Come along and take away a bit of kick-ass British Rock N’ Roll.
Let’s take a short and sweet break from all the insanity and devastation that usually blasts from The Headbanging Moose and chill out to the dancing music by British Hard Rock/Rock N’ Roll group Free From Gravity. Highly inspired by classics such as The Who, Eric Clapton and The Beatles, among other renowned artists who have showed the world the beauty of a catchy chorus, of melodious but punky guitars and obviously of those famous yeah-yeah-yeah’s, Free From Gravity play what they call “Kick Assed Chilled Out Rock” (or Soft Rock with Attitude), and that’s exactly what you’ll find in each one of the four compositions that together give life to Saints and Sinners, the brand new EP by this classy four-piece act from Portsmouth, a large port city located on the south coast of the UK.
Led by vocalist and guitarist Vince Barnes, Free From Gravity are affiliated to Yes To Life, a cancer charity dedicated to helping people find complementary and alternative medicines to combat cancer, also inspiring Vince and his crew to write music as you can see in their debut single The Long Road (see more details HERE). That alone is already enough for all of us headbangers to give all our respect to the band, but add to that their professionalism, their dexterity with their instruments and their passion for rock music and there you have the perfect recipe for awesomeness.
The frist song of the EP, titled Crazy Lady, feels like a journey back to the 60’s and 70’s when Psychedelic Rock (or just Rock N’ Roll if you prefer) the likes of The Beatles and The Who dominated the entire world. Vince Barnes has that smooth type of voice perfect for telling a story through music, not to mention the song’s yeah-yeah-yeah’s, and I truly love the deep sound emanating from Lewis Trickett’s bass throughout the entire song. Faster and heavier, Dance with Me is a traditional British Rock N’ Roll tune where Vince and lead guitarist Tony “ToneDeff” Bennett put us all to dance with their electrified riffs and extremely catchy chorus, with the outstanding guitar solo by Tony adding a lot of energy to the music. Hence, I’m pretty sure this fun song will pump up the crowd during their live performances.
A Hard Rock name like Saints and Sinners obviously demanded a Hard Rock vibe, and that’s what the entire band effectively offers to the listener in this case. Drummer TJ Jackson keeps the fuel flowing through the band’s engine with his crisp beats, with Tony once again firing an excellent guitar solo while backing vocals nicely complement the vocal lines by Vince. I want to see more of this wilder side of Free From Gravity, letting their Southern Rock-ish vein flourish even more in their future compositions. And there’s more traditional Brit Rock for you embraced by a 60’s/70’s aura named Step into the Sunlight, a recommended song to listen on the road where Vince and Tony once again deliver some exciting guitar lines and solos, leaving the doors open for more Free From Gravity in a near future (perhaps with their first full-length album).
Not only you can connect with Free From Gravity through their Facebook page, YouTube channel and SoundCloud, as well as purchase their EP at the CD Baby webstore or on Amazon, but if you live near Portsmouth you can also see the band performing live in what’s known as “guerrilla gigs” across the south coast of England. The exact location of those gigs will be kept a secret, with the band announcing each one only hour ahead of time on Facebook (which means fans will need to keep a keen eye on their Facebook page). As all members from Free From Gravity are fully behind the philosophy “Come Along And Take Away A Bit Of Magic”, why don’t you help them “fight” those guerrillas while enjoying their kick-ass Rock N’ Roll? I’m sure you’ll have a very good time doing that.
Best moments of the album: Saints and Sinners.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 Independent
Track listing 1. Crazy Lady 4:47
2. Dance with Me 4:49
3. Saints and Sinners 3:47
4. Step into the Sunlight 4:40
Band members Vince Barnes – vocals, rhythm guitar
Tony “ToneDeff” Bennett – lead guitar
Lewis Trickett – bass guitar
TJ Jackson – drums
Enjoy this outburst of different emotions and feelings, embraced by the heavy sounds of Post-Metal and the delicate but obscure ambience of Atmospheric Black Metal.
The album I’m going to talk about belongs to one of those bands that are capable of transforming all the ravage, darkness and anger of raw Black Metal into daintiness and melancholy without losing that inner aggressiveness necessary in good extreme music. However, don’t ask any of the members from British Atmospheric Black/Post-Metal act Cairiss how exactly they do that, as there’s no magic formula to reach the musicality presented in their debut EP entitled Fall. They simply let their hearts guide their creativity, resulting into an outburst of different emotions and feelings embraced by heavy passages, piercing sounds and a delicate ambience.
Founded in Southampton, UK in 2013 by guitarist Ethan Bishop in collaboration with his partner, vocalist Freyja Brown, this promising female-fronted band released their first demo track, named Disgraced (one of the songs from the EP, by the way) in 2014, which has generated so far over 80,000 views on YouTube and over 600 downloads via their Bandcamp page. Highly influenced by bands such as Opeth and Alcest, Cairiss offer in Fall a 30-minute passionate voyage through the worlds of Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal split in three distinct compositions, all wrapped up by a dark and minimalist artwork designed by Freyja herself.
For The Lives He Stole, with its serene and charming piano notes, brings forward a soothing ambience that gradually moves to a heavier sounding beautifully enhanced by the smooth voice of Freyja, suddenly exploding into demonic growls and, consequently, reminding me of the contemporary music by Danish one-woman project Myrkur. Furthermore, Ethan and his bandmate Martin Williams do a great job on guitars, firing melancholy and pain through their riffs while drummer Connor Frapwell adds his share of Doom Metal and Atmospheric Doom to the musicality with his hefty beats. Not only that, the slow and somber breaks and soulful guitar solos are more-than-welcome ingredients to this 12-minute aria, with the darkness contained in the musicality growing until the song’s introspective ending.
Strong emotions arise when the classy chant Disgraced, their aforementioned debut single, kicks off with beautiful Doom Metal riffs boosting its obscurity while its angelic ambience brings peace to our hearts. In this precise fusion of traditional Black Metal and Atmospheric Black Metal, the amazing Freyja ranges from the most charming clean vocals to pure hellish screeches (which obviously bring with them some traditional blast beats by Connor to properly blacken the whole composition), turning this into the most complete, exciting and well-crafted of the three tracks in Fall.
Last but not least, we have the title-track, Fall, a delicate Post-Metal composition focused on the smooth vocals by Freyja accompanied by some acoustic guitar lines and a calm environment. It’s undoubtedly the least Black Metal of all songs, getting closer instead to being a soundtrack to a drama movie with a touching ending. In other words, this is another taste of the uniqueness this talented band is capable of delivering to fans of complex and heavy music, leaving the doors open for more of their stylish Post-Metal in a not-so-distant future.
Which surprises the minds of Ethan and Freyja have for us as Cairiss evolve as a band only time will tell, but in the meantime there’s already a lot to relish in Fall, which can be listened in its entirety on their YouTube channel and purchased at their BandCamp page or on iTunes. Let’s just hope the wait for the next step in their career doesn’t take too long and that they release either another EP or maybe their first full-length album soon, permeating the air with their sophisticated and heartwarming music once again for our total delight.
Best moments of the album: Disgraced.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 Independent
Track listing 1. For The Lives He Stole 12:47
2. Disgraced 9:35
3. Fall 7:56
Band members Freyja Brown – vocals
Ethan Bishop – guitars
Martin Williams – guitars
Sam Weston – bass
Connor Frapwell – drums
Profane, rebellious and vicious music for all diehard lovers of Black Metal, piercing your ravenous ears directly from the UK.
