The “The Protect the Innocent” saga goes on with side three, “The Wild and the Willing.” However, there seems to be no let up in the great metal this album has.
Magnum- Start Talking Love
Vow Wow- Helter Skelter
Megadeath- Rattlehead
Saxon- Back on the Streets
Lita Ford- Kiss Me Deadly
Lisa Dominique- Rock ‘N’ Roll Lady
Exodus- Fabulous Disaster
I hope you’re continuing to enjoy. Three sides down one more to go.
Next post: Protect the Innocent- Side 4, The Wanton and the Warriors
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Let’s start with the obvious, yes, Vow Wow’s album is named after a famous Beatles song and the one which can be said was the Fab Four’s contribution to heavy metal. Saying that, Vow Wow’s cover of the song is very good and it does appear on that compilation album I keep going on about. It also gives me another idea which I’ll talk more about at the end of the post.
Another point about Vow Wow, which I’m sure I stated when I posted about their previous album, “V.” They were to England what Loudness was to America, a great Japanese metal band which everyone thought kicked ass. It’s a bit of a shame that either band didn’t seem to get traction in the other country. I guess it proves that the US and the UK are two peoples separated by the same language.
The first two tracks of “Helter Skelter” are decent tracks but I also think they were more oriented for commercial radio. For me, the album doesn’t really kick into gear till the third track, “Spellbound” and no it’s not a cover of the Triumph classic. This is a great tune, my favourite on the album and I guess you could call it the hidden gem. From the kick ass guitar intro you get a good steady rocking with some great vocals and backing vocals and you get a cool keyboard/guitar solo tradeoff between Kyoji Yamamoto and Rei Astumi.
After the title track comes the first of two power ballads, “The Boy.” Genki Hitomi does pour his heart into it but I must say, I think he and Minoru Nihara are cut from the same mold in regards to their vocal styles. This is no way a bad thing. One ever so slight disappointment comes in the form of “Rock Me Now.” This track would have rocked me more if the keyboards had been turned down and the guitars turned up! Fortunately, the next track, “Turn on the Night” does rock out and rocks out totally although it does sound a little Kiss-ish. Kyoji’s guitar solo is top notch.
“Never Let You Go” is the second power ballad and Genki sings it with the same conviction as he does “The Boy.” There is some good drumming from Toshihiro Niimi. Then we get back to some rocking with “Night By Night.” However, the album ends as it began with two more commercial friendly tracks although there is a bit of swagger to the penultimate track and the closer is the perfect choice for the job.
Track Listing:
Feel the Power
Talking ‘Bout You
Spellbound
Helter Skelter
The Boy
Rock Me Now
Turn on the Night
Never Let You Go
Night By Night
You’re the One For Me
Sign of the Times
Vow Wow
Genki Hitomi- vocals
Kyoji Yamamoto- guitars
Rei Astumi- keyboards
Neil Murray- bass
Toshihiro- Niimi- drums
“Helter Skelter” is a solid offering from Vow Wow. Somebody should have suggested a joint tour between them and Loudness, this way we would have had a double whammy of great Japanese metal.
On the subject of the song “Helter Skelter,” there have been so many covers of this classic Beatles song that I propose a post of deciding which one we like most or the original. I formally invite all of you to contribute to a massive joint post on the subject.
Next post: MASS- Voices in the Night
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Thinking about my comment about Billy Squier being the best American artist not to have made it in Britain, Loudness gets the gong for best Japanese band to have cracked America but not Britain. In the UK, the big Japanese metal band was Vow Wow but that’s a story for another day. This is the only reason why Loudness’s 1989, “Soldier of Fortune,” passed me by in that year. It didn’t make any headway in Britain.
Before recording the album, lead singer, Minoru Nihara, left the band after the band’s manager suggested that Loudness would have more success in America if they had a real English speaking singer. Soap box alert: If I had known this back then, I wouldn’t have been happy because I have always liked Nihara as a singer and so what if he sang better in English than he spoke the language. He has always been one of my favourite vocalists. Soap box moment over.
With all that said, I did listen to “Soldier of Fortune” with an open mind. For me, the power and glam Loudness brought to their albums remained. Massayoshi Yamashita Munetaka Higuchi are a reliable, if not formidable rhythm section and Akira Takasaki shows the world that he’s still a shredder who should be taken seriously. As for the newly acquired American vocalist, Michael Vescera, to me he sounds very similar to his predecessor in vocal style. At times I thought that it was actually Nihara singing, so there are no earth shattering changes here.
