Tag Archives: russell allen

Concert Review – Symphony X (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 05/24/2024)

Posted on by
Reply

The city of Toronto had the pleasure of witnessing one of the most technical, progressive and vibrant metal concerts of the year this Friday night, courtesy of two old school bands who nurture a deep passion for heavy music.

OPENING ACT: Heathen

Friday was not only one of the best days of the year in terms of weather, but the city of Toronto also had the utmost pleasure of hosting one of the most technical, progressive and vibrant metal concerts of the year thanks to the stellar performance by HEATHEN and SYMPHONY X during their North American Tour 2024 at the cozy, well-located and pretty much sold out The Opera House, and I’m pretty sure all fans who were at the venue had a relaxing morning the day after with huge smiles on their faces as both bands kicked some serious ass on stage. My buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi also had a great time taking his amazing shots during the entire night, as the lighting was near perfect and there was no smoke to “disturb” his practice, which was also great for the crowd as we could perfectly witness the superb performances by each and every musician from both bands on stage, shredding their instruments with their beyond refined techniques and an absolute passion for heavy music.

The opening band, or maybe I should say the more-than-special guests, were San Francisco, California-based Technical Speed/Thrash Metal veterans HEATHEN, who were insanely heavy and flawless on stage during their breathtaking performance, properly warming up all fans for the main attraction of the night. Those guys are so good in what they do to the point that you could close your eyes and it would feel like you were listening to the studio versions of their songs, just to illustrate how precise all band members were in Toronto. I dare to say the most excited of all musicians was definitely Kitchener, Ontario’s own Kyle Edissi (vocalist and guitarist for Canadian Melodic Thrash Metal band Invicta, who has been playing live with Heathen since 2022), as it was his first time ever playing at a venue he had already been to countless times as a regular fan to see some of his favorite bands. It was a dream come true for him, no doubt about that, helping his bandmates David R. White (what a voice, my friends!), Kragen Lum, Jason Mirza and Ryan Idris hammer our heads with infuriated songs the likes of Opiate of the Masses, The Blight and Breaking the Silence. I only wish there were a few mosh pits to make things even more fun, but the show was simply awesome and I highly recommend you go see Heathen live if you haven’t done so already in your life.

Setlist
Rock Bottom (UFO song)
Intro
Dying Season
Opiate of the Masses
Empire of the Blind
The Blight
Breaking the Silence
Hypnotized

Band members
David R. White – vocals
Kragen Lum – guitars
Kyle Edissi – guitars
Jason Mirza – bass
Ryan Idris – drums

SYMPHONY X

After a short and sweet break, the band everyone was waiting for hit the stage for one of the most tight and precise performances of the year for the delight of all concert goers. I’m talking about Middletown, New Jersey’s Progressive Power Metal institution SYMPHONY X, and let me tell you that the band formed of the iconic Russell Allen on vocals, Michael Romeo on the guitars, Mike LePond on bass, Michael Pinnella on the keyboards and Jason Rullo on drums redefined the meaning of “perfection” at The Opera House this Friday. What a sensational show by those veterans, who by the way sounded like they were in their early twenties in terms of energy and onstage presence, proving once again how heavy music can keep us a lot younger for a much longer time, right?

Although those guys haven’t released anything new since their excellent 2015 album Underworld, their entire setlist felt very modern and fresh, with songs like Serpent’s Kiss, To Hell and Back and Evolution (The Grand Design) driving their fans wild to the point we got some sick mosh pits in the middle of the floor section, something that made Mr. Russell Allen and his crew very happy and entertained. I guess they weren’t expecting that level of action during a Progressive Metal concert. And speaking about Russell, the man was on fire throughout their entire set, not only delivering his trademark, stunning vocal lines, but also dancing nonstop, having a few beers and interacting more than any other metal vocalist in the world with each and every fan at the venue, an amazing way of Russell and the band to say how much they love their fanbase. Needless to say, when the band hit the encore with the classics Paradise Lost, Run With the Devil and Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies), it was pure madness, leaving everyone eager for more Symphony X in the city in the near future. Well, they said they’re (finally) working on new material after almost a decade, so I guess we can expect to see them embellishing the Torontonian airwaves again really soon with another majestic live concert.