The good old city of Manchester, England might be known worldwide by the everlasting rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United, two of the biggest soccer teams in the world, but since 2005 the city has also become a synonym to extreme music due to the scalding Blackened Death Metal forged by an up-and-coming power trio that goes by the name of Burial. After releasing a demo in 2008 named Shadowed by Satan, the EP Dissidence in 2010 and more recently their debut full-length album Beneath the Light in 2013, those black metallers are back with their second opus, entitled Unholy Sedition, a must for lovers of Black Metal, nuns, beer and Satan.
Fans of the music played by bands like Satyricon in their early days will have a great time listening to what this underground British act is capable of offering, being visceral but extremely technical at the same time. In addition, if you already know Burial you’ll notice a slight change in their musicality from their previous album, dropping part of the Death Metal sound and delivering an all-out Black Metal assault. In case this is your first contact with the band, get ready for 30 minutes of brutality in the form of the short, fast and devastating tunes found in Unholy Sedition. You won’t regret being blasted by the band’s ferocious music, I should say.
After a quick distorted intro, the opening track Infernal Spirit brings forward brutal Black Metal led by the bestial beats by drummer David Buchan, while lead singer and bassist Derek Carley varies his vocals from devilish screams to cavernous growls; and without a break they start firing the following tune, entitled Malevolent Possession, displaying some pulverizing riffs by guitarist Richard Barraclough. Not only that, even when they slow down a bit during this enraged song their heaviness remains at an outstanding level. Their malignancy keeps flowing in Satanic Immolation, a sick Black Metal song with hints of Death Metal where it’s amusing how violent the band can get in less than three minutes, with Derek’s vocals sounding exactly as many old school Black Metal vocalists.
In the high-speed havoc Coven of Death, David is unstoppable behind his drums, providing Richard the support he needs to craft his blazing riffs before we’re treated to Nothing Awaits, where a Blackened Doom-inspired intro powered by the gruesome vociferations by Derek suddenly explodes into vile Black Metal, with highlights to the metallic guitar lines by Richard. This is perhaps their best song to date, an excellent composition sounding as three distinct songs in one, and therefore showcasing the band’s highly developed abilities with their instruments. And in the rhythmic and dense Defile The Sacrament, right after a somber intro that goes on for almost two minutes, we have a furious fusion of Black and Death Metal with Derek barking like a rabid beast.
Cast To The Flames can be considered the most old school Black Metal of all tracks with the blast beats by David being its guiding “star”, never letting the level of dark energy go down; whereas Beyond Redemption seems to be the most Death Metal of all mainly due to the deep guttural growls by Derek, with its beats at the speed of light demolishing everything and everyone that stands in their way. Before Uholy Sedition comes to its end, Burial offer us all more of their putrid growls and a heavy atmosphere in the Black Metal hymn Devoured By The Earth, displaying sheer violence and gore in the form of music with highlights to the groovy and boisterous drumming by David. And lastly, we have the remarkably short but sensational Extreme Metal anthem Nun Fucking Black Metal, which not only has a beautiful name but also pays homage all things Black Metal, concluding the album on a high note with amazing performances by all band members.
In case you want to know more about the music by Burial, go visit their Facebook or ReverbNation pages, and if you’re interesting in putting your hands on a copy of Unholy Sedition, you can find the album for sale at the UKEM Records’ BandCamp page or webstore (it’s out of stock according to the website, though), or at the band’s official Big Cartel page, where you can also find a nice exclusive bundle including a physical copy of the album and a T-shirt for a very decent price. It’s profane and rebellious Black Metal for diehard lovers of the genre, and also a great option for newcomers to get introduced to the world of extreme music.
Best moments of the album: Satanic Immolation, Nothing Awaits and Nun Fucking Black Metal.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 UKEM Records
Track listing 1. Infernal Spirit 3:03
2. Malevolent Possession 4:00
3. Satanic Immolation 2:22
4. Coven Of Death 2:07
5. Nothing Awaits 3:35
6. Defile The Sacrament 4:14
7. Cast To The Flames 2:55
8. Beyond Redemption 3:57
9. Devoured By The Earth 3:47
10. Nun Fucking Black Metal 1:12
Band members Derek Carley – vocals, bass
Richard Barraclough – guitar
David Buchan – drums
If you want to know more about the past, present and future of Neverworld, one of the most promising Heavy Metal bands from the UK, take a shot at this fun interview with the band’s lead singer and guitarist Ben Colton. Can you guess which songs he would save for the future of mankind? You will surely enjoy his list.
The Headbanging Moose: Could you please introduce yourselves to the readers who are getting in contact with Neverworld for the first time? What’s the origin of the band, your main objectives and your dreams? And what was the inspiration for the name Neverworld?
Ben Colton: Howdy! Certainly. I am Ben, lead guitarist and vocalist of the band Neverworld. We formed in late 2009 and the plan was always to take it as far as we possibly could. We sat down and discussed at length about the music we wanted to make and it became apparent quite quickly that we would need a suitable name. A name that would give us the scope to be the audio/visual outfit that we wanted to be. So Neverworld was born and 6 and a half years and 3 releases later here we are! Our main objectives at this point in time are to keep progressing, keep pushing the boundaries, keep playing awesome shows and to keep having lots of fun doing it!
THM: I have to admit I can’t stop listening to your brand new album, the excellent Dreamsnatcher. It’s perfect for listening at home, at the gym, on the road or anywhere else. How did the whole process to compose the album go? Was there anything you think that could have worked better in the recording period?
BC: Well thank you very much that means a lot to us and I really appreciate the feedback. The recording process this time around was actually a lot of fun. We knew what we had to do and that was better than ‘Visions Of Another World’. So every week we would go into the studio and write riffs, choruses, verses, intros etc. until we felt we had 10 songs that completely summed us up. ‘Dreamsnatcher’ is an album that defines who we are right now and for that reason it was a great relief to achieve that. We learned a lot doing our first album so we didn’t make the same mistakes. All the music was written in about 8 months and then it was a case of writing the vocal melodies and lyrics. From the writing process to the demo stage to the actual release it took 18 months which was awesome. When you’re a perfectionist, and this band has a few, you will probably always look back and say I could of done that better but there comes a point where you just have to bite the bullet and leave it to the critics mercy! So far so good!
THM: Although none of your releases are concept albums, there’s a special concept behind the band as a whole. As quoted on the review for your 2014 release Visions Of Another World, you said that “Neverworld is a place of dreams, a world we all visit in our sleep and the band explore this magical realm in their lyrics and artwork.” Having said that, what’s the link between Visions Of Another World and Dreamsnatcher? Is there any type of storyline connecting both albums, and even your debut EP Welcome To…, from 2010?
Album Review – Neverworld / Dreamsnatcher (2016)
BC: Basically there are some links in certain songs like ‘Visions Of Another World’ and ‘Dreamsnatcher’ but we are yet to explore the Neverworld concept fully. We are writing and recording demos already and the plan is now to release an EP toward the end of this year and then a concept album. It’ll be our third full length album and that feels like the right thing to do. We’ve discussed it in the past and we all knew the day would come where we did the whole concept thing. It’s very early days yet but we are planning the story and will write accordingly to fit that. It’s likely to be pretty dark but all will become clear as to what Neverworld is and what can happen there!
THM: There are several details that make Dreamsnatcher a must-have for fans of traditional Heavy Metal. The guitars are heavier than ever, the overall production is a lot more consistent than in your previous releases, there are many interesting additional layers of intricacy added to each and every song, among other things. How do you see the evolution of your music so far, and what can we expect from Neverworld in the future?
