Rich’s Rapidfire Recommendations – bite-sized metal morsels to let you know about albums that have grabbed Rich Davenport by the ears, that we hope you’ll enjoy too! ROCK ON!
Band: LEVEL 10 Album: Chapter One Release date: January 27th, 2015 Label: Frontiers Music
Track listing:
Cry No More; Soul Of A Warrior; When The Nighttime Comes; One Way Street; Blasphemy; Last Man On Earth; In For The Kill; Voice Of The Wilderness; All Hope Is Gone; Demonized; The Soul Is Eternal; Forevermore.
LEVEL 10 – CHAPTER ONE. Level 10 is another collaborative project between two Frontiers Records artists, this time fusing the considerable musical might of Mat Sinner (Sinner, Primal Fear) and Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob) with the aim of melding the contemporary edge of Adrenaline Mob with European Power Metal. And the star billing doesn’t end there –Sinner has assembled an illustrious cast of Metal mates to add further weight to the proceedings, with a band featuring Randy Black (ex Primal Fear,) and Alex Beyrodt (on guitar) , Roland Grapow (ex Helloween, Masterplan) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Voodoo Circle), and songwriting contributions from Magnus Karlsson, Ralf Scheepers and Amanda Somerville. Mat’s role as co-ordinator for the annual Rock Meets Classic event, and experience as producer of countless albums over the years, would appear to have given him the skills necessary to bring together such an extensive pool of players and writers, not all located on the same continent, and get the best out of them, forging a cohesive overall sound for the project, which is no mean feat. Across the course of twelve top-drawer songs, Russell Allen’s forceful vocals soar over a barrage of classic Heavy Metal with a 21st century production punch.
If you can imagine the vibe of early Dio with a twist of Tony Martin-era Sabbath, shot through with the musical personalities of the collective Level 10 wrecking crew, you’ll have a ballpark idea of the territory that “Chapter One” inhabits. One of the Metal highlights of the year so far for me!
1. Live And Let Live 2. Communion 3. Vigilante Man 4. Rock City 5. Saviour Machine 6. Something Of The Night 7. All Our Yesterdays 8. Bulletproof 9. Let The Devil Scream 10. Good Times 11. Restless Heart 12. Wicked
Guitar legend Michael Schenker is storming back with a brand new corker of an album, along with his TEMPLE OF ROCK band. Michael describes how he came up with the title for the new album –
“A while ago I was asked how I wanted to be remembered, and I said ‘as a spirit on a mission, spreading the joy of music from a place of pure self expression.’”
During the recording of the album, the studio was broken into and original recordings and guitars were stolen. But that didn’t deter the band, despite making more work, it also made the material stronger.
“Bridge The Gap” was the last album released by the band in 2013 and for this next outing Michael knew exactly what he wanted for “Spirit On A Mission”, including some 7-string guitar for a low, heavy sound.
All the songs were co-written by Michael and vocalist Doogie White, with guitarist and keyboard player Wayne Findlay this time taking on a bigger role by co-writing five songs. “Spirit On A Mission” is the second TEMPLE OF ROCK album to feature the former SCORPIONS rhythm section, Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz.
The album kicks off with my favourite track ‘Live And Let Live’, also the current single, with its fast tempo, full of that classic Schenker sound and heavy riffs, complimented perfectly by Doogie‘s vocals, full of energy. It’s a real feel good song, with a great solo halfway through and also an outro solo. I can’t put my finger on why, but the only song that didn’t stand out immediately for me was the second track, ‘Communion’, but after only a couple of listens, that soon changed.
The first single to be released from the album was third track ‘Vigilante Man’ – another stand out one. Michael‘s vision of “keeping the fast songs rolling like a train with lots of energy” was certainly spot on with this catchy tune full of melody. Next up is ‘Rock City’, the whole arrangement of the song REALLY reminds me of early WHITESNAKE and UFO. Maybe that is no mistake as Michael has also stated that some of the songs have writing more like in his UFO days.
At 5.59, the longest track on the album is ‘Saviour Machine’ – a great heavy one complete with melodic solo in the middle. ‘Something Of The Night’ is excellent, the opening guitar evokes ‘The Flight Of The Bumblebee’, maybe a little Rimsky-Korsakov is reincarnated in Michael! Guitar buffs will love this track I’m certain, Michael‘s skill on the fretboard is just fantastic, especially the Howler sound used here. Combine that with Doogie‘s excellent vocals and it results in the ultimate listening pleasure.