In a nutshell, it seems that on “Soldier of Fortune,” Loudness were trying to recopy the formula which made their iconic “Thunder in the East” album so good. It starts with some powerful songs with the second track, “You Shook Me,” released as a single. The song was single material, too bad the public didn’t buy it but a good metal song. The track, “Danger of Love,” comes in with an acoustic intro before the power kicks in. The song sounds very Scorpions like, not a bad thing but you still know it’s Loudness.
Where things go a bit different is on the track, “25 Days of From Home.” This sounds more jazz infused and not something one would expect from a metal band. It’s like a ballad but it’s not. Still, it doesn’t seem out of place on the album. Maybe because Akira plays a blinder of a solo on it. However, it doesn’t take long to get back to the metal as the hidden gem, “Red Light Shooter,” comes in. Pure metal done the way Loudness does it best. For those who might be wondering, the song is about someone who jumps traffic lights and not to be confused with city districts given that name.
Loudness go almost speed metal on “Running for Cover,” as it’s done at a very fast pace dragging the melody with it. There are some cool guitar hooks in it. Then it slows down for the more ballad sounding, “Lost Without Your Love.” It is on this track that you know for sure it’s Michael singing and he does a good job but it’s the little progressive sounding guitar hook at the intro which really grabbed my attention. More power metal returns on “Faces in the Fire” and continues with “Long After Midnight.” I do like the guitar work on both songs and the harmonizing at the chorus of the latter. That brings us to the closer, the rip roaring “Demon Disease” and a good closer it does make.
Track Listing:
Soldier of Fortune
You Shook Me
Danger of Love
25 Days From Home
Red Light Shooter
Running For Cover
Lost Without Your Love
Faces in the Fire
Long After Midnight
Demon Disease
Loudness
Michael Vescera- vocals
Akira Takasaki- guitar
Massayoshi Yamashita- bass
Munetaka Higuchi- drums
Additional Musician:
Claude Schell- keyboards
This is the second straight album Claude played on. Was he trying to be Steve Lukather?
No matter if you’re in the Vescera camp or the Nihara one, Loudness would fade into obscurity in America, although they would continue to rule in their homeland of Japan. However, this was down to other changes in the wind and not to the change in the singer, though I’m still a Minoru Nihara fan to the end.
Next post: Extreme
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
At first, I was going to abandon posting about the “Chikara” album from KISS and curse myself for taking notice of Wikipedia. After all, the album was only released in Japan and limited to 100,000 copies. KISS put out the album to coincide with their tour of the country at the time. However, Mike encouraged me not to abandon the post so credit him with another save. Fanboy Mike might not be able to save hockey shots but he has saved my bacon twice in as many weeks.
Once I found the album on Youtube and began listening, I became jealous that I didn’t have a copy of the album back in 1988. This would have been the KISS album for me at the time because it had all the songs I like, except “Dr. Love” but nobody’s perfect. See, and I apologize for going over old ground to long time followers, I didn’t properly get into KISS until 1982 with the “Creatures of the Night” album. While there were a few songs I knew and liked, I didn’t get into KISS because I had a religious upbringing and I believed all that crap that they were admitted Satan worshipers and that the band’s name was an anagram for ‘Knights In Satan’s Service.” I said it before but as a teen in the 1970s, religion messed up my head more than heavy metal music ever could but that’s a story for another day.
Mike gave another piece of advice about the album, when listening to it, one must include the remix of “I Was Made For Lovin’ You.” It might be seven minutes plus long but I do like it better than the original off the “Dynasty” album. There isn’t much more I can say about it, that’s the problem with compilation albums. The songs we all know and love are mainly there already but it’s good to hear them all together.
Track Listing:
Rock and Roll All Nite
Detroit Rock City
Love Gun
I Was Made For Loving You
Creatures of the Night
I Love It Loud
War Machine
Lick It Up
All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose
Heaven’s On Fire
Thrills in the Night
Who Wants To Be Lonely
Uh.. All Night
Tears are Falling
KISS
KISS
I thought I should include all the KISS lineups.
