Alessandro – DutchMetalManiac https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:56:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.2 https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/cropped-dmm-logo_white-on-transparent-1-150x150.png Alessandro – DutchMetalManiac https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com 32 32 149596927 Review: +MROME+ – Leech Ghetto https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2019/09/review-mrome-leech-ghetto/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2019/09/review-mrome-leech-ghetto/#respond Sun, 08 Sep 2019 10:56:19 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/?p=30717 This record rocks very well! The bands’ second record in a very long time, but well worth the wait.   While The Rogue and Born Old are good, meh-meh kind of good, Anti-Ant Entante, also sporting[...]

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This record rocks very well! The bands’ second record in a very long time, but well worth the wait.  

While The Rogue and Born Old are good, meh-meh kind of good, Anti-Ant Entante, also sporting an ultra-cool name, powers on with some great riffs and choruses! Harsh gravocals but the vox is clear and production quality surprisingly good.

The City of Opax, an excellent intro and pacing, this works great when I’m playing Diablo, (yea I still play it, it’s still awesome).

Coffin Nail… how can a song title like that NOT be cool! It sounds like nails being pounded into wood – great poetry! Humping riffs! Love this!

Detroit Daze – interesting and fits well with the rest of the record – Some power all the way through!

Love the intro bass to Twarz niezawisBa and the off beat of the entire tune. I haven’t looked but what does this mean? Anyone? Some innovative modern stuff. It has a Rammstein vibe to it all the way, and this is a great thing.

Bellies Grow and Primordial Soup are good enders to the record, although truthfully, that’s about enough for me at this stage.

Overall great music!

8/10! Yea!

Here you can read our earlier review of +MROME+’s Noetic Collision on the Roof of Hell.

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Live review: Anvil, A Rebel Few, Chainfall and Demolition Rage at Spot 1, Brampton, Ontario, Canada, October 12th, 2018 https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/10/live-review-anvil-a-rebel-few-chainfall-and-demolition-rage-at-spot-1-brampton-ontario-canada-october-12th-2018/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/10/live-review-anvil-a-rebel-few-chainfall-and-demolition-rage-at-spot-1-brampton-ontario-canada-october-12th-2018/#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2018 19:38:39 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/?p=27960 Sometimes, going in through the outdoor is a good thing. Led Zeppelin thinks so, and, trying to find the main door to the venue, I accidentally walked in on the hammering of Anvil’s soundcheck! I[...]

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Sometimes, going in through the outdoor is a good thing. Led Zeppelin thinks so, and, trying to find the main door to the venue, I accidentally walked in on the hammering of Anvil’s soundcheck! I thought I might be shooed but was welcomed a la True Canadiana, invited to sit at the most excellent swag table and chat and briefly meet with Rob, Christ and Lips!

Lips. Standing in front of this Canadian bastion of perseverance, I could sense the pounding The Master Anvillian had taken over the years as he spoke very forthrightly about the music scene and specifically of ‘friends’ that have come and gone through their career. We connected on that to be sure; the fluidity of how people act when you’re successful and how they truly are when you’re not. It was an excellent conversation, never forgotten.

Sadly, had to share the man with the house of adoring fans and to complete the soundcheck!

Spot 1 is a cool spot! A very nice, homey atmosphere and garage doors that open from the restaurant to the venue! Awesome! The Spot 1 burger is exceptional and big thanks to Kara (? hope that’s right!) and her team for taking such good care of me!

While I sadly missed much of the openers, what I saw and heard from Chainfall and Demolition Rage was nothing but pure guts and hard, sweaty ripper playing! Where the hell have I been, I missed these guys? The local crowd was very knowledgeable and appreciative, especially cowboy hat dude who knew virtually everyone’s lyrics and music. Serious serious fandom and it was refreshing to see! Some killer tunes lads, pulse pounding, fast and tight! Let’s talk more!

We’ve reviewed A Rebel Few before here and they haven’t disappointed yet. The D.I.R.T Bags for Life hammered the small stage with everything they had with a crisp, loud sound.

Finally, Anvil took to the stage, overshadowed by Rob Reiner’s massive drum kit, and thrashing it out with great hits; Metal on Metal, Daggers and Rum, my fave, Badass Rock n Roll which I think I hurt myself rockin’ to. A thumptastic drum solo from Rob also. Christ was animated, hilarious and jived incredibly with Lips, making full use of every inch of small stage. An intricate and talented bassist, he hammered the sound boards and kept the woofers bubbling.

