REFLECTIONS Update: New Tour Dates (Including Burnsville), New Album Released October 22

Reflections performing April 9, 2013 at Station 4 in St. Paul. A review of this show is here, and you can download the audio from the entire show here, where they played another new song, "Delirium".

It's been a while since my last update on the Twin Cities' own progressive metalcore giants-to-be Reflections, so here's a summary of their current activities. Their second album, and debut for eOne/Good Fight, Exi(s)t, was finished August 1 and will be released October 22. Exi(s)t is available for pre-order now through various digital and physical media outlets. The first single, "My Cancer", is available now through iTunes and it has already reached the #5 position on the iTunes Metal Chart; the official lyric video for "My Cancer" can be viewed below (it has gotten over 300,000 views in 1 month!). You can also listen to a second song from from Exi(s)t, "Bridges", through Soundcloud and watch guitarists Patrick Comoulay and Charles Caswell do a play-through in the video posted at GuitarWorld (both below).

Eyal Levi, producer of Exi(s)t and partner of Audio Hammer Studios, participated in an AMA on reddit last month and had the following to say about recording the album; he had special praise for Reflections drummer Cam Murray:

Reflections drummer Cam Murray (originally posted on the band's Facebook page)

"..the whole 'holy sh*t' feeling started when we were tracking drums because their drummer Cam is a human computer. That holds the record for being my fastest drum session ever for a real album. And not because we were cutting corners. It's because he was playing great!"

"...he was 17 when we tracked. He actually had to leave the studio to go finish high school."

"...he is the fastest drummer I've ever worked with in terms of speed of tracking. I don't mean bpm. He's pretty quick there too though. I'm very curious to see where he takes it in the next five years. If he sticks to it I think he could be one of the top drummers in not only brutal metal, but in any style that requires intense and dynamic drumming."

Lastly, Reflections has added a third mini-tour of the U.S. with co-headliner Erra to coincide with the release of Exi(s)t. Following this, they have three shows supporting Born Of Osiris before heading out with Within The Ruins, Sworn In, and Legion. One of the newly added shows is the kickoff of the tour with Erra which happens right here in Burnsville at The Garage on Saturday, October 19 (all ages). Locals Don't Worry I'm A Doctor open the Burnsville show; advance tickets are $10, and you can also order a ticket combo package for only $16 that will also get you a copy of Exi(s)t at the show three days before it's released! The current list of complete Reflections tour dates are below.

With Erra:

October 19 – Burnsville, MN, The Garage, w/Don’t Worry I’m A Doctor

October 20 – Lawrence, KS, The Bottleneck

October 22 – Austin, TX, Dirty Dog Bar, w/The Browning

October 23 – Tyler, TX, Crossroads

October 24 – Tupelo, MS, Goodtime Charlies

October 25 – Birmingham, AL, The Forge

October 26 – Douglasville, GA, BBQ Fest, w/We Came As Romans, Silverstein, others

October 27 – Cleveland, TX, The Warehouse

October 29 – Indianapolis, IN, Emerson Theatre

October 30 – Columbus, OH, Kobo Live

With Born Of Osiris, Sylar:

November 11 – Detroit, MI, The Shelter

November 13 – Buffalo, NY, The Waiting Room

November 15 – Albany, NY, Bogies

With Within The Ruins, Sworn In, Legion:

November 30 – Albany, NY, Bogies

December 1 – Nashua, NH, Bernies

December 3 – Providence, RI, Simon’s 677

December 4 – Trenton, NJ, Championship

December 5 – Amityville, NY, Revolution

December 6 – Newark, DE, Mojo Main

December 7 – Hartford, CT, Webster Underground

DORO EP Review

Doro – Raise Your Fist In The Air EP

Nuclear Blast, August 2012

7/10

After switching labels from AFM to Nuclear Blast, this four-song EP is a preview of the upcoming full length album, Raise Your Fist, from the German metal goddess. It adequately serves this purpose, but with the release of Raise Your Fist later this month it’s not an essential purchase. The first single, “Raise Your Fist In The Air” (watch the video below), an adequate, anthemic rocker, leads this off, but the next two tracks are far more interesting. “Victory” is a slower, chugging song that features a soaring chorus line, while “Engel” is somber, passionate ballad featuring pianos and strings that shines as the highlight of the EP. The only non-album song here is a French version of the title track (“Lève Ton Poing Vers Le Ciel”) that is more or less a throwaway. All of this points to yet another solid, respectable release from Doro, but the lack of any compelling non-album tracks means that you should just wait for Raise Your Fist to arrive on October 19.

Watch the official video for "Raise Your Fist In The Air".

Doro will perform on Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Sister Sin.

Glenn Evans of NUCLEAR ASSAULT Pioneers Live Concert Streaming, Featured in Wall Street Journal

Glenn Evans, former drummer for thrash metal legends Nuclear Assault, got a mention in the Friday, July 6 edition of the Wall Street Journal (“The Tech Investor Is With the Band”, page D4) where he is credited with pioneering the live concert streaming methods used by Grateful Dead-like jam band Moonalice. The band livestreams every concert and makes archives available free through their website and their Moontunes iPhone app. Writes John Jurgensen:

“Moonalice’s push into video came after a member of the crew, Glenn Evans (who moonlighted until recently as the drummer in ‘80s metal band Nuclear Assault), start shooting performances. But Mr. Evans was soon swamped by editing footage after concerts.

Now, six small video cameras capture the band as it plays. Standing behind a mixing board and several video monitors, Mr. Evans cuts between the players…His live edit goes into formats including feeds for iPhones and Android phones. A dish, typically perched on one of the band’s trucks outside the club, transmits the feed up to a satellite. The signal takes less than a minute to reach viewers, who can stream it via a basic 3G connection on their phone.”

Still shot of video interview with Glenn Evans in the Wall Street Journal.

Moonalice invented “Twittercasting”, where a link to the video for each song is sent out by Twitter during concerts. Maintaining a satellite hookup isn’t cheap, however, and Moonalice has spent about $100,000 on their streaming initiative. Guitarist and vocalist Roger McNamee advises other bands, “’I’m not telling other bands to go out and buy a satellite network; the point here is to broadcast everything you do, every night. And that you can do for free in a lot of places’ using available Wi-Fi connections.”

It also helps that Roger co-founded Elevation Partners, a private equity firm, with Bono of U2 and can underwrite large technology expenses for the band. Many clubs livestream concerts, of course, using in-house cameras (usually poor single-mount cameras at the back of a room) and web services such as Livestream, but Moonalice’s method puts the band in complete control of the production and distribution. It will be interesting to see if adoption becomes more common as upfront equipment costs come down. I can see a band such a Metallica becoming an early adopter of this.

The link to full article at the Wall Street Journal is here (paid subscription may be required), which also includes a video with a short interview with Glenn Evans. Text of the article (no video) is available at the Moonalice site here.

DAWN OF VALOR EP Review

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.

ARSIS Performs New Song In St. Paul

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 Concert Review - Part 2 of 2

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.