BC: Evolve is a great word where music is concerned. It’s something you have to do to keep it fresh and interesting. We will never make the same album twice. You’ll always know it’s us but you won’t always be able to predict what’s coming! You are one of the first people to mention the added layers of the songs and I’m really pleased you noticed! That was a very conscious thing. I love the way certain bands build songs with layers. They can be very subtle and you may not notice them initially but take them out and the song can sound naked! The future of our music I guess will depend on many factors but for me I’d like us to add more progressive elements. Mainly for the reason that there really are no rules with progressive metal and I love that. I hate restrictions. Fortunately we have none really. If an idea is cool then we use it. We do exactly what we want and that is make music that we’d like to listen to!
THM: Before we talk about a couple of specific songs from Dreamsnatcher, I just wanted to quickly go back to Visions Of Another World, where you performed an amazing duet with British singer Christina Gajny in the powerful ballad Blood and Romance. Can you tell the readers more about how Christina got involved with Neverworld and how this beautiful song was recorded? And why are there no guest musicians in the new album?
BC: Christina was just meant to be for us. I woke up one day and just thought it would be cool to do a duet with a female vocalist. So I hit the net to seek one out. She was the first one I looked at and the last. I listened to her doing a cover of ‘Black Velvet’ and was blown away. She is an incredibly versatile singer with a staggering grip on melody. I think Blood and Romance really helped us. Christina was in a band called Interlock just prior to doing the duet and was fairly well known in London. Because of her when we started playing London there were actually people there to see us! I did want her on ‘Dreamsnatcher’ too but in the end we decided that we had the 10 songs we needed and also it was another 10 songs we could add to our live performance. We’d been playing pretty much the same set for 2 years and we desperately wanted to be able to pick from a bigger selection so we could give our die hard fans a new experience every time we played. However we are indeed working on the follow up to Blood and Romance with Christina. It’ll probably be called ‘A Gothic Tragedy’ and will be part 2 in the vampire/mortal love saga. Writing is under way and it will be on the EP release so if you love Christina’s voice as much as we do you can get excited about that! I know I am!
THM: Now let’s get back to Dreamsnatcher, more specifically to the opening track, the epic Into the Mouth Of Madness. This is not a regular opening song for an album, being more progressive, more melodic and a lot longer than the opening songs found in most Heavy Metal albums. I would say it’s a similar situation to what Iron Maiden did in their 1995 album The X Factor, when they had the 11-minute masterpiece Sign of the Cross kicking off the album. Why did you choose this specific song to be the first of the album? Aren’t you afraid it might be too complex or maybe too lengthy for the average listener who’s just getting to know the music by Neverworld?
BC: Into The Mouth Of Madness was actually the first track we wrote when we went back into the studio again. I think it was what set the bar for the whole album really and also sums Neverworld up in 9 minutes or thereabouts! It’s kinda got everything. The intro, the prog, the metal, the big chorus, the epic solo section, light and shade etc. It seemed the obvious choice to us to kick things off for ‘Dreamsnatcher’. If you don’t ‘get’ that track then I don’t think we are for you! So no I wasn’t worried about it putting anyone off because anyone who doesn’t like it probably won’t like the rest of the album either! From a personal point of view a lot of my favourite songs are long, epics. ‘Still Remains’ for example by Fates Warning is my all time favourite song. It has everything! I think every album we do will end up having a few epics on. It’s becoming a bit of a habit for us! A cool habit though I think!
THM: My favorite song in Dreamsnatcher is by far the high-octane Under The Asylum. As mentioned in the review of the album, this song has the perfect balance between aggressiveness and harmony, being highly recommended for any type of metalhead from anywhere in the world. What inspired you to write this song, and can you provide us some details on the story being told through its lyrics?
BC: Thank you! I’m glad you dig! It’s a lot of fun to play live too. The inspiration for the song comes from a couple of things. I grew up near a mental asylum. Near it. Not in it! It was a Victorian era one and only shut down in 1998. Going round the place when it was derelict was an eye opening experience to say the least. That place was dark. It had its own atmosphere and was the size of a village. It just oozed sorrow and woe. I’d always felt it was a great theme for a song anyway but then American Horror Story season 2 came out and that kicked the idea off again. So really the song is about the underground workings of an asylum and all the nasty shit you don’t see happening. Very Neverworld!
THM: What are your biggest influences in music? Do you only listen to Heavy Metal, or do you also drink from the fountain of Jazz, Blues, Pop or any other type of music? And if you had to select five albums that define who Neverworld are today, which ones would you choose?
BC: Haha well I certainly don’t drink from Jazz fountain but I listen to all sorts really. Obviously being a guitar player and a singer it’s either guitar or vocal based but of course I prefer it when it’s both! Heavy Metal was my first love as a child and that just captured my imagination. In later years you learn to appreciate different things. I love classic rock as in Blue Oyster Cult, Van Halen, Boston, The Eagles etc. I love prog, hair metal, Thrash, Motown, even Grunge era stuff too (although I don’t call Mother Love Bone, Candlebox, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains ‘Grunge’). I just like good music. Well played, well sung, well written. I don’t have any rules anymore. I just like what I like. Ok picking just 5 albums is a really hard thing to do but because it’s what influences my own part of the Neverworld sound it’s a bit easier. As much as I love Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Manowar I find that I am no longer influenced by them. It’s strange but I lean towards more progressive stuff now just because there are so many more elements going on to keep your mind occupied. Ok here goes!…
1. Fates Warning ‘Disconnected’ – Brilliant album by the criminally underrated Fates. This album is the soundtrack to my life. Love it!
2. King Diamond ‘Conspiracy’ – King seems to have got bigger and bigger over the years and that pleases me a lot. The guy is an evil genius and Andy LaRouque is one of my favourite guitar players. It’s not until you sit there trying to work out King’s music you realize how complex it is, how clever it is. Love this album. A huge influence on me.
3. Crimson Glory ‘Transcendence’ – This album is just timeless. A masterpiece by a band who should have been playing arenas. Very classy, very intelligent music!
4. Winger ‘Pull’ – I imagine a few people will shake their heads at this choice but Winger are an amazing collective of breath taking musicians. Kip Winger is one of the most intelligent song writers out there. When you really listen to a Winger song and analyze it you can hear all the magic that has gone into making it. I chose ‘Pull’ for the groove aspect. Some of the riffs on this album are jaw droppers! Also Kip is one of my favourite singers and Reb Beach is one of my favourite guitar players. Another big influence for sure.
5. Queensrÿche ‘Rage For Order’ – Geoff Tate has a pretty bad rep these days. Personally I couldn’t care less what people think of him as a person, he’s a God of a singer. Just watch ‘Live Evolution’ to see his prowess in all its glory. I adore this album. The songs are great, the vocals are soulful, theatrical, grand, unusual. A perfect album!
So there are my 5. Just want to give a quick shout out to Lost Horizon, Circus Maximus, Redemption, Megadeth and Magnitude 9 too. They are all big influences on my part of the Neverworld sound too!
THM: If you were given the task of saving only between 10 and 20 songs from any music genre, band or artist for the future of mankind, which ones would make it to that special playlist? Let’s imagine you would add those to a capsule that would be preserved for a very long time and opened only in a distant future, and those would be the only songs left on earth, just for you to have an idea of how important your mission would be.
BC: Haha that is a very important mission indeed! Ok all these songs mean something to me. They all helped me. They changed my life and the way I think about music. Here goes…
Album Review – Neverworld / Visions Of Another World (2014)
THM: Talking about what any musician loves the most, which is playing to a live audience, what are your current and future tour plans for the UK and/or any other countries? How difficult it is for you to schedule tour dates and to be on the road for long periods of time? And what has been the band’s most memorable concert to date?