They gave all to every chorus, every song, every note with friendly and raucous banter. Plus a metal edge that clearly has kept them as metal icons all this time. I was so fortunate to be front row, for my first ever, (despite following and supporting the band for many years), and certainly not last Anvil show.

Near perfect set. Just. One. Thing. NO Show Me Your Tits. Maybe I’m reaching but even shouting “Show Me…?” and NO reaction from the audience was its death knell that night. AND, in my view, a horribly over-covered Born to be Wild. A catalog like that???.. ah well, it was done superbly, of course, but, y’know fans and their neediness…

10/10 regardless of the lack of tits, Lips!

Get your Anvil Union card NOW!

You can also read our review of Anvil’s Anvil Is Anvil here.

Anvil Official Website
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A Rebel Few Facebook
A Rebel Few Twitter
Chainfall Facebook
Chainfall Twitter
Demolition Rage Official Website
Demolition Rage Facebook
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Live review: Damn Pigeon at The Rockpile, Toronto, ON, Canada, September 15th, 2018 https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/10/live-review-damn-pigeon-at-the-rockpile-toronto-on-canada-september-15th-2018/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/10/live-review-damn-pigeon-at-the-rockpile-toronto-on-canada-september-15th-2018/#respond Wed, 10 Oct 2018 16:15:59 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/?p=27851 Once again, the Pigeons have come to roost! This time, their first time, at the Rockpile in Toronto, ON Canada! Clearly these boys need a larger stage to perform, but EVERYone must play the Rockpile! This is[...]

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Once again, the Pigeons have come to roost!

This time, their first time, at the Rockpile in Toronto, ON Canada! Clearly these boys need a larger stage to perform, but EVERYone must play the Rockpile! This is an excellent venue to get up close and personal with your band, A host to many when you check out the classic wall of pictures.

The energy is palpable when they play. We are glad for their intro at this iconic metal venue, despite the  smallish crowd, who still gave what they could. I was glad in a way, as I could selfishly obscure people’s line of sight by standing right up there! Hope I didn’t break your vibe too much lads but the musical groove was just too damned good to be sitting down.

A blistering, yet painfully brief set of their classics such as Starlight, the powerful hit title track from Screaming Vibrations, and my favourite Haunted, showcased exceptionally tight playing and all around fun. These boys clearly have something rock n roll to say, and its obvious from their latest release and their previous three.

Oh and you just HAVE to hear Stripper Crotch too. Horrifyingly hilarious and just in time for Halloween.

Of course their standard, searing cover of Rammstein’s Du Hast is always well appreciated.

Like true old school rockers, they had to set up, quick to little to no sound check, deal with me being a googly starstruck fan hanging around, play their asses off, tear down, be polite and courteous to The Swaggers (cool winter beanie!) and  a mid morning 2+ hour drive back to St. Thomas!

They will be playing the Back Alley bar and Grill again November 3, 2018! Check DutchMetalManiac’s review of their last show here!

You can also check our reviews of their albums Whisky Sinners here and Screaming Vibrations here, as well as our interview with them here.

Damn Pigeon Official Website
Damn Pigeon Facebook
Damn Pigeon Twitter

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Live review: Heavy Montreal in Montreal, QC, Canada, July 27th-29th, 2018 https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/09/live-review-heavy-montreal-in-montreal-qc-canada-july-27th-29th-2018/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/09/live-review-heavy-montreal-in-montreal-qc-canada-july-27th-29th-2018/#respond Thu, 20 Sep 2018 11:33:20 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/?p=27667 Much can prepare a person for the unknown, except the reality of things. This grand event, put on at beautiful Parc Jean Drapeau was truly epic, with four massive stages and all the music you[...]

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Much can prepare a person for the unknown, except the reality of things.

This grand event, put on at beautiful Parc Jean Drapeau was truly epic, with four massive stages and all the music you could rock to. Phenomenal weather with one refreshing downpour during Marilyn Manson’s set…that thankfully got him off there (more on that later), all the coldest refreshments you could handle, and of course, poutine. The gorgeous city of Montreal not only knows its metal but its creation of artery-clogging perfection. It was consumed every day, for four days: a simple recipe really, fresh cut fries, cheese curds, gravy, but not just anyone can MAKE it. Topped with Montreal’s famous smoked meat…better than ___________. Add your own word here.

