Hump Day Hot Ticket: Revolution Saints “Freedom”

Band photo

In this day and age, there are a lot of rock supergroups out there—so much to the point where it almost seems there are more supergroups than the original bands they came from in the first place. So when yet another supergroup hits the scene, it almost becomes to easy to either cynically brush this off as another flash in the pan collaboration among artists who have seen better days, or to get lost in the shuffle altogether.

However, it can be said that supergroups can serve a useful purpose in today's musical climate. While on the one hand, they obviously have a built-in audience of fans from their “brand-name” bands, a supergroup can attract new audiences on two other levels as well. For one, you get the demographic of older music fans who bemoan that “there's no good music anymore”. Many of these people may not have been fans of the original bands, or maybe only liked one or two of the groups, so this brings them in out of curiosity, and introduces them to the talents of musicians they had once passed by, because the music was not to their liking. Then on the other token, you have the younger music fans, who consider the original groups to be “dinosaur bands”, and wouldn't be caught dead at their concert. Yet, under the guise of a supergroup, this is “new” music, and therefore, new to them. Now an audience who never would have given these musicians a fair chance when in their original bands, now they have been introduced to seasoned veterans in the rock world, without ever feeling as if they have fallen into a “Dad-band” pit trap.

One example of these many supergroups to crop up on the scene is Revolution Saints, consisting of some heavy hitters of ’80s hard rock: Doug Aldrich, of Dio and Whitesnake fame; Deen Castronovo, former drummer of Bad English and Journey; and Jack Blades of Night Ranger, and another supergroup, Damn Yankees. Put them together, and Revolution Saints is a perfect fusion of straightforward classic hard rock, and modern-day heavy aggression.

In the video for “Freedom”, the Saints rock out onstage while the lyrics flash upon the screen. The band is all smiles onstage, having a great time while the camera pans out to an enthusiastic crowd. A highly-charged, energetic tune that is sure to get people up on their feet!

For more information on Revolution Saints, visit their official website.

Special thanks to Wayne Joyner.

Album review: Exit Eden—Rhapsodies in Black (2017)

Album: Rhapsodies in Black

Artist: Exit Eden

Genre: Symphonic metal

Label: Napalm Records

Tracks: 11

*Review originally posted at the Female-fronted Power Facebook page.

Photo credit: Christian Barz-Klein

What do you get when you combine the talents of 4 respected voices on the symphonic metal scene, and put them together to record an album full of covers that are anything but symphonic or metal? You get Exit Eden, the collaborative effort of Amanda Somerville (who has sung with everyone from Kamelot to Epica), Clémentine Delauney (best known for her work with Serenity, and as the frontwoman for Visions of Atlantis), Marina LaTorraca (who has sung with Avantasia), and Anna Brunner (who has been in rock bands ever since she was a teen). Four distinct voices, personalities, and musical backgrounds, with one goal: to show how diverse metal can be by taking songs from any genre and putting their twist on them.

The concept isn't entirely new: Within Temptation did something similar on their 2013 album The Q-Music Sessions, but that was a project spearheaded by a radio station and had never been intended to become an album. The songs were also chosen for them, and the band was given a week-long deadline to transform the tunes into their own. Because of this, not all the songs ended up on the finished album, due to not getting copyright permission (such as their cover of “Skyfall”, which did end up on the Exit Eden album). Whereas with Exit Eden, these are all songs of their own choosing, and they had time to not only get the necessary copyrights, but also to hone and craft these songs any way they liked.

Photo credit: Christian Barz-Klein

From the opening track, I am hooked; but anyone who can do a good job on a Depeche Mode cover is going to win my heart. Depeche Mode is my favorite non-metal band of all time, and Exit Eden takes their Black Celebration classic “A Question of Time” and gives it a bombastic symphonic metal remake. Right away they have won me over, even if I do not recognize another song on this compilation.

However, there are other songs here that I am familiar with; such as their cover of Madonna's late-’90s hit “Frozen”. This song seems to be a favorite in the symphonic metal genre when covering songs, and I haven't heard a rendition this good since Lindsay Schoolcraft covered this track a couple of years ago (coming from me, this is a huge compliment, as I am a big fan of Lindsay's music). Exit Eden also does a fantastic job on the Bryan Adams tune “Heaven”, which just kickstarted my ’80s nostalgia feels.

Photo credit: Christian Barz-Klein

Another tune that is just tailor-made for this genre is the ’80s mega-hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, a song I have always felt needed a symphonic metal makeover. It has been my long-held opinion that Jim Steinman is one of the forefathers of symphonic rock—whether their descendants recognize it or not—and have often wondered why his material is not covered more within the scene. But finally, after 35 years, someone has done it the way I wished it would sound. Much as I love the original, Bonnie Tyler's voice always grated on my nerves, and I felt the song was better suited for a more operatic vocalist. If the Depeche Mode cover hadn't already won me over, this would have made me a believer.

That being said, the selling point of this album, for me, is not so much how they tackle the songs I know and love, but what they can do with material I don't know, or songs I downright hate, such as Katy Perry's “Firework”. If I never hear that song again it would be too soon, and I almost dreaded the thought of having to hear it again for this review, even if it is a cover. Their version is not bad; I don't think I will ever be a fan of the song, but maybe I wouldn't have found the original half as annoying if it had sounded more like this!

Band photo

The rest of the album features pop covers of everyone from Backstreet Boys to Rihanna, and since I am pressed for time on this review, I did not have the time to listen to the originals and compare them. To my ear, they are pleasant-sounding songs, and I might just give the originals a listen sometime. Their take on the song “Impossible” reminded me a little of “The Show Must Go On” by Queen. Lady Gaga is one of the few pop artists out there that I really like, and Exit Eden’s version of her song “Paparazzi” is an energetic hard rocker that is a nod to Gaga's love of metal.