‘All Our Yesterdays’ has a slightly different feel to it, heavy but also flowing, again with great vocals. ‘Bulletproof’ has some great chugging riffs, with a short Flamenco sounding guitar break in the middle of the song. Moving onto ‘Restless Heart’, another fast tempo track with great riffs, what else can you expect really from a band with Michael Schenker at the helm!
Concluding this epic album with a great song in ‘Wicked’, the pace doesn’t let up and is full of melodic heaviness. The professionalism and skill of all the longstanding musicians shines through on this album, along with the outstanding production by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss. Definitely a ‘must’ in any classic rock music lover’s collection.
“Spirit On A Mission” will be released on CD, Deluxe Edition (CD + DVD), Deluxe 180 Gram Vinyl (Special DMM-Cut) and Digital Download.
Artist: THUNDER Album: Wonder Days Label: earMUSIC Release Date: February 16 2015
Tracklisting:
Wonder Days
The Thing I Want
The Rain
Black Water
The Prophet
Resurrection Day
Chasing Shadows
Broken
When The Music Played
Serpentine
I Love The Weekend
If you’re familiar with the band and were wrapped up in the joy which was their debut album “Backstreet Symphony”, then you’ll know roughly what to expect. The UK-based rockers don’t tend to stray from their well-trodden path but do explore different sounds in subtle fashion. This can be witnessed with a moment of lead guitar resembling Rage Against The Machine when you hear a section of the title track.
This album produces some special moments which sit comfortably within their canon of work including the track ‘Black Water’ which was co-written with Lynne Jackaman of Saint Jude Fame. Luke Morley remains firmly behind the creative steering wheel as always for the majority of the album apart from this exception. Other highlights which lurk like diamonds in the mine are ‘Resurrection Day’, the sombre and reflective ‘Broken’ and the swagger of ‘When the Music Played’.
Lyrically the album tackles all manner of human observation and isn’t a departure from what normally bleeds from the fingertips of Morley. Their style of blues-based classic rock remains firmly on the pedestal and as always credit to the lung-busting Daniel Bowes for his lead vocal performance deserves to be noted.
‘Wonder Days – Live’
When age creeps up on an individual, what better way to embrace the momentum of ticking time than to sing about memories and nostalgia? The artwork clearly displays this theme as the band find young versions of themselves and the vibes of the seventies arrive to the fore. You wouldn’t really notice the absence of Ben Matthews either within the recordings although for fans who know the tough health issues he’s been facing in recent times, he’ll be welcomed back in the fold once he’s fully recovered from his cancer treatment.
“Wonder Days” is a strong album as you’d expect from a hard working band who invest a lot of experience and pride in their musical output. The album overall contains a slightly more mature and fresh vibe with production values adding some meat to the bone for the sound. For those who weren’t too impressed with the tinny sound of guitars on their previous 2008 studio affair called “BANG!”, this is positive news.
Whether you wish to dance to songs like ‘The Thing I Want’ or ‘I Love The Weekend’ or maybe wish to nestle into something slower like ‘The Rain’, there are sufficient varying shades of what constitute blues-based rock music. It’s good to have a solid band with five strong musicians back in action together.
Perhaps you were shocked when you saw or heard that Tenacious D won a Grammy award in the “Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance” category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 57th annual Grammy Awards, or maybe not?! And since last night I have read many sarcastic, angry, complicated, reasonable and also nonsensical comments and jokes about it on the social networks and that it was just like last year and the year before that…. “Every year people say that the Grammys don’t mean shit and yet every year they pay attention to it and get angry.” An Iranian metal fan, Saman, commented “Next year Taylor Swift will win the best metal performance and I will not be shocked.” But there is a point which is mostly missed here, Who Should Be Blamed For This Lack Of Knowledge About Metal Music In The Grammys Award Team? Do we really need to blame them, or blame anyone? Or maybe we are just ignoring something?