A heartfelt and big thank you to Mitch Lafon, of Rock Talk and Westwood One, our greatest Canadian export, found everywhere at FacebookTwitter, Youtube and Heavy Montreal for making me feel and be a winner of some of the best concert tickets ever!!!

The full line ups can be seen here although I will recount only what we could manage, running between stages and collapsing, moshing, eating, drinking, etc.. 3, 10 hour days isn’t bad, maybe some of you younger folks could have done better!

Thursday 26 July 2018:

Travel and anticipation day! Knew things would go well when the random hotel room booked had the same as the apartment number…with a similar broken door! We were booked across the street from the lottery office, so hoping for good luck, bought some tickets…. guess we keep the day jobs….

Friday 27 July 2018:

Another part of this metal deluge was 77+ Montreal which was not attended but an incredible lineup nonetheless.

Mitch LaFon also kindly, ramped us up with guest list status to Heavy En Ville an incredible night of these amazing bands! A great mix of prog, death and all around fabulous metal! Very cool venue at Les Foufouness Electriques!

Bands featured were: Miss May I, Archspire, First Fragment, The Kennedy Veil, and the very Yes inspired and excellent finger-picking of Sarah Longfeld.

While going in and out of the stages and venturing to the enormous lounge area, discovering my new favourite beverage ‘La Fin Du Monde’ (End of the World) generally speaking and from what I casually saw, these bands offered a great variety of metal, prog and excellent showmanship all around. Some of it was getting a little gravocally for me, but still impressive. The venue was packed and had a very active and appreciative audience. No slouches any of them!

Saturday 28 July 2018: 

Born of Osiris:

The first step into the metal planet found us instantly dragged into ScreamerTown. Hard hitting sound with a great light show, I was impressed having only been peripherally aware of them. Their set list:

  1. Machine
  2. Divergency
  3. Bow Down
  4. The Other Half of Me
  5. Throw Me in the Jungle
  6. Brace Legs
  7. Empires Erased
  8. Silence in the Echo

Lee Aaron 

Next up after a brief run to the other side of the park in time to get front row standing-seats for the still, forever, incredibly talented Lee Aaron. I had a nice banter with Sean Kelly as they were setting up, catching his attention while wearing, as far as I could see, the only Metal On Ice tee in the venue, maybe the province! Yes Sean, I was THAT guy that bought the book! Ha-ha!

Bonus: Also, there as the newest and finest professional photographer for Lee, with a keen eye, picking me out and immortalizing my haggard ass for all eternity. Deadly shot, sir! Big congrats on your new gig Rik! (Check Rik’s amazing photo array of Metal On Ice – he might have the OTHER book!).

Go see this link for incredible pics of Lee Aaron, Rik Emmett (of Triumph), Metal On Ice and more! A great fellow Twitterite and much appreciated for the ‘heavy metal’ love!

Launching into the thick, drenching summer air with Metal Queen got everyone in the mood. Lee was as sensuously talented as always with the same supremely talented band we saw at the Rose Theatre Brampton (live review). On and on the hits kept coming with Some Girls Do, Sex With Love, Diamond Baby, Fire and Gasoline, Hands On, American High, I’m a Woman and finally Whatcha Do To My Body. I think I burned it out this first set….

Sword:

Yet another run, arriving mid performance! Life is now complete having seen these long-standing members of the old school original thrash scene. A last-minute addition, possibly in the stead of RATT, I was completely blown away by this power crunching crescendo of the beautiful chordage. With a small set of the beautifully crafted longer songs of Outa Control, Back Off, The Trouble Is, I’m in Command and of course Stoned Again and FTW were met with resounding applause and respect.

I Prevail:

This was my mantra when we were hurled into the rabid but friendly mosh pit. I haven’t thrown so many people happily around since working the bars, but this was truly fun. An intense group, and while not my style, an absolute pleasure live and the energy was inescapable. Neck snappers like Rise, Come and Get It, Already Dead and Scars kept the metalcore flowing! VERY cool stage setup lads!

Marilyn Manson:

Despite his varied hits and his longevity, The Dope Show (yea, that was a LOT of weed people… kaff kaff!), Say 10, a woeful rendition of The Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (are Made of This), Antichrist Superstar and Beautiful People, this, my first Marilyn Manson show, was not a mOBSCENE for me.

Drab, listless stuff and the cams were centered only on him not his band at any point I saw. I suppose this is his style, but the crowd loved him.  In all due hope, he was feeling better from cancelling the Toronto show due to illness. This might have been a mitigating factor in the lackluster performance.  I personally liked the Heavy Montreal-fall of rain that cut his show short and drenched out the smell of weed and cut the heat that had been adding to already scorching festival!

