Twin Cities Metal

THE DREAMING Album Review

2011-12-08T07:18:00.000-06:00

The Dreaming - Puppet

Epochal Artists, November 2011

8/10

Led by Christopher Hall, former lead singer for popular industrial metal band Stabbing Westward, The Dreaming doesn’t stray too far from the sound he built with Stabbing Westward to deliver an enjoyable, pleasing record. Following a slew of EPs and one full-length album, Puppet has founding members Hall and Johnny Haro (drums) back with a revamped lineup that includes one-time American Head Charge guitarist Nick Quijano. Whereas Stabbing Westward delved into a dark, morose sound towards the end, The Dreaming takes the heaviness and great melodies of that band into more pop-sounding territory while retaining Hall’s bitter, personal lyrics. Right off the bat, “Puppet” shows that The Dreaming is out to make a statement with its dense, molten riffs. The single “Every Trace” has a more upbeat sound and cool march-like beat that gives it instant appeal. My favorite track, “Breathing”, has a brilliantly simple keyboard melody layered over a fast guitar riff while Hall sings a tale of regret and forgiveness. The next few songs aren’t quite as remarkable, but all are solid tracks, especially “Fight For You” and “Stitches”. A pleasant surprise is the inclusion of Depeche Mode cover “It’s No Good”, a heavier selection from a dark phase of the masters of synth-pop. The last part of the album features “Solo Crucifixion”, an interesting track that opens with some precise guitar work that eventually incorporates a heavy, low keyboard line that reminds me of something from Kill Switch…Klick, and “Too Late”, a great song with a memorable sing-along chorus. Puppet succeeds because Hall has taken elements of Stabbing Westward and woven them into a more accessible sound that at times surprises and impresses the listener. Hall’s voice sounds better than ever, and he still croons and screams as well as he did with Stabbing Westward. Big fans of industrial music are likely to dismiss The Dreaming as pop metal-sounding fluff, but there’s way too much talent here for anyone to write off without being a bit less than credible.

The Dreaming performs tonight, Thursday, December 8 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from 3 Pill Morning, Killing Floor, Withering Deity, and Create, Control. This is a 16+ show with early doors at 6:00 pm, and tickets are $10 at the door.

Weekly Concert Update - KITTIE Concert Announced, SCOTT WEILAND Cancelled

2011-12-02T07:59:00.000-06:00

There's only a couple things to report with regard to concert announcements. In what seems like one of the oddest billings I've seen in a while, Kittie is teaming up with Blackguard, The Agonist, and Bonded By Blood for a tour that brings them to St. Paul at Station 4 on Wednesday, April 18. This is an all ages show, and tickets will be $12 in advance and $15 at the door.

Diamond Plate has now been confirmed as main support for D.R.I. on the promoter's Facebook page for their show on Friday, December 9 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Although they are not listed on the flyer, they will be there!

Lastly in concert news, Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland has cancelled his December 6 show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. Weiland hand only a handful of dates booked in December, and I'm not sure if other shows have also been cancelled.

During the coming week, there's a hard rock/metal show nearly every night so get out to something that interests you! Here's the quick rundown of the next week's shows.
Tonight, Friday, December 2, 80s heavyweights Warrant and Firehouse are joining forces for a co-headling show at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina with local openers Scarlet Haze. A little bit to the south of the Cities, local legends Gemini are doing one of their occasional reunion shows at the Wicked Moose Bar and Grill in Rochester tonight.

Saturday, December 3 brings Avenged Sevenfold, Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, and Black Veil Brides to Minneapolis at the Target Center. Also on Sunday, a ton of local bands are gathering for a big show at Club Underground in Minneapolis, including The Black Light, OBCT, Thought Thieves, As/Of, The Night, Kether, Thosquanta, Avenpitch, Albuterol, and Oneneoeon.

Sunday, December 4 is a big day that starts early with Trans-Siberian Orchestra performing two shows at 3:30 and 7:30 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Also in St. Paul that night at Station 4 are 80s rockers Enuff Z'Nuff with The Regenerators, The Grande Machine, and Crashmatic. Enuff Z'Nuff really is so underrated and different than other hard rock and metal bands from this time. I saw them once at The Filling Station in Kansas City around 1998, and they are phenomenal live. Tantric also plays on Sunday in Burnsville at Primetime Sports Bar & Grill with Man Made Machine, Underride, and Eve To Adam.

Sevendust returns on Monday, December 5, this time at Myth in St. Paul with support from Eye Empire, Candlelight Red, and Seven Day Sonnet.

Wednesday, December 7 sees As I Lay Dying at First Avenue in Minneapolis with Of Mice & Men, The Ghost Inside, Iwrestledabearonce, and Sylosis. For those up north, the Avenged Sevenfold tour lands at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth on Wednesday.

Lastly, The Dreaming, featuring Stabbing Westward vocalist Christopher Hall, plays Station 4 in St. Paul on Thursday, December 8 with Killing Floor, Withering Deity, and Create Control.

Check the details on the concert calendar to the right for additional details about these and other shows.

RAMMSTEIN Pre-Sale Password

2011-12-01T06:46:00.000-06:00

If you're keen on going to see Rammstein when they bring their spectacle to Minneapolis at the Target Center on May 8, here's the password for ticket pre-sales: BERLIN. Pre-sales for the Minneapolis concert start today, Thursday, December 1 at 10 am, and this password is valid only until 5 pm today. General ticket sales begin Monday, December 5 at 10 am. I have no idea if this pre-sale password will work for other US dates, but it won't hurt to give it a try. Sometime before the concert I'll get around to posting pictures of Rammstein from the 1998 Family Values Tour when they were touring in support of Sehnsucht. They do put on an impressive show if you've never had the chance to see Rammstein.

Weekly Concert Update, Part 2 of 2 - ANVIL, THE DREAMING, NEW MEDICINE, 12 STONES Concerts Announced

2011-11-26T08:04:00.000-06:00

Looking ahead first for the biggest news of the week, Canada's legendary and unlikely film stars Anvil are set to explode at Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, February 22. No further information is available at this time. If you're unfamiliar with Anvil, you owe to yourself to learn about them by watching the award-winning movie Anvil: The Story Of Anvil and reading their autobiography of the same title.

Former Stabbing Westward vocalist Christopher Hall brings The Dreaming to St. Paul at Station for a just-announced show on Thursday, December 8 with Killing Floor, Withering Deity, and Create Control. This is a 16+ show and is $10 at the door. The Dreaming just released their latest album, Puppet, earlier this month.

Local hard rock bands Eden, Vaudeville, Smiling Politely, and Aiming For Aurora are teaming up for a show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Friday, December 9. Advance tickets are only $5 ($8 at the door), and this show is 18+.

Twin Cities-based New Medicine is currently wrapped some dates in the southern US, but they return home to play the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on Thursday, December 22 with an opening band to be announced. This show is 18+, and tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.

Mega-selling Christian band 12 Stones comes to Station 4 in St. Paul on Sunday, January 15 with Forever Waiting, Requiems End, Tepetricy, and Essex for an all ages show ($12 advance, $15 at the door).

As expected, Belphegor has dropped off the upcoming Dark Funeral tour that comes to St. Paul at Station 4 on Thursday, February 9 and Inquisition has now been announced as their replacement. Still on the bill are Abigail Williams, Gigan, and Maledicere. This show is 16+, and tickets are $17 in advance or $20 at the door.

