Tag Archives: unstoppable

Concert Review – Lord of the Lost (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 09/18/2024)

Posted on by
Reply

And Lord of the Lost dragged us all to hell on their second electrifying concert in Canadian lands this Wednesday night in Toronto.

OPENING ACT: Julien-K

A few hours after the more-than-epic show by LORD OF THE LOST in Montreal, it was time to drive back to Toronto for round two at  The Opera House, again featuring JULIEN-K as the opener, as part of the band’s US + Canada 2024 tour. At first I thought The Opera House was bigger than the Beanfield Theatre in Montreal, but after searching for both online I found out that the difference in capacity is only of 25 people (The Opera House can fit 950 people, while the Beanfield Theatre fits 925). Maybe the fact that the floor section at The Opera House is bigger gives that impression, I don’t know, but what really matters is that LOTL were once again stunned by their Canadian fans, this time by a loud and vibrant Toronto crowd, who might not have been as rowdy as the fans in Montreal, but still VERY loud. And what’s even better is that I was joined in Toronto by my buddy Keith Ibbitson of Metal Paparazzi, which is the reason why the photos are way better than my crappy mobile ones from Montreal.

As I was able to watch more of the show by Los Angeles, California’s own Electronic Rock act JULIEN-K in Toronto, I can confirm what I said in the review for Montreal, that they were an amazing opener for LOTL and that everyone inside The Opera House had a great time during their show. Their closing song, a cover version for Blue Monday, by New Order, sounded fantastic, some sort of tribute to their previous band Orgy who blew up in popularity for covering that same track. As mentioned in the review for Montreal, you can listen to more of the music by Julien-K on BandCamp and on Spotify, getting your electronic vein pulsing strong to the sound of one of the torchbearers of the style in the American scene.

Setlist
Futura
Deep Beat Overground
Fractured
All That Glitters
Your Tears Mean Nothing
The Hydra
Undo Everything
Stronger Without You
Blue Monday (New Order cover)

Band members
Ryan Shuck – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Amir Derakh – lead guitar, samples, keyboards, synthesizers, bass
Galen Waling – drums

LORD OF THE LOST

If you’re feelin’ down depressed and lonely, I know a place where we can go, and no, that’s not 22 Acacia Avenue, but any concert by LORD OF THE LOST, like the awesome one in Toronto this Wednesday night. I honestly don’t know how bands like LOTL can play with so much energy night after night and never get tired, liked what they did playing in Montreal this Tuesday night, and in Toronto exactly 24 hours after. The band was as sharp and electrifying as the night before, kicking some ass on the beautiful stage at The Opera House on another sold out (or almost sold out) show, and once again that adrenaline kept flowing from the band to their fans and back, turning the venue into another amazing rock and metal party.

The setlist was the same as the one in Montreal, which means the Toronto crowd had the same fuel to have a great time together with the band, and the energy blasted by Chris & Co. on stage was just as amazing as well. As a band that continues to evolve and explore new horizons, the newer songs from their 2022 album Blood & Glitter were the ones with the loudest reactions from the crowd, which as mentioned was not as wild as Montreal not because of the band, but simply due to the nature of fans in Toronto, always a bit calmer than their Québécois friends. The dancing, fist pumping, jumping around and screaming were all there, of course, and the band loved every single second of their time interacting with their “new” fans, because they might have played countless times already in their homeland Germany, but their happiness playing in Canada was the same as the one form a band that’s just starting their career. Yes, they were that happy and excited.

Closer to the end of the show, Chris mentioned that it was really insane to be playing in Canada, something unimaginable to any of them a few years ago, and that they’ll surely return to Canadian lands sooner than later (also mentioning the fact that getting their visas to Canada is way easier and cheaper than to the United States). I trust Chris one hundred percent when he says they’ll come back, because that was by far one of the wildest couple of shows I’ve seen in the past few years, with the deep connection built between the band and their fans in Montreal and Toronto being a thing of beauty. Who knows, maybe LOTL are going to be the next big thing in Canada, playing at bigger venues, attracting more and more people to their shows, and if that happens they absolutely deserve it, as they’re not only one of the most talented and innovative bands of the current scene, but they’re also really nice guys who are just starting to discover how fun Canada is and how passionate the fans here can be. In other words, see you soon, LOTL!

