TAZZY T'S MONTH IN METAL- NOVEMBER 2004

Month in Metal? More like the last six months in Metal. No doubt you've all missed my little column dreadfully, due to the collapse of my IT infrastructure, so here's what's been going on and what we got to look forward to in the next few months.

Trouble in the Celtic Legacy camp.
I was very disappointed to learn that due to internal wranglings, Celtic Legacy have replaced vocalist, Mark Guildea. Mark's voice was one of the strongest weapons in the band's arsenal and it remains to be seen if replacement Sean Mc Bride can fill his ample wellies. A new demo in planned in time for Christmas when all will be revealed.

Sister still hungry
Twisted Sister fans will be pleased to know that the NY shock rock merchants have completed the re-recording the classic 84 opus 'Stay Hungry'. The band were unhappy with the MTV-friendly production given to the original and have re-recorded it 'the way it was meant to sound