To wrap this up, I highly recommend this album as a “starter” if you are new to symphonic metal or are trying to bring a new fan into this type of music. These are well-known songs done in a particular style, so if you like these, you might like the overall genre of music too. If you are a fan of any of these ladies, it is a given you will enjoy this album too. Whether you love this genre of music or just have an inclination to hear some interesting covers of pop hits and ’80s classics, then Rhapsodies in Black just might be what you are looking for.

Photo credit: Christian Barz-Klein

Special thanks to Henk van Nieuwenhoven at Female Fronted Power.

_____________________________________________

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Death Dealer “K.I.L.L.”

Band photo

When you put a band together consisting of bandmembers from Into Eternity and Lizzy Borden, then add some other musicians who have worked with such vocal legends as Udo Dirkschneider and Rob Halford, throw in Sean Peck, known as “the man of a thousand voices”, and then top it all off with none other than ex-Manowar's guitarist “Ross the Boss”—you have all the components for a kick-ass metal band. That metal band is called Death Dealer, and while “supergroups” have become common in the music world these days, you would be hard-pressed to find anything common about Death Dealer.

Fusing together their respective musical genres such as thrash and speed metal, Death Dealer is bringing back traditional metal in a big way, but never sounding outdated or predictable. This is metal brutality that makes you pump your fists, bang your head, and kick some ass.

In their video for “K.I.L.L.”, the band rocks their asses off in a rehearsal space, as confirmed by a Google Earth-type navigational system (the term “target acquired” reiterating that whatever is going on at this place is of interest to us). Simultaneously, at another location, there are two “hot chicks” in bikinis, hanging out in a hot tub, rubbing lotion on each other, and tanning on lounge chairs—whom, at the beginning of the video, are identified by the navigational system as “agents”. But that is easy for some of our viewers to forget once the lovely ladies are on-screen!

As the video progresses, one of the women receives a text message: “They're a threat—take them out!!!” The two women give each other a knowing glance, and before you know it, they are dressed in sexy black uniforms, and hit the road in their sleek black sedan. As the band rips into a killer guitar solo, the women are packing heat. Without revealing the video's ending, I will simply say that the band has quite the sense of humor when keeping to the song's title.

For more information about Death Dealer—currently working on their upcoming 3rd album—visit their official website.

Thanks to Benjamin at Lords of PR.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Last Union “President Evil”

Band photo

When I started this weekly feature earlier this year, it was truly on a whim: a friend posted a video on her Facebook wall, and I liked it. I hear a lot of music that I like, but for some reason, the spark of an idea came to me from watching the video that I should start giving more attention to this blog and start showcasing a lot of the music that comes my way as a writer for two metal music-based sites. I have really come to enjoy looking for new videos to share here each week: sometimes I had an ample list of bands waiting to be shared for weeks in advance; and then there were other times when nothing reached my desk, thus prompting me to go out there and seek even further. But no matter whether it was a new discovery or a band I had liked for a long time, it became a pleasure to log in to this blog every Wednesday and share something with all of you.

So, as the year comes to a close and I reach my final weekly installment of 2016, what is the best way to put a cap on it and send it off into 2017? I think one good way is to pay tribute to a particular recurring theme that has—completely unintentionally—become another fun aspect of writing these weekly entries. Over the last 8 months since I began this feature in early April, the abundance of music from Italy that kept finding its way here every Wednesday was something of which I could not help but take notice. Whether it was symphonic metal, power metal, or progressive metal—Italy has been bringing levels of quality music to the metal scene that cannot be denied. Therefore it is only fitting that my final Hump Day Hot Ticket entry of 2016 takes us back to Italy one more time.

This week, I introduce you to Last Union: not only a band from Italy, but a well-rounded supergroup consisting of respected musicians from other parts of the world. Like fellow Italian band Secret Rule (whom I have featured here twice before), Last Union calls upon some of the most esteemed names in the power and progressive metal scene, and creates kick-ass music that keeps the genre alive and well. Featuring ex-Helloween drummer Uli Kusch and Symphony X bassist Mike LePond, Last Union's melodic metal style takes the best of what prog and power metal have to offer, with some lovely female vocals on top.

For the band's first single (and the video I am reviewing), “President Evil”, Last Union levels up their supergroup status in a huge way and enlists the talents of none other than Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie. This merger is what caught my attention towards Last Union, and piqued my curiosity to hear what this band was about, as I am a huge Dream Theater fan (remember that “musical holy trinity” I wrote about a few weeks back?), and I love LaBrie's voice. So naturally, I had to hear this.

Musically, this is a heavy track that highlights LaBrie's more “aggressive” vocal style, which fits the lyrical content perfectly. This is a lyric video, so we see a lot of imagery set to the song's lyrics, such as graphics of a dollar bill or newspaper headlines reworked to feature a line from the song. Many could read into the lyrics to have relevance to the current political state in the U.S. right now, with lines such as “President slowly goes insane”, “give the world a star to fool with your business and playing the solemn game”, or “stare at your scenery...leader, make up your mind”, or “preaching for tomorrow, lacking for today...questioning contacts, dark speeches are running out of time”. However, because this is not a political blog, I will make no commentary one way or the other, as it is not my place to tell anyone how they should interpret lyrics or what one's relationship to music should be. That is what makes music wonderful, after all: we each hear the same thing, but no two people listen identically.

For more information on Last Union, or to purchase their debut album, Most Beautiful Day, visit the band's official website.