BC: It is difficult to tour for long periods due to all of us having work and family commitments. However we are planning on doing a week long tour this year with scattered dates surrounding it. Playing live is very important to us. It’s a hard feeling to beat when you’re up there and the crowd are with you. We are always looking for dates in the UK and abroad so keep an eye out for us in the near future. I have several fond gig memories with Neverworld. Our home town club shows are always special. Very well attended and there’s always a great buzz but the 3 that really stand out for me are when we played with Freedom Call at the Barfly in Camden on the night we released our debut. The place was absolutely packed! We opened and went down a storm. That was awesome. The next is again in Camden but this time at The Underworld. Purely because it was The Underworld. What an honour to play that hallowed stage. I’ve seen most of my favourite bands there so it was great to be able to tick it off the list. Lastly when we played Larissa in Greece. We left this weird building in the middle of nowhere to get something to eat thinking well this is going to be shit! When we came back the place was full! Couldn’t believe it! That was a great night playing with our friends Wardrum and completed an absolutely awesome experience. We’ve actually been pretty blessed with live shows over the last 4 years. We’ve played with some fantastic bands too. Long may that continue!
THM: Thank you very much for your time, I truly appreciate that. Please feel free to send a final message to all our readers and all metalheads not only in Canada, but everywhere else in the world.
BC: No, thank you! It’s been an honour. I just want to say a huge thank you to all the good people out there supporting us. If I could put into words how much we appreciate it I would! The Neverworld family is growing all the time and that my friends is awesome! I really hope you all enjoy the new album! Peace and good will to you all \m/
Enjoy the first part of this futuristic trilogy created by the iconic Blaze Bayley, a thrilling journey inspired by science fiction and artificial intelligence that transpires first-class Heavy Metal.
Silicon Messiah, Tenth Dimension, The Man Who Would Not Die, Promise And Terror, and now Infinite Entanglement. If you consider yourself a true admirer and connoisseur of traditional Heavy Metal who’s at the same time always looking to the future with an open mind and a passionate heart, you must listen to these five amazing releases by the iconic British metaller Blaze Bayley. What this metal warrior from Birmingham, UK is capable of offering his fans with absolutely no support from any major record label is outstanding. In Infinite Entanglement, a concept album highly influenced by science fiction, artificial intelligence and quantum physics that follows on the ideas found in Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension (not to mention Blaze is writing a book on those themes), we’re treated to more of his first-rate metal music embellished by his flammable performance and a more-than-exciting storyline. In other words, it might not be the album of the year for many, but it’s indeed an amazing contribution from Blaze to the world of heavy music. And have I mentioned this is the first part of a trilogy?
When asked about the story told in this new trilogy, Blaze commented that “It’s about a man who does not know if he is human. It’s his personal journey, and he is on a mission to discover one of the new Kepler planets. You know, Kepler discovered all these new planets. It’s set a hundred years in the future, and he’s on a spaceship and it’s how he deals with the fact that he will be one of the first people ever to live for a thousand years because of advances in technology, and how he deals with that. And the question is: is he human or not? And that’s it in a nutshell. And the story expands from there.” The whole concept already becomes evident when you stare at the classic but modern artwork by Swedish artist Andreas Sandberg, which in my opinion seems inspired by most Sci-Fi movies from the 80’s, but it’s when you actually start listening to the album and absorbing its music that you’ll finally understand what Infinite Entanglement is all about.
Let the futuristic journey begin (or continue from where it stopped in Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension) with the track that carries the name of the album, Infinite Entanglement, a straightforward Heavy Metal tune with a strong epic vibe, following the musicality from his latest album King Of Metal but a thousand times more polished and vibrant. Before the song is over, a woman’s voice that seems to be from a scientist explains who our main character is and why he was chosen for this mission, introducing us to the high-speed anthem A Thousand Years, my favorite of all tracks. This is where Blaze always thrives, firing pure metallic music with thoughtful lyrics, and I dare you not to sing its catchy chorus along with him while guitarist Chris Appleton showcases a solid performance with his riffs and especially with his solos.
Does he know the truth? No one can cope with the truth, but everyone can bang their heads nonstop to Human, the first single of the album that keeps the electricity flowing (and the perfect soundtrack for the TV series Humans, by the way), with drummer drummer Martin McNee and bassist Karl Schramm providing exactly what the music demands with their respective instruments. In addition, the song’s chorus poses the main question of the entire album (“Human / Am I human? / I am man / I am machine / You just don’t know what it means / To be human”), inviting you to once again sing it together with Blaze. In the pleasant acoustic voyage What Will Come, Blaze’s vocals are perfectly complemented by the exceptional work done by his longtime partners, Belgian guitarist Thomas Zwijsen and Dutch violinist Anne Bakker, proving Heavy Metal doesn’t need to be electric all the time to be stunning; whereas Stars Are Burning, with its hints of modern and alternative music, is yet another contemplative song where it’s mandatory to follow the powerful lyrics declaimed by Blaze to better understand the whole concept. By the time you reach this part of the album, the whole storyline starts to make a lot more sense and you can actually feel the roller-coaster of emotions the main character has been going through.
If you’re a fan of pure metal music with no shenanigans, Solar Wind is for you. However, despite being a good song (in special due to its chorus), it’s below the rest of the album in terms of quality and freshness. In the sinister bridge The Dreams of William Black, where the question “where are you?” is asked to our main character numerous times (and even in different languages), I believe what is actually in question is if William is just dreaming or if this is the new reality he must face. Even if you cannot find an answer to that, you’ll enjoy Calling You Home, yet another dense and exciting metal chant with a traditional “Oh! Oh-oh-oh-oh!” added to the chorus where its backing vocals have a strong impact on the final result; followed by the action-packed tune Dark Energy 256 (or maybe I should call it “Futureal 2.0”?). The unstoppable Blaze has an absolutely amazing performance in which is one of the best songs of the album in my opinion, allowing us all to feel the so-called “dark energy 256” penetrating our skin. Besides, Martin provides Blaze the necessary vibe for his potent voice through his precise drumming, with the last seconds of the song being a beautiful massacre.
In Independence, a smooth intro turns into an energetic chant about freedom and independence (and we know how good Blaze is at singing about those topics), with Chris and Martin once again offering Blaze an awesome support. One thing I love about Blaze is how he always puts his heart and soul into his singing, which is the case in A Work of Anger, a melancholic and meaningful composition full of effective narrations. And do you think the outro Shall We Begin is the end of the story, or is it just the beginning? Well, parts II and III will obviously answer that question, and according to Blaze himself he already has half of album two and some of the music and one of the songs for album three basically finished, which means we won’t have to wait for too long for the conclusion of this awesome saga.
While we wait for more of Blaze’s powerful music, you can also enjoy the making of Infinite Entanglement on YouTube, follow the “Messiah” on Facebook, and purchase your copy of the album at his official webshop, on iTunes, or on Amazon. Is Blaze man or is he machine? We’ll never know, and in fact it doesn’t really matter as long as he keeps feeding our metallic souls with his unique and extremely sharp Heavy Metal for many years to come. Who knows, maybe even for a thousand years.
Best moments of the album: A Thousand Years, What Will Come, Dark Energy 256 and Independence.
Worst moments of the album:Solar Wind.