Rob Zombie:

Absolutely the most overwhelming kick ass, brain draining show I expected. Done under a full blood red moon appropriately enough, this giant tracklist and background show, would please any rocker, any generation any genre. Now one of my all-time fave live shows.

Meet the Creeper
Superbeast
Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.
Living Dead Girl
In the Age of the Consecrated Vampire We All Get High
Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown
More Human Than Human
Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
Scum of the Earth
House of 1000 Corpses
Guitar Solo
Thunder Kiss ’65
School’s Out (Alice Cooper cover)
God of Thunder (KISS cover) (tour debut)
Helter Skelter – Beatles cover with Marilyn Manson

Marilyn seemed to have a bit more energy here, but I think Rob threw him a bone having him come out for some notoriety.  Not a Beatles fan either but they drowned out the Sorrowful Sixties sound of it for a good rendition.

Encore: Dragula

The shows timelines were near exact and well respected by the bands as there was limited time to setup soundcheck (if even) and play. Zombie ended at about 10:45 pm and then it was the exhausting, crowd laden Metro’ ride back. The happy metal-head energy was palpable on the great streets of Montreal. Night Two coming up…

Sunday 29 July 2018:

Ok. I’m feeling the mosh pit now. Even our energy laden, high protein breakfast isn’t going to stave off the aches and pains of this one so easily. Better try La Fin Du Monde instead!

Helix:

Having seen, interviewed, rocked and partied with Helix several times (see our interview, live review and pre-release party review) they always satisfy and amaze with 30+ year boundless energy. No background Helix stage banner interestingly, but then, once you hear Rock You, who else could it be? All their hits in an unfortunately shorter set were included: Wild in the Streets, Feel the Fire, a cool bonus of Danger Zone, When the Hammer Falls, Heavy Metal Love, Deep Cuts the Knife, dedicated to the great Mitch Lafon, and finally of course, Rock You with Vollmer getting out to us as far as the mike cord would allow! The boys all performed with the large stage energy as they are fit to do.

Emmure:

A short jaunt past the stage but this was a decent sound. Very heavy with strong Limp Bizkit overtones, this isn’t my fave, but the team was up to the challenge. Ice Man Confessions was alright, but I doubt I could listen to an entire CD in a row!

Bad Omens:

Some good heavy stuff here and while we stayed for a brief time, what I heard was excellent. Superb energy and playing and there was a great following. The band is tight with great riffs excellent action on stage. The light show was awesome as well for one of the smaller stages. The Worst In Me and Reprise were excellent.

Voivod:

Just…wow. Life is now doubly complete having seen them. My roaring for Jack Luminous was deafening and constant but sadly not played with the limited timeframes. This was still a great set of tracks and for being around for 35 years, there isn’t an inch of live given to anyone in this band.

Post Society
Ravenous Medicine
Psychic Vacuum
Obsolete Beings
The Prow
Order of the Blackguards
Unknown
Voivod

There you are; as many as we could comfortably do with the amount of travel and racing about. The selection is fabulous but there are so many choices and over lapping times, it’s hard to decide. Sometimes, you just gotta sleep!

Sorry to see you in the rear-view mirrors Montreal! Adieu!

An incredible show and experience, thanks once again Monsieur LaFon!

85/10

Photos made by Alessandro

Heavy Montreal Official Website
Heavy Montreal Facebook
Heavy Montreal Twitter
Miss May I Official Website
Miss May I Facebook
Archspire Facebook
Archspire Twitter
First Fragment Facebook
First Fragment Twitter
The Kennedy Veil Facebook
The Kennedy Veil Twitter
Sarah Longfield Facebook
Sarah Longfield Twitter
Born of Osiris Facebook
Born of Osiris Twitter
Lee Aaron Official Website
Lee Aaron Facebook
Lee Aaron Twitter
Sword Official Website
Sword Facebook
I Prevail Official Website
I Prevail Facebook
I Prevail Twitter
Marilyn Manson Official Website
Marilyn Manson Facebook
Marilyn Manson Twitter
Rob Zombie Official Website
Rob Zombie Facebook
Rob Zombie Twitter
Helix Official Website
Helix Facebook
Helix Twitter
Emmure Official Website
Emmure Facebook
Emmure Twitter
Bad Omens Official Website
Bad Omens Facebook
Bad Omens Twitter
Voivod Official Website
Voivod Facebook

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Review: Primal Fear – Apocalypse https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/09/review-primal-fear-apocalypse/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/09/review-primal-fear-apocalypse/#respond Tue, 04 Sep 2018 17:56:01 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/?p=25823 From the sheer excitement of Mat Sinner actually messaging me on Twitter to the second of getting the Primal Fear record Apocalypse it was yet another heavy metal high on whatever road I’m on. The standard[...]

