| CD REVIEW TSM/SLW Promotion special #5 |
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TSM/SLW Promotion special #5 INTRODUCTORY NOTE : Somehow, the 5th special on bands promoted by British promotion agency Two Side Moon/ SMW got lost in our e-mails…and I hadn’t even noticed that it wasn’t posted (should’ve happened around mid October, or so…just goes to show you hów hectically busy – both privately and for the website – I’ve been). On the one hand, it’s a good thing none of the albums reviewed here were very recent…I mean, the most recent one came out in January…but we felt we still owed it…first to the bands…then to you, the readers…and lastly to ourselves…to give you these reviews…at last! Follows the original article. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Heavy Metal outfit composed of singer Daniele Brusegan, guitarist Fabio Astro, bassist Alberto Lana (he turns out to be the only one with previous experiences, also playing or having played with Suburb Of Thoughts – actually, I strongly suspect Blazing Clash to be his personal side-project, seen as he’s the only one co-writing all music, lyrics, and vocal lines) and drummer Salvatore Meloni hails from Italy…the big industrial city of Milano, to be exact, and they’ve been crafting their debut 5-track promo mini-CD from July to December 2008 (including the mastering) at Milano’s X-Studios with the aid of one Stefano Parodi. Following the short instrumental intro “Prelude” which openes the EP at a relatively slow pace, the band starts up with the equally mid-paced “Back From The War”, relating a story of Vikings returning home after, can you guess?, correct, having waged war! Okay, so the lyrical content ain’t none too original…and neither is the music, by the way, but it’s a well-executed song, and the pace of the song allows the singers (both lead and backing) to do their thing with a certain ease…which becomes them quite well, even when the singer takes a dive into very high pitch regions! Things are different for the ensuing 3 tracks, for which the band not only uses a slightly higher pace (not too much, mind you), which pushes the lead singer to put his mid-high pitch voice in overdrive, and whoops…suddenly the vocals get a typical accent-laden quality (with high-pitch whalings around every corner) which simply spoil things for me! Okay, I’m being harsh somewhat here, because that accent ain’t even that bad! Nay, what really puts a stamper on things for me, is the lyrical themes (“Made Up To Be A Monster” a tribute to an old car or van of threirs; “The Hammer”…again some mythological meaning? at any rate it talks about the musicians’ supremacy with a silly ‘love me or die’ attitude which is just sooo childish; and “Princess Of Rock” talks about the lyricist’s perfect view for a girlfriend), and the way they’re brought! I mean, that is so out-dated, man, and confirms the old views that you didn’t have to have a degree or to be clever to play Heavy Metal…or hard music in general! Anyway, you can check it all out at myspace.com/blazingclash, where the band posted àll songs off the EP for you. In the blog section, the band only posted a series of links to reviews done. As I can imagine they onlly posted those which had some positive comments, the fact that all the posted reviews (hey, there’s even one interview) are from the Mediterranean area, clearly shows whence the band is gonna find enough Heavy Metal starved people to play for. In other words, while the band may grow into a small HM favourite in their own area, I cannot see them grow out of it (barring the couple of demos sold out to Italian immigrants elsewhere)! Have I no positive comments left? Well, there’s a big possibility for growth in the vocals here, and possibly a new singer might also bring in some more interesting lyrics (no need to change the themes)? You understand, of course, that the underlaying rating stems forth from a ferm belief that growth in that area is indeed possible for this band? 71/100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I saw this band’s name in the list of TSM/SLW Promotion CDs to be reviewed, my first though was, “Gee, are global economics thàt bad, that even an “established” Classic Rock act such as Sweden’s Cornerstone cannot find regular label support?”. Of course, I was wrong! Because there’s not only a band with that name in Sweden, but also one in Germany, one in the UK (both playing Hard Rock)…and one from Austria! Austria’s Cornerstone’s history begins in 1998, when brothers Michael and Steve Wachelhofer started to play guitar and bass, and began a band with drummer Markus Bousska, interpreting cover songs by the likes of R.E.M., Soul Asylum, and The Cure. The band also started writing original material, and with a couple of moderately successful gigs under their belt, the band started thinking of recording. But the coming and going of band members only led to a disastrous recording session which was never finished, and the band almost stopped altogether in the Summer of 2004! By pure chance, the Wachelhofer brothers then find drummer Hannah Wachter and singer Anja Schirmer joining their ranks, and from then on things move forward! During Summer 2007 the band played a couple of Austrian open air festivals, and at Italy’s Spirit Of Woodstock, and after that the band began to work on the material for their debut album Head Over Heels. In March 2008, Cornerstone won the Next Best Thing Contest, which earned them a deal with American label Atom Records (who’re based in Dayton, OH), and the album was released in October 2008, both statewise and (to a certain extend) in Europe. However, around this point the girls for some reason unhooked, and in their stead the Wachelhofer brothers enlisted singer/ guitarist Carina Sethaler and drummer Martin Key, with whom they started the promotional touring for the album with a short UK tour in October 2008 and a series of gigs in Austria until the end of year. After a Winter’s sleep, during which the album finally started to get some attention from UK press (following positive reviews the band saw their album made available in big UK stores Virgin, HMV, Amazon.co.uk and others in late April, signed a deal for further distribution of the album both in UK and the Benelux with Cargo Distribution, and also had articles/ interviews in Big Cheese Magazine, Fireworks, Black Velvet and Powerplay, and appeared at some of the high-level UK radio shows), the band returned to the Austrian live front in late March 2009, did another short run of UK shows in May (one a performance at Z Rock Festival), and had their 3-week run (which had the band headlining for most of the gigs) through the US (11 shows in total, plus a couple of recorded tv appearances, like on Tennessee’s WTVC/Channel 9’s Thisn’t That show,and the high-profile Good Morning New York) in July. So, what’s the big buzz about? Well, the Austrians play a rather Poppy female-fronted Hard Rock (keep in mind the original influences, and you’re well underway of making up an idea of what their music might be like) with catchy ballads alternating more Rocking tracks! Just the kind of stuff which is bound to do well on American FM and College radio stations [nevertheless, their US tour hasn’t been the success overall, some of the gigs played during week days getting lesser attendances – on the other hand, their gigs in Dayton (Atom Records’ hometown, remember?) were apparently great, as was the gig in NY]. Sure, most Concrete Web readers may not be into this kind of more “adult-oriented” music, but the fact remains that the foursome have delivered a very nice Pop Rock album indeed! I’ve had some trouble finding sites that hold the band’s music, since their MySpace page has been discontinued, but at the “Music” section of the band’s own website cornerstone.at.tk (which re-directs to Amazon.com) you can hear samples of all of the album’s 13 tracks (that includes the “Radio Versions” of “Regret” and “Fade Away”). If you’re looking to listen to full-length versions of some of the album’s tracks, you’ll either have to do with the 3 posted at lastfm.de/music/Cornerstone+%2%ae, or try to get a listening session at your local record store…which may or may not (already) hold a copy of the album. Of course, if you liked what you heard so far (I dó asume you’ll be checking out what’s available in audio through the Internet first to your satisfaction), you might as well order your personal copy, eh? By the way, in order to keep from being confused from the other acts operating under the same bandname, the Austrians have added a “registered trademark” sign to their name (check album cover). Latest news : the band has found its “ultimate line-up” (Cethaler and Key proving to be temporary replacements for the touring at hand only) with the addition of drummer Wolfgang Baumeister (who’d already had a good raport with the Wachelhofer brothers, having been a Cornerstone member for 5 years after Bousska’s departure) and singer Patricia Hillinger, whom apparently joined on the force of the other members’ “personal togetherness”, as well as for their great music! A new album is already in the planning for 2010 (as are UK and US tours), and I for one am curious to find out whether Hillinger can live up to the warm soothing voice which Anja Schirmer put down for this album! 86/100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hailing from Hollywood (uh…California, right?) Dame Fortune describes itself as “Classic Hard Rock with a modern Gothic edge”, elaborating that, “If Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller were the lyricists for Kiss, Motley Crüe and Guns ‘n’ Roses, you’d have Dame Fortune!” Founded in 2000 (I think, because on Dec. 26 of that year they had their first performance) as a 5-piece (including lead singer Rod Kay, guitarists Mick James and David Blake, bassist Jeff Wire, and drummer Christian Marshall) the band released their debut 7-track mini-album The Great Cosmic Scheme on their own label Raido Records in 2002 and that same year won the Rock City News Award for “Best Alternative Band”. DF have apparently never been a band to play that many gigs: they’ve played a grand total of 45 shows in these 9 last years, 11 of which were in 2002 (what a coincidence). The line-up then changed with the departure of the lead singer, making Blake and James take over lead vocals alternatively. The band’s debut full-length debut Both Sides Of Midnight [during the recordings of which the original drummer had to cut out due to personal reasons – so recording engineer Kevin Valentine (who’d just been the studio drummer on the latest Kiss album at that time, and had played with Cinderella, Trent Ranor, and others) offered to sit in on a couple of tracks, before the guys found their current drummer, Dave Merritt, with whom they completed the album) came in 2004, and became the perfect portrait of the band’s guitarists’ duality. Both raised in Pittsburg, they lived sorta parallel lives, Kiss’s 1979 Dynasty gig in their town being the first concert they both saw…before they met two years later…there are some points where they couldn’t be more alike, like they will finish each other’s sentences. But they also have their differences, like James is a sun worshipper, where Blake feels more a creature of the night. And because Blake is the main lyricist in the band, this means that when he’s writing his stuff he constantly has to keep in mind whom is to sing it…because James wouldn’t feel comfortable singing some of the darker lyrics. Both Sides… would eventually get distribution through Nightmare Distribution and Perris Records, and was given a 3 ½ stars by Japan’s Burrn! Magazine. In 2005 the band then debuted about half a dozen new songs at their shows (which may be rare, but renowned for their infamous all after parties), and filmed their first video (for the track “The Loony Bin”). During 2006, DF’s full-length documentary was screened at the historic lot of 20th Century Fox, and they started recording the material which was to make up the The Secret Art track-list! Thanks to the TSM/SLW