I believe we cannot critique something without at least a little knowledge about it. So I suggest you continue reading this paragraph to find out more. First of all, the Grammy, is an accolade given by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States, to recognise outstanding achievement in the music industry?! But where does that nominees list come from? Obviously not from “Hell” or “Another Universe”. Record companies and individuals may submit recordings to be nominated. Once a work is entered, reviewing sessions are held, by more than 150 experts from the recording industry, to determine whether the work is eligible and then entered in the correct category for official nomination. Then it will be down to NARAS members to decide, the five recordings that earn the most votes in each category become the nominees. For the final step, the lists are sent to Recording Academy members, who may then vote in the general fields and in no more than eight of the 30 fields. NARAS members are encouraged, but not required, to vote only in their fields of expertise. I think you may have got the point by now!
Perhaps you have noticed two main points from the information above and that is where I want to begin and for us to remember our responsibilities and duties as metal lovers. First, are our record companies doing their job perfectly? Do they send their records from their best and successful artists to the Grammys? For example, have Nuclear Blast, which is the biggest and most honourable record label in our family, mentioned for example ACCEPT, “Blind Rage” and the band’s performance to the Grammys? As I know ACCEPT had a great year by releasing the successful “Blind Rage” album and also a fantastic tour. I did not hear of anyone being unhappy at an ACCEPT show! Well, maybe Nuclear Blast did or maybe not, we don’t know, but I would like to suggest here to all rock and metal record companies, to reveal the list of the artists who have been sent to the Grammys every year. So we will know who is there and who is not.
The second point is that who are those 150 experts? Do they know metal music? Do we have any of our members there? I believe not, or maybe not enough to stop Tenacious D winning. This is a complicated subject but I think we still can do something about it. “Right is taken, not given” and so I suggest a kind of campaign to let the Grammy editors know that we have some more than qualified experts in our family who should be on their experts list. I think some of our journalists and writers such as Alexander Milas and Martin Popoff, everyone from Metal Hammer, Terrorizer and other very well known magazines, and also some of our very active musicians such as Andy Sneap are very capable of that. Then we could be sure that there are some true metal experts who could champion Ronnie James Dio and every artist like him, while they are still alive!
Now there is a question here; why has the metal music industry been so passive against the main stream events, especially one such as the Grammys, for all these years? I cannot remember seeing any complaint comments from any major or tiny metal record company. Is it because of our lack of self-confidence? Or is it because we think we are a separated part of society? Or maybe it is just because we were happy with what we had and we have a lack of Ambition?! I don’t know, but I think these are some good questions which maybe some sociologists and psychologists can answer. But for now, I am sending this WARNING alert to all of you, that if we carry on being passive like this, we will see our industry dead one day, unless record labels, magazines, festivals and fans join the forces to “Stand up and shout.” Main stream music should learn about true metal music. “To arms my brothers and sisters, to arms!”
In the end, I would like to say that the Grammy Awards is a big event which we cannot ignore easily. It could be another opportunity for us to awaken those sleepers who have still not discovered the mightiness of metal music and it so worth fighting for it. You cannot say “the Grammys means nothing” just because you are not happy with its winners and also we can not always blame others when we are ourselves are very passive. The human brain is a strange thing but it’s exactly the border between humanity and animals. Let’s find a reasonable solution instead of hateful comments. As my final word, I would like to send my congratulations to the true and only Voice Of Metal, Ronnie James Dio, whose name was mentioned again in a big event, even when he is not with us physically. Long live the magic of Ronnie James Dio! Long live METAL!
Anaheim, California is known for the original “Happiest place on Earth” Disneyland location, but for Four days in January, that title moves over to the Anaheim Convention Center as it hosts The Annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show. This is a dream Toy Store for anyone that is even remotely connected to the music industry. Every faction of the Industry congregates here to make magic happen. Music of old is honored, the present is inspired and the future is confirmed. Music entrepreneurs from over 100 countries attended this year’s event. In the 114 year history of NAMM, this year saw a record breaking 1,621 exhibitors.
“In an unpredictable and chaotic marketplace, the NAMM Show has become the reliable and predictable platform where our members can come for business, education and inspiration,” said NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. “ This year saw a record 99,342 NAMM Show registrants, the largest gathering in NAMM Show history.”
