/korotory (free downloads)

www.twitter.com/korotorymetal

www.youtube.com/officialkorotory

Join Heavier Than Time:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Heavier-Than-Time-Heavy-Metal-Music/423564411008899

Acacia Radio:

www.acaciaradio1.weebly.com/

A Tribute To The Brigadier

Last February, the day after I learned of the sad passing of Doctor Who verteran Nicholas Courtney, I decided to make a tribute video dedicated to the great man. I only have Windows Movie Maker, so the video (like all my others) is terribly rough around the edges. However, it is from the heart, and is now over a year old!

I used the Sabaton song 'The Saboteur', because although explicitly about WWII, the lyrics describe great courage and bravery in the face of danger - a song about a true hero. Just like the Brigadier! The shot near the end of the video, where the Brigadier and Sarah Jane hug, is ever-more poignant since Elisabeth Sladen, too, is sadly no longer with us.

May they both rest in peace.

LISTEN TO THIS

 

Alice Cooper. The original monster of rock, who brought the music he made to life on stage. Make-up, blood, murders, straight-jackets, guillotines....he did it all first! Indeed, the guillotine remains the most infamous part of his show, as he's decapitated before his dismembered head is tossed around the stage like a ball.

My favourite part of the Cooper show, though, has always been the straight-jacket. Strapped into it, Alice sings 'The Ballad of Dwight Fry', rocking backwards and forwards in his restraining outfit. During the Theatre of Death tour, he was also hung in the straight-jacket! Now THAT must have been tricky to put together.

Anyhow, here are two videos of Alice (one from his alcoholic days, where he was unpredictable and dangerous on stage, and one from one of his more recent shows) performing '...Dwight Fry' in all its' insane glory. 

Alice Cooper: 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare' - A Review

I was lucky enough, last year, to get the special fan-pack edition of this album, complete with album, magazine, mask, make-up, and a poster with MY name on it (due to pre-order special). And do you know what? It's brilliant. Here's why....

'Welcome 2 My Nightmare' is an excercise in nostalgia, and yet, despite being a sequel and homage to the classic 'Welcome To My Nightmare' album, it feels completely fresh, exciting, and different.

Opening with the chilling ballad 'I Am Made Of You', the album draws the listener in through atmosphere and suspense rather than an in-your-face explosion. It's very subtle, lyrically almost like a goodnight prayer, before the real nightmare begins...

The hard rock truly kicks in with track 2, 'Caffeine', co-written with Buckcherry guitarist Keith Nelson. A hyperactive song about Alice being too afraid to sleep, 'Caffeine' is full of twisting riffs and blistering solos. It's catchy as Hell, and rather funny too...

Original Alice Cooper band members Neal Smith, Dennis Dunway and Michael Bruce have also contributed to a few songs on this album, the first example being the track 'Runaway Train'. The lyrics deal with Alice entering this train and riding deeper into this nightmarish world he so fears, before the train crashes! Perhaps due to the fact that the original band members feature on this song, 'Runaway Train' is very straight-up hard rock. All riffs and solos, with a simple, driving beat. Great stuff!

One of the many things this album does so well is provide variety. Amongst the hard'n' heavy tracks like 'The Congregation', which features a nice cameo from Rob Zombie, or 'When Hell Comes Home', which is doomy and heavy as Hell, is 'Last Man On Earth'. In the song, Alice thinks he's literally the last man on earth, and he is loving every second of it! What makes the track so unique is the music - very New Orleans Jazz. No guitars or drums here! It's a very unusual sound for Alice, and it's all the better for it. Catchy and brilliantly snarled through by Alice, this stands out as a personal favourite.

'I'll Bite Your Face Off' is the obvious hit single of the album, again featuring Dunway, Neal and Bruce on the instruments. Catchy riffage, pounding drums, and a beautiful piano interlude, not to mention a truly vicious chorus, this is a masterclass in classic rock, and sounds both fresh and old-school simultaneously.

'Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever' is my favourite song off the album, and also boasts the best title! Essentially about Alice carrying out his revenge on disco music, this tune is ironically a heavy metal disco song! Former Marilyn Manson and current Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 unleashes a blistering guitar solo towards the end of the song, guaranteed to get heads banging everywhere!