Setlist
The Curtain Falls
The Future of a Past Life
Dry the Rain
Loreley
Destruction Manual
For They Know Not What They Do
Raining Stars
Sex on Legs
Six Feet Underground
Born With a Broken Heart
Die Tomorrow
Black Halo
Forevermore
Drag Me to Hell
Blood for Blood
Unstoppable (Sia cover)
Shock to the System (Billy Idol cover)
Blood & Glitter
One Last Song

Band members
Chris “The Lord” Harms – lead vocals, guitars, cello
Pi “π” Stoffers – guitars, backing vocals
Benjamin “Benji” Mundigler – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Klaas “Class Grenayde” Helmecke – bass, backing vocals
Gerrit “Gared Dirge” Heinemann – piano, keyboards, percussion, guitars, theremin
Niklas Kahl – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Concert Review – Lord of the Lost (Beanfield Theatre, Montreal, QC, 09/17/2024)

Posted on by
1

When the curtain fell in Montreal, no one was left alone by Lord of the Lost in one of the most memorable concerts in their entire career this Tuesday night.

OPENING ACT: Julien-K

As Billy Idol would say, It was a night, Montreal, burning bright, oh what a night at Théâtre Beanfield (or Beanfield Theatre) when German Dark Rock/Heavy Metal band LORD OF THE LOST, supported by JULIEN-K, played for the first time ever in Canadian lands this Tuesday night as part of their US + Canada 2024 tour, and based on the reaction of the crowd during their entire show I’m sure it wasn’t the last time we saw those guys in the Great White North. I must say the venue was also amazing. It was my first time there and I can’t wait to travel all the way to Montreal to see more of my favorite bands playing there. Not only that, the weather in Montreal was also beyond perfect, around +25oC and sunny, turning the whole day into a memorable experience for both the fans and the band.

I’ll be honest and say I didn’t see much of the concert by Los Angeles, California-based Electronic Rock act JULIEN-K (due to other commitments prior to the show), which began as a side project for electronic music created by Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck from Orgy, alongside Anthony ‘Fu’ Valcic, and that sounds a lot like a fusion of Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, Ministry and Marilyn Manson, but I guess everyone at the venue enjoyed a lot their performance. They recently released the albums Harmonic Disruptor, in 2020, and Unauthorized Live In Europe, in 2021, and if you’re curious to know more about them you can find their music on BandCamp and on Spotify. I personally believe they were a great choice to open for Lord of the Lost, properly warming up all fans at the venue for the main attraction of the night, and even if electronic music is not my cup of tea I need to say they’re really good in what they do.

Setlist
Futura
Deep Beat Overground
Fractured
All That Glitters
Your Tears Mean Nothing
The Hydra
Undo Everything
Stronger Without You
Blue Monday (New Order cover)

Band members
Ryan Shuck – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Amir Derakh – lead guitar, samples, keyboards, synthesizers, bass
Galen Waling – drums

LORD OF THE LOST

It might have taken years for LORD OF THE LOST to finally pay a visit to Canada, but the wait was absolutely worth it as Chris Harms and his henchmen simply destroyed the Beanfield Theatre with a flawless performance overflowing electricity, heaviness and passion, putting every single person at the venue to jump up and down, dance, raise their horns and fists and scream out loud together with the band. Their setlist was amazing, showcasing a great balance between all of their old material with their latest released Blood & Glitter (2022) and Weapons of Mass Seduction (2023). The first few songs, including The Curtain Falls, Dry the Rain and Loreley, already gave us a very good taste of how awesome the whole night was going to be, and the louder the reaction of the fans was, the better the band was on stage and vice-versa.

A few songs sounded utterly powerful in Montreal, like Six Feet Underground, Die Tomorrow, Drag Me to Hell, and Blood for Blood, where by the way Chris invited everyone at the venue to do the “one-person mosh pit” (which is basically jumping and spinning around alone), and let me tell you that all fans loved that moment, with huge smiles on everyone’s faces. Pi Stoffers and Niklas Kahl were ruthless armed with their respective guitars and drums, adding a humongous dosage of heaviness to the band’s music, therefore sounding even heavier than in the studio, (something I personally loved as a fan of extreme music), and that translated into a lot of headbanging, dancing and clapping from the audience for the total delectation of the band. To be fair, the whole band was spot-on, precise and on fire, playing all songs to perfection, with the ending of the show including their cover versions for Sia’s Unstoppable and Billy Idol’s Shock to the System (the biggest surprise of the night for me), plus of course their classics Blood & Glitter and One Last Song, being the icing on the cake to their breathtaking show.