Paradise? Let’s see, everything you can ever want and/or dream of for your musical palate is presented at this event. Perhaps you’ll enjoy a one on one conversation with some of your favorite musicians and talk about common interests, influences….. or who makes the best coffee! As evening sets in, you have an endless choice of parties to attend. High profile musicians hit the stages from Hollywood to the Orange County beach communities. This year’s shows included star studded events such as The Bonzo Bash (tribute to John Bonham), Randy Rhoads Remembered and Metal Allegiance, which made their jamming premier on the inaugural voyage of Motorhead’s Motorboat, performed at the House of Blues and featured Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Scott Ian (Anthrax), Chuck Billy and Alex Skolnick (Testament),David Ellefson (Megadeth), Chris Broderick (formerly of Megadeth), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs), and John Tempesta (The Cult). This year marked key anniversaries for some. ESP is celebrating their 40th anniversary; Peavey celebrated their 50th anniversary at the Hilton, adjacent to the Convention Center that included performances by Blue Oyster Cult and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Michael Anthony of Van Halen/Chickenfoot fame, sat in on Bass for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band even performed Van Halen’s ‘Aint Talking ‘Bout Love’ .
The Annual NAMM TEC AWARDS celebrated their 30th anniversary which was held on January 24th. The professional audio and music production industry’s most prestigious awards celebrate excellence in 30 creative and technical achievement categories. The Les Paul Award, the evening’s highest honor award, was presented to Iconic guitarist SLASH, who also rocked the house that evening.
One thing you can count on at a NAMM event…. “Expect the Unexpected”. Here’s one of those moments with Bassist Rudy Sarzo, known for his works with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, DIO and Blue Oyster Cult. Rudy stops by the Jackson Guitar exhibit to have a little fun:
We had a chance to do several brief interviews which included Peter Baltes of ACCEPT. The band finished their first leg of touring in December. Peter says they will start their second leg in April and they hope to come back to the States in the fall of 2015. New material is already churning and the band would like to take the same approach as they did with their latest release “Blind Rage”. Alex Skolnick of Testament gave us a breakdown of his busy schedule while at NAMM. Dave Ellefson of Megadeth advised that Megadeth is working on new material, but is unable to discuss the line up as it is still being worked out and an official release will follow soon. Dave Ellefson is also currently working on new material with Frank Bello of Anthrax for their Altitudes and Attitude band. Roy Z, known for his guitar contributions to such artists as Bruce Dickinson, Halford and Judas Priest is only a short list of his achievements. Roy is currently working with his band Tribe Of Gypsies and has also been working with Australian band Octanic , Jupiter Falls out of England and Magnotauro from Mexico. Now that’s some international love there! Mark Zavon of Kill Devil Hill says he’s looking forward to getting back in the studio with the rest of the band for their third studio release. They may start laying down tracks in five to six weeks. Uli John Roth is releasing “Scorpions Revisted”. Uli says he picked out his personal favorite early Scorpions songs and re-recorded them live. Uli will be traveling to Japan in February to perform at Sun Plaza hall, where the “Scorpions Tokyo Tapes” were recorded in April of 1978 (Uli’s last performances with the Scorpions). Uli says the performance will be filmed for a DVD.
You can view these video interviews as well as the product interviews via the video links:
I’ll tap on a couple of new releases this year at NAMM. Any attempt to squeeze in more products would result in mind combustion. Fender will be releasing a new line of signature series which include the Steve Harris Precision Bass in his famously regal gloss white finish complete with special pinstriping, mirrored pickguard and West Ham United F.C. crest. Other ironclad features include a single powerful Seymour Duncan Steve Harris signature model pickup, Fender High Mass bridge, Rotosound Steve Harris Signature flat-wound strings and Harris’s signature on the back of the headstock. Available February 17, 2015.
A new version of the Signature Geddy Lee Jazz Bass will be released March 12, 2015. This new version combines the specs and features of Lee’s three favorite basses—two Fender Custom Shop versions of his signature model and the original sleek black ’72 Jazz Bass. The neck has a thicker custom profile, topped by a maple fingerboard with white binding and white pearloid block inlays. Its two vintage-style single-coil Jazz Bass pickups are specially wound and voiced to sound like those on Lee’s prized 1972 original, and a Geddy Lee Signature High-Mass bridge provides rock-solid intonation.