Released in 2016 Blaze Bayley Recordings
Track listing 1. Infinite Entanglement 4:26
2. A Thousand Years 3:26
3. Human 3:31
4. What Will Come 4:48
5. Stars Are Burning 3:48
6. Solar Wind 4:01
7. The Dreams of William Black 2:20
8. Calling You Home 5:21
9. Dark Energy 256 4:01
10. Independence 5:11
11. A Work of Anger 5:33
12. Shall We Begin 0:56
Band members Blaze Bayley – vocals
Chris Appleton – guitars, backing vocals
Karl Schramm – bass, backing vocals
Martin McNee – drums
Guest musicians Thomas Zwijsen – acoustic guitars on “What Will Come”
Anne Bakker – violin on “What Will Come”
Michelle Sciarrotta – acoustic guitars, backing vocals, narration
Emily Pembridge – keyboards, piano
Liz Owen, Joanne Robinson & Mel Adams – backing vocals
Aine Brewer, Rob Toogood & James Dunn – narration
Here we go again, another blistering cold night in Toronto when it was supposed to be already warming up, with around 15cm of snow out of nowhere just to make the beginning of this spring even weirder than the warmest winter in history. However, when you have the best Heavy Metal band in the entire world playing live in the city, who truly cares about some harmless snowflakes? My only concern was if we were going to have the same sound issues from the concert Friday night in Montreal also here in Toronto, but fortunately the sound quality at the Air Canada Centre was a billion times better than at the Bell Centre, making the whole night even more memorable.
After facing over 30 minutes out in the cold in a never-ending line where there was even an Elvis with an Eddie mask from Powerslave (would that make him the “Presleyslave” or the “Elvis High”?), I got back to the place where I belong in concerts, the floor section (and not those uncomfortable seats from Bell Centre). I might be wrong, but the floor section was quite empty for a sold out concert, even during Iron Maiden. If that’s for safety reasons, no problem, but I think they could have added at least a thousand extra tickets for that area. Anyway, my comments about the opening act, British Melodic Metal THE RAVEN AGE, are exactly the same from Friday night, which means if you read my review for Montreal you can apply each and every word to Toronto as well.
Setlist
Uprising
Promised Land
The Death March
Eye Among the Blind
The Merciful One
Salem’s Fate
Angel in Disgrace
Band members Michael Burrough – vocals
Dan Wright – guitar
George Harris – guitar
Matt Cox – bass
Jai Patel – drums
While some bands look and sound the exact same every single night, there’s something about IRON MAIDEN that makes each of their live performances unique even if they do not change anything in their setlist during the entire tour, as it’s happening during the amazing The Book Of Souls World Tour 2016. We all know which songs they’re going to play, and some people even complain about the band’s predictability, but when the concert starts Bruce, Steve and Co. manage to be different, to sound different and to always offer something new to their fans. Maybe that’s the main reason why they’re who they’re today, right?
Thanks to the almighty Eddie, there were no problems with the sound! Quite the contrary, each instrument was loud and clear, especially the pounding drums by the one and only Mr. Nicko McBrain and the rumbling bass guitar by the band’s mastermind Mr. Steve Harris, who made the epic tune The Book of Souls sound more powerful than ever. By the way, what an amazing reaction the fans had to all new songs from The Book Of Souls, especially the opening song If Eternity Should Fail and what was once again the highlight of the show for me, The Red and the Back. Of course fans went crazy when they played classics such as The Trooper, Powerslave (with Bruce wearing the same “luchador” mask from the past couple of shows due to Wrestlemania weekend), Hallowed Be Thy Name (with everyone at the ACC beautifully singing it together with the band), The Number of the Beast and Wasted Years, but it’s nice to see Iron Maiden are not trapped in the past and are still releasing awesome music for our total delight.
Now let’s talk about those special details that made last night unique, and I’m not talking about the cold and the snow. We all know how intelligent and skillful Mr. Bruce Dickinson is, and that was once again proved after the band performed the heavy and fast Death or Glory. Any other musician would have ignored the fact the song has a special importance to Toronto and to Canada, but Bruce made sure he spent the necessary time to explain the song is about Baron Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the “Red Baron”, who was shot down by Canadian air ace Captain Roy Brown in 1918, and that the seat of Red Baron’s triplane was donated by the dauntless Canadian pilot to a museum in Toronto. Bruce only forgot to mention the name of the museum, so if you’re interested in visiting it and seeing the airplane seat from the renowned Red Baron you need to go to the Royal Canadian Military Institute Museum (RCMI). As a side note, “Turns like a devil, climbs like a monkey!” (or something like that) were the Red Baron’s words about the Fokker Dr I, the most successful triplane in history. Guess where you can also find these words? And before I forget, poor Janick Gers, his guitar stopped working in the middle of the song and he had to spend about two minutes backstage trying to fix it. I’m not going to mention that most people didn’t even notice that “small” detail mainly because Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were on fire with their flawless riffs and solos, ans also because I like Janick’s performance (I think he IS important to what Iron Maiden are today), but if you also saw that you know what I’m talking about.
By the end of the show, while introducing the melodic Blood Brothers, Bruce spoke about the differences in terms of safety and quality of life found everywhere the band goes, comparing for example our always safe Canada to one of the most dangerous countries in the world, El Salvador, but also saying if there’s one thing that unites us all and helps us face any adversities in life is Heavy Metal, in special if you’re part of the MAIDEN FAMILY. On the train back to my small city, Oakville, an “old school” couple who also attended the concert sat in front of us and we instantly started chatting about Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Anthrax, Slayer, Metallica (the guy even fist pumped me full of joy when I said Metallica is the most overrated band on earth), sports, and several other topics. They even gave us a customized pair of hockey blade tapes from The Book Of Souls without even knowing us! That moment I realized how big, fun and unified the Maiden Family mentioned by Bruce is. And I’m happy to be part of it, so happy I didn’t even care I had to wipe a ton of snow from my car at the train station, at midnight, and under a frigid temperature of around -6oC. Actually, I was very relaxed while doing that, humming the “Oh-oh Oh-oh-oh! Oh-oh Oh-oh-oh!” from The Red and the Black and already thinking about when I’ll be able to watch Iron Maiden kicking some serious ass once again.
Setlist Doctor Doctor (UFO song) If Eternity Should Fail
Speed of Light
Children of the Damned
Tears of a Clown
The Red and the Black
The Trooper
Powerslave
Death or Glory
The Book of Souls
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore: The Number of the Beast
Blood Brothers
Wasted Years Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python song)
Band members Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Steve Harris – bass
Dave Murray – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar
Janick Gers – guitar
Nicko McBrain – drums
Finally, after endless hours of rain, strong winds, sun, rain again, snow, sun again and snow again on the road, I’m back from Montreal where I had the pleasure to see for the 17th time in my life the almighty Iron Maiden at the Bell Centre. Before I talk about the concert itself, I would like to recommend the excellent Hôtel Bonaventure no matter what you’re planning to do in Montreal. Not only the hotel is extremely well located (for example, it’s only a 5 to 10-minute walk away from the Bell Centre), but the staff is very friendly, the rooms are comfortable and clean, and their heated outdoor pool is a relaxing option after a busy day in the city.
Getting back to the gig, I don’t have much to say about the opening act THE RAVEN AGE mainly because I didn’t have time to listen to their music before the concert. This London-based band plays a solid mix of Melodic Metal and Metalcore, but nothing new to the world of heavy music. If this is your cup of tea, you’ll probably have a good time listening to them, otherwise do not expect to be blown away by their music. One might ask why those guys are the opening act for Iron Maiden during their entire world tour. Well, one of the guitarists is called George Harris, son of the best and most important bass player in the history of Heavy Metal. Do I need to say more?