Paul Stanley- rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals
Gene Simmons- bass, lead and backing vocals
Ace Frehley- lead guitar, lead and backing vocals
Bruce Kulick- lead guitar, backing vocals
Vinnie Vincent- lead guitar, backing vocals
Peter Criss- drums, lead and backing vocals
Eric Carr- drums, lead and backing vocals
And also my two favourite KISS songs together:
So there you have it, possibly the best KISS compilation album I’ll never own. It did inspire them to release a similar compilation album in the US later on in the year.
Next post: I’ definitely off to Edinburgh so you will either read an account of some band I discovered in a rock club there or it will be KISS- “Smashes, Trashes and Hits.”
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
After four successful studio albums, three of which went platinum, Dokken thought it was a good idea to put out a live album. “Beast From the East” was recorded during the band’s tour of Japan in 1988 before they went on the Monsters of Rock tour with the likes of Judas Priest and Van Halen.
What I like about the album is that although, the tour was in support of their previous studio album, “Back for the Attack,” there is a good, healthy mixture from all four albums. Only three songs from that album are on the live album but there is a good selection from the “Tooth ‘N’ Nail” and “Under Lock and Key” albums. There is even one from the first album, the title cut from “Breaking the Chains.” I love the mixture.
First, I’ll start with a nit pick. Having seen Dokken twice, both times during the “Under Lock and Key” tour, they opened with “Unchain the Night,” which they do here. When I saw them, I thought it was a good song to open with. However, it seems less balls grabbing on this album while the second track, “Tooth ‘N’ Nail,” does. Just a small point but I think these songs should have been switched around on the band’s play list.
While I won’t dissect each track, I will point out that at least according to the fan noise, two of the tracks from “Back For the Attack” get the most applause from the Japanese fans. I do think that “Dream Warriors” and “Kiss of Death” are played very well. In fact, I’ll put my head in the lion’s mouth and say that “Kiss of Death” sounds a lot better on this live album than the studio version. Speaking of that album, when I reviewed it not long ago, I declared the instrumental, “Mr. Scary,” to the the best song on that album. They play it live here and totally nail it! George is a beast on the guitar.
While you get some great live songs through the album, I really dig the live version of “Into the Fire,” the best is saved for last as all the songs are from Dokken’s first three albums. You get, “It’s Not Love,” Breaking the Chains,” my all time favourite Dokken song, “You Just Got Lucky,” and the great power ballad, “Alone Again,” which I love the alternative intro on and end with “In My Dreams.” If I had been at the show, I would have left the arena on a total high after that. The album ends with a studio cut, “Walk Away,” the video of which was performed on the Santa Monica Mountains in California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Man, the music along with the views must have been breath taking.
Track Listing:
Unchain the Night
Tooth ‘N’ Nail
Dream Warriors
Kiss of Death
When Heaven Comes Down
Into the Fire
Mr. Scary
Heaven Sent
It’s Not Love
Alone Again
You Just Got Lucky
Breaking the Chains
It’s Not Love
Walk Away
Dokken
Don Dokken- lead vocals
George Lynch- guitar
Jeff Pilson- bass, backing vocals
Mick Brown- drums, backing vocals
Maybe Dokken knew what we all knew about the “Back For the Attack” album, that it wasn’t as good as the first three albums, which was why only three songs from that album appear on “Beast From the East.” It was a good move on their part because the tracks from those albums, plus the fact that the three from the mentioned album are played very well, is why this is such a good live album.
Next post: Lita Ford- Lita
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmai.com
Two points: First, I am going on a client holiday at work so the next post won’t be for a week. Second, apologies to Destroyer of Harmony, I did not intentionally delete your comment on the Kingdom Come post. It’s my stupid mobile phone, I was trying to respond to it.
One of the challenges I’ve had when writing posts is writing about albums I didn’t listen to until way after those albums first came out. “Lookin’ for Action” by Japanese guitarist Kuni was one of those. Obviously the album came out in 1988 but I didn’t get to listen to it until 2000, when my sister sent the CD. It was in fact two albums in one, this one and the band Panther’s self titled EP. What these albums had in common is that they were both fronted by Yngwie Malmsteen’s former singer, Jeff Scott Soto. I don’t know much about the history behind the album, to that I would defer to 2Loud as he is the world’s foremost expert on Jeff Scott Soto.
