CD Review: Queensryche / Frequency Unknown

Frequency Unknown
Queensryche
Reviewed by: Roger Scales

I want to address the ongoing debate/issue concerning the fact that there are two versions of the same band that exist currently in the world of Queensryche.  This is not unchartered waters nor will it be something that goes away anytime soon.  Unfortunately for the fans,  Rock n’ Roll is a business and in the old days when Joe Perry and Brad Whitford left Aerosmith (for example) there became The Joe Perry Project.  No problem.  New name, new identity, no harm done.  Today with the branding being so identifiable within the rock community there are now legal battles to see who rightfully owns and gets to use the name –  both for recording purposes and touring.  RATT, L.A. Guns, Great White, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath – the list goes on of popular bands that shift band members and fight over ownership of the logo and identity.  I have always looked at it as more music, more shows, more reasons to get excited about hearing a new or slightly different take on a band or sound that I found pleasing.  Have I liked all of the different versions of the bands?  NO.  Corabi replaces Vince Neil and they put an album called Motley Crue..did I like It? Yes.  Did it bomb?  Yes.  Who cares? Whether Geoff Tate’s  version of Queensryche ultimately gets ownership of the name or the camp featuring Todd LaTorre  wins out..I win as the fan because I can enjoy both for what they each offer.  Read more

Concert Review: Fear Factory at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT

Fear Factory, Hate Eternal 
& Kobra and the Lotus
May 1, 2013
Webster Theater
Hartford, CT
Reviewed by: Brian Cross

The war between man and machine is inevitable. Luckily, we have Fear Factory standing between us and extinction. Their World Industrialist Tour hit the Webster Theater with some very talented supporting bands, and the legendary mechanized metallers were ready for action despite the surprisingly sparse crowd. Read more

CD/DVD Review: Whitesnake / Made in Japan

Made in Japan
Whitesnake
Frontiers Records
Reviewed by: Roger Scales

When Forevermore was released back in 2011 my initial thoughts were “Coverdale was able to bring back vintage Snake while still sounding fresh and current”.  A ton of credit must go to Doug Aldrich whose contributions to the songwriting stood out even more here than on 2008’s “Good To Be Bad”.  Tracks like “Love Will Set You Free” and “Steal Your Heart Away” are some of the strongest Snake tracks ever.  Aldrich is able to pick up the mantle passed down from Micky Moody, John Sykes, Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Steve Vai and leave his indelible mark on the legacy of one of rocks classic acts.  Read more

CD Review – Tom Keifer / The Way Life Goes

The Way Life Goes
Tom Keifer
Merovee Records
Reviewed by: Roger Scales

Wow, can you imagine that 1994 was the last time we heard any new original material from Cinderella with Still Climbing?  Well Mr. Keifer, the 19 year break was well worth the wait with The Way Life Goes.  On his new solo release, Tom takes the listener on a journey through all of what made Cinderella great – whisky soaked vocals, crunching guitars, bluesy hard rock, and  kick-ass menacing anthems aimed to please.  Tom took his best shot and hit the target with a resounding BULLYSEYE.  The songs are so strong it truly rivals anything on Night Songs or Long Cold Winter – two classics in my collection.  Keifer has come up with some his most memorable lyrics, really painting a picture with each track while keeping me tapping my best air drums at the same time with a solid backing band. Read more

Concert Review: Ivan & Alyosha/The Lone Bellow at Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA

Ivan & Alyosha
The Lone Bellow
April 20, 2013
Brighton Music Hall
Allston, MA
Reviewed by: Dorise Gruber

It was an emotional night to see a show in Boston on Saturday.  With the Marathon bombing on Monday, a lockdown the day before and the cancellation of all shows in the area, it was questionable as to whether or not this concert would even take place.  Lone Bellow female vocalist Kanene Doheney Pipkin even commented on the extreme energy of the crowd, “did somebody just let you all out of your houses?”  The bands were sweet to us and present with the high-running emotions of the night’s audience.  Opener Twin Forks even began the night with a short Augustana cover of “I Think I’ll Go To Boston” to pay respect to the crazy week we’d all just endured. Read more

Concert Review: Jamie Lidell at Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA

Jamie Lidell
April 11, 2013
Brighton Music Hall
Allston, MA
Reviewed by: Dorise Gruber

Jamie Lidell’s 2013 S/T album Jamie Lidell combines the Motown soul of early albums Jim/Multiply and the technologic fanciness of Compass, though a little dancier than the former and a little less aggressive than the last.  In either case, I was expecting a somewhat more mellowed album would likely mean that his performance may have mellowed over time, too.  Sorely mistaken but solidly thrilled, Lidell prevailed as a true neofunk mogul at Brighton Music Hall, rocking a floor-length raincoat and drenching it from the inside with the hot-blooded steam of vitality. Read more

Concert Review: Kishi Bashi at the Sinclair in Cambridge, MA

Kishi Bashi
March 26, 2013
The Sinclair
Cambridge, MA
Reviewed by: Dorise Gruber

In the same way that I’m a sucker for a man with a beard, every music lover has a trigger that makes them far more likely to fall for a song.  For some people it’s handclaps, for some it’s beachy oohs and aahs, for some it’s a heavy-dropped bass, take your pick.  For me, though – it’s looping.  If a musician knows how to live-loop a song with skill, it’s the umami of the concert-going experience.  For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, a performer will break songs into segments, and will utilize fancy shmancy gear (this is a technical term) to record these parceled phrases one piece at a time.  Ideally without breaking flow of the song, the performer will play back the piece they’ve just recorded and harmonize with it, add in bass/drums/other instruments, and continually forge together each sector of the song until it hits its saturation point.  It adds an entirely separate sense of construction and dynamism to the songs at hand, and transforms otherwise pleasant songs into an extraordinary art form. Read more

Show Review: Raiding the Rock Vault in Las Vegas, NV

Raiding the Rock Vault
Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
Reviewed by: Jessica Messina

Several years ago, a musician friend of mine once told me “Music is like smell. Sometimes it takes you right back”. There’s also a saying that if you remember the sixties (or 70s or 80s) then chances are good that you weren’t actually there. Whichever of those lines applies to you, the newest Vegas show, Raiding the Rock Vault, can accommodate it! Starring what could be the newest supergroup to end all supergroups, comprised of John Payne (Asia), Robin McAuley (MSG, Survivor), Paul Shortino (Quiet Riot, Rough Cutt), Howard Leese (Heart, Bad Company), Jay Schellen (Hurricane, Badfinger), Tracii Guns (LA Guns), Michael T. Ross (Lita Ford band), and Andrew Freeman (Offspring, Lynch Mob), and several guests throughout the year, beginning with Bobby Kimball from Toto, followed by Joe Lynn Turner from Rainbow, it is a show suitable for anyone over the age of four years old who wants to take a two-hour long journey through modern history with pop culture references sprinkled throughout via actors or the giant video screens on either side and the back of the stage. (Random six degrees fact: “All Right Now” by Free was cowritten by Paul Rodgers, who went on to join Bad Company, a band which RTRV guitarist Howard Leese can claim on his resume! BAM! You’ve just been Kevin Baconed!)    Read more

Concert Review + Photo Gallery: Soilwork, Jeff Loomis + More at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT

Soilwork, Jeff Loomis, Blackguard, Bonded by Blood & Hatchet
March 16, 2013
Webster Theater – Hartford, CT

Reviewed by: Brian Cross
Photos by: Diana Guay

With the recent release of their double album The Living Infinite, melodic death titans Soilwork embarked a long tour to promote the new record and bring metal to the masses. Read more

Book Review: Sex, Drugs, RATT & Roll: My Life in Rock by Stephen Pearcy

Sex, Drugs, RATT & Roll: My Life in Rock
Stephen Pearcy
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Reviewed by: Roger Scales

Stephen Pearcy is a survivor.  That best describes his personal life as not only battling through years of substance abuse but also his musical career as a whole. Constantly fighting his inner demons ultimately landed him in rehab in 2009 for a booze/pills/weed and heroin addiction that almost ended his life. Subsequently, his career has had as many twists and turns and ups and downs as any organized car race that Pearcy may have driven in or been a part of since he attended his first race back in his teens.   Read more

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