LED ZEPPELIN‘s double-disc DVD, entitled simply “Led Zeppelin DVD”, was certified thirteen times platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) last month for sales in excess of 650,000 copies in the USA alone. (Editor’s note: For its accounting purposes, the RIAA counts each disc of a multiple-disc release as a single unit towards a title’s total.)
Released in May 2003 by Atlantic Records, “Led Zeppelin DVD” features nearly five and a half hours of footage culled from just a handful of performances which were ever filmed during the band’s extraordinary lifetime. Featured are performances from: London’s Royal Albert Hall in January 1970, just one year after the release of their debut album, their triumphant five-night run at London’s Earl’s Court in May 1975, and their record-breaking shows at England’s Knebworth Festival in August 1979, just one year before the death of drummer John Bonham led to the band’s dissolution. Also included are songs from New York’s Madison Square Garden in July 1973, which were not included in “The Song Remains The Same” concert film, the only previously released live ZEPPELIN footage. Other highlights of the DVD include: extremely rare television appearances, among them a performance for Danish television in March 1969, promotional clips, TV interviews, behind-the scenes material, and even a bit of fan-shot “bootleg” footage.
Why review an album that was released over 30 years ago? Basically, so that younger fans can have an understanding of the bands that have had a great impact on heavy metal. Though these bands may have never reached the plateau of Maiden, Priest and others, they still had a major impact on metal as it is today. So I think it’s important that periodically we journey back and re-surface these bands.
During the 1970’s in America, interest in hard rock had started to expand its wings. American bands such KISS, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith along with European counter parts Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin were selling out venues clear across the country. This spawned another generation of acts such as Angel, Starz and the Godz during the mid 70’s. As good as they were, they never seemed to capture the attention of the mass audiences as their predecessors did. During this time however, clubs in the New York, New Jersey started to see a renewed sense of wonderment with bands such as Zebra, Phantoms Opera, White Tiger and Twisted Sister. Hard rock once again reared its ugly head but it really took off with the debut album of Van Halen. Fans started to consume new music, both by buying records and going to see the underground bands at clubs. And when 1980 happened to crawl around, that’s when the shit hit the fan.
It was in 1980 when my friend Tim and I climbed the stairway to reach the apartment of Pete McCauley, a friend of Tim’s. We were let in and took our seat on the sofa, beer in hand. Pete brought out 3 newly released albums, all imports. First was Ozzy’s “Blizzard of Ozz”, then two unheard of bands at the time, Iron Maiden and Angelwitch’s debut albums. Needless to say, from the first point that the phonograph needle hit the first groove on each record, I was hooked. The cover of Ozzy’s album made perfect sense. With cross in hand, it shouted that he was back. But it was the sound and song structure of the other two albums that really got my ear. I’ve never heard that sound or style before; and they both had very interesting artwork!
The record stores in New Jersey and especially in Bayonne where I lived, rarely carried import records until later on. You had to travel to New York City for that which was cool for the occasional trip but if you wanted something in a hurry, it sucked. But Pete pointed out that he got the albums from a newly opened record store in our area that specialized in imports, especially metal and punk records. The next day I was there buying all three albums. The store itself was something out of England. Posters advertising shows at clubs and venues with bands such as the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks,Thin Lizzy and UFO, covered the walls. It was the way I pictured how a record store in England would look. This was way fucking cool.
That was my introduction into the NWOBHM. Now the 3 albums that clearly stand out for me were, the aforementioned debuts of Iron Maiden and Angelwitch along with Praying Mantis’ “Tell No Lies”. These records seemed to me like 3 brothers that were around the same age. Maiden seemed to be the oldest brother, getting his hands in a little bit of everything to experience things for himself. Putting all this together they had a unique progressive song structure with a raw sound. Angelwitch was the mischievous younger brother that played in the mud and got into a little trouble. They carried the same rawness but with a bit less of the progressive movement. Praying Mantis took on the more disciplined brother who carefully planned out every move and knew what he wanted to do. Mantis had those progressive sensibilities and polished them off into a more melodic and harmonious version. While the similarities were evident, they all had a style of their own. They both may have never achieved the huge success of Maiden, they were just as influential. I would like to revisit and review the Angelwitch and Praying Mantis albums and give them a good listen to again, starting with the Angelwitch album.
This album is a near perfect sounding album (along with another similar sounding debut album) that represents true heavy metal. The album does sound as if it was recorded on a low budget but that is where the magic lies and what makes it stand out.