You can feel that there is a definite chemistry between Kuni and Jeff right from the beginning. Kuni’s riffs come through right away on the opener “Strangers in the Night” and Jeff’s vocals kick in and totally grab your attention. That chemistry continues on my pick for track of the album, “Shine On.” Jeff’s vocals are brilliant as they are throughout the album and Kuni nails a killer guitar solo. The rhythm section of Douglas Taylor Baker and Mike Terrano stake their claim on this track as well.
Kuni
Kuni shows his not a one trick pony with the guitar on the aptly named “Acoustic Piece. It’s a soft acoustic instrumental and well done. Following on is the power ballad “Memories of You.” While I have always known what a great singer Jeff is, any doubters would be reassured on this one and the term power ballad is literal. There is a lot of power in this ballad and possibly the best guitar solo in a power ballad of all time. A topic which can be debated later.
The title track is the second fastest song and Jeff has no problem with it, not that I had doubts he wouldn’t. It’s a great one to headbang along to. But some great Kuni guitar riffs open “Don’t Look Back.” This is a moderate paces song with all of the great things already mentioned present. And Kuni continues to impress with opening riffs on “Say Goodbye.” It starts off as it’s going to be another power ballad but increases in tempo and power. More speed returns on “All Night Long.” It’s a good straight up power tune with some great drum fills from Mike and a cool guitar/bass combo. “Reckless” is even faster, the fastest song on the album, giving credence to its title. It’s a marvelous reckless mess of metal and even the guitar solo is thrash metal like.
“Eyes of a Stranger” starts like it’s going to be another thrash fest but slows down just enough after the intro. While the speed decreases slightly, the power doesn’t and Jeff sounds as fresh as the opening tracks. This song is definitely runner up in the best song category. By the time, “Little Rebel” cones on, the band seems to be going nuts. A cool drum roll opens the song and at first, the song sounds as if it’s going to be another speed fest. But it does slow down with some cool guitar fills. “Someday” closes the album out very nicely and it would be amiss of me not to point out Jeff trying to sound Japanese at the end, talking about sake, Jack Daniels coca cola. These days, he would be done for cultural appropriation.
Track Listing:
Strangers in the Night
Shine On
Acoustic Piece
Memories of You
Lookin’ For Action
Don’t Look Back
Say Goodbye
All Night Long
Reckless
Eyes of a Stranger
Little Rebel
Someday
Kuni- guitars
Jeff Scott Soto- vocals
Douglas Taylor Baker- bass
Mike Terrano- drums
A what if moment: What if Jeff and Kuni stayed together and made more albums? I think it would have been awesome but we just have to enjoy “Lookin’ for Action” instead.
Next post: Slayer- South of Heaven
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
While I was enjoying the sounds of Vow Wow in the UK during 1987, over in America, Loudness had put out another album titled “Hurricane Eyes.” It still amazes me how two bands from the same country got more appreciation in one country or another. Anyway, news of Loudness’s new album did reach me in the UK.
My initial reaction to “Hurricane Eyes” was that Loudness had come back harder and heavier than their charting previous albums “Thunder in the East” and “Lightning Strikes.” While “Thunder in the East” leaned towards melodic metal and “Lighting Strikes” did have song songs bordering on thrash, “Hurricane Eyes,” while not thrash, goes more in that direction. The first two tracks send that message loud and clear. Both tracks are quite heavy and I love how Munetaka Higuchi’s drum solo ushers in the album. It lets you know that Loudness are serious. Furthermore, Akira Takasaki rips a blinding guitar solo on the second track.
Track three, “Rock and Roll Gypsy” is a little more melodic proving that the band hasn’t abandoned what they had done on “Thunder in the East.” However, it is complemented by some hard pounding rhythm and full marks must go to Masayoshi Yamashita for his bass work on this track. Then on the track, “In My Dreams,” I ask myself, “How could have this cool power ballad escaped my detection?” This is a belter of a power ballad with the soft guitars followed by power chords on the chorus and a great guitar solo. However, while Minoru Nihara proves he is the great singer I always thought he was on the entire album, he particularly shines on this track as does the rest of the band.
Naturally, after a great power ballad, they must go back to more furious metal, which the band does on “Take Me Home” and continues it on “Strike of the Sword.” These are two tracks to get the blood coursing through your veins. I can almost envision a mosh pit forming on “Strike of the Sword.” Though things might seem to slow down on the next three tracks, it is only slightly. Besides, Akira’s guitar solo intro on “Rock This Way” definitely grabs your attention. What the song lacks in speed, it makes up in power chords. I want to rock their way. Then we get the mid tempo “In This World Beyond,” which gives me memories of their colossal “Crazy Nights.” Munetaka plays some heavy drums on this one. More melodic metal is the penultimate track, “Hungry Hunter” but closing the album out is the ballad “So Lonely.” While not as brilliant as “In My Dreams” in the power ballad stakes, it does take things out in the right mind.