Weekly Concert Update, Part 1 of 2 - QUIET RIOT Tonight, KYUSS LIVES!/THE SWORD, PROTEST THE HERO/SCALE THE SUMMIT Wednesday

2011-11-26T07:32:00.000-06:00

There's quite a few new concerts for the Twin Cities area that have been announced (I'll get to those in a separate post), but don't forget about a couple shows this week. Tonight the history-making Quiet Riot returns to the area for a show at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley. Dorydrive and Horizontal Hero open the show, which is 21+ and only $12. I've seen Quiet Riot in different incarnations going back to the Condition Critical tour, and they always put on an entertaining show full of songs that you love but often hate to admit. Of course, Kevin Dubrow is deceased and guitarist Carlos Cavazo is gone, but Metal Health-era members Frankie Banali and Chuck Wright are soldiering on with guitarist Alex Grossi and vocalist Mark Huff. If you had the chance to see Mark singing with Van Halen tribute band 5150 when they've the area in the past, then you already know that he's got a great, strong voice. I caught Quiet Riot earlier this year when they were co-headling with Dokken, and Mark does an awesome job of being true to Kevin Dubrow's style without sounding like a clone. Check out "Metal Health" and "The Wild And The Young" with Mark Huff singing.

Watch Quiet Riot perform "Metal Health" on March 19, 2011 at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, MN.

Watch Quiet Riot perform "The Wild And The Young" on March 19, 2011 at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, MN.

Two shows are going on Wednesday, November 30. Kyuss Lives! and The Sword will be storming into First Avenue in Minneapolis for what promises to be a great one. Guitarist Josh Homme isn't a part of this reunion, however. Kyuss is arguably the greatest stoner metal band, and they laid down the blueprint for everyone after them. I feel fortunate to have seen Kyuss three times, first at the Vic Theater in Chicago on the Blues For The Red Sun tour opening for Danzig and White Zombie, next at the Empty Bottle in Chicago with Stompbox on the Sky Valley tour, and another headline show at the Hurricane in Kansas City on the final ...And The Circus Leaves Town tour. This should be a heck of a night. Also this same night Protest The Hero and Scale The Summit team up at Station 4 in St. Paul with local support from Last Chance To Reason and Windowvine.

More Concert News: FULL BLOWN CHAOS Canceled, TANTRIC, SCOTT WEILAND, DROPKICK MURPHYS Announced

2011-11-20T09:18:00.000-06:00

A couple of new concert items are worth mentioning, which I'll get to shortly. First, coming up this week are Lynch Mob and Corey Taylor. Lynch Mob and Life Tragic play tonight, Sunday, November 20 at Neisen's Sports Bar & Grill in Savage. Joining guitar master George Lynch in his band are vocalist Chaz West (Bonham), bassist Robbie Crane (Ratt), and drummer Scot Coogan (Brides Of Destruction, Ace Frehley, others). This is a 21+ show, and it's only $10 at the door. Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor is out promoting his autobiography, Seven Deadly Sins, with a solo spoken word/acoustic/Q&A tour that comes to the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday, November 22. This is an 18+ show, and tickets are still available for $25.

Hardcore band Full Blown Chaos has canceled their headlining tour with Rose Funeral, Battlecross, and Diamond Plate. Despite Full Blown Chaos pulling the plug, the rest of the bands will continue the tour. Unfortunately, the show scheduled at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 25 has been completely canceled. Cleveland's Ringworm was also on the bill, but I doubt they would have appeared since they also previously announced cancellation of their tour dates.

Rockers Tantric announced their return to town on Sunday, December 4 at Primetime Sports Bar & Grill in Burnsville with Man Made Machine, Underride, and Eve To Adam. Primetime is a great venue to see bands if you've never been there. This is an 18+ show, and tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the door.

Also just announced is Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, who will be appearing at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday, December 6. Weiland recently released a Christmas album, The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, so I would imagine this tour will include his Christmas song renditions. This is an 18+ show, and tickets are $30–50. The only other Scott Weiland tour dates announced are November 30 (New York, NY, Irving Plaza) and December 3 (Huntington, NY, The Paramount), and I suspect more will be announced this week.

Getting back to Diamond Plate, they apparently will be playing with crossover legends D.R.I. on Friday, December 9 at Station 4 in St. Paul. The Diamond Plate Facebook page lists this and a couple other dates with D.R.I. so I've added them to the concert calendar, but there's no mention of this on the venue's or promoter's websites. Another local band, Ripsnorter, has been added to the show so the complete billing appears to be: D.R.I., Diamond Plate, Invasion Earth, This Will Not End Well, Virgin Whores, Deretia, and Ripsnorter.

Looking further ahead, long-running punk stalwarts Dropkick Murphys announced a tour for early next year that brings them and Frank Turner to Minneapolis at First Avenue on Saturday, February 25. This show is all ages, and tickets are $31.50 in advance or at the door.

Weekly Concert Announcement Update

2011-11-18T07:08:00.000-06:00

Two big concerts were announced this week for the Twin Cities area. First, the mighty Machine Head plays a long-overdue headline show here in St. Paul with Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour, and Rise To Remain supporting on Thursday, January 19 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Tickets go on sale today at 12:00 noon through Vital Tickets ($22 advance, $25 at the door). This is an early, all ages show that starts at 5:30. I'd be shocked if this didn't sell out, although I have seen Machine Head play venues this size to less than a full house. Nevertheless, Station 4 gets very uncomfortable with a large crowd, so it's disappointing that this isn't taking place at a larger venue such as First Avenue or The Cabooze.

The second big concert announcement is that Germany's industrial metal outfit Rammstein will play at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday, May 8. There's been no word on any support bands. General ticket sales begin on Monday, December 5 at 10:00 am through Ticketmaster, while presale opportunities start on Thursday, December 1 at 10:00 am. I'm still blown away that there's enough pent-up demand for Rammstein to tour arenas in the US. This is a band that has only had modest success in the US, and their only full tour here took place in 1998 as support on Korn's Family Values Tour. Shockingly, they sold out two nights at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2010 which they followed up with a short US run in 2011. Good for Rammstein for finding their audience, but this dramatic turnaround to arenas is quite stunning.

I'll be getting some recent concert reviews posted along with some other goodies, but right now you can keep your eye out for video footage of recent concerts by Cynic, 3, Iron Thrones, Mayhem, Keep Of Kalessin, Hate, Abigail Williams, and Blue Ox that's in the process of being uploaded to my YouTube channel.

ICON FOR HIRE Album Review

2011-11-14T06:54:00.002-06:00

Icon For Hire – Scripted

Tooth & Nail, August 2011

7/10

This type of technology-heavy pop rock/metal normally has no appeal to me, but I gotta hand it to Icon For Hire for crafting a well-written album that’s easy to listen to. Their upcoming show at Station 4 is their third performance here in just the last couple of months so I was curious about what the band has to offer. Icon For Hire is a female-fronted band from Decatur, Illinois that has previously released two EPs independently, and Scripted is their debut album for venerable Christian label Tooth & Nail. Scripted is a highly-polished, slick album that takes hard rock into pop territory that’s going to have massive appeal to radio. Opener “Theater” sets the tone for the album well, and leads into the excellent single “Make A Move”. On the strength of fantastic melodies, other songs like “Off With Her Head” and “Up In Flames” hold your attention and bring you to the last part of the album before you know it. The power ballad “Only A Memory” would be a clear winner as a single, and has the potential to give Icon For Hire major pop crossover success. “Pieces” ends the album on another high note with a memorable chorus and some nice guitar work. Understand that Icon For Hire won’t find a big fanbase among most metal fans but there’s a lot for those who don’t mind listening to pop-based hard rock to get excited about. I wouldn’t be surprised to see scores of 8–10 from fans of this style and it’s hard to deny that the band has some seriously talented song writing skills.

