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!

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/

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. 

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?

Eddie Is Awesome

So, 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'. The ultimate freak-musical, full of crazy and disturbed lunatics and perverts. We have Frank-N-furter, the transexual mad scientist; Riff Raff and Magenta, incestuous aliens; and the accented Dr. Scott, with his high-speed wheelchair and big glasses.

But none of these hold a candle to Eddie, portrayed in the original stage play and movie by Meat Loaf. He crashes through a wall on a motorbike, sings a kick-ass rock'n'roll song, then gets his head smashed in with a hammer. And he has an awesome jacket to boot.