Along with Iron Maidens first album, this debut album has that unpolished, raw till it bleeds, sound. You can taste the energy and you can smell the sweat as the band plays. As I hear the first self titled song, “Angelwitch”, I can feel being in the audience, situated in the first few rows, blinded by the stage lights with fist pumping, head banging and singing in time with the chorus, “You an Angelwitch, You’rrrrree an Angelwitch”. Very catchy!
Heavy guitars and drums start off in the song “Atlantis”. Vocalist/guitarist Kevin Heybourne must of attended the same vocal school as Paul DiAnno as his scream during the first few seconds are eerily similar. Here we have a good song to play as you speed down the highway. Great energy and a nice melodic pre-chorus section that will stick in your brain! The mid section is quite interesting as there really isn’t a guitar solo but a small but really cool guitar feedback piece that combined with the driving rhythm makes a perfect fit.
Next we run into “White Witch” which has a nice bouncy verse to it. You’ll find your head banging in time with it until you get to middle segment. This is where you come to the first blemish on this record. As the tempo slows to a crawl, keyboards straight out of the song Sweet Lorraine from Uriah Heep’s “Magicians Birthday” album, appears and tries to create an ambience. I’m not feeling that. I don’t think it’s needed as it takes away from the ghostly guitar pattern of Heybourne. But that’s not a big thing. The chorus is a serious, sing a long type and the lyrics keep the theme of the album going. Leading off with guitars mimicking an air raid siren and segueing into an angry guitar rhythm, along comes the song, “Confused”; The changes in the song fit the title immensely, as the riffs range from driving, to angry to violent, which captures the lyrical content. The guitar harmonics also lend to a nice variation. Another good, solid song that exemplifies true metal!
Now enters one of my favourite songs on this album. “Sorceress” is heavily influenced by Black Sabbath riffs with strong in-sync vocals. A great moment in this song is from lead section toward the end. The tempo goes up the odometer a bit and a basic guitar lead is performed, followed by a memorable double lead guitar segment. Then out of the blue, comes in a Deep Purple-ish keyboard section that will bring a slight smile to your face. Very cool!!! One of the more notable aspects of this song is the accusation by some that the slower, melodic guitar pieces were ripped off of Maiden’s “Remember Tomorrow”. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only similarity between the two is possibly the guitar tone and texture. Otherwise both are played differently. Now it’s true that both bands have played together in the early days but I really doubt anyone ripped off anybody else. What I think happens is that in a music scene, especially in this era, is that when bands play together, they hear bits and pieces of each other’s music and become influenced by it. By mixing and mashing all these different ideas, along with a majority of our own, a band eventually finds their own sound. This is why earlier metal bands may sound a bit different from each other but they all had a common thread that connected them all. This is what leads to a good, strong music scene.
“Gorgon” is a pretty simplistic song which I have mixed feelings about. At first you hear some spacey, guitar rumblings backed by atmospheric keyboards. Nothing eventful happening here until you are bombarded with a hurricane of guitar driven madness. This continues to get you going until, like doing a 100 mph down a side street then seeing a cop car, it slows down. With this slower portion of the song, it feels like I’m being held back. After you get into the fast paced verses, you don’t want it to end but with the slow down, it’s a bit of a disappointment. I would have preferred for the song to keep the same driving pace throughout. But the one thing I love on this song is the lead guitar sound, earthly but ragged (especially the pick slides!!!). All in all, not a great song but a good one!
The beginning of “Sweet Danger” recalls Thin Lizzy’s classic song “Massacre”. Strong drum beats by Dave Hogg and some really good guitar riffs are the highlights of the song but are dragged down with an unenthusiastic chorus. Also the mix seems slightly off especially in the fore mentioned chorus; probably the weakest song on the album.
Next comes “Free Man” with lyrical content that has been somewhat compared (Again!) to Maiden’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue”. Both tell the story of a wrongly convicted man sent to prison. But here the music for “Free Man” mixes the perfect setting for the lyrics. A very heartfelt story of a man who has just been let out of jail for a crime he didn’t commit as he describes the changing of his neighbourhood and his isolation from friends and family. Whereas “Murders in the Rue Morgue” tells the tale how he ended up in jail, “Free Man” tells the aftermath of being let out of prison as an innocent man; Same subject but 2 different scenarios. Plus “Murders” was released a year later. Tone of the beginning guitars are similar to the melodic parts in “Sorceress” but then turn into to a gritty, raw sound during the chorus. What we have here is a truly great song here with surprisingly good emotional elements.