Icon For Hire performs on Wednesday, November 16 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from For Those Who Bleed and Rob Mahlum.

CYNIC EP Review

2011-11-13T14:54:00.000-06:00

Cynic – Carbon-Based Anatomy EP

Season Of Mist, November 2011

9/10

Reactivated progressive death metal band Cynic is becoming harder and harder to classify as their music continues to drift off into towards complex space rock with each new release. Although their origins are in death metal, Cynic left that field behind with their return in 2008 with Traced In Air. You’ll be disappointed if you’re expecting a return to the heavy and bizarre sounds of 1994’s Focus, but those willing to embrace this developmental journey will continue to be entranced. There’s really only three traditional songs on this six-song EP, as “Amidst The Coals”, “Bija!”, and “Hieroglyph” are trance-like interludes filled with chants and spoken word parts. The meat of Carbon-Based Anatomy is the title track, “Box Up My Bones”, and “Elves Beam Out”. “Carbon-Based Anatomy” features jazz-inspired drum fills everywhere underneath a simple bass and guitar line that only gets interrupted by acoustic passages that build into solo that is the track’s climax. “Box Up My Bones” is easier to grasp, and also follows a heavy acoustic rock sound. Things get a little weirder with “Elves Beam Out”, but its rhythmic chorus brings a sense of heaviness back to the mix. I admit to feeling a little let down with Traced In Air, but Carbon-Based Anatomy shows a maturing of Cynic’s new direction where the band sounds more comfortable and confident. The doors are wide open for fans of progressive rock in the mold of Porcupine Tree and The Pineapple Thief to embrace Cynic, and I’m already eagerly awaiting to hear what the next record with sound like.

Cynic performs tonight, Sunday, November 13 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Metal Blade recording artist 3 and locals Iron Thrones.

CYNIC - June 1994, Des Moines, Iowa (Remastered)

2011-11-12T08:27:00.001-06:00

I posted this classic Cynic show a while back, but I thought with their upcoming show I'd try my hand at improving the audio quality of this. What you have here is a complete show from the Focus tour while supporting Cannibal Corpse and Sinister in June 1994. Focus is one of the most ground-breaking progressive death metal albums recorded. I've never been able to nail down the exact date of this show (June 18, 1994 is my best estimate)! I saw this tour in Chicago at the Oak Theater, however, I wasn't present at this show. A couple people who were at this show have been in touch with me, but they have no record of the concert date. For this remastered edition, I took the original video file transferred from VHS, boosted the volume, and tweaked the sound a bit. The result is audio that is less heavy on the high end, and I was able to get rid of most of the annoying tape hiss that plagued the original version. If you listen to this on a decent set of speakers it will sound richer and warmer, and you can crank it up a bit. I've also included new cover artwork. Cynic is out on tour now supporting their soon-to-be-released EP Carbon-Based Anatomy.

Cynic performed all but "Celestial Voyage" from Focus, and here are the details:

Cynic
1994-06
Des Moines, IA, Two Rivers Music Hall
mp3@192 kbps

1. Veil Of Maya
2. I'm But A Wave To...
3. Textures
4. Uroboric Forms
5. The Eagle Nature
6. Sentiment
7. How Could I

The download link is here. As always, share and spread the good word, but I appreciate linking to this post rather than the download link.

Cynic performs Sunday, November 13 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from 3 and Iron Thrones.

From the Vault: MAYHEM

2011-11-12T00:31:00.000-06:00

Mayhem backstage at the Key Club in Hollywood on July 22, 2000. Click on any photo to see more pictures from this photoshoot (5) as well as some live shots (14).

Arguably the most controversial band in the history of metal is Norway's godfathers of black metal, Mayhem. The band is in the midst of only their second US tour (information about the upcoming date in St. Paul is below), and I had the chance to see Mayhem twice on their 2000 tour to support their unconventional Grand Declaration Of War album. On tour with Hate Eternal and Exhumed, they played at Brick By Brick in San Diego on July 21, 2000. One sour note about this show was that the drummer from Hate Eternal had a couple thousand dollars worth of cymbals stolen that night. Another is that I can't see to find any of my pictures! Alas, I was fortunate enough to catch them the next night in Hollywood at the Key Club. Mayhem's set was identical both nights, but they kept everyone happy by mixing in a fair amount of old material with a generous helping of Grand Declaration Of War. I made arrangements to meet up with Mayhem before the Hollywood show where I took these group shots backstage at the Key Club. Everyone in the band was as nice as could be, if a bit quiet and reserved. The rest of the pictures were taken from the Hollywood show. This lineup of the band featured Maniac (vocals), Hellhammer (drums), Necrobutcher (bass), and Blasphemer (guitar).

Hellhammer and Necrobutcher are in the current incarnation, rejoined by vocalist Attila Csihar and new guitarists Morfeus and Teloch. Anyone with a passionate or passive interest in black metal should get out to see Mayhem.

Mayhem performs Monday, November 14 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Keep Of Kalessin, Hate, Abigail Williams, and Woe.

Happy Nigel Tufnel Day!

2011-11-11T11:11:00.003-06:00

Today is celebrated in honor that musical visionary, Nigel Tufnel, guitarist for Spinal Tap. Being all 11s today (11/11/11), this day is dedicated to him. Here's the classic scene from the immortal This Is Spinal Tap:

Tonight is the last-ever show for locals Samahara. They play with Nuisance and Heaven's Gate at Ground Zero in Minneapolis; it's an 18+ show and is $8 at the door.

Samsahra performing April 12, 2010 at The Rock in Maplewood. Click picture to see more photos from this show (15).

Also taking place this weekend is the screening of the entire Evil Dead movie trilogy starting at 7 pm tonight and tomorrow night at the Maplewood Plaza Theatre. You can see all three movies for the low price of $10. The Maplewood Plaza Theatre is owned by local independent promotor The SwordLord.

Concert Updates

2011-11-10T07:53:00.000-06:00

Tooth & Nail recording artist Icon For Hire has extended their current tour dates to include another appearance at Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, November 16. Support comes from For Those Who Bleed and Rob Mahlum. This show is all ages and will cost $10 in advance or at the door.

Born Of Osiris has announced an extension of their mid-November to mid-December tour that now brings them to Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, December 17. Support will come from Structures, Betraying The Martyrs, Reflections, and a to-be-named local band. This is an all ages show, and tickets are on sale now. The band’s Facebook page has the full list of dates.

The Born Of Osiris show has forced the SwordLord’s Christmas Bash Show at Station 4 to be moved from Saturday, December 17 to Sunday, December 18. This is a great local bill featuring Dawn Of Valor, Echoterra, Minos, Alation, and Purified, so go out and support these bands. It’s a 16+ show, and it’s only $3 if you bring a new toy for donation to Toys For Tots ($8 without a toy donation).

Staind frontman Aaron Lewis is embarking on a solo tour that arrives in St. Paul at the Fitzgerald Theater on Thursday, January 5. Reserved seat tickets are on sale now for $32.50–55, and the show is all ages.