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From the sheer excitement of Mat Sinner actually messaging me on Twitter to the second of getting the Primal Fear record Apocalypse it was yet another heavy metal high on whatever road I’m on.

The standard power metal format we have come to love from this group does not disappoint. There is something comfortably powerful from getting known quality material from a band.

The atmospheric and heavenly sounding intro Apocalypse blending into a blistering New Rise has put this on my already mega-expanding mixtape. Hammering drums and solos and plenty of chugga-chugga here!

The Ritual is a beautiful screamer true to that inimitable PF sound. Rapidly becoming a favourite.

The amazing vox at the start of King of Madness gets you more and more into this sound and the artistic song writing of this band, no matter what genre you are into. A pensive, soulful song… King of Madness… awesome. Beautiful outro.

Blood Sweat and Fear just rocks, plain and simple, easily on my ‘Speed Trap’ mixtape! Power chords and riffs here are the order of the metal day. ‘I’ll never give in!” Check the power scream at 3:53! Yea!

My favourite so far is the slower Supernova, a soul-searing chorus and lighter-inducing chant suitable for live shows, this is an amazing song. The vox’s amazing highs are great, getting those hairs standing on end.

You have to love all the songs with ‘fear’ in them from these lads….it’s awesome. Hail to the Fear simply some of their pinnacle work. Dance with the Devil here with this fist pumping rocker! Leading into the ultra hard Hounds of Justice; so great!

Enough listening to me talk about this; get out and support the band and hear the rest of this now!

Easy 10/10!

Primal Fear Official Website
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Primal Fear Twitter

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Review: Damn Pigeon – Screaming Vibrations https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/08/review-damn-pigeon-screaming-vibrations/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/08/review-damn-pigeon-screaming-vibrations/#respond Wed, 22 Aug 2018 11:20:18 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/?p=25791 Some weeks before the lads released their 4th fab opus on 21st July 2018, Screaming Vibrations, actual pigeons began to roost on my balcony, the first time ever. A good sign of things to come[...]

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Some weeks before the lads released their 4th fab opus on 21st July 2018, Screaming Vibrations, actual pigeons began to roost on my balcony, the first time ever. A good sign of things to come and definitely, and most interestingly, NOT a lot of crap on my deck! None, actually.

Joe Edmiston – guitars, keyboards and backing vocals, Doug Weir – lead vocals, guitars, Steve Proctor – guitars and backing vocals, Jason Latimer – drums and backing vocals, Steve Proud – bass guitars, backing vocals…

…have done it again.

Another 10/10 piece of plastic! Randomly selected: Back Page News is a head bobbing back beat pounder with the familiar, lovely harmonies. Blistering guitar solo and excellent, thoughtful writing, this one really resonates. Love the steady outro at 2:48!

A definite upcoming concert screamer of Hell Yeah is something we can all relate to. Nice scream at 2:23, Doug! Can’t wait to pump air fist to this at the live show at the Rockpile – Toronto, 15 Sept 2018.

Move is a pensive, solid rocker with a message for us all! Never Go Back hits me hard in the heart, love the chorus; haunting and strong as it builds, One Life…. Wow, I think this might be my favourite; a bluesy, hand clapping softer toned song.

The title track suddenly rips you out of your calmness with a driving beat and revving guitars.

There Instead of Here’s mezzo suddenly changes rhythm and almost slides into a death-metal tone at 2:08! A mix of metal, prog rock, haunting vocals is next… how do you guys do it? This might now be my fave track!

No sorry, it’s Time Forgets Your Name… the rhythm change bit with the talk at 2:55…. Um, teared up here; where did your emotional fuel for this bit come from?! A 15/10 on this track alone for me.

This is a super-solid and refined record here with The Pigeons not holding to any style, letting their easily apparent love of music flow naturally. They are hard to nail down, just like any other pigeon.