Setlist Uprising
Promised Land
The Death March
Eye Among the Blind
The Merciful One
Salem’s Fate
Angel in Disgrace
Band members Michael Burrough – vocals
Dan Wright – guitar
George Harris – guitar
Matt Cox – bass
Jai Patel – drums
Unless you spent the last few months or so stranded in a space station in Mars like Matt Damon in the fun movie The Martian, you already know how grandiose and special The Book Of Souls World Tour 2016 has been so far for all Maidenmaniacs worldwide. Promoting their masterpiece The Book Of Souls, Heavy Metal titans IRON MAIDEN are better than ever on stage, led by obviously Mr. Steve Harris with his galloping bass guitar and an unstoppable Bruce Dickinson proving us all that cancer can be overcome if your will to live is stronger than your fear of dying.
A few marvelous details caught my attention before and during the concert, things that only Iron Maiden can provide you and no one else. First of all, there was a group of friends a few rows below mine proudly flying a flag from the distant territory of Nunavut, in northern Canada. I have no idea if they live in Montreal or if they were there just for the concert, but just for you to better understand this, its capital city Iqaluit is located over 2,000km from Montreal, and it can only be reached by plane in a 5-hour direct flight. Iron Maiden are capable of shortening any distance in such a powerful way it’s hard to describe the feeling, don’t you agree? Secondly, about three rows below me, there was a couple where the mom was carrying a beautiful 6-month (or even less) baby who had a mini Iron Maiden flag hanging from his back (and of course a “fancy” pair of earphones to protect his tiny ears), something so pure and gracious it gives a good amount of hope to our decaying world. Although there were many other kids with their parents at the venue (another thing only Iron Maiden can provide us fans), I’ll never forget the image of that baby and his badass flag. And lastly, that was not only the first time I saw Iron Maiden from a numbered seat, but also the first time I witnessed Bruce interacting with the crowd in French all the time. I have to point out how unique Bruce is. Who else can do all the stuff he does at the same time and thrive in every single one of them?
Talking about the concert itself, nothing I say here will properly express all the passion and emotion of watching those six old school British metallers live once again. Blending old classics like Children of the Damned and The Trooper with new kick-ass tunes such as The Red and the Black (my favorite moment of the night) and Death or Glory, they offered all types of fans everything we could expect for. Not even the horrible sound quality at the Bell Centre, which almost ruined the magnificent intro in If Eternity Should Fail, could make the whole experience less superb. From the entire setlist, the aforementioned The Red and the Black, the incredible The Book of Souls, the all-time classic Hallowed Be Thy Name and the meaningful Blood Brothers (or “frères de sang”, as Bruce introduced it), where that mom was literally cradling her baby “metalhead” to the song’s lovely rhythm, were the moments where I felt in another dimension so perfect they were.
When the concert was over it was easy to see a huge smile on everyone’s faces, proving once again the positive power Iron Maiden always have on us all. And please forgive me for such a short review, but I have to get ready to see my favorite band of all time once again tonight at the Air Canada Centre, here in Toronto. UP THE IRONS!
Setlist Doctor Doctor (UFO song) If Eternity Should Fail
Speed of Light
Children of the Damned
Tears of a Clown
The Red and the Black
The Trooper
Powerslave
Death or Glory
The Book of Souls
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore: The Number of the Beast
Blood Brothers
Wasted Years Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python song)
Band members Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Steve Harris – bass
Dave Murray – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar
Janick Gers – guitar
Nicko McBrain – drums
Once again it’s time to enter the realm of Neverworld and surrender to the power of their solid and distinct Heavy Metal.
Two years after opening the gates of their metallic kingdom to all of us with their debut full-length album Visions Of Another World, British metallers Neverworld return with Dreamsnatcher, once again inviting us to step into their world of dreams and nightmares through their more than exciting Melodic Heavy Metal. However, this time those guys from Bedfordshire, a county in the East of England, stepped up their game and got harder and heavier, but at the same time more melodic and refined. Put differently, this is the type of band that shows all diehard fans of classic metal music the likes of Judas Priest and Savatage that not everything is lost in our modern day society in terms of music.
You’ll need just a few seconds to get hooked on the music found in Dreamsnatcher so captivating it is. Not only the guitars got heavier, but especially the keyboards played by Mr. Daniel Potter throughout the entire album are a work-of-art, adding texture and intricacy to the music and crafting a unique atmosphere perfect for transporting the listener to the land of dreams created by Neverworld. Moreover, it doesn’t matter if a song in Dreamsnatcher has four, seven or ten minutes, they all have a reason for their duration and never get tiring, not to mention their storylines that, if properly followed, will make your time listening to the whole album even more pleasant than you could expect.
Reigniting the fire of metal from where they stopped in 2014, an acoustic intro is slowly complemented by heavy keyboards and an epic atmosphere until it becomes pure Heavy Metal in the opening track, elegantly named Into the Mouth Of Madness. And if Ben Colton, the mastermind behind the band, was already amazing in their 2014 release, now he goes above and beyond offering the listener a riveting 9-minute metal journey full of beautiful riffs and solos. And things get even better in the title-track Dreamsnatcher, where the band drinks from the fountains of Melodic and Power Metal, with highlights to the powerful bass lines by Gary Payne and the aforementioned keyboard notes by Daniel. Besides, it’s truly amazing the way Ben declaims the lyrics with so much passion and dedication, turning this tune into a must-listen for fans of the genre.
In the superb Armies Of The Night, the band embarks on heavier and darker paths with highlights to the great job done on guitars by Ben and his bandmate Jack Foster, especially with the song’s main riff, resulting in a very solid composition that perfectly represents what Neverworld are capable of delivering to fans of heavy music. Then we have Passion Killers, a heavy ballad with lots of feeling and electricity where its killer riffs match flawlessly with its atmospheric keyboards, inviting you to close your eyes and savor this metallic voyage; followed by Under The Asylum, an old school Heavy Metal anthem inspired by the music from the 80’s with an additional progressive touch, with drummer Mike Vaughan pounding his drums nonstop while Ben fires his potent vocals. Although we face a high level of aggressiveness all the time, the music is also very harmonious, and there are so many good guitar and keyboards solos it’s quite impossible not to get thrilled by this fantastic hymn.
Fall Forever is another beautiful semi-ballad to soothe our souls, showcasing an outstanding performance by Ben, while All I Am is Progressive Metal to the second power without sounding cheesy or repetitive in its four minutes of classy passages. And in Awakening, again sounding like a classic act from the 80’s, Neverworld bring forward a nice Hard Rock vibe with Daniel leading the musicality with his first-class keyboard notes. In addition, you’ll start singing its chorus together with Ben without even noticing so catchy it is.
It’s simply incredible how every song is unique and presents a fresh sounding to the listener, and of course it couldn’t be different with the last two tracks of the album. The Grand Illusion will put you to bang your head for sure, with its fiery guitars, keyboards and drums supporting Ben’s incredible performance on vocals. Moreover, perhaps one of Ben’s biggest qualities as a vocalist is that he never exaggerates while singing, always providing exactly what the music demands. And the icing on the cake comes in the form of Face The Fear, a bold and epic 9-minute composition that properly concludes Dreamsnatcher. It’s a high-end mix of Progressive and Melodic Metal that never gets bland or uninspired, especially due to the amazing guitar solos halfway through it and its melancholic and smooth ending.
It’s time again to enter the realms of Neverworld and surrender to the power of their sophisticated Heavy Metal, and in order to experience their magical music all you have to do is visit their Facebook page, YouTube channel and SoundCloud page, and obviously purchase Dreamsnatcher at the band’s Big Cartel page. After two sensational albums in a row, I’m beyond confident we’ll start seeing a lot more from Neverworld in the world of heavy music, with the sky being the limit for those British troopers. Or maybe even further, to a world where metal dreams always come true.