From the first measure of “Angel Death” you know you in for a metal masterpiece. The song starts off like a heavy metal marching death march. Massive riffs alternate between that and the verse pieces which take on a faster pace as the drums take on a free style pattern. The pre chorus vocals blend in perfectly as it enters the chorus part that echoes “Angel of Death”. The lead guitar work is amazing, as it incorporates all the dive bombing tricks along with frantic fret board work sewn seamlessly together. Probably the best lead work on the album. A classic metal song…
The last song of this historical album is a short instrumental titled’ “Devil Towers”. A very sinister sounding but attention grabbing composition that highlights Kevin Riddles bass playing; the only problem that I have is that it is way too short. The song seems to have a lot more to say but is prematurely cut off. Performances by the band members are strong and robust. Riddles is an excellent bass player that can be clearly heard throughout the album and the drumming style of Hoggs ranges from the simplistic where needed, to the maniacal, so to engage the listener. They lay down the perfect rhythm section and both play well off each other, not an easy thing to do during a recording. The riffs, patterns, tones and leads are what you would expect from a classic album, all top notch. I would have preferred to have the drums mixed better with a meatier and bigger sound to them. Compared to the vocalists around at that time such as Saxon and Judas Priest, the vocals are below that level. Some of the vocals you can hear waver in spots. However it all fits together brilliantly and brings forth an unforgettable album. If you get the chance buy the vinyl, if not get the very first release of the CD and listen to its original tone, full blast!
The cover features a painting by John Martin entitled The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium
According to Vintage Vinyl News, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s third album is schedule for release on October 30.
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is the English-American rock band featuring the talents of bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, TRAPEZE, BLACK SABBATH), blues rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER).
“With this next album, I’ve had the luxury of being able to write for six months,” Hughes recently told GuitarWorld.com. “With the first album I had six weeks, and the second one was about four months. But I’ve had a lot more time to write this one. If you look at Joe‘s schedule, he doesn’t even have time to wipe his nose. I’ve been left as the keeper of the keys to write these albums.”
In a recent interview with Artisan News, Hughes stated about BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s musical evolution, “We just did two albums back to back, both successful records. And our live DVD is out now.
“We’re really, really happy with the progress of where we’re going musically. So we’re sort of on course now.”
Regarding the sound of the forthcoming BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION CD, Hughes said, “It’s kind of a continuation… There’s gonna be some darker stuff on there, because the lyrics I’m writing are kind of dark. There may be some moments of drama in there — I like drama in the music. So the songs I have ready are definitely a continuation of [the first and the second albums].”
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION released its first concert DVD, “Live Over Europe”, on October 24, 2011 (Blu-ray followed on November 15) on the J&R Adventures imprint. The two-DVD live set was filmed with 14 HD cameras and 5.1 Surround Sound during the band’s debut tour in the summer of 2011. Over three nights, playing to packed venues in the German cities of Hamburg, Munich and Berlin, the 18-song set list (17 originals and one cover) hits on both of BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION‘s albums — 2010’s debut and 2011’s sophomore release “2”.
BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION initially came to fruition when producer Kevin Shirley saw Hughes and Bonamassa join forces on stage in Los Angeles in November 2009 for an explosive performance at Guitar Center‘s King of the Blues event. Shirley then recruited Bonham and Sherinian for the project, which is named after the industrial area in the British Midlands where both Hughes and Bonham were born and raised.
Kamelot Sweden recently conducted an interview with the new KAMELOT singer Tommy Karevik. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Kamelot Sweden: Congratulations on your new job! Kamelot Sweden is very proud and happy that KAMELOT‘s new singer is from Sweden. Has it sunk in yet?
Tommy Karevik: Thank you! Both yes and no, actually, KAMELOT didn’t have a singer for nearly two years, and during that time a lot of things were unsure. But it also meant that I had time to think things through in case I was asked. With that said, it’s impossible to be fully prepared for the roller coaster ride that was set in motion once my name became official.
Kamelot Sweden: So, what went through your head when you got the offer?
Tommy Karevik: I think my reactions were really Swedish at first. I work full time as a firefighter, being a singer for SEVENTH WONDER is a full-time job as well, and I also have my beloved girlfriend Silvia. To add a full-time job as a singer in an internationally acclaimed band with ambitious touring/future plans was not an obvious choice at first. I was a guest singer on the European tour during 2011 and I started to feel for the music then and all the amazing people that surround the band. When Thomas [Youngblood, KAMELOT guitarist] asked me, I had absolutely no doubts!
Kamelot Sweden: The response on the Internet has been overwhelming. Were you nervous how the fans would react when the announcement was made?
Tommy Karevik: Of course I was a bit nervous… I completely understand that people are emotionally attached to Roy [Khan, former KAMELOT singer] and all the previous KAMELOT albums. With that said, I can only be myself and give it all I’ve got! I’m confident and I’m really happy about all the positive feedback that I have received!