This record offers a new look at the future, a steady move forward for the band and importantly, more rock to the catalog. Don’t get Unravelled, don’t become Unsane; get the record and more, see them live for a full arena experience in some great, up close venues.

Again, in case you missed it up top, 10/10.

You can also read a live review we wrote of Damn Pigeon here as well as our review of Damn Pigeon’s Whisky Sinners here. In case you also want to read our interview with them, you can do so here.

Damn Pigeon Official Website
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Damn Pigeon Twitter

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Review: Siksided – Leave No Stone Unturned https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/06/review-siksided-leave-no-stone-unturned/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/06/review-siksided-leave-no-stone-unturned/#respond Thu, 07 Jun 2018 11:48:19 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/ontwikkelomgeving/?p=24685 Ciao ragazzi da Trieste! Love the place! Focaccia forever! And your record is just as tasty. I won’t insult you as your briefing memo says (haha) but this is what I’m going to constructively say![...]

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Ciao ragazzi da Trieste! Love the place! Focaccia forever! And your record is just as tasty.

I won’t insult you as your briefing memo says (haha) but this is what I’m going to constructively say!

The opening tune Disposable Livings thunders nicely and has a nice staccato to it. Leaf is excellent as song and great on the mellow day’s playlist. Fragments is a little ploddy for me but awesome scream at 2:31!

Meant To Be is a greatly written piece and a good, relaxing listener. Wicked howl and tempo change at 3:46 and onwards! Great stuff here as you do grunge a better homage than some actual grunge songs themselves!

Sick drum-tro and bass on Charon! A fantastic Tool-like feel to this song and is now my fave! Outstanding, feverish bit at 3:27 till end!

Love the prog length and feel to New Saviour. This is a thorough sound belter that should please any musical taste with its stylish rhythmic changes and harsh-ass vox. I wish there would have been more chug-chugging like at 6:14, but that exit scream at 5:58…yea!

Overall, I like this metalish-fusion record (or whatever) and you’ve clearly put a lot of hard work into it. The vibe is not my usual groove but you hit the right chords of Audioslave, Monster Magnet, Tool, Days of the New and the like. There are some hints of metal but this disc stands in its own category. Darker and gloomier than I’d prefer but very well done and a great listen!

8/10

Siksided Facebook

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Live review: Udo Dirkschneider and Elm Street at Mod Club, Toronto, ON, Canada, February 28th, 2018 https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/03/live-review-udo-dirkschneider-and-e/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/03/live-review-udo-dirkschneider-and-e/#respond Fri, 09 Mar 2018 11:47:00 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/ontwikkelomgeving/uncategorized/live-review-udo-dirkschneider-and-e/ At the modest Mod Club in Toronto, one of the best venues for seeing your favourite bands up close, not a bad seat in the place, I was treated to a thundering metal show starting[...]

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At the modest Mod Club in Toronto, one of the best venues for seeing your favourite bands up close, not a bad seat in the place, I was treated to a thundering metal show starting with Elm Street! These lads from Australia, chock-full of energy and a lovely growling Aussie accent yanked a somewhat sleepy crowd out of their stupor and poured it on! Shredding hits like Heavy Metal Power, Heartracer and Metal is the Way had us jumping appreciatively immediately.

Their power is unavoidable. Quiet Riot’s Bang Your Head, wonderfully thrown in, was a perfect preparation for the main act. DMM has reviewed these boys here; I do think I was the first to see them live!

UDO should be synonymous with ‘thundering bass’ as the band took to the small but homey stage and fired out great classics like Russian Roulette, London Leatherboys, Screaming for a Love Bite, Metal Heart and Balls to the Wall, Princess of the Dawn, and my favourite, which I finally got to see; that ear-piercing scream, Fight it Back! I am also glad for Midnight Mover – a thunderous applause and raucous chanting to this one.

UDO never slowed down, screamed his love bite all night long, and was backed by a powerful group that kept up the tempo for the near 2 hour performance! The band that night: UDO’s son Sven Dirkschneider on drums, Fitty Wienhold bass, Andrey Smirnov and Kasperi Heikkinen on axes. Very entertaining and great audience interactions, other than the “#1 Fans” with those damned phones in the air near every song, it was well worth the money to see them in this intimate venue. A song or two, maybe a 30 second clip, some memoir pics is ok, but “Unless You’re Press”, keep it to a minimum so the Short People like me can see.

A friendly, easygoing but metal hardened crowd looking for classic music was the order of the night!