In Flames and Trivium are teaming for a co-headlining tour of North America that rolls into First Avenue in Minneapolis on Tuesday, January 24. Support bands are Veil Of Maya and Kyng. This show is all ages, and tickets go on sale this Friday, November 11 at noon, and I would expect this to sell out in advance. A complete list of tour dates can be found on the In Flames Facebook page.

Anonymous Swedish outfit Ghost has lined up a short North American headlining tour that hits Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, January 25 with support from Blood Ceremony and Ancient Wisdom. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 11 at 11:00 am. Ghost was supposed to play as support to Enslaved back on October 3 at Station 4, but had to cancel the tour due to work visa issues. The full list of upcoming North American tour dates, which runs from January 18 to February 2, can be viewed at the band’s website.

Megadeth is bringing back Gigantour in 2012 with Motorhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil along for the trek. The tour returns to the recently reopened Myth in St. Paul on Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14. This show is all ages and tickets are on sale now (they’ll set you back $43). The full tour itinerary and accompanying press release can be viewed at the Gigantour website.

Lastly Pink Floyd bassist and vocalist Roger Waters announced another mammoth, two and a half month North American tour (May 1 to July 14) where he will perform The Wall in its entirely with one of the most massive stage productions you’ll ever see. The production returns to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday, June 3. General ticket sales begin Monday, November 14 at 10:00 am; Live Nation, Xcel Energy Center, and radio presales start Friday, November 11 at 10:00 am, and an American Express presale is currently underway. Head over to the Roger Waters website for the full list of dates.

Nigel Tufnel Day - 11/11/11

2011-11-06T11:11:00.002-06:00

Okay, this has got the be the funniest proclamation since September 2, 2010 was dubbed "90210 Day". Friday, November 11, 2011 shall forever be known as "Nigel Tufnel Day"! If you've seen the classic movie This Is Spinal Tap, then you get it. If not, do yourself a favor a watch this movie immediately! Without a doubt this is the most funny, and most realistic movie ever about rock and roll. This is one movie worth owning on DVD - you get tons of deleted scenes that make you wonder how they ever could select the best parts, and the running commentary track of the band (in character) as they watch their "documentary" is side-splitting. I have no idea who originally came up with the idea of 11/11/11 being Nigel Tufnel Day, but horns up for this hilarious observation.

FIREWIND - 2011-10-19, St. Paul, Minnesota

2011-11-04T06:40:00.008-05:00

Firewind is the last of three posts of audio downloads from the Frets of Fury Tour that blazed through Station 4 in St. Paul on October 19. Guitarist Gus G has raised the profile of Firewind by also now playing in Ozzy Osbourne's band, but here Firewind shows why they deserve to headline on their on right. Click here or on the cover art to see more live photos. Full high resolution artwork is included in the download link. I've embedded a couple of the videos from which the audio was taken below if you care to check them out before downloading. Videos of the entire show can be viewed over at my YouTube channel.

Firewind

October 19, 2011

St. Paul, MN, Station 4

Station 4 On Fire

192 kbps

1. The Ark of Lies

2. Head Up High

3. Destination Forever

4. Kill To Live

5. Angels Forgive Me

6. World On Fire

7. The Fire & The Fury

8. The Departure/Heading For The Dawn

9. Mercenary Man

10. SKG

11. Till The End Of Time

12. I Am The Anger

13. Into The Fire

14. Falling To Pieces

As always, please feel free to share, but do me a favor and share the link to this post rather than the download link here.

ARSIS - 2011-10-19, St. Paul, Minnesota

2011-11-04T06:30:00.010-05:00

The next set audio downloads comes from the mighty Arsis from the Frets of Fury Tour that blazed through Station 4 in St. Paul on October 19. No, mainmain/guitarist/vocalist James Malone did not perform at this show as he had to sit out this tour. If you doubt whether his touring replacements Brandon Ellis (guitar) and Mark Parks (vocals) were up for the job, then you need to check out the videos below before dismissing this. Brandon is simply an amazing, young technical guitarist. Watch him trade some wicked solos with Nick Cordle as the lead-in to "Forced To Rock"! Arsis also performed one new song, "Since The Shadows", that's set to appear on their next album. Click here or on the cover art to see more live photos. Full high resolution artwork is included in the download link. I've embedded a couple of the videos from which the audio was taken below if you care to check them out before downloading. Videos of the entire show can be viewed over at my YouTube channel.

Arsis

October 19, 2011

St. Paul, MN, Station 4

Live Fury

192 kbps

1. Servants To The Night

2. Maddening Disdain

3. Overthrown

4. We Are The Nightmare

5. Forced To Rock

6. The Ten Of Swords

7. Since The Shadows

8. The Promise Of Never

9. The Face Of My Innocence

As always, please feel free to share, but do me a favor and share the link to this post rather than the download link here.

WHITE WIZZARD - 2011-10-19, St. Paul, Minnesota

2011-11-04T06:20:00.013-05:00

Alright, here's the first of three posts of audio downloads from the Frets of Fury Tour that blazed through Station 4 in St. Paul on October 19. First up is Iron Maiden worshipers White Wizzard. Click here or on the cover art to see more live photos. Full high resolution artwork is included in the download link. I've embedded a couple of the videos from which the audio was taken below if you care to check them out before downloading. Videos of the entire show can be viewed over at my YouTube channel.

White Wizzard

October 19, 2011

St. Paul, MN, Station 4

White Hot

192 kbps

1. Over The Top

2. 40 Deuces

3. Celestina

4. Fight To The Death

5. Flying Tigers

6. High Speed GTO

As always, please feel free to share, but do me a favor and share the link to this post rather than the download link here.

From the Vault: IRON MAIDEN

2011-11-04T01:42:00.000-05:00

It's quite a while since I've dug anything out of my metal archives. Former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley played Wednesday, November 2 at Station 4 in St. Paul, so I thought it’d be a fun opportunity to share some old Iron Maiden photos and stories although these are not from the time when Blaze was fronting the legendary band.

The first time I had the opportunity to see Iron Maiden was in 1988 on the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son tour in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the Five Seasons Center. The Five Seasons Center, now known as the U.S. Cellular Center, is a great mid-sized arena that holds about 10,000 people for concerts, and the great thing was that all concerts there had festival-style, general admission seating in the balcony with a completely open floor with no seats. Originally, Guns N’ Roses was supposed to support this leg of the tour, but about a week before this concert they bailed and Megadeth was brought in to open the show. Appetite For Destruction had been out for nearly a year at this point, and the album was just beginning to take off (“Sweet Child O’ Mine” hadn’t been released as a single yet) so people were really upset that G N’ R wasn’t going to appear. I was a bigger Megadeth fan, so I was excited since I had missed Megadeth opening for Alice Cooper on the Peace Sells… tour at the same venue a couple years earlier.

Megadeth took the stage 30 minutes late before proceeding to rip through a short 30 minute set that captured the band playing with reckless enthusiasm that their early shows were known for. Despite being out to promote So Far, So Good…So What!, Megadeth ran through the entire first half of Peace Sells…, “Wake Up Dead”, “The Conjuring”, “Peace Sells”, and “Devil’s Island”, with “Hook In Mouth” and “In My Darkest Hour” thrown in. “Hook In Mouth” is an amazing song live, and one that I wish the band would start putting back in their set. Iron Maiden had the stage draped in the winter-themed landscape from the Seventh Son cover art and played a number of songs from the album, including “Moonchild”, “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son”, “Can I Play With Madness”, possibly also “The Clairvoyant” and “Infinite Dreams”. Of course, all the classics you’d expect were played, but “Seventh Son” was the epic highlight of the show.

