Tonight - VOLBEAT in Minneapolis, CRASHDIET in Fridley

Tonight's a big night European metal as Denmark's Volbeat play a sold-out show at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with support from Danko Jones and Spoken. Doors open at 7:30 and the show starts at 8:00.

Watch the video for "Cape Of Our Hero" from the new Volbeat album, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, that will be released in North America on April 9.

Sweden's sleeze rockers Crashdiet perform tonight with Crucified Barbara and Snakeskyn Whiskey at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley. Doors open at 7:00 and it's only $10 at the door. Read the review of the new Crashdiet album The Savage Playground (7/10) here.

Watch the video for "Cocaine Cowboys" from the new Crashdiet album The Savage Playground.

Lastly, Minneapolis-based sludge band Witchden starts tonight their Wednesday night residency for the month of April at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis. Also on the bill are Vulgaari and Buzzard. This is a free 21+ show that gets underway at 9:00.

Album Review - CRASHDIET

Crashdiet – The Savage Playground

Frontiers, 2013

7/10

Sweden’s Crashdiet are most commonly described as a glam rock band but they’re nothing of the sort. These guys are just straight-ahead, no-frills rock that doesn’t try to impress with technical flourishes or sheer heaviness. Because of their glam/sleeze image Crashdiet will always draw comparisons to 80s bands, however, musically they have more to do with Sleeze Beez and Sea Hags than Poison and Warrant. The Savage Playground is the band’s fourth album and first for Frontiers. This had the potential to be a great album, but I found myself losing interest about midway through. One surprising strong point is the use of layered background vocals on songs like “Change The World” and “Anarchy”, which are reminiscent of the techniques employed by the sadly forgotten T-Ride. The boogie rock single “Cocaine Cowboys” is a great song that would sit well on rock radio and is one of the highlights. “California”, the second single from the album, has a nifty groove that leads into a melodic chorus that slows down a bit before picking up again. “Circus” and “Sin City” round out the first half in a pleasant way, but then things begin to turn a little stale. “Got A Reason” and “Drinkin’ Without You” chug along uneventfully and regretfully suck some of the life from the album. Things never fully recover, and I found myself wishing the album had eight songs instead of 14. The Savage Playground is a convincing album with flashes of brilliance, but not all of the songs stand up to the standard set during the first half. With a little more focus Crashdiet stands poised to make major headway here in the U.S.

Crashdiet performs Wednesday, April 3 at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley with support from Crucified Barbara and Snakeskyn Whiskey.

In Concert This Week - March 29, 2013

The crush of concerts continues over the next week, so pick and choose wisely!

Tomorrow, Friday, March 29, industrial/dance band I:Scintilla plays Ground Zero in Minneapolis with Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Go Fight, and Goodnight Criminals.

Saturday, March 30 is a big night starting with As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada, For Today, and The Chariot at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The same night pop-punk band Sum 41 plays Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with Hollerado. Also on Saturday, Station 4 in St. Paul has local shock masters Impaler with Mordwolf, Mastiff, and Compassion Dies.

Sunday, March 31 may be Easter, but there’s still some great live music to be heard. Rapcore crew (hed)p.e. returns to Station 4 in St. Paul with Nuisance, Strate-Jak-It, and Angry Room. Local industrial metal band Screaming Mechanical Brain plays the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato with Milwaukee’s Candy Machine Guns and Evasive Maneuver. Also on Easter Sunday, you can catch Apocalypse Theatre and their Revolution Circus show at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

Candy Machine Guns stick around the area for another show on Tuesday, April 2 at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

Candy Machine Guns performing March 24, 2013 at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Denmark’s Volbeat return for another sold-out show, this time at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Wednesday, April 3 with support from Danko Jones and Spoken. Swedish sleeze rockers Crashdiet play the same night at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley with Crucified Barbara and Snakeskyn Whiskey. Wednesday is also the start of the weekly, month-long residency for sludge band Witchden at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis with openers Vulgaari and Buzzard.

If that isn’t enough, then Thursday, April 4 has one what should be one of the biggest thrash shows of the year with Anthrax, Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, and Holy Grail at First Avenue in Minneapolis.