All band members were visibly very emotional during and after the show, with Chris repeating several times it was a dream come true for them to be in Canada, and that they didn’t expect such a big turnout on a Tuesday night in a country they had never played before. He also said Canada is the 40th country they’ve ever played at now, and that they will surely return in a not-so-distant future. I’m sure all fans who attended their concert can’t wait for another round of LOTL madness in the city, and I’ll make sure I find some time in my busy agenda to see them again in Montreal because that show was definitely mind blowing. There was “round 2” in Toronto the next day after a six-hour drive back home, but that will be covered in a separate review. For now, all I can say is that LOTL are Montreal, and Montreal is LOTL.

Setlist
The Curtain Falls
The Future of a Past Life
Dry the Rain
Loreley
Destruction Manual
For They Know Not What They Do
Raining Stars
Sex on Legs
Six Feet Underground
Born With a Broken Heart
Die Tomorrow
Black Halo
Forevermore
Drag Me to Hell
Blood for Blood
Unstoppable (Sia cover)
Shock to the System (Billy Idol cover)
Blood & Glitter
One Last Song

Band members
Chris “The Lord” Harms – lead vocals, guitars, cello
Pi “π” Stoffers – guitars, backing vocals
Benjamin “Benji” Mundigler – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Klaas “Class Grenayde” Helmecke – bass, backing vocals
Gerrit “Gared Dirge” Heinemann – piano, keyboards, percussion, guitars, theremin
Niklas Kahl – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Concert Review – Disturbed (Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON, 05/01/2023)

Posted on by
Reply

Over ten thousand fists were held high in Toronto on another breathtaking (and very emotional) performance by one of the most important metal bands of the past three decades. 

OPENING ACT: Theory of a Deadman

Concerts on Mondays are always exhausting, it doesn’t matter who’s playing, the time of the year, and even if you’re on vacation or not. However, it didn’t look like a Monday last night at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, with THEORY OF A DEADMAN and DISTURBED continuing the Canadian leg of the Take Back Your Life Tour 2023 before heading to Europe for several summer festivals, and then returning for the US leg of the tour. The ingredients for the same type of awesomeness from their last appearance in the city back in 2019 were there, including thousands of avid fans (many already off from college or university, which means nothing to do the next day), an ass-kicking new album, a very decent weather and so on, turning it into another memorable night of modern metal music in the city.

The band chosen to be Disturbed’s opener, North Delta, British Columbia-based Alternative Rock/Metal act THEORY OF A DEADMAN, hit the stage precisely at 8pm armed with their fusion of classic and modern Rock N’ Roll, plus a brand new album named Dinosaur, entertaining most of the fans who were already at the venue. And I said most of the fans because I was one of several who were not entertained at all, I mean, I’m either getting too grumpy with age, or my growing taste for extreme music is now blocking me from enjoying anything that’s way too soft like the music by those Canadian rockers. They’re competent musicians, no doubt about that, and some of the songs from their setlist worked really well like Bitch Came Back and Bad Girlfriend, but overall it was a semi-snooze fest with their boring cover version for Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game being the icing on the cake (in a bad way). Not even the snippets from Guns N’ Roses’ Paradise City and Pantera’s Walk made me bang my head, perhaps because they were just snippets, but that’s fine. At least the younger kids were enjoying the show, so it’s all about our personal taste for music, right?