I first interviewed Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson by phone in 1998 upon the release of the amazing The Chemical Wedding solo album. Prior to the release of Brave New World in March or April 2000 I had the chance to interview vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who had recently re-joined the band following the departure of Blaze, in person at the Capitol Records offices in Los Angeles. Capitol was terrified of Brave New World getting leaked and posted on Napster, so advance copies were not made available and instead I was given 30 minutes in a conference room to listen to the album’s first four tracks and take notes immediately prior to interviewing Bruce. Bruce himself was cordial during the interview, but he seemed indifferent and distracted, almost like he didn’t want to be doing a day’s worth of interviews. Can’t say I blame him, but I expected him to be more enthusiastic upon his return to Iron Maiden.

The only other time I’ve seen Iron Maiden was in 2000 for the Brave New World tour with support from Queenrÿche and Halford at the Sports Arena in San Diego. Both Halford and Queensrÿche were great, but this was clearly Iron Maiden’s show. The arena must have barely been half full, quite disappointing for such a strong bill. Iron Maiden still brought their elaborate stage show, complete with an appearance by mascot Eddie, and their new material was mixed in well with their standards. All pictures here are from this show; click on any them or here to see more (35).

Jail Sentence for Ex-Myth Owner

2011-11-04T01:23:00.000-05:00

In local area club news, I caught this article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the former owner of Myth, Michael Ogren, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for an illegal liquor purchase for the club. Ogren bought liquor from a bar in Hudson, Wisconsin at the time "distributors were barred from selling to Ogren because he was on a tax delinquency list." In a separate case, Ogren will be sentenced December 1 under a plea agreement for illegally using "already-promised stock in the Myth nightclub" as collateral for a bank loan.

Myth has reopened with new owners, and hopefully they'll start bringing more concerts to this awesome venue. The next metal shows coming to Myth are Sevendust with Eye Empire, Candlelight Red, and Seven Day Sonnet on December 5 and Five Finger Death Punch with All That Remains, Hatebreed, and Rains.

GWAR Guitarist Dead Following Minneapolis Concert

2011-11-04T01:09:00.000-05:00

I've sure everyone's already heard about this since it's now even being reported by the AP - Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot was found dead on the band's tour bus Thursday morning as they were about to cross the border into Canada. The story was first reported at MetalSucks, who received an exclusive message from the band about this shocking news. My thoughts and prayers go out to Cory's family and friends. No details about the cause of his death have been released.

Cory's last show with Gwar took place here in Minneapolis on Wednesday, November 2 at First Avenue. City Pages has posted some great pictures from this show, so go check them out. The band was en route to Edmonton, a grueling 1,200 mile, 20+ hour drive from Minneapolis, so presumably they were about to enter Canada from North Dakota when their fallen bandmate's body was discovered.

It's been probably 12-13 years since I last saw Gwar, having seen them twice in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as their short-lived side project X-Cops. They're always fun and entertaining to see, and it's remarkable that they can still draw 1,000 fans to a show as they did Wednesday night at First Avenue.

THROW THE FIGHT Video Shoot

2011-10-31T23:02:00.000-05:00

Minneapolis hard rock band Throw The Fight announced today that they will be filming a live video shoot this Saturday, November 5 at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis from noon to 4 pm for "Not So Hollywood", the digital single now available from their upcoming new album. This will be the band's first music video, and it will be shot by acclaimed produced Scott Hansen (Otep, Alesana, A Day To Remember). The event is free and open to all ages, but donations will be accepted to help the band pay off their new self-financed record. Although noon is listed as the starting time, showing up early is probably a good idea since release forms usually need to be completed and signed at video shoots. Head over the Throw The Fight website for additional information.

Throw The Fight also performs on Friday, November 18 at First Avenue in Minneapolis as support for Puddle Of Mudd and Black Tide.

DAWN OF VALOR EP Review

2011-10-29T08:58:00.005-05:00

Dawn Of Valor – Immortal Flame EP

Self-released, 2011

8/10

Click picture to see more photos of Dawn Of Valor while supporting Cage on September 29, 2011 (23).

With a heavily revamped lineup, Dawn Of Valor from the Twin Cities returns with this four-song EP that establishes them as a renewed force here in the local scene. Joining guitarist John Leibel and bassist Ted Jedlicki are three new members: Jaden Adair (vocals), Andrew Johnson (guitar), and Joe Waller (drums). The band seems rejuvenated, and the overall quality of songwriting and presentation is vastly improved from last year’s self-titled EP. After a short spoken word introduction, “Lutetium” kicks into high gear with a fast introduction that leads into an Iron Maiden-sounding chorus. “Valkyrie Sky”, with its memorable melody and interesting guitar work, perhaps best showcases the capabilities of the band. The final song, “There Can Be Only One”, is a bit heavier and has some excellent solos that leave you wanting more. Dawn Of Valor has been putting a lot of work into creating an interesting twist on traditional metal, and it’s great to see the efforts bearing fruit with Immortal Flame. They’re also the hardest working band in the area in terms of promoting their shows so I suspect that the coming year will be a good one for Dawn Of Valor.

Click to watch Dawn Of Valor perform “Valkyrie Sky” on September 29, 2011 while supporting Cage.

Dawn Of Valor performs Wednesday, November 2 at Station 4 in St. Paul as support to Blaze Bayley, and they headline The SwordLord’s 2nd Annual Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 17 with Echoterra, Minos, Alation, and Purified.

Upcoming Concert Highlights

2011-10-29T08:36:00.001-05:00

The end of the year is bringing a lot of great shows to the Twin Cities area! Here's a list of some of the more notable shows that may have slipped under your radar. Check out the concert calendar for the complete list of upcoming shows.

The reactivated American Head Charge plays tonight, October 29 at Primetime in Burnsville, and they perform again at Crypticon on Friday, November 4.

Local heroes After The Burial headline a major tour with Veil Of Maya, Misery Signals, Within The Ruins, and Your Memorial that hits First Avenue in Minneapolis on Sunday, October 30.

Former Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley brings his solo band to St. Paul at Station 4 on November 2.

Headlining acts for Crypticon are American Head Charge on November 4, and former Misfits singer Michale Graves on November 5.

Adema hits the 400 Bar in Minneapolis on November 10.

Also on November 10, Obscura, Abysmal Dawn, and Last Chance To Reason play Station 4 in St. Paul.

November 11 is the final show for local band Samsahra, whose singer will be moving to Nevada, at Ground Zero in Minneapolis

Progressive death metal icons Cynic brings 3 and Iron Thrones to Station 4 in St. Paul on November 13.

Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem return to the US for a tour with Keep Of Kalessin, Hate, Abigail Williams, and Woe that lands in St. Paul at Station 4 on November 14.

Also playing on November 14 are Puscifer (State Theatre in Minneapolis), and Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson (Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis), the day after GN'R plays the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Lynch Mob plays at Neisen's in Savage on November 20.

Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor brings his spoken word and acoustic act to the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on November 22.

Quiet Riot returns on November 26 at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley.

Kyuss Lives! and The Sword will level First Avenue in Minneapolis on November 30.