9/10

Photos by Alessandro

Udo Dirkschneider Official Website
Udo Dirkschneider Facebook
Udo Dirkschneider Twitter
Elm Street Facebook
Elm Street Twitter

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Review: Ryder – For What It’s Worth https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/02/review-ryder-for-what-its-wor/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/02/review-ryder-for-what-its-wor/#respond Wed, 14 Feb 2018 14:21:00 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/ontwikkelomgeving/uncategorized/review-ryder-for-what-its-wor/ For what it’s worth, this is priceless. Already a fan from their live show at The Rockpile Club in Toronto, ON, Canada (check our live review here) this is a brilliant piece with some of[...]

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For what it’s worth, this is priceless. Already a fan from their live show at The Rockpile Club in Toronto, ON, Canada (check our live review here) this is a brilliant piece with some of the old school sound we desperately need in the rock and metal world.

Recorded in Queens, in a smaller venue, you can get up close and personal and when they become more famous you will always be able to show people THAT selfie right at front stage. (Don’t make it a habit though, watch the show willya!).

Being a very picky live revue listener, this one ranks with some of my favourites in terms of production, recording and audience interaction. Well blended, raw, great spots of guitar feedback (can’t get enough of that, can you?) and very ‘live sounding’, this bit is great!

Do or Die was an instant hit with steady audience chants and a solid metal anthem if I ever heard one. Slave to Love and When it All Comes Down are awesome and LOA Club is probably my favourite, with a bluesy, plodding tempo reminiscent of Motörhead’s Lost Woman Blues or Whorehouse Blues excellently-enough!

SO LMAO at the audience banter at 03:43: “Is this fucking Guns n’ Roses after party?” Some great screams too but would have been made more effective if the audience was miked a bit more. Maybe there weren’t that many people either still, a great interaction.

These lads keep on rockin’ and are shooting for the stars, especially now being on the bill for Rocklahoma 2018! Well done, well deserved!

10/10

Ryder Facebook

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Interview: Damn Pigeon https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/02/interview-damn-pigeon/ https://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/2018/02/interview-damn-pigeon/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2018 11:48:00 +0000 http://www.dutchmetalmaniac.com/ontwikkelomgeving/uncategorized/interview-damn-pigeon/ In November 2017, DutchMetalManiac’s Alessandro saw Damn Pigeon perform alongside A Rebel Few of which he wrote this live review. He also reviewed Damn Pigeon’s Whisky Sinners album here. Now you can read his interview[...]

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In November 2017, DutchMetalManiac’s Alessandro saw Damn Pigeon perform alongside A Rebel Few of which he wrote this live review. He also reviewed Damn Pigeon’s Whisky Sinners album here. Now you can read his interview with Damn Pigeon below.

Guys, I’m very honoured to be granted this interview! I want to say again, I love your album and your live show with A Rebel Few (read our live review here) rocked the house down! Hailing from the city of St. Thomas, ON Canada, I am glad to have met you all : Joe Edmiston – guitars and vocals, production, recording and engineering, Doug Weir – guitars and lead vocals, Steve Proctor – guitars, Jason Latimer – drums , Steve Proud (Proudy) – bass guitar. You epitomize the image of the friendly Canadian and honoured us with your visits, swag and good gentle humour.

Thank you – we’re honoured.

How and where’d you meet? Can you tell us about your lineup a little?

Three of us (Edmiston, Proud and Proctor) have known each other since high school. We worked in various local bands until Damn Pigeon was formed in 1991. We had a three-year run, playing covers and ten or so original songs. The band was mothballed for 13 years until we got back together in 2009, ostensibly to make an album of the songs from the nineties. During pre-production work, our dear friend – original singer Steve Phillips – was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We raced to finish the record and Steve passed away a couple of days after its release. While Steve was still with us, we all decided on the need to keep the band going. Steve actually mentioned Doug Weir as a possible replacement, so after we took some time off to grieve and re-group, we basically cold-called Doug to see if he would come out to jam with us. He did, and here we are. In the drummer’s slot, we had a couple of changes following the first album – from Bill Higgs to Dave Wyles. When Dave got too busy with his many musical projects, he recommended Jason Latimer. We called him up, gelled with him immediately – and started right into work on the Re-Coop album.

OK, I need to ask about your band name…hilarious! Where did this come from? Would you concern yourself with potential animal rights activists? (Laughs)

The name actually came from one of those foam-backed trucker hats one of us had seen at a truckstop. Not too worried about animal-rights activists – I mean, it’s not like we’re torturing pigeons on stage or biting off their heads, Ozzy-style. We quite like Pigeons…

Are you all actually friends or is it just business?