Track Listing:
S.D.I.
This Lonely Heart
Rock and Roll Gypsy
In My Dreams
Take Me Home
Strike of the Sword
Rock This Way
In This World Beyond
Hungry Hunter
So Lonely
Loudness
Minoru Nihara- vocals
Akira Takasaki- guitar
Masayoshi Yamashita- bass
Munetaka Higuchi- drums
Refamiliarizing myself with “Hurricane Eyes” after so many years, I can say that the album has grown on me. While I don’t think it quite comes up to the dizzy heights of their previous two albums, I like the direction the album was taking the band at the time. This turned out to be a real power rocker.
Next post: Desmond Child
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Shortly after my arrival on British shores in 1986, I was introduced to Japanese metal band Vow Wow. By 1987, I was definitely hooked on them and I had arrived at the conclusion that after hearing first Loudness when I was in the States and then these guys in the UK, Japanese metal was something to take seriously. Now, I am not going to compare and contrast these two bands because they have totally different metal styles and I enjoy listening to both bands. I also realize that I said pretty much the same thing when I reviewed Vow Wow’s previous album, “III.” So, I might be an old man whose mind is going but I doubly stand by it, especially after listening to their album, “V.”
Like I wrote when I visited their last album, Vow Wow incorporates keyboards in their music and do so very effectively. Keyboardist Rei Atsumi doesn’t get the credit he deserves because he is really excellent at his craft. He plays superbly on the second track, “Somewhere in the Night.” On the other hand, Vow Wow can definitely rock and the opening track “Don’t Tell Me Lies bears witness to that. The rocking first track and the more melodic second track fuse together very neatly on the third one, “The Girl in Red.” It is very melodic in parts and very hard rocking in others. Kyoji Yamamoto, (the World War 2 buff in me wonders if he is a descendent of the great Japanese admiral), produces some cool guitar hooks and nails the solo. But he does that throughout the album.
One really hard rocking track, which might have been better as the album opener, is “Breakout.” The pounding chords at the beginning give me much to wonder. However, it does slow down to a more bluesy beat in the middle but the power chords do not relent. Kyoji does play a rather impressive guitar solo on it. Actually, I think this track would have been good in any position on the album. What it does is provide a great gateway to the album’s ballad, “Cry No More.” I’m not sure if it was or not but it should have been released as a single, I think it would have broken into the charts and if not, then it’s down to the Duranies of the UK. If I had owned this album, (I listened to a friend’s copy), I would have used this song to put my then girlfriend and future first wife into a romantic mood. This song definitely hits all the spots in that department with the vocals if Genki Hitomi combined with some intimate piano work from Rei but there are just enough power chords for the males not to think it had gone wimpy.
“Same Town” is a mid temp rocker which has some more excellent keyboard work Mr. Atsumi. It sounds like they use a choir towards the end. Magnificent drum rolls from Toshihiro Niimi begin the bluesy “Born to Die.” Genki’s vocals sound make the song sound like it would be perfect as a movie opener but I never heard any movie opening song that had a ripping guitar solo like this one does. Maybe they should use it for a film. I want to suggest either of my two books but I already have a song in mind should they ever decide to make “Rock and Roll Children” into a film. Therefore, it has to be my other novel, “He Was Weird.” Actually, that might fit!
Things chug along nicely with “Waited for a Lifetime.” This is more a straight ahead rocker but there is an interesting sound of the guitars sounding a little like chimes. It’s Neil Murray’s bass which keeps the song chugging along. The rocking party continues with “Don’t Leave Me Now.” This is the first track with backing vocals and they can be heard through Yamamoto’s guitar solo. “War Man” is the perfect closer for “V.” While it might not sound like one at first, the choir sounding backing vocals make it that perfect choice. Before the song goes out, the members do get to show their individual wares like a great keyboard solo followed by a great guitar solo. What more can you ask for? Like with “III,” Vow Wow save the best for last.