Local 80s metal heroes Gemini regroup for a show on December 2 at the Wicked Moose in Rochester.

Enuff Z'Nuff have a small run of Midwest dates that brings them to Station 4 in St. Paul on December 4.

Sevendust just announced a show at the resurrected Myth in St. Paul on December 5.

Fair To Midland bring their eclectic rock to the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis on December 13.

Local promoter The SwordLord is having his annual Christmas bash on December 17 at Station 4 in St. Paul with a powerful bill of locals bands Dawn Of Valor, Echoterra, Minos, Alation, and Purified.

Looking ahead to the new year, black metal horde from Sweden Dark Funeral returns to Station 4 in St. Paul on February 9 with Belphegor, Abigail Williams, and Gigan. Belphegor has probably cancelled due to an injury to the band's frontman.

Who saw this coming? Legendary punk band English Dogs come to Station 4 in St. Paul on February 17 with The Casualties, Toxic Holocaust, and Havok.

Crypticon Minneapolis 2011

2011-10-29T08:05:00.000-05:00

With Halloween just around the corner, it's that time of year again for horror movie fans to gather for the 6th annual Crypticon being held at the Double Tree by Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota on November 4–6. This event brings together movie stars, paranormal experts, special effects wizards, and music for 3 days of interactive events such as panels, a dealer room, an indie film contest, and a costume contest. The musical lineup is as follows:

Friday, November 4: American Head Charge, Wrecking Day, Impaler, Tepetricy, and Burn Fetish
Saturday, November 5: Michale Graves (ex-Misfits), Screaming Mechanical Brain, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Pinwheel, Nuisance, and Terror Overising

These events are all ages, and the tickets for the concerts are $13 in advance, $15 at the door, and $20 for an advance two-day pass. Tickets for the festival can be purchased separately or together with the concerts. The impressive list of non-musical guests includes:

Sid Haig
Doug Bradley
Tom Towles
Camden Toy
Barbara Nedeljakova
Troy Holbrook
Alex Vincent
Joe Knetter
Sarah French
Geretta Geretta
J LaRose
Michael Bodine
Annie Wilder
Beverly Washburn

ARSIS Performs New Song In St. Paul

2011-10-24T03:35:00.000-05:00

Rising technical metal sensations Arsis performed a new, unreleased song entitled "Sense The Shadows" at their show last week at Station 4 in St. Paul. Video of the performance is posted below; go visit my YouTube channel to see footage of the entire Arsis show as well as that of Firewind, White Wizzard, and Nightrage (one song). Arsis has previously revealed "Sense The Shadows" as one song that they are working on for their next album. It looks like we've got a lot to look forward to, and expectations will be high for the album.

Playing a new song was all the more curious because Arsis is currently out on the road with two temporary touring members, singer Mike Parks and guitarist Brandon Ellis, as replacements for the band's only consistent member, James Malone. On a side note, I was stunned at fans posting brutally negative comments directed to James on the band's Facebook page for sitting out the tour for "professional and personal reasons." Understand that playing in a death metal band doesn't pay the bills, so how anyone could blame the guy for honoring the commitment to his family or career is pathetic. Nevertheless, the band still sounded as good as ever, and Brandon Ellis is an amazing player who should be receiving offers left and right. A full report of the show will be coming in due course!

Watch Arsis perform the new song "Sense The Shadows".

Click on any picture to see more photos of Arsis (23).

CAGE Interview: Discuss Upcoming Album Supremacy Of Steel

2011-10-23T23:20:00.000-05:00

I had the chance to sit down with all five members of Cage on September 29, 2011 in St. Paul at Station 4 after they completed their soundcheck for that night's show. We primarily discussed their soon-to-be released sixth album, Supremacy Of Steel, that hits stores worldwide November 25, 2011. Most of our conversation made it through the final edits, except the band's thoughts on the importance of packaging of physical product in the age of digital music sales. Clips from Cage's performance that night were incorporated into the interview footage, and you can browse over to my YouTube channel to view the entire concert. If you like aggressive, full-throttled power metal and have never acquainted yourself with Cage, be sure to watch this interview.

Watch the interview with Cage.

In addition to live shots from the show (view here), I got some nice band pictures from a photoshoot—a couple of them are below. Also, don't forget about my review of the entire that was published in two parts: Cage in Part 1, and Dawn Of Valor, Minos, Eternal Voyager, Noble Beast, and Iron Finger in Part 2.

ALATION Demo Review

2011-10-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

Alation – Demo 2011 #2

Self-released, 2011

9/10

Click picture to see more photos of Alation performing last year (23).

I’ll keep this review of Minneapolis band Alation’s latest demo brief, since it reprises tracks previously found on two of their earlier demos from 2010 and 2011 (reviewed here and here). This demo features three songs, “Bed Of Nails”, “Abscess Of Insanity”, and “Aflame”, as new versions that have been re-recorded and/or remastered. There’s not a whole lot of difference in the songs themselves, but they definitely sound better than ever when compared to the earlier versions. “Bed Of Nails” is a fast, thrashy song that benefits most from a superior drum sound than that found on the 2010 demo. The differences on the other two songs are more subtle. “Abscess Of Insanity” has Angel singing in her rough, aggressive voice, while she mixes it up with clear singing on “Aflame”. Musically the band blends thrash with technical guitar leads to create a modern sound that any fan of extreme metal will love. Alation is one of the best local bands playing in the Twin Cities area right now, so don’t miss your chance to catch them live this weekend. While it’s nice to hear these songs with a better sound, hopefully some new songs will be released in the near future.

Click to watch Alation perform “Aflame” last year in Minneapolis.

Alation performs this Saturday, October 22 at Station 4 in St. Paul with Under Eden, Echoterra, and Minos. This is a 16+ show, doors are at 7:00, and it’s only $5.

CAGE Concert Review - Part 2 of 2

2011-10-22T12:17:00.000-05:00

Cage, Dawn Of Valor, Minos, Eternal Voyager, Noble Beast, Iron Finger

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Station 4, St. Paul, MN

Part 2 of 2

Click on the picture to see additional photos of Iron Finger (12).

Cage’s headlining performance was covered in Part 1 of this review, so now here’s the rundown of the rest of the bill. Those arriving at the venue early were rewarded with a crushing performance by the best support band of the night, Iron Finger. Hailing from Chicago and along for the duration of this quick Midwest run with Cage, Iron Finger blew down the doors with a thick dose of groove-laden heaviosity that demands attention. Their set began with a couple instrumentals before the bass player stepped up to sing for the last three songs. Iron Finger’s stripped down approach belies the fact that there are some serious molten riffs and thoughtful soloing from guitarists Gerry Buckzo, formerly of Nomad and Cage during their earliest days, and Paul Kratky, who also plays in cult legends Slauter Xstroyes. The band is planning on incorporating a new full-time vocalist in the near future, but I thought the bass player sang just fine. He sounds a bit like Scott “Wino” Weinrich (The Obsessed) without the drama. This is trendless, heavy rock that is all too rare and that would have widespread appeal. Someone sign this band now.

Watch Iron Finger perform “Ride On”.

Watch Iron Finger perform “Nightmare”.

Watch iron Finger perform “Saviour”.

Click on the picture to see additional photos of Noble Beast (14).

