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Concert Review: Rammstein at DCU Center, MA-4/29/12
The day before finals week started at my school I went to see my first major heavy metal concert with only a few friends: Rammstein. I couldn’t have started off the week in a better way. The day started off with me making the drive to meet up with the others and then going to the DCU Center from there. To anyone who’s never been, it’s a pretty good venue in the city of Worcester. It was significant that I got to see them there since it is the very place that they were arrested for their performance of “Buck Dich” on June 5, 1998. The interior is that of most larger indoor venues; a floor with tiers of seating all around. Before we got inside though, we had to wait in line for hours. Luckily we were near the beginning of the line and we talked about what we hoped the night would be like. We could feel the brick walls we were sitting up against shaking from the sound check and our anticipation built. One guy we talked to worked for the DCU Center and told us that he had never seen so much fire in all the years he had been employed there.
Album Review: Royal Hunt-In the Heart of the City (Best of 1992-1999)
This compilation will be released May 14th in honor of the Danish metal band’s 20th anniversary. The ten tracks are from their first five albums in the 90s which are now difficult to find. The album will be released as a limited edition digipack that features exclusive artwork. This year the band will tour the world in celebration of their 20th anniversary.
If you were to listen to the album with out the context of it being a retrospective album, you would still get that 9os metal feel. Many of the tracks exhibit the classic traits of progressive metal: they’re complex, experimental, and pseudo-classical. Strangely vocalist DC Cooper reminded me of Steve Perry in some songs (See “Sea of Time”) but that’s not an insult, just an observation. I’m not too sure why but maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve been listening to Journey for a good chunk of my life.
As someone who has not previously heard anything from the band it was a perfect way to find out what they’re all about. At certain times the songs can get overly cheesy as with “Clown in the Mirror”. As a result, I was not captivated by every track. Despite that, I would say that this is a good collection of songs from this period by a rather talented band. If you’re really into 90s prog or a longtime fan of the group then I would recommend it. If not, maybe just a few select songs will do.
My personal favorite was “Running Wild” and I found a cool live version of it:
Album Review: Lullacry- Where Angels Fear
Finnish female fronted band Lullacry returns from a seven-year hiatus with their fifth full length album Where Angels Fear. It’s no secret that I love female fronted bands. I instantly fell in love with vocalist Tanja Lainio’s sound by the time I finished with the first track, “Antidote to You”. Her vocal prowess wasn’t limited to that song either.
Many of the tracks on the album have to do with love or heartbreak and are forcefully propelled by Lainio and reinforced by the band’s heavy, dark sound. It definitely the sort of album that you can play on repeat and rock out to whether it’s in you car or in your basement.
The first single off the album (released February 6th) is “Bad Blood”. While it’s not my favorite I do enjoy how invincible Lainio sounds singing it. I also really like the shouts of “Bad blood” coming from the band members during the chorus.
The one surprise is the song “Stay”. It is an acoustic piece and although it doesn’t have the same heaviness as the other songs, it is just as great. After hearing how strong a front woman Lainio is throughout the entire album I was wondering how she’d fare more stripped down. I found out with this song. Whether she is backed by a full metal band or just acoustic instruments, Lainio is able to sing anything.
The band will be touring throughout the year to support the album. If they’re coming anywhere near where you are, I suggest checking them out!
Local Music Spotlight: The Workout
Hey there, Melissa of Metalosophy here! This is my first post for A Metal State of Mind. Since I go to local shows pretty often you’ll notice that my posts will be about bands from my area, New England.
This past weekend I went to a show and one of the bands playing was The Workout. I had been introduced to their music through the kid I used to do the local radio show with at my school. Over the past few months I have been listening to their album constantly. Saturday was the first time I heard them live.
It was a welcome back gig for the band and it took place in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Out of all the bands playing, The Workout got the crowd going the most. People were moshing the entire time. The only problem was they had so much effects and equipment that the power kept going out. Still, they were just as great live as they were on CD and a fun time was had by all. I got one of their unique “Embrace the Moon” shirts where the inside of the shirt can be used as a “mask”. (See fan picture from their Facebook page for example)
They have a sort of unique sound but I guess you could describe them as metalcore. The only band I listen to that sounds close to them would be A Day to Remember but even that’s not entirely accurate. If you want to take a listen and decide for yourself (which I highly recommend) you can listen to their albums here. If you ever find yourself in New England, I suggest checking them out for yourself!