And from disco metal to surfer metal! 'Ghoul's Gone Wild' is heavy beach rock with a ghoulish twist - a song about zombified dead girls! This is a great, upbeat tune about dead girls falling apart (!), and Alice falling in love with one of them, and leads nicely into this album's main ballad, 'Something to Remember Me By'. A haunting love song that Alice is singing to a piece of leftover dead girl, it was actually written in 1973, but dug out for this album because it fitted the concept.

'What Baby Wants' is the most perverse track on 'Nightmare 2...'. Alice doing a duet with sexy young cool thing Ke$ha, and singing into a vocoder, is just wrong on every level. And that is why it works so much. It's so Alice Cooper because it shouldn't work, and yet it does. Ke$ha clearly relishes playing the Devil on this song, too. Very enjoyable!

The final track proper of the album (aside the bonus tracks and 'The Underture' - a glorious instrumental medley of songs from both 'Nightmare...' albums), 'I Gotta Get Outta Here', essentially draws everything to a close. Every previous song is referenced, and it's a superb summary of the album as a whole. The final bombshell, the last big revaltion about the whole nightmare, is both hilarious and terrifying at the same time.

Bonus Track 'Under The Bed' is a straight-up spooky rock song, with chilling lyrics and heavy guitars bringing the nightmares to life. 'Poison Live At Download 2011' is a nice slice of Alice Cooper live, offering a brief insight into his live shows.

'Welcome 2 My Nightmare' is a massively varied, hugely enjoyable album that will appeal to rockers and metalheads of all ages. Alice, his bandmembers and special guests all put in top-notch performances in their respective fields, and they all prove there's still life in the old ghoul yet. A modern classic!

  Track Listing:

1. I Am Made of You

2. Caffeine

3. The Nightmare Returns

4. A Runaway Train

5. Last Man on Earth

6. The Congregation

7. I’ll Bite Your Face Off

8. Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever

9. Ghouls Gone Wild

10. Something To Remember

11. When Hell Comes Home

12. What Baby Wants

13. I Gotta Get Outta Here

14. The Underture

LISTEN TO THIS

Megadeth. Created and formed by Dave Mustaine solely as a force to out-shred, out-speed, and out-do Metallica in every way. Did they succeed? I'm not the one to say. Both bands are great, although Megadeth never lost their metal edge. 

Indeed, in 1990, Megadeth dropped the epic 'Rust In Peace' album on us, an LP so fast and layered, it quickly cemented its' reputation as a modern classic. A year later, Metallica released 'The Black Album', also rightly seen as a legendary album. However, the key difference between the two is that Metallica moved away from their thrashy sound to give us more commercial, catchy tunes. Enter Sandman, Of Wolf and Man, and Sad But True are all brilliant songs, but not as adventurous or as technical as those on earlier releases. 'The Black Album' also has the song Nothing Else Matters - an overlong, boring ballad. Yes, I did just say that.

'Rust In Peace', on the other hand, is a complex, speeding, raging assault that utilises all of Megadeth's strengths and takes them to the next level. The standout song for me on 'Rust In Peace' is the immortal Tornado of Souls. The track, about breaking up with a lover, has all the raw power a thrash tune needs, but with a tight and focussed sound that quite simply kicks ass. But amid the frenzied riffage, screaming vocals of Mr. Mustaine, and the pounding drums, is the Marty Friedman guitar solo. The only way I can describe it is 'orgasmic'. It even knocked Mustaine for six when he first heard it.

So here it is, a live version of a classic track. If you don't like this song, you have to ask yourself, do you really like heavy metal?

LISTEN TO THIS

Today, I'm bringing to your attention a frankly epic slice of old-school metal. A riff-roaring, multi-guitar-solo-ing beast of a track, 'Chainsaw Charlie' is easily the best thing on W.A.S.P. 's superb 'The Crimson Idol' album (1992). Lyrically, the song is about a greedy record-company owner, luring a wannabe rockstar into a life of excess and sin. It's brought to life beautifully, and is a genuine piece of incredible, powerful music. Just ignore this rather bland video, and focus on the music.

Oh, and W.A.S.P. are touring again this year. What are you waiting for?

A Tribute To Paul Baloff (April 25, 1960 – February 2, 2002)

                                     

I could write a million words about Exodus' original lead singer, who died 10 years ago. I never met him, never had the pleasure of seeing him live when he was with the band, but his spirit always shines through, whether watching his shows on Youtube, or hearing his music, or what others have to say about him. All I'm going to say is this: Paul Baloff - Heavier Than Time. Enjoy the videos. Don't forget to headbang.