Kamelot Sweden: How were the reactions when you met your fans at the concerts?
Tommy Karevik: It’s been amazing actually! So many have been happy and supportive! I was prepared for the worst. I’m really grateful that it’s been working out so well.
Kamelot Sweden: You’ve played a new song, “Sacrimony”, at the festivals this summer. How was the audience response to it?
Tommy Karevik: Surprisingly well. From previous experience, when you play a new song live that nobody has heard before, the response is usually not very enthusiastic. But not in this case. I think people are really happy that there’s going to be another KAMELOT album so quickly and that the singer situation is finally over.
Kamelot Sweden: The upcoming album, “Silverthorn”, is a concept album. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Tommy Karevik: In short, the story takes place in 19th century England. Everything revolves around a powerful family whose fate is sealed by an unexpected death. From there, the story kicks off and brings the listener on a journey through musical landscapes and emotional storms. It contains everything; love, hate, despair, reliance, happiness, sorrow, envy and anger. I think we’ll keep the rest until the album is out.
Kamelot Sweden: Can you mention some more tracks from “Silverthorn”?
Tommy Karevik: A few tracks from the new album are “Prodigal Son”, “Ashes To Ashes” and “Song For Jolee”.
Kamelot Sweden: You replaced Roy Khan who had quite a unique stage presence, did it bother you to be compared with him?
Tommy Karevik: No. I’m gonna be myself out there and I don’t think too much about it. I think the music channels a certain emotion and calls for a certain stage presence. The most important thing to me is that the audience feels what I feel when I’m on stage. Then I have succeeded. When it comes to similarities between us as singers, there will always be things that we do alike and things that we do differently, but that isn’t something that I choose to focus on.
Kamelot Sweden: You’ve recorded a video in Belgrade. Can you mention which song you did, or is it still a secret?
Tommy Karevik: The first video will be “Sacrimony”. The song also features Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE) and Alissa White-Gluz (THE AGONIST).
Nicole Powers of SuicideGirls.com recently spoke to Rob Zombie about the progress of the recording sessions for his new album, tentatively due before the end of the year.
“I’m really into this record right now,” Rob said. “We have a long way to go, but it’s the most free-sounding record I feel like I’ve made in a long, long time.”
He continued, “As time has gone on, I feel at different moments in my career I’ve made a record that’s significant for that time period. With WHITE ZOMBIE, ‘Astro-Creep’ was the significant record at that time for that band. Then the next one was ‘Hellbilly Deluxe’, my first solo record. You make other records and they’re cool and they’re good, they have good songs, but you haven’t really turned the page to a new thing. I feel like this record is the beginning of the next phase of what I’m doing. It’s just a big, crazy, live-sounding record. I just love it. It’s hard to describe, but every once in a while a creative vein opens up and you head off in a direction that’s just… you don’t question it because it doesn’t happen that often, let’s put it that way.
He added, “One of the things that I think is the reason for this freedom is, once you have success, whether you know it or not, you subconsciously want to achieve more success or maintain the success that you’ve had. So, obviously, if you write a hit song, you try to write other hit songs. That’s sort of the nature of the game. But, with the fact that nobody really buys records anymore, I’m not really sure what constitutes a hit record or a hit song. Those rules don’t quite apply anymore, because you’re not going to sell millions and millions of records no matter what you do. It just doesn’t happen anymore really. So, because of that, you feel like, fuck it, who gives a shit? And because you feel that way, you almost feel like a new band does. You’re not chasing the dragon anymore, you’re just being creative and coming up with great stuff. And that’s usually when you do have hits, strangely enough, because you’re just creatively free at that moment.”
The new ROB ZOMBIE album is being produced by Bob Marlette, who has previously worked with everyone from BLACK SABBATH and ALICE COOPER to WILSON PHILLIPS and LYNYRD SKYNYRD.
Jack Mehoff of the Colorado Springs, Colorado radio station 94.3 KILO recently conducted an interview with vocalist Phil Labonte of Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
On whether ALL THAT REMAINS will perform in the Czech Republic after Randy Blythe‘s (LAMB OF GOD) recent incarceration in the country on manslaughter charges:
Phil: “I assume that if we get booked in the Czech Republic, we’ll be going. I’m not a huge fan of touring overseas anyways. Our label is a U.S. label and there’s really not been a whole lot of representation in Europe or in other countries and stuff. We’ve had a few good experiences — specifically the Japanese; they really, really have been supportive of ATR and stuff — but there’s not a whole lot of label support in Europe and stuff, so it’s not as fun touring in Europe as it is touring in North America. So, I guess, really, if I’m gonna be straight-up honest, if we never went to Europe again, I really wouldn’t care much. But I mean, if we get booked in the Czech Republic, we’ll go and I’ll do my best to avoid anyone getting on stage or contacting anyone who comes to the show. I mean, it will be something that I’m aware of, it will be something that I think about. I mean, it’s something that I think about here in the U.S. Our manager called me up and he was like, ‘Dude, there are times when you tell people you wanna see them knock the shit out of each other. And if you do that, you might get in trouble. Considering the Randy thing…’ And I’m like, ‘Ahhhh…..'”