Track Listing:
Don’t Tell Me Lies
Somewhere in the Night
The Girl in Red
Break Out
Cry No More
Same Time
Born to Die
Waited for a Lifetime
Don’t Leave Me Now
War Man
Vow Wow
Genki Hitomi- vocals
Kyoji Yamamoto- guitar
Rei Atsumi- keyboards
Neil Murray- bass
Toshihiro Niimi- drums
I’d like to hear what the ladies think of this song.
After hearing two albums from Loudness and then two albums from Vow Wow, all of the brilliant albums, I can safely say that Japanese metal bands weren’t something to be taken lightly. Both bands wowed many people back in the 1980s.
Next post: Helloween- Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Supporting Saxon on the night of the first ever concert I attended at the Hammersmith Odeon was Japanese metal greats, Loudness. While it was my first time seeing Saxon, unfortunately, I have to admit it was my only time, I had seen Loudness a year earlier with Motley Crue and in my opinion, Loudness blew the Crue away. And while they didn’t blow Saxon away, they were as good as they had been a year earlier.
My anticipation on their next album, “Lightning Strikes,” was just as intense as my anticipation of seeing them live again. After the phenomenal “Thunder in the East,” I couldn’t wait to hear how Loudness would follow it up. Was it as good as its predecessor? To be honest, it was always a difficult task to follow up that album but I must say that “Lightning Strikes” comes pretty close.
They kept the format the same, using the single as the opening track. Finding hard not to compare and contrast, “Crazy Nights” is my all time favourite Loudness song but “Let It Go” is very good. The difference is that Loudness go for more a melodic hard rock sound on the new single, which caught me momentarily off guard but after a good listen, I can say “Let It Go” is definitely a good song.
What the band attempts to do and does it quite well is to create the feeling of the previous album on the new one. “Dark Desire” is a power jam while “1000 Eyes” has an introduction which reminds me a little of the track “Heavy Chains” off “TITE.” It’s still a great track and then comes the hidden gem, “Face to Face.” There is no attempt for melodic hard rock here, it’s almost thrash but Loudness pulls it off. Each member of the band contribute something here. Minoru Nihara shows he can sing at that speed and Akira Takasaki rips a blinder of a solo but it’s the rhythm section which impresses me here. Solid bass chords from Massayoshi Yamashita and frantic drumming from Muneteka Higuchi combine to make it the gem.
After “Who Knows” closes the first side in a way that makes you can’t wait to hear the second side, which opens with a very experimental sounding “Ashes in the Sky.” It is a very interesting track to say the least and I applaud Loudness for not being afraid to explore new territory. Akira does shine on the song with an acoustic intro backed with some power chords and a great guitar solo. It too is a hidden gem but not as big as “Face to Face.”
A second thrash type tune is found on “Black Star Oblivion.” The tempo races but it is here and the following song, “Street Life Dream,” where Akira plays his two best guitar solos. While “Street Life Dream” isn’t thrash, there are good power metal chords to be had. This brings me to the closer, “Complication.” I think it closes the album really well but I have since discovered that “Who Knows” closes the Japanese edition of the album. I can’t see how that would work.
Track Listing:
Let It Go
Dark Desire
1000 Eyes
Face to Face
Who Knows
Ashes in the Sky
Black Star Oblivion
Street Life Dream
Complication
Loudness
Minoru Nihara- lead vocals
Akira Takasaki- guitar
Massayoshi Yamashita- bass
Maneteka Higuchi- drums
Like I said earlier, Loudness’s 1985 album, “Thunder in the East” was a tough act to follow. However, I think that “Lightning Strikes” does a good job of coming very close.
Next post: Waysted- Save Your Prayers
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
Even having a crap night’s sleep the previous evening didn’t dent my enthusiasm for the first full day at Bloodstock. We started with a hardy bbq breakfast because we couldn’t have one the evening before on account of the waiting to get in and the brief rain. Therefore, we had it in the morning. After a breakfast of champions like that, which was washed down with beer, we decided to head for the arena.
Keeping with my established tradition, I made it a point to be present for the very first band out on the Ronnie James Dio Stage. That band happened be British punk band Feed The Rhino. If there is a textbook on how the opening band of a festival should act, then Feed The Rhino followed it to the letter. They exploded on stage at 300 mph with a song that grabs you by the throat and makes you listen to it nor did any of that energy dissipate after the first song. However, some purists may argue that the band broke protocol by organizing a mosh pit and then a wall of death. Whoever said opening bands weren’t allowed to do that? Especially when the lead singer, Lee Tobin, did a little crowd surf towards the wall. It was amazing and when they left, which was too soon, Feed The Rhino had set the mood not just for the day but for the entire weekend!