Setlist
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond song)
Dinosaur
Bitch Came Back
Two of Us (Stuck)
Angel
Wicked Game
Ambulance
Better Off
Nutshell
Santa Monica
Hate My Life
Rx (Medicate)
Paradise City (Snippet)
Walk (Snippet)
Bad Girlfriend

Band members
Tyler Connolly – vocals, guitars, piano
Dave Brenner – guitars, backing vocals
Dean Back – bass, backing vocals
Joey Dandeneau – drums, backing vocals

DISTURBED

It was close to 9:30pm when the main attraction of the night, Chicago, Illinois-based Alternative Metal titans DISTURBED began their always electrifying performance, driving everyone at the venue crazy already to the first few notes of their new song Hey You, from their 2022 album Divisive. David Draiman, Dan Donegan, John Moyer and Mike Wengren were obviously sharp and focused, and not even the fact that their stage was not as detailed or innovative as the one from 2019 took away the energy from their entire set.

Songs like Ten Thousand Fists, The Game and Indestructible sounded as awesome as usual, but their new songs Bad Man and Unstoppable, plus the ballads A Reason to Fight and The Light, were the ones that stole the show and made yesterday’s performance so captivating. Bad Man was amazing because David himself said the band was eager to play that song live to their fans, and the feedback form the crowd, with tons of headbanging, fists raised in the air and some mosh pits put a big smile on the faces of the band members. And when they played the other new song, Unstoppable, they came out all wearing Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys, talking about how the “curse” of not advancing to the second round of the playoffs has been broken after 19 years, and that it’s time for the Leafs to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada. Well, let’s see if the Maple Leafs are as unstoppable as Disturbed in the coming weeks, right?

And although it was supposed to be a metal concert, which means speed and heaviness, it was during two of their ballads that things got serious and David took the moment to send powerful messages to everyone at the concert. As you might already know, every single time Disturbed play A Reason to Fight, David gets very emotional and dedicates it to his deceased friends Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave), among others, always saying he’s tired of losing such close friends to suicide and talking about the importance of reaching out to your friends and family when you suffer from mental issues; however, this time David (in tears, by the way) opened up and mentioned that he also has to deal with addiction and depression (in fact, all members of the band have to do so as well), and that around eight months ago he almost joined his friends on the other side. That was a shocking moment for all of us fans, but it also showed no one is safe from mental diseases, and that we must all stay together to fight that, saying that mental issues are like an invisible cancer growing inside of us and taking over our entire body until it’s too late.

The other emotional moment of their performance connected with that message, when he called fans Sean and Charlotte (who were part of the Meet & Greet with the band earlier yesterday) to the stage, both going through tough times and suffering from mental issues, before playing the beautiful The Light. Actually, it was the second Sean who was supposed to be on stage all the time, but apparently John Moyer confused him with another guy, and there he was the “wrong Sean”, visibly drunk, enjoying his time with the band on stage. Anyway, those fans had the pleasure of enjoying the entire song sitting near the drums, while David asked everyone to raise their lighters or smartphone flashlights when he said the words “the light”, creating a stunning effect inside the arena while reminding everyone of the positive power of music in our lives.

One of the most electrifying moments of the concert was of course when they played their undisputed hit Down With the Sickness, with all fans jumping up and down, engaging in some action inside the mosh pits, or screaming the famous “Oh, ah, ah, ah ,ah!” together with David during the entire song, and after everyone got down with the sickness there was still time for another incendiary song, the excellent Inside the Fire, inspiring all fans for one last round of insanity inside the pit on a Monday night. So remember, everyone, to keep banging your heads while enjoying high quality heavy music like what Disturbed are always providing us with, and if you need any type of mental help or support in Canada you can contact the Canadian Mental Health Association, COAST Hamilton, the Suicide Prevention Middlesex-London, or the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region, among others. We all want to see YOU at the next Disturbed concert in Toronto, raising your fists in the air together with one of the most important metal bands of the past few decades.

Setlist
Hey You
Stupify
Ten Thousand Fists
Prayer
Are You Ready
Bad Man
The Vengeful One
A Reason to Fight
Land of Confusion
The Game
The Sound of Silence
Indestructible
The Light
Stricken

Encore:
Unstoppable
Down With the Sickness
Inside the Fire

Band members
David Draiman – vocals
Dan Donegan – guitar
John Moyer – bass
Mike Wengren – drums

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Album Review – Disturbed / Divisive (2022)

Posted on by
3

David Draiman and his henchmen are back with a blistering angry album, bringing to our avid ears ten tracks of visceral, unfiltered Disturbed throughout its 38 minutes of duration.