Schecter have three new releases this year:
The Platinum series, which features sleek satin finishes and comes in a new aggressive S-II body style.
The Banshee Elite, which is the neck thru everyone’s been waiting for and is equipped with an exclusive Floyd Rose series bridge as well as handmade Custom shop pickups: Supercharger Mach series and Brimstone.
The Hellraiser has been the staple of Schecter and their new release aims to please those that desire passive tone. Schecter Handmade CustomShop Brimstone pickups are their answer to the demand. It also comes with an Exclusive Floyd Rose.
For more specs on these products including Jackson-Charvel, you can view the video link:
NAMM can be mind boggling, every instrument is represented here. There are also educational/Tutorial workshops throughout the event, Clinics featuring some of music’s most renowned artists. If one were to walk the entire floor plan, they would have completed an approximate 28 mile (45km) stroll.
So what can NAMM offer? The leading edge of music products and technology would be one. Inspiration? Definitely, but there is another that I found so evident while roaming the endless sea of exhibits and trekking through the gauntlet of “Drum” alley….it’s Joy, there was pure joy throughout. Laughter abounded, strangers seemed like old friends, and people would go the extra mile to assist you. It did seem to be the “happiest place on Earth”. Bringing a hundred thousand people together in a musical environment and the result is Chaotic euphoria….and there you have it, a simple solution to world peace! So maybe establishing such an environment is paradise after all.
Interviews And Recordings By Sandy Storm And Bobby HQ Storm
NAMM 2015 took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, California, USA from 22-25th January. Luckily for Metal Shock Finland, husband and wife team Sandy and Bobby HQ Storm were there to get into the heart of NAMM and report back all the news from many big names in metal, along with an insight into all the latest instruments and innovations available.
Included in this report, which you can see on the video below are guitarists Alex Skolnick, David Ellefson, Mark Zavon and Roy Z. Ramirez, as well as one of the Fender experts showcasing the newest signature bass guitar for Geddy Lee.
Alex Skolnick told of the busy time he was having at NAMM, with ESP clinics and he had played with the METAL ALLEGIANCE tribute the previous night at the House Of Blues, also the Randy Rhoads remembrance show.
David Ellefson stated that MEGADETH have “new stuff developing, working on a new album” as well as mentioning working with ANTHRAX bass player Frank Bello “working on new songs for our “Altitudes and Attitudes” record“.
Mark Zavon from KILL DEVIL HILL discussed that the band “has been writing and getting ready to start tracking in five or six weeks. We’re looking forward to putting out some new stuff and touring.”
Roy Z. Ramirez enthused about his current project TRIBE OF GYPSIES and also revealed that he is “thinking about doing another group – a hard rock/stoner type of thing“, then he also mentioned bands he is working with at the moment.
Check out the interviews and clips of NAMM on the video below:
Sandy With Mark Zavon, KILL DEVIL HILL, NAMM 2015
Chief Shock Video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Band: LEVEL 10
Artist: MICHAEL SCHENKER’S TEMPLE OF ROCK
Artist: THUNDER 
Anaheim, California is known for the original “Happiest place on Earth” Disneyland location, but for Four days in January, that title moves over to the Anaheim Convention Center as it hosts The Annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show. This is a dream Toy Store for anyone that is even remotely connected to the music industry. Every faction of the Industry congregates here to make magic happen. Music of old is honored, the present is inspired and the future is confirmed. Music entrepreneurs from over 100 countries attended this year’s event. In the 114 year history of NAMM, this year saw a record breaking 1,621 exhibitors.
This year marked key anniversaries for some. ESP is celebrating their 40th anniversary; Peavey celebrated their 50th anniversary at the Hilton, adjacent to the Convention Center that included performances by Blue Oyster Cult and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Michael Anthony of Van Halen/Chickenfoot fame, sat in on Bass for Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band even performed Van Halen’s ‘Aint Talking ‘Bout Love’ .
NAMM 2015 took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, California, USA from 22-25th January. Luckily for Metal Shock Finland, husband and wife team Sandy and Bobby HQ Storm were there to get into the heart of NAMM and report back all the news from many big names in metal, along with an insight into all the latest instruments and innovations available.
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 