Feed The Rhino welcome everybody to Bloodstock
Lee Tobin carried by the crowd
In spite of the fact that I had seen and heard three bands I had never heard of previously who totally blew me away, I still went to the New Blood Stage to seek out more. Playing at my arrival was the band Garshkott. While they weren’t bad, their sound was in the vein of Feed The Rhino and Bloodshot Dawn, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were ever signed, in my mind, they didn’t measure up to the two bands I have just mentioned. Then again, those two bands set the bar astronomically high.
Garshkott giving it their all
Heading back to the RJD Stage, I thought I should see Onslaught. I had seen them at my first Bloodstock in 2010 but I didn’t remember anything about them. Seeing them again, I remember why I didn’t remember them, there’s really nothing about them to remember. While their music was okay and I have since discovered from Youtube that their recorded material sounds pretty good, they just didn’t do anything for me when I’ve seen them live.
Onslaught coming out to play
Another shot of them
The uneventfulness of Onslaught meant that when the rains came down in the final minutes of their set, I fled for cover. The closest was the New Blood Stage. Providing the entertainment in my new found refuge was Democratus. They weren’t thrash but good solid metal. The singer did a great job in getting those in the tent to sing along. He would sing out, “Is this what you call?” and the audience, me included, would shout back, “Democracy!” Very relevant at the moment and I thought they were pretty good. If I was a scout, I would have signed them before the previous unsigned band on the day.
Democratus
Still raining down in buckets outside, I decided to stay in the New Blood Tent to remain dry. It turned out to be the will of the metal gods because coming on stage next was Vulgore. Of the three unsigned bands I had seen so far, these guys were the best. Their music was loud and brash but the guitarist could shred a little too. Still, their music is not for the faint hearted. They announced they have an EP coming out titled “Bliss.” I might have to hunt this one down.
The guitarist from Vulgore
More Vulgore
Vulgore made the rain stop, so after their departure, I headed outside. On the Dio Stage at the time was Memoriam. I only caught the last two songs from their set but they sounded all right. Plus, I noticed that the lead singer’s hair probably made many ladies jealous.
Memoriam, but this photo doesn’t show the singer’s hair properly.
Still looking for the music, I headed for the Sophie Lancaster Stage where I was treated to the doom metal sounds of Godthrymm. This trio was doom metal in the true sense of the word, even more than Black Sabbath. Most of the songs were about death. I remember one lyric, “Oh God, you lost your only son,” I think that explains a lot. Guitarist hammered out some good solos and he shared the lead vocal duties with the bassist. Godthrymm proved a great change of pace on the day.
Godthrymm playing doom
I’m not sure what this picture was. I think it was this person dressed up going through the crowd during Godthrymm
After a brief but necessary break, I returned to the Ronnie James Dio Stage for the first band I truly wanted to see. Before that band came out, I caught the last few minutes of Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. They sounded okay and I was amused at the shirtless guitar player whose torso was covered in fake blood.
Bloodbath, not sure if you can see the guitarist covered in blood
Then came the big bombshell. It was announced that Suicidal Tendencies were running late and wouldn’t be up next. They were re-scheduled to play at the Sophie Lancaster Stage two hours later. I had caught up with Teal and Joe and we decided to get some dinner. I kind of regret this in hindsight because swapping places with ST was the all female death metal Japanese band Love Bites. I heard they were really good and I’m liking what I’m hearing thus far. Oh well, I’ll put a song of theirs in tribute.
Returning from our late afternoon bbq, I followed Teal’s suggestion that I go with him to check out prog metal band, Kamelot. Full marks to his wisdom here because I thoroughly enjoyed them. I was duly impressed with the guitar work of Thomas Youngblood but I won’t take anything away from the rest of this band, they’re that good. They brought a female singer on for a few songs as well which made them more diverse. Let’s say I was very impressed.