Setlist
Iconoclast
Nevermore
Inferno (Unleash the Fire)
Serpent’s Kiss
Without You
To Hell and Back
Dehumanized
Evolution (The Grand Design)
Sea of Lies

Encore:
Keyboard Solo
Paradise Lost
Run With the Devil
Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)
The Throne Room (John Williams song)

Band members
Russell Allen – vocals
Michael Romeo – guitars
Mike LePond – bass
Michael Pinnella – keyboards
Jason Rullo – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Album Review – Adrenaline Mob / Men of Honor (2014)

Posted on by
Reply

How to waste time and talent from exceptional musicians in a supergroup.

Rating7

amob_men of honorThe world of the so-called supergroups is a mixed bag of awesome bands such as Velvet Revolver, Chickenfoot and Charred Walls of the Damned, but at the same time lots of terrible ideas like Zwan, Loaded and Symfonia, which makes many fans kind of skeptical when their biggest idols decide to join some other famous musicians in a new music journey. We can say that Adrenaline Mob, the supergroup formed by Russell Allen (Symphony X), Mike Orlando, John Moyer (Disturbed) and A.J. Pero (Twisted Sister), is part of the “bad ideas” group: it is just a regular Hard Rock project were all musicians seem to be underutilized. That generic musicality was the main issue with their debut album Omertà, and now the same happens with their second full-length album, Men of Honor.

After the departure of Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater), fans and the media were asking what would be of the band and if they would create something really different and unique in their future releases. Although I’ve never been a fan of Portnoy (I truly prefer drummers with more feeling like Nicko McBrain, Clive Burr, Dave Lombardo and Jörg Michael), I must admit A. J. Pero didn’t make much of a difference in Adrenaline Mob’s music. The album starts in a promising way with Mob Is Back, a pure Hard Rock song with very interesting solos and rhythm, but then it gets too generic with Come on Get Up, which despite its heavy riff offers nothing new, and Dearly Departed, one of the worst of the whole album.

amobThings do not get better with Behind These Eyes, a very boring semi-acoustic ballad made for radio, nor with Let It Go, which bass lines remind me of some Disturbed songs. The next track, Feel the Adrenaline, is the heavier one of the album, and its nice bass lines and chorus make it the best song of the album by far. The title-track, Men of Honor, is another forgettable generic Hard Rock song, while the ballad Crystal Clear is so boring it seems the band really wanted to torture us with it. Fortunately, the band wakes up in House of Lies, but again nothing that would blow our minds creatively speaking.

The last two tracks of the album are Judgment Day, which has a cool intro, heavy riffs, and even sounds like some good tunes from Chrome Division, and Fallin’ to Pieces,  one more torturing ballad to complete our disappointment with the album. And that’s it, there’s not much else to say about Men of Honor, except that the album art looks exactly the same as their previous release and that the lyrics mean absolutely nothing.

In my opinion, Men of Honor is slightly better than its predecessor (maybe due to the departure of the overrated Portnoy?), but again it doesn’t offer anything new to the audience. It’s unfortunately a waste of talent of all musicians involved: it might not be bad music, but we know those guys can generate something a lot more complex and interesting than some generic Hard Rock any amateur band can do.

Best moments of the album: Mob Is Back and Feel the Adrenaline.

Worst moments of the album: Deadly Departed, Behind These Eyes and Crystal Clear.

Released in 2014 Century Media

Track listing
1. Mob Is Back 4:34
2. Come on Get Up 4:12
3. Dearly Departed 4:57
4. Behind These Eyes 5:35
5. Let It Go 3:54
6. Feel the Adrenaline 5:56
7. Men of Honor 4:26
8. Crystal Clear 5:03
9. House of Lies 3:56
10. Judgment Day 4:06
11. Fallin’ to Pieces 4:57

Bonus track
12. Crystal Clear (Acoustic Version) 5:03

Band members
Russell Allen – lead vocals
Mike Orlando – guitar
John Moyer – bass
A. J. Pero – drums

Album Review – Iced Earth / Plagues of Babylon (2014)

Posted on by
1

Jon Schaffer & Co. deliver the fans another excellent traditional Heavy Metal album.