Next up was Noble Beast from St. Paul, who mix up Megadeth-style technical riffs with grand melodies popularized by European power metal bands. It’s an approach that works, but the vocals put me off at times. I actually really like it when the vocalist and guitarist Rob Jalonen screams much more than his singing, not enough for to write them off, though. He and guitarist Matt Hodsdon work in tandem quite well, and the technical talents of the band are admirable. Noble Beast is certainly worth keeping an eye on as they have a lot of potential.

Watch Noble Beast perform “Master Of Depravity”. An additional Noble Beast song can also be viewed on my YouTube channel.

Click on the picture to see additional photos of Eternal Voyager (17).

Eternal Voyager then took the stage to deliver an interesting set that showcased longer songs that venture into speed-style progressive territory. Although this was his final show with the band, Hollowstone keyboardist Don brought a great element to Eternal Voyager’s sound without trying to dominate his presence. Hopefully a suitable replacement for him will be found soon. Again, the vocals were a weak spot for the band, but it’s not too much of a distraction. Eternal Voyager is one their way to forging their own unique sound, so they’re another band to check out for upcoming shows.

Watch Eternal Voyager perform “Army Of Our Lord”. “Eternal Voyager” can also be viewed on my YouTube channel.

Click on the picture to see additional photos of Minos (15).

As with Noble Beast and Eternal Voyager, I’ve never been to a show early enough to catch Minos on their many support slots so I had no idea of what to expect. Hailing from Rochester, Minnesota, Minos delivers convincing folk metal that thankfully forgoes superfluous instrumentation and childish melodies that seem to plague many bands that play in this style. I’m not a fan of much folk metal, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed their set. The promoter of the show, The SwordLord, even got up on stage to join Minos for guest vocals as duet on “Lost River”. This is my no means my type of metal, but you have to admire what Minos is doing and they’re clearly at the top of their game.

Watch Minos perform “Lost River” with guest vocals from The SwordLord. “Skyfire” can also be viewed on my YouTube channel.

Click on the picture to see additional photos of Dawn Of Valor (23).

Dawn Of Valor was the final support band of the night, and this was the first opportunity I’ve had to see them since some major personnel changes took place earlier this year. Vocalist Jaden Adair is now fronting the band, and a new guitarist and drummer have also joined bassist Ted Jedlicki and guitarist John Leibel. The changes have done the band good, and all aspects of the band are now at a higher level. This was on display as Dawn Of Valor blitzed through all three songs from their latest EP, Immortal Flame, three more from their self-titled EP, as well as “The Metal Calling”. Jaden is an aggressive, in-your-face singer, and he brings new intensity to the band’s traditional-style power metal. These guys are probably the most active local band out promoting themselves everywhere, so the new lineup and EP should help raise Dawn Of Valor’s profile throughout the area metal scene.

Watch Dawn Of Valor perform “Valkyrie Sky”. The rest of the band’s set can be viewed on my YouTube channel.

Watch Dawn Of Valor perform “There Can Be Only One”. The rest of the band’s set can be viewed on my YouTube channel.

This was an impressive night of local talent, and band brought something different to the bill. Chicago’s Iron finger, however, stole the show with a professional-level performance and a killer sound. All of the bands are worth seeing, so be sure to give them your support at upcoming shows. Headliner Cage took the stage after Dawn Of Valor, so click here for the review of their show with plenty of pictures and complete video footage.

CAGE Concert Review - Part 1 of 2

2011-10-12T08:03:00.000-05:00

Cage, Dawn Of Valor, Minos, Eternal Voyager, Noble Beast, Iron Finger

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Station 4, St. Paul, MN

Part 1 of 2

Click any picture to see additional photos of Cage (27).

Power metal survivors Cage have put forth a significant effort in touring the US in the last 5–6 years, so it’s been a treat to have them here in The Cities for the third time in recent years. This show was the first of three on a short run through the Midwest as the band is gearing up for the release of their sixth album, Supremacy Of Steel.

My review of the show will be in two parts—Cage here in Part 1, to be followed soon with the supporting bands in Part 2. I also conducted an exclusive video interview with all five members of Cage before the show, and this will also be posted in the near future.

Having seen Cage numerous times since the early Unveiled and Astrology eras, I can state with confidence that this was the best show I’ve seen to date, and this version of the band is the most polished and technically proficient. Steve Brogden has moved bass to guitar, while Psychotic Waltz drummer Norm Leggio’s bandmate from Teabag, Pete Stone, has joined Cage on bass (I’ll have to dig out some old pictures of Norm and Pete playing in Teabag!). Leading this new lineup are original vocalist Sean Peck and guitarist Dave “Conan” Garcia. Everyone was in top form, and Cage has definitely solidified a loyal base of fans here in the Twin Cities.

Watch Cage perform “Doctor Doom” from the upcoming Supremacy Of Steel album. Visit my YouTube channel to see videos of the complete show!

Cage is pushing the upcoming Supremacy Of Steel album hard, and they ripped into five new songs this night, many played live for the first time. Selections from their last three albums, Science Of Annihilation, Hell Destroyer, and Darker Than Black, rounded out this marathon 15-song, nearly 90 minute set. New song “Bloodsteel” opened the show with a blistering scream from Sean, then they immediately launched into crowd favorite “I Am The King”. Two more new songs, “The Beast Of Bray Road” and “Doctor Doom”, also received a great response from the audience. Cage then settled into a string of familiar tunes, including fire-spitting versions of “Planet Crusher” and “Hell Destroyer”. “War Of The Undead”, another new one that was debuted in Minneapolis last year, kept the band on fire and eventually led into the set closer, “Metal Empire”, the last new track of the night which can only be described as epic. Wasting little time before returning for an encore, Cage sounded rejuvenated as they ripped into the brilliant “King Diamond” and a pounding version of “Metal Devil”. The last surprise for the night was closing affairs down with a nearly 11 minute version of “Wings Of Destruction” from Darker Than Black.

Watch Cage perform “Bloodsteel” from the upcoming Supremacy Of Steel album. Visit my YouTube channel to see videos of the complete show!

Cage once again demonstrated that they continue to be taken seriously as one of the top power metal bands in the world. Their consistency over six albums is virtually unmatched and they are a force to behold live. Incredibly, Cage continues to get better and they’ve yet to reach their creative peak. Judging from the new songs played this night, Supremacy Of Steel will leave the metal world wondering how Cage does it. “Doctor Doom”, “Metal Empire”, and “The Beast Of Bray Road” were probably my favorites. Although Cage’s past US tours have not been extensive the band is making a serious effort to penetrate more markets, so do yourself a favor and get out to see them if they come to a town near you.

Head on over to my YouTube channel to watch videos of Cage’s entire performance, and check back soon for an exclusive video interview with the entire band and Part 2 of the concert review for pictures and videos of the supporting bands Iron Finger, Dawn Of Valor, Minos, Eternal Voyager, and Noble Beast.

CAGE Tonight in St. Paul; SKID ROW/DIO DISCIPLES Cancels Medina Show

2011-09-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

Bad news first—Skid Row and Dio Disciples have cancelled their show scheduled for tomorrow, September 30 at the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina. No reason was given for the cancelation, but the venue was nice enough to call ticketholders with the news yesterday. A post on the Skid Row website indicates that the show might be rescheduled.