Best moments of the album: Dreamsnatcher, Armies Of The Night, Under The Asylum and The Grand Illusion.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 Dream Demon Recordings
Track listing 1. Into the Mouth Of Madness 8:44
2. Dreamsnatcher 4:38
3. Armies Of The Night 4:56
4. Passion Killers 5:51
5. Under The Asylum 4:54
6. Fall Forever 6:09
7. All I Am 4:04
8. Awakening 5:30
9. The Grand Illusion 6:56
10. Face The Fear 9:15
Band members Ben Colton – vocals, guitar
Jack Foster – guitar
Gary Payne – bass
Daniel Potter – keyboards
Mike Vaughan – drums
As Toronto turned 182 years old yesterday, nothing better than celebrating the anniversary of our beautiful city with a gargantuan amount of fuckin’ “filth”.
What a lovely day in our stunning, charming and multi-cultural city of Toronto. It might not be Summer (and not even Spring) yet, but sunny Winter days with temperatures above the freezing mark like this Sunday are such a thing of beauty they make us completely forget how harsh Winter can be sometimes. Perhaps that was Mother Nature giving her “birthday gift” to all Torontonians who were celebrating the 182nd anniversary of their beloved city. And what could have been better than hosting one of the most influential Extreme Metal bands of all time at the Phoenix Concert Theatre to properly commemorate the date? Finally, after five long years, the iconic Cradle of Filth returned to the “Land of the Moose”, as Dani Filth himself stated during the show.
This metallic feast started at around 7pm, when Australian Extreme Progressive Metal band NE OBLIVISCARIS hit the stage with their fusion of Symphonic Metal, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Folk Metal and several other subgenres of heavy music blended in their sound. It took a few minutes for those guys from Melbourne, Australia to actually warm up and start entertaining the crowd, but once their concert took off it was indeed a nice experience, especially due to the amazing performances by Tim Charles with his violin and left-handed guitarist Benjamin Baret with his wicked riffs and solos. I confess I didn’t know much about the band before this gig, which means I’ll obviously go after their music to truly understand what they’re all about. And, of course, it’s good to know there’s more high-quality metal music coming from Down Under.
Setlist Devour Me, Colossus (Part I): Blackholes
Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise
Xenoflux
Painters of the Tempest (Part II): Triptych Lux
Pyrrhic
And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
Band members Xen – harsh vocals
Tim Charles – clean vocals, violin
Benjamin Baret – lead guitar
Matt Klavins – guitar
Cygnus – bass
Dan Presland – drums
When their concert was over and we all had a few minutes to rest and have a beer before the next attraction, I have to say it’s always nice when people come to talk to you about anything without being too wasted or high. That happened to me when a guy from Oshawa wearing a Bad Religion T-shirt approached me to say he liked my Pantera T-shirt, and from then we started chatting about music in general, focusing on bands such as Anthrax, Megadeth, Iron Maiden and Volbeat. So kids, next time you go to a concert try not to be so wasted, falling like a bag of potatoes on everyone around you, or too “Justin Bieber-ish” that no one else can touch you or talk to you. There’s always somewhere in between that works a lot better for everybody, got it?
Getting back to the concert, it was then time for the dynamic duo comprised of Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, known as the BUTCHER BABIES, to kick some serious ass on stage and make everyone in the audience go absolutely mental before the main attraction of the night. It was also my first time seeing them live, and I must say those girls know how to put up an entertaining show. Armed with their demonic voices and supported by very competent musicians, especially bassist Jason Klein, those two girls from Los Angeles, California (dressed like an evil version of Babymetal) didn’t stop banging their heads and screaming for a single second, showcasing their deep passion for heavy music while playing every song of their setlist, which was mostly based on their 2015 album Take It Like a Man. There were a few technical issues with their sound, but no one seemed to care about that. All people wanted were more “excuses” to slam into the pit and do some stage diving, and both Heidi and Carla knew exactly how to ignite that fire with their Alternative Metal, playing some high-octane songs such as National Bloody Anthem, The Butcher and, my favorite of the night, Monster’s Ball. Girls, Toronto loves you and we can’t wait to have you back in the city!
Setlist National Bloody Anthem
Blonde Girls All Look the Same
The Butcher
Gravemaker
Igniter
Jesus Needs More Babies for His War Machine
Monster’s Ball
Magnolia Blvd.
The Deathsurround/Goliath/I Smell a Massacre
Axe Wound
Band members Heidi Shepherd – vocals
Carla Harvey – vocals
Henry Flury – guitar
Jason Klein – bass
Chris Warner – drums
It was around 9pm when the diabolical intro Humana Inspired to Nightmare announced the gates of Hades were open wide, therefore releasing the devil’s favorite dark angels to spread hell on earth with their unparalleled Extreme Metal. Promoting their latest opus Hammer Of The Witches under their current tour entitled Inquisitional Torture 2016, British titans CRADLE OF FILTH began to mercilessly discharge a flawless mix of classics with brand new chants, driving all fans at the venue utterly crazy. When a concert starts with Heaven Torn Asunder and Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids, you know it’s going to be a fuckin’ massacre.
The most interesting fact for me about their setlist was that it was divided in two “acts”, like a theatre play. There was an intro for each act, followed by a sequence of blasting classics (covering almost all of their albums) that put a huge smile on the face of this guy here, a longtime fan of Dani and his crew. I simply love songs like Lord Abortion, Honey and Sulphur, Her Ghost in the Fog and my top Cradle of Filth song of all time, the insane From the Cradle to Enslave, but their newer stuff such as Right Wing of the Garden Triptych and Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess work so well when played live I’m sure they’ll become a constant part of their future tours. In addition, Dani (who was the demon himself last night), as a treat to all fans for waiting patiently for the band’s return to Toronto, dedicated to all of us For Your Vulgar Delectation, from their previous album (which unfortunately could not have a Canadian tour due to visa issues).
The whole band was on fire and Dani’s performance was epic, screaming like a rabid demon and wearing his Stygian attire and corpsepaint the way we all love, but I have to say last night belonged to the adorable keyboardist and singer Lindsay Schoolcraft. Although she’s not exactly from Toronto (technically, she’s from Oshawa), she was so excited and pleased to play together with Dani and his crew in her hometown she couldn’t stop smiling, waving to the fans and headbanging like a maniac during the entire concert. I guess I don’t need to say how memorable the night was for our talented Canadian girl, right? The only band member I couldn’t really watch well was drummer Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka, who was “hiding” not only behind his drums, but also behind some kind of aquarium/glass cell to the left of the stage. That was a weird stage setup, by the way, as if they were keeping Marthus caged before he could escape and kill someone, but nothing that would make the whole concert less memorable.
And can you guess why Dani, Lindsay, Marthus and the other band members played so well and were so electrified last night? That’s exactly it, because of us, loyal and demented Cradle of Filth fans. I don’t remember seeing a crowd so insane and in sync with the band like that. What the fans did during Gilded Cunt, growling the lyrics together with Dani, and the furious mosh pits during Nymphetamine (Fix), which is in fact a heavy ballad and not a sick blasting tune, was truly outstanding. Even Gimli, the brave dwarf from Lord of the Rings, was among us weating a Testament T-shirt! If you were there, you know who I’m talking about. Anyway, Cradle of Filth provided us fans another memorable metal night at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, and I’m pretty sure we also made the night memorable to the band as well, especially to Lindsay. I just hope Mr. Dani Filth and his horde of darkness do not take another five years to return to the Land of the (Headbanging) Moose. Actually, how about celebrating each and every anniversary of this distinct city together with the band? That’s the type of “filth” I’m sure no one would complain to have around all the time.