With over 17 million records sold worldwide, Chicago, United States-based Heavy/Alternative Metal giants Disturbed have just released their eighth studio album, entitled Divisive, following up on their 2015 critically acclaimed album Immortalized and their 2018 not-so-acclaimed effort Evolution. As early as October 2020, frontman David Draiman stated that he wanted the new Disturbed album to be “blisteringly angry”, considering everything going on in the world with the pandemic, and let’s say the band more than succeeded in that with Divisive. Produced, mixed and engineered by Drew Fulk and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, the album puts the band comprised of the aforementioned David Draiman on vocals, Dan Donegan on the guitar, John Moyer on bass and Mike Wengren on drums back on track, bringing to our avid ears ten tracks of visceral, unfiltered Disturbed throughout its 38 minutes of duration.

The opening track Hey You will already kick you in the head with its direct and inspiring lyrics vociferated by David (“Hey you / Have you had enough of it? / How the blind are leading the blind / Hey you / Are you angered enough / Do you feel confined / Are you losing your mind”), while the music exhales classic Disturbed for our total delight; whereas Mike hammers his drums mercilessly in the dark and heavy Bad Man accompanied by the rumbling bass by John in another display of the band’s trademark Alternative Metal. Then we have the title-track Divisive, which should work amazingly when played during their live concerts with David spearheading his henchmen with another solid vocal performance, being perfect for some fierce headbanging (not to mention how awesome Dan’s guitar solo sounds). And even heavier and more dynamic, Unstoppable presents a bestial performance by Mike on drums once again while David’s soaring vocals walk hand in hand with the slashing riffage by Dan, sounding very exciting from start to finish, whereas the metallic bass by John builds a strong base for David to roar in Love to Hate, a straightforward tune by Disturbed that feels like it was taken from one of their classic albums.

Feeding the Fire leans towards the band’s more recent albums like Immortalized, with David investing in deeper, more melancholic vocals, resulting in a fist-raising tune to the classic beats by Mike and the always incendiary riffs by Dan. After that, the band fires the beautiful Don’t Tell Me, inspired by guitarist Dan Donegan’s divorce from his wife of 18 years and featuring the iconic American singer Ann Wilson (best known as the lead singer of Heart), where an introspective start to the clean vocals by David evolves into a stunning dark ballad. Furthermore, their vocal duet is superb, overflowing passion and feeling, while the rest of the band makes sure the music remains heavy and touching until the very end. Get ready to jump up and down with Disturbed in the electrifying Take Back Your Life, bringing to our ears modern-day Alternative Metal with a straightforward chorus and a groovy instrumental, and if you want groove and heaviness you’ll have a blast to the sound of Part of Me, with John and mike generating a reverberating ambience perfect for David’s raspy vocals. And finally, we have Won’t Back Down, a great tune to close the album offering us all more of Disturbed’s undisputed heavy music, and I’m sure it will also inspire fans to raise their fists with the band if played live.

In summary, David Draiman and his henchmen did an excellent job with Divisive, especially if you compare it to Evolution, reigniting that amazing level of energy found in most of their previous albums, and you can enjoy that in all of its glory on YouTube and on Spotify, or simply purchase your favorite version of the album by clicking HERE. Moreover, Disturbed can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for news, tour dates and more of their thrilling music. Although the name of the album is Divisive, I doubt it’s going to cause disagreement or hostility between people (as per the word’s own definition); quite the contrary, it doesn’t matter if you’re a longtime Disturbed fan or a newcomer to their rockin’ realm, you’ll certainly have a lot of fun while listening to such powerful album by an unstoppable band that continues to shine as one of the most important rock and metal groups of the past few decades.

Best moments of the album: Hey You, Unstoppable, Don’t Tell Me and Part of Me.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2022 Reprise Records

Track listing
1. Hey You 4:28
2. Bad Man 3:22
3. Divisive 3:58
4. Unstoppable 3:58
5. Love to Hate 3:36
6. Feeding the Fire 4:19
7. Don’t Tell Me 4:31
8. Take Back Your Life 2:58
9. Part of Me 3:53
10. Won’t Back Down 2:52

Band members
David Draiman – vocals
Dan Donegan – guitar
John Moyer – bass
Mike Wengren – drums