Given that cancelation, there's no reason not to get out tonight for the return of Cage, a long-running traditional power metal band from San Diego. The amazing thing about Cage is that they continue to grow through their years of hard, underground DIY work ethic. Having known and seen the band live since 1999, I can attest that every show is brilliant. Tonight's show, at Station 4 in St. Paul, is Cage's third visit to the Twin Cities, and is the very first since completion of their soon-to-be-released new album, Supremacy Of Steel. This sort Midwest jaunt for Cage takes them to Moorhead, Minnesota tomorrow, then to Chicago for a festival show on Saturday. There's a great lineup of local support bands, including Dawn Of Valor, and it's only $8, so do the right thing and head to Station 4 tonight.

Cage performing new song "War Of The Undead" for the first time on June 23, 2010 at The Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis.

Cage performs tonight, Thursday, September 29 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Powerfinger, Dawn Of Valor, Minos, Eternal Voyager, and Noble Beast.

EVERGREY Album Review

2011-09-27T07:04:00.000-05:00

Evergrey – Glorious Collision

Steamhammer/SPV, 2011

5/10

Sweden’s Evergrey are widely touted as being at the forefront of the current progressive metal movement, but Glorious Collision leaves me wondering how much longer fans will be patient following a string of less-than-stellar albums. This latest album has its moments, but it’s difficult for any band to maintain a high level of consistency over 13 songs in 60 minutes. I’ve probably said it before, but I’ll state my problem with too many albums—they’re too long and have too many songs. Glorious Collision is a textbook example of the failure of bands to put forth the best 8 songs for an album. Throw out the weakest songs here – “You”, “Out Of Reach”, “The Disease…”, “Wrong”, and “I’m Drowning Alone” – and immediately this would be a superior record. The biggest doubt with Glorious Collision was how extensive personnel changes would affect the album. The songwriting core of the band is intact, however, and the new members do a great job. “Leave It Behind Us” starts the album acceptably, but things quickly go south with “You” and “Wrong”. Only when “Restoring The Loss” and “To Fit The Mold”, the best songs on the album, kick in does my attention pick up. The rest of the album then continues to meander through mid-tempo melodies that feature great vocals and some solid playing, but there’s simply too little that’s compelling. Another problem is the placement of the vocals waaaaay too far up in the mix. I love Tom Englund’s voice, but hearing it so prominently throughout gets tiring on these ears. I wish I could find more to like here, but multiple listens have failed to spark the love I used to have for Evergrey. Fan reaction to Glorious Collision seems to be very much split, so you’ll probably still want to give this a spin if you’ve read this far.

Evergrey performs tonight, Tuesday, September 27 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Sabaton, Blackguard, Powerglove, and The Absence.

ALATION Demo Review

2011-09-01T08:03:00.001-05:00

Alation – Demo 2011

Self-released, 2011

9/10

Click picture to see more photos of Alation performing last year (23).

Minneapolis-based Alation is keeping their strong momentum going with the recent release of a new two-song demo to follow their killer five-song demo from last year (reviewed here). Overall, I’d have to say that the band does a modern take on thrash metal, but there are many reasons why Alation shines. For one, don’t mistake the thrash influences for this being a retro-hack regurgitation like many signed bands. The closest comparison, musically, is to mid-tempo Testament, with an emphasis on well-crafted melodies and extended guitar solos. Female vocals aren’t a gimmick anymore in extreme metal, and vocalist Angel uses the full range of her capabilities more than most. She can sing clean and with a rough scream with the best of them, but what I love is the way she sings melodies to give the songs a haunting, personal feel. The first song on this latest demo is “Abcess Of Insanity”, which after a powerful introduction leads into a slow, stomping song that kicks in with a vocal melody of the type I was referring to. There’s plenty of guitar fills and solos along the way from Stu and Sawyer, and it’s clear this song is another winner for the band’s catalog. The second song, “Aflame”, appeared on the expanded version of last year’s demo (reviewed here), and I’m not sure if it’s been changed at all for release again here. It doesn’t matter, this is the band’s best song and represents best what Alation is capable of. As I’ve noted previously, “Aflame” has Angel spitting out some vicious vocal barbs while the rest of the band kicks it into high gear, with a acoustic vocal and guitar interlude that progresses into a fast closer for the ambitious, seven-minute track. Alation continue to prove that they’re the real deal, and labels would be wise to start paying attention to this talented, original band that offers a fresh take on thrash-influenced metal that blows away the stale retro-craze still ongoing. See Alation tonight to pick up your copy of this and show ‘em your support, or head over to their Facebook page to stream these and other songs.

Click to watch Alation perform “Aflame” last year in Minneapolis.

Alation performs tonight, Thursday, September 1 at Station 4 in St. Paul with Hollowstone, Urn, Northsky, and Eldergaad. This is a 21+ show with doors at 7:00 and Eldergaad takes the stage at 7:30.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM Cancels Tonight's Minneapolis Show

2011-08-31T19:59:00.000-05:00

Don't know how I didn't hear about this show in the first place (actually I do - short notice, venue that doesn't have metal shows, no publicity), but atmospheric black metal band Wolves In The Throne Room has canceled a recently scheduled appearance tonight in Minneapolis at Club Med. A statement posted on the band's Facebook page last night reads: "Our van broke down in Montana. We are forced to cancel the Minneapolis show. Many apologies to everyone." It remains to be seen whether any other shows will be affected by their van breakdown. The next shows on the tour itinerary are September 1 in Chicago at Reggie's Rock Club and September 2 in Louisville at Rudyard Kipling. Let's hope their next show in the Twin Cities is at a more appropriate and visible venue.

If you're not already there, there's still time to get down to Station 4 in St. Paul tonight for Vreid and Kampfar.

VREID Album Review

2011-08-30T06:29:00.001-05:00

Vreid - V

Indie, March 2011

9/10

Every once in a while an established band steps out of their shell to release an unexpectedly brilliant album, and Norway’s black metal stormtroopers Vreid have done just that with their fifth album V. Vreid’s past output left me feeling respectful but uninspired. Smash all your previous notions about the band because V is one of the best black metal albums of the year. With new guitarist Ulcus (ex-Windir, along with the rest of the band), Vreid has evolved their sound into the harsher, raw-edged brother of Enslaved. A masterful production job enables the introduction of acoustic passages, bone-jarring riffs, and subtle keyboards to the band’s sound without taking away from the vicious sting of their buzzsaw guitars and harsh (yet surprisingly understandable) vocals. It’s true that many Viking and black metal bands have run with this same sonic and conceptual masterplan laid down by Bathory on Blood Fire Death in 1988, but Vreid succeeds by bringing forth progressive elements without sounding forced or contrived. “Slave” is the most extreme example, with a recurring march-style drum beat that leads into ballad-like verses with acoustic guitars and clean vocals, eventually building up to a well-crafted guitar solo near the end of the song. Similarly mind-bending are “The Sound Of The River” and “The Other And The Look”, both of which twist and bend Vreid’s sound in interesting ways. Not all vestiges of the band’s earlier work is lost, and “Welcome To The Asylum” and “Arche” retain enough brutality to help V seem like a progression. “Wolverine Bastards” is the only song to not scale the heights of the remainder of the album, but only enough to be a minor blemish on an otherwise masterful album. V is strong enough to vault Vreid to the upper echelon of progressive black metal bands, and I have no doubts that nothing but more praise and visibility will come to the band if they further evolve their sound in the manner shown here.

Vreid performs a co-headlining show with Kampfar on Wednesday, August 31 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Necronomicon, Enshrined, and Maledicere.