promotion iPool, that album eventually landed up in our offices, which is a think I am enormously thankful for! Check the band’s cited influences, check the fact that you’ve got alternating lead vocals (one of a slightly higher pitch than the other, and quite discernable), then count that up to the fact that the band sound like a prime Glam Rock band of the mid-‘70s and early ‘80s. Depending on which song you’re listening to, you’ll be reminded of Kiss (occasionally as fronted by Ace Frehley), get a reminiscence to The Sweet (the occasional harmonic backing vocals and harshness of the guitars in some of the songs), to Alice Cooper (the Goth influence). Other ghosts of great bands that wander around in the songs are Aerosmith, Slade, WASP, Keel, or even Cheap Trick and Motley Crüe! When I first heard album opening tracks, I thought these guys were ripping off some other people’s material (like album opener “In Like Flynn”, with its melodies included, reminded me somewhat of the theme of a movie with the same title, featuring James Coburn in one of his spy roles), but it turns out they are the band’s own, in the case of “Perpetual Emotion Machine” co-written by Richard Davis (Eagles co-producer and touring band member), and the vocal debut for bassist Jeff Wire (heh…to make the comparison to Kiss even more striking, the drummer also debuts as lead singer on the track “Holly Fenton”). For one whom was raised in those days, this album is a great return to those days, without having to relive ‘em! Check out their music at either their MySpace page (myspace.com/damefortune, where you’ll find 5 songs posted, 3 of which off this album) or own website (damefortune.com, only samples available through CDBaby,but the complete first full-length is represented, as well as more songs off this new one; also, it has more videos available). ?/100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “M.I.C.”, as you might’ve guessed from their debut album’s title, stands for “Made In China”, and that’s exactly where this album was made, the band resides…in contrast to a couple of other acts operating under the same bandname (an Emo/Screamo outfit from Bridgewater NJ, USA, and a more Blues oriented “Rock” act from Dunedin, New Zeeland). But for this band, things actually started way back in Canada, where Yvan Serre had been laying guitar since the age of 8. He later performed his songs (both in English and French) with several bands, touring throughout Canada and even releasing a couple of albums with some reasonable commercial success. In Toronto he fell in love with, and married, a Chendu local doctor (Chengdu is a fairly big city in the heart of the Sichuan province, which itself is situated in the heart of China). Serre then made it his mission to bring his type of Rock to his wiffe’s homeland, and from 2001 he and his wife (whom was converted to playing keyboards as wel as practice medicine) were seen playing shows all China, appearning on a couple of Beijing tv-shows, and being featured on COTV’s special on the 55th anniversary of the liberation of the Chengdu province. There was a brief interlude with stays in Canada and Japan, but Serre returned to China in 2004, when he met and jammed with the very talented Guizhou based bassist Huang Hong Liang. The duo then went their own way (Liang joining Chinese Jazz Fusion act Tian Fang Ye Tan, where he met drummer Zhao Qian) and Serre started up a new 4-piece Rock act under the Made In China banner, with which he was to tour China all over again. In 2007 the band consisting then of bassist Billy Ren and keyboardist Mark McCleod, made use of studio drummer Cris Yang to record the basic tracks of their self-titled album, but it would take about a year before overdubs [brought by a host of guests including Anders Christensen (additional guitars on two tracks), Melissa Carole (playing saxophone of 3 of the songs), Uchida “Yugi” Yuuji (taking over to bass for two tracks), one Philip Fernandez (addorning two songs with the sounds of his trumpet), and eventually Tu Jingfei (singing backing vocals to one track)] and mixing could be finalized. In was eventually released in October of last year. Taking musically, MIC plays rather straight-forward Rock ‘n’ Roll with a heavy touch (brought in by the guitar), which has a tendency to sound Pop Punk in a couple of the simpler tracks. My preference goes to thosee tracks which have the keyboards in piano mode, or have additions from either the trumpet or sax…because those are the songs that come closest to the genuine Rock sounds of old. Obviously I’m not quite completely at ease with this band, what with that guitar bringing a modern touch through it’s heavieness, and on top Serre’s voice ain’t quite extraordinary either. But, as things are, I suppose I can understand why this band might be doin’ well over in China (they have some nice pictures on their MySpace suggesting that now and again they get to play some nice festivals, you know…and I’m sure their album closing track – of which I cannot translate the title as I don’t read Chinese – gets the band plenty of sympathy from the locals). By the way, in the meantime the band has apparently found a new live drummer in one Yue Yun. To check out whether this is something for you after all, surf to myspace.com/madeinchine, where you’ll find 5 songs posted! Apparently Serre has already moved on somewhat. Wanting to put some new material together (which is reported to be somewhat different and therefore met with little enthousiasm by the other MIC members), he contacted Liang halfway 2008, and obviously wàs found interested in working together on Serre’s new thing, which they titled Nail. As a drummer for the project, he took along Qian, and apparently the 3-some’s been enjoying quite some success over the past year. They’ve spent some time in the studio earlier this year, and an album should’ve been released this Summer 69/100 Well, that’s it this time around! Oh wait, I’m starting up a new TSM/SLW special already…after some other stuff inbetween, though! Tony. |