On his recent allusion to the fact that he or may not have a weapon on stage:
Phil: “Yeah. Well, it depends on the state and the local laws. Me and a couple of partners have got a gun shop in New Hampshire, so that’s what I wanna do after I stop yelling at a stick, so I’m pretty up on laws and I’m definitely aware of where I’m allowed to carry and where there’s reciprocity for my concealed permit and stuff. So I know where I can and can’t. But if I can, there’s a very solid possibility that I have a gun on me, regardless of whether I’m on stage or walking around. I’m a gun dude, so…”
On recording the new ALL THAT REMAINS album, “A War You Cannot Win”, with longtime producer Adam Dutkiewicz (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, AS I LAY DYING, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE):
Phil: “Recording with Adam is awesome. I think I’ve known Adam for going on 20 years. And I sound like an old man, and I can’t even believe it, but yeah, I definitely have known Adam for 20 years. We did our first our record with him 10 years ago almost, just shy of 10 years. So we’re really comfortable with him. He’s a really good friend. Mike Martin, our guitar player, lives with him. Adam‘s got a house and Mike rents a room there. It’s tough to find someone that you are more close and more comfortable all of ALL THAT REMAINS is working with Adam. And to be honest with you, not to name names, but there were some people that, we were trying to figure out who was gonna mix the record because Adam wasn’t available. And we had some people that we sent stuff to do a test mix. I knew Adam was brilliant — I’ve known that for a long time — and I know that he’s got a better ear than 99 percent of the people, of musicians, that I’ve ever met. But when you… again, I’m not gonna use any names, but when you send stuff out to names that are supposed to be big names and they send back something and you’re just like, ‘What the hell did you do?’ They send back something that sounds like they just threw everything into a blender and just mixed it up and said, ‘What do you think about this?’ And you’re like, ‘If the guy that we’re used to working with had done this, it would be done already. It’s like you’re shoving mashed potatoes into my ears. This doesn’t make sense. How is it that you can’t hear that this sounds terrible? And you’re supposed to be a big name. And blah blah blah.’ So there was a lot of, kind of like, woah, I knew that Adam was great, but I didn’t realize that he was so great until we started working with people who were supposed to be great and they were terrible compared to the guy that I already knew was great.”
On the musical direction of “A War You Cannot Win”:
Phil: “The songs are strong. There’s some really, really, really strong songs. I don’t like to get too involved in tooting my own horn, but I think that we really wrote some killer songs. I mean, there’s gonna be people with different opinions that are gonna go ahead and make comments based on their opinions and what they think we should have done, and that’s all fine. But if you get past that and just look at the record for what it is and listen to the songs for what they are and judge them on their own merits as opposed to, ‘I wanted you to write this record,’ or ‘I wanted the record to sound like this and it doesn’t sound like what I wanted you to write a record to sound like,’ if you just look at the songs and the material that’s actually there, we really did a good job. There’s gonna be critics out there that are gonna be like, ‘Well, ALL THAT REMAINS, in my opinion, should have done this.’ But the hilarious part is they’re not in ALL THAT REMAINS, so no one gives a fuck [what they think]. And that’s the thing about people on the Internet and blogs. Like, ‘Oh, you should have done this. You should have done that. And blah blah blah.’ Guess who’s not in the band? You. Shut up, f****t. Seriously. Are you gonna sit there and be like, ‘Ah, I think you should have done this. And I think you should have done that.’ We don’t give a fuck! We did what we wanted to do. So if you don’t like it, s**k a d**k. I don’t care. If you listen to the songs themselves and really base an opinion on the music that you’re listening to without the bias of, ‘I think you should have done this,’ or ‘I think you should have done that,’ or ‘I wanted your next record to sound like this,’ or ‘I wanted that,’ and just listen to the stuff that we wrote, it’s a killer album; it’s great. It’s a really, really well-put-together record. The songs are really strong, the melodies are all really cool, the hooks are there, there’s heavy parts that really kind of pummel you a little bit. It’s really there.”
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER).
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 