Kamelot
A better shot of them
Thomas Youngblood jamming
I tried to get the female singer in this one
Instead of Kamelot following Suicidal Tendencies, we had Suicidal Tendencies following Kamelot. Which way around didn’t matter as we joined the throng heading for the Sophie Lancaster Stage. There was talk that the sheer weight of numbers in ST fans would knock the Sophie Tent off its foundations. Suicidal Tendencies exploded onto the stage with “Don’t Bring Me Down.” Almost immediately, Mike Muir had the crowd in his hand with everyone singing the chorus. The band darted around stage and Mike did his little dance. It seemed that the opening song might go for the entire set because every time it sounded like it would end, the band would pick it up again. When the song did end, the audience was screaming their appreciation. Afterwards, they played songs “I Shot the Devil,” The War in My Head” and “Subliminal.” When they played the “Skater’s Song,” Mike announced that the band had been inducted into the Skater’s Hall of Fame. A young boy was brought up to play drums along side of Dave Lombardo for one song and they also let a man in a wheelchair onto the stage. ST are definitely a class act! In between songs, Mike talked about not letting things get you down. His advice was to “Get up, stand up for yourself and you will be the person you want to be.” Great words of wisdom. When they left, the crowd was on a major high and it was also announced that it had been the largest crowd the Sophie Lancaster Stage ever had. They were phenomenal and like Teal converting me to Kamelot, I converted him to ST. It didn’t even matter that they didn’t play my two favourite songs again nor the fact that they pretty much played the same set they had at Download last year.
The crowd heading to the Sophie Stage to see Suicidal Tendencies
ST comes on stage
Guitarist Dean Pleasants can still jam.
Another shot of Dean
Mike leading the charge
After feeding my face some more, we all headed back to the Ronnie James Dio Stage for the main even, Judas Priest. They had a massive stage set up with what looked like cacti which lit up on the wall behind. When the band came out, Rob Halford looked like a bent over old man but he quickly straightened up when they started playing. They opened with “Fire Power” and played two more songs from the album. It was the fourth song that was the big thrill for me when they revealed their all time hidden gem, “The Ripper.” I think I was the only one in the crowd who went absolutely nuts at it. Both Teal and some young lady in front of me both stated, “You’re excited about this song.” Next, they revealed that it was the 40th anniversary of their “Stained Glass” album where they played “Saints in Hell” as a tribute. Other Priest greats included “Turbo Lover” and “Freewheel Burning.” While Rob was the great show man he has always been for more than four decades, I was impressed with guitarists Richie Faulkner. He seems to have learned from his mentors and if the band was to continue, he is more than capable to carry them on. Scott Travis was pretty cool too and I loved how he and Richie traded solos. Things seemed to end with an extended version of “You Got Another Thing Comin'” and “Painkiller,” both drawing large cheers from the crowd. But Judas Priest weren’t done. Obviously, there would be an encore and that’s when they sprung a surprise. Glenn Tipton came out to play with them for the four encore songs. He did look a little frail and Rob kept coming over to him but he stayed the course. He even played a solo on the closing song, “Living After Midnight” which followed on from “Breaking the Law.” When the mighty Priest did leave, it was to much adulation and a brief but cool fireworks display.
Blasted light show kept me from getting decent pictures of Priest
See again!
A little better
Even taking a photo of the big screen didn’t work.
I kept trying though
Teal and Joe called it a night but I had one more act to watch. As soon as Judas Priest was finished, I high tailed it over to the Sophie Lancaster Stage to catch Doro. My timing was perfect because as I entered the tent, she was performing one of my favourites, “I Rule the Ruins.” That wasn’t the only one she treated me to, a few songs later, I got to hear “East Meets West,” where she brought out a former guitarist Tommy Bowen. Therefore, for the rest of her show, she had a three guitar attack behind her. Sounded real good when she played “Burning the Witches.” Doro engaged the audience really well throughout and while her light show was nothing like Priest, it was still pretty cool. “All We Are” got the crowd really going and it carried on until she left the stage. When she came back out, Doro asked the audience what song they would like. I was too far away so she couldn’t hear me calling out for “I’ll Make It On My Own,” so she said, since nobody came forth with a song, she’d pick one, which she did. A second song was asked for and she picked one from a young lady in the front and that’s how the night ended, with loads of bows and “thank yous” before leaving. It was a great way to end the first day!
Doro on the Sophie Stage
Better pics with Doro
Tommy Bowen on guitar
Doro mesmerizes the crowd
Note: You may have noticed that I haven’t posted songs from every band I saw. I thought to do it with the ones I had never heard of before and now you have.
Next post: Saturday
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