Setlist ACT I Humana Inspired to Nightmare (Intro) Heaven Torn Asunder
Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
Blackest Magick in Practice
Lord Abortion
Right Wing of the Garden Triptych
Malice Through the Looking Glass
Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess
Gilded Cunt
ACT II Walpurgis Eve (Intro) Yours Immortally…
Nymphetamine (Fix)
Honey and Sulphur
For Your Vulgar Delectation
Her Ghost in the Fog
From the Cradle to Enslave
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh
Born in a Burial Gown Blooding the Hounds of Hell (Outro)
Band members Dani Filth – lead vocals
Richard Shaw – guitars
Marek “Ashok” Šmerda – guitars
Daniel Firth – bass
Lindsay Schoolcraft – female vocals, keyboards
Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka – drums
Another year, another fantastic female bass player to reignite The Headbanging Moose and thaw all the ice and snow accumulated in the past few weeks. Coincidence or not, she’s also a “doom” bassist just like last year, corroborating the darkest side of music always welcomes any metal chick that chooses to ride the four-strings with arms wide open. I’m talking about Lena Abé, the awesome bassist for British Doom Metal icons My Dying Bride and a woman that, above all things, loves her family, friends and heavy music.
Lena was born on January 4, 1983 in Tokyo, Japan, but moved to the UK with her family when she was still a little baby. Half Japanese and half British, she was raised in Yorkshire and, according to Lena herself, she has the proper accent to prove it. Coming from a musical family and seeing her family as one of her major influences, Lena started in the world of music when she was around 10 years old, having keyboards and other creative toys instead of the usual dolls. She started playing the guitar then, watching her father play his own and wanting to be like him. She mentioned during one of her interviews that the rest of her story is quite typical for most musicians, as she played with some bands in high school, got more involved with the metal scene, and then finally joined My Dying Bride.
Being so close to family has brought lots of benefits to Lena, especially in terms of her inner strength and perseverance, never giving up on her dreams and projects. Our badass bassist believes learning is a never-ending cycle, saying she’s always learning new things by herself or from other people and musicians. By the way, Lena said she has a drum kit in her cellar, which she’s determined to master at some point in her life. With that said, it’s easy to understand why she truly hates things like selfishness, rudeness and inconsideration, and why one of her favorite quotes is “What matters is not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.”
She said she doesn’t remember exactly when she got to know My Dying Bride before joining them, but she remember seeing the band in magazines such as Kerrang and Terrorizer and on MTV. She really got into them around 2004 by listening to their album Songs of Darkness, Words of Light and by seeing them live, and that was more than enough for her to begin exploring the rest of the band’s catalogue.
In regards to her career with them, Lena replaced Adrian Jackson as the band’s bassist in 2007, which was around when Dan Mullins replaced John Bennett on drums. She used to live just a couple of streets apart from the band’s guitarist and founding member Andrew Craighan and they had some friends in common, so when Adrian left the band Andrew asked her to audition. I don’t need to say Andrew and the rest of the band loved her style and skills, right?
So far she has recorded with My Dying Bride the live album An Ode to Woe (2008); the full-length albums For Lies I Sire (2009), A Map of All Our Failures (2012) and Feel the Misery (2015); the EP’s Bring Me Victory (2009), The Barghest o’ Whitby (2011) and The Manuscript (2013); and the single Hollow Cathedra (2015), with For Lies I Sire being her favorite album by My Dying Bride, including all their previous releases from even when she wasn’t their bassist. She also played rhythm guitar for British Death/Black Metal band Severed Heaven between 2011 and 2014, but didn’t record anything with them except for their live performances. Some excellent options for the ones who want to listen to Lena kicking fuckin’ ass with her powerful bass guitar together with My Dying Bride are the songs Like a Perpetual Funeral, And My Father Left Forever, Bring Me Victory and Feel the Misery.
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Our Nippo-British diva believes that spending time with the other band members on tour is one of the best things about being in a metal band, and among her most memorable moments on the road are meeting Adam Jones from Tool and him inviting her to their Manchester show as a VIP, and playing with Metallica and Mastodon in Athens, Greece in 2007. One important detail about this is that, according to Lena, that was only her sixth or seventh show with My Dying Bride, so you can imagine how much adrenaline was rushing through her veins then. In terms of her favorite cities and/or countries to visit or to perform with the band, she mentioned Moscow, Romania, Mexico City, Florida and, of course, Japan. And although being raised in the UK, she considers the UK metal scene very weak and depressing, where people are not willing to spend any money on local bands or travel any distance to see them live.
During her early teens, when she was a fan of alternative music such as Portishead, Janes Addiction and Weezer, she started looking for more powerful music, finally connecting to Heavy Metal. Among her favorite bands we can find dark and progressive acts like All Shall Perish, Behemoth, Tool, Septic Flesh, Tomahawk and Whitechapel, and as a fan of witch house she also enjoys the dark beats by bands like Salem, Mater Susperia Vision and RVT$TVX. In addition, one of her favorite most recent albums is Weighing Souls With Sand, from 2007, by The Angelic Process. Take a listen at this album HERE and you’ll see how dark the music enjoyed by Lena is. And if you want to know her list of the 11 most miserable songs in the world, simply click HERE. You will find amazing bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Type O Negative, especially this one with the song Red Water (Christmas Mourning), very powerful and, obviously, miserable.
Lastly, in terms of hobbies and other activities in her personal life, Lena mentioned she simply loves Wii, Xbox and video games in general, including retro gaming too, as well as she’s a fitness fanatic and likes to spend her evenings at the gym. Also, she reads a lot of true crime and lists Lost Highway as her favorite film. And guess what her favorite food is? Sushi, of course! She might have been raised in the UK, but her Japanese blood gets stronger and speaks up at least in this case.
“Prepare yourselves for failure after failure. If you can survive the disappointment and hardship you might just make it with some sanity intact.” – Lena Abé
Let’s take a short and sweet break from all the insanity and devastation that usually blasts from The Headbanging Moose and chill out to the dancing music by British Hard Rock/Rock N’ Roll group Free From Gravity. Highly inspired by classics such as The Who, Eric Clapton and The Beatles, among other renowned artists who have showed the world the beauty of a catchy chorus, of melodious but punky guitars and obviously of those famous yeah-yeah-yeah’s, Free From Gravity play what they call “Kick Assed Chilled Out Rock” (or Soft Rock with Attitude), and that’s exactly what you’ll find in each one of the four compositions that together give life to Saints and Sinners, the brand new EP by this classy four-piece act from Portsmouth, a large port city located on the south coast of the UK.
A Hard Rock name like Saints and Sinners obviously demanded a Hard Rock vibe, and that’s what the entire band effectively offers to the listener in this case. Drummer TJ Jackson keeps the fuel flowing through the band’s engine with his crisp beats, with Tony once again firing an excellent guitar solo while backing vocals nicely complement the vocal lines by Vince. I want to see more of this wilder side of Free From Gravity, letting their Southern Rock-ish vein flourish even more in their future compositions. And there’s more traditional Brit Rock for you embraced by a 60’s/70’s aura named Step into the Sunlight, a recommended song to listen on the road where Vince and Tony once again deliver some exciting guitar lines and solos, leaving the doors open for more Free From Gravity in a near future (perhaps with their first full-length album).
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 