Friends for sure!

Is the world a better place with all this new technology for spreading the gift of music or was it better to copy LP’s to cassettes and spread it around?

It’s easier now, but much harder to make a living at it.

Your music is powerful and heavy and sometimes, Top 40’ish, comical yet introspective; how do you achieve this eclectic mix and tell us when and where your best times for inspiration are.

We live in a no rules world when it comes to writing. For years we were all pigeon-holed (excuse the pun) in our past bands to conform to certain genres or were given musical parameters via record companies, with DP we decided to stretch our wings, so to speak. It’s amazing to be able to just come up with what we feel is a good idea and be able to pursue it without feeling like we have to make the song fit our “image”.

Without being disrespectful to your band’s originality, I always like to cite some influences that my ear picks out or I think picks out; do you guys do this when you’re working out your arrangements? Who are some of your influences! Who’s everyone’s favourite band?

We don’t actually spend too much time worrying about who we might sound like – that can stifle creativity through over-analyzing – but yeah, our influences inevitably show through our work. I mean, hey – it’s only rock and roll. An arbitrarily short list of artists we dig and who have influenced us would have to include David Bowie, Rammstein, Disturbed, Slayer, Dream Theatre, Rush, Max Webster, Joe Satriani, Big Wreck, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Judas Priest, Queen, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Styx, Cheap Trick, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa and Jeff Beck. Lots of others, too.

You’re not on a tour schedule as of yet; are there dates lined up for this year?

Not yet – except for a charity show slot in May for The Children’s Wish Foundation – we’re working on a new album. We’d love to get out on some of the summer festival shows this summer though!

I am hearing rumblings of a new record in the future! Can you elaborate?

We’re in the middle of writing and arranging right now, will hopefully begin the recording process soon. Joe has some new toys for the studio that we’re excited about. It looks like we’ll probably have about 10 to 12 songs. In keeping with our nature the songs are coming out in ways we would never have anticipated and this album will be “eclectic” for sure. There’s already a few seriously kicking heavier tunes, which is exciting, as well as some pieces that have defied classification. One of the tunes has provided us with a good potential title too!

I want to thank you so much for taking the time for us!
As we go, give us “Damn Pigeon’s Damnations” for 2018:
1. WW III or Peace on Earth? (The Big Red Button Saga)

We hope the only wars we see this year are between the band members over our beer of choice consumed in the recording of our new album – so, peace! We’re Cold-War Kids – we’ve been through all this before…

2. Aliens Land – Aliens Keep On Going?

We’ve received a few requests from Alpha Centauri for some download PINs for Whisky Sinners so we think they’ll definitely stop by and catch a Pigeon show at least. We’ll say hi for you! It would be interesting to hear what alien music might sound like, it could be really cool…

3. Music Industry Better – Music Industry Worse?

Hopefully better. It would be nice to see the industry figure out an agreeable way to monetize the sale of music and other arts that is fair to both artist and consumer.

4. USA Beer Better – Canadian Beer Better (or Whiskey?) (Sinners, that is)

Canadian beer for sure! There are some great US beers – but if we’re comparing their best to ours – Canadian beers. We do like the US bourbons though…

5. Currently reading….which books?

Gray’s Anatomy (Henry Gray, Henry Van Dyke Carter), M Train (Patti Smith), The Dark Tower Series (Stephen King), War (Gwynne Dyer), The Meaning Of Quantum Physics (Jim Baggot), Voltaire’s Bastards (John Ralston Saul), The Prince Of Nothing Series (R. Scott Bakker) and other books by A. Reynolds, Richard Morgan and James A. Corey.

6. 10 Minutes Left (The Hawaiian Missile Crisis); what would you do?

Crank some tunes, open a beer with a Scotch chaser!

Thank you again for taking important wax making time to talk to me. Do you have any last words for DutchMetalManiac’s readers? Absolute best you all!

A huge thank-you to DutchMetalManiac and staff for the continued support – including yourself, Alessandro – thanks so much! Also, thank you to our supporters all over the world. We are truly humbled by your willingness to lend us your time and attention by listening to, sharing and purchasing our music. And for reading our mind-addled thoughts in great publications such as this. Thanks Tons!

Damn Pigeon Official Website
Damn Pigeon Facebook
Damn Pigeon Twitter

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