Rating4

Iced Earth - Plagues of Babylon (2014)Based on one of the first releases of the year, the album Plagues of Babylon from the American Heavy Metal band Iced Earth, it looks like 2014 will be very promising for the world of heavy music. It’s not a masterpiece, nor even the best album of the band’s solid career, but it sure is a pretty good Heavy Metal album. After the interesting Dystopia (2011), which marked the debut of Stu Block on vocals, Iced Earth suffer a few more lineup changes now (again, and again, and again…) with Luke Appleton and Raphael Saini debuting on bass and drums, respectively. All those changes usually affect the quality of the music of any band, or at least the continuity of the work done, but fortunately the final result in Plagues of Babylon is above average and the changes are barely noticed.

Half of the songs in the album follow the “Something Wicked” concept, according to Jon Schaffer, while the rest have no connection to it (which doesn’t mean they’re not interesting songs). The band sets the bar really high with the opening track, Plagues of Babylon, with its imposing start/intro, awesome chorus (“So if you’re asking yourself, why? / Your eyes are blind to the raging storm / Will they cleanse the Earth of humanity? / Unleash the Plagues of Babylon?”), and almost 8 minutes of pure Iced Earth always led by Jon Schaffer’s unparalleled riffs. And is it Stu or Matt Barlow on vocals? It’s hard to tell sometimes. Democide has another “marching” intro, as if the band was getting “ready for war”, and its fast rhythm full of Thrash Metal elements will surely turn it into a fan favorite.

Plagues of Babylon continues with The Culling, which is a regular song with a nice solo, but nothing compared to the previous tracks, and the great Among the Living Dead with the one and only Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) also on lead vocals. It’s a powerful song with stunning riffs and variations, making it the best of the album in my opinion. In Resistance, Stu sounds less like Matt, and it’s interesting to see how Jon tried to create an epic song here with a “Babylonian” heavy riff. The End? sounds like some of the old Iced Earth songs; however, it’s too long and becomes boring after a while.

The second half of the album begins with If I Could See You, a beautiful semi-acoustic ballad with a great job done by Stu, despite its extremely mellow cliché lyrics. And here comes Jon Schaffer with one more epic song with over 6 minutes, Cthulhu, but it lacks more creativity and energy. Peacemaker is traditional Iced Earth (so traditional Stu sounds exactly like Matt here): I enjoyed a lot the guitar solos in this track, but again Jon could have added more creativity into it to make the overall result even better.

icedearthpromo2013Parasite offers absolutely nothing new: it’s just filler and probably the worst song of all. On the other hand, Spirit of the Times puts the album back on track, and you must agree with me that Jon not only loves Heavy Metal ballads but also knows how to create some very good ones. Then comes a weird cover for the song Highwayman, from American songwriter Jimmy Webb, with Michael Poulsen (Volbeat) and Russell Allen (Symphony X) on lead and backing vocals together with Jon Schaffer, and finally an outro so stupid that I prefer not to talk about it.

Last but not least, Plagues of Babylon has an astounding front cover, featuring Iced Earth’s unique mascot Set Abominae with his army of living dead. It’s pure art, a brilliant concept, and I just love it. Furthermore, you can stream the full album here on Iced Earth’s official website through the app Spotify, and start getting used to the songs before it’s actually released and you can buy your physical copy of it, and before their 2014 world tour, with many dates across the USA and Canada including a concert in Toronto on Monday, April 14.

To sum up, the partnership between Jon Schaffer and Stu Block seems to be working very well in the past few years, and the powerful music in Plagues of Babylon is a good example of it. As I mentioned before, if most of the releases in 2014 are as good as this album, then we metalheads will have a very happy headbanging year.

Best moments of the album: Plagues of Babylon, Democide and Among the Living Dead.

Worst moments of the album: The Culling, The End? and Parasite.

Released in 2014 Platinum Dragon Germany GmbH/Century Media

Track listing
1. Plagues of Babylon 7:48
2. Democide 5:23
3. The Culling 4:27
4. Among the Living Dead 5:15
5. Resistance 5:00
6. The End? 7:14
7. If I Could See You 3:56
8. Cthulhu 6:05
9. Peacemaker 5:02
10. Parasite 3:30
11. Spirit of the Times 5:06
12. Highwayman 3:13
13. Outro 0:25

Band members
Jon Schaffer – rhythm, acoustic & lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Highwayman”
Troy Seele – lead guitar
Stu Block – lead vocals, backing vocals
Luke Appleton – bass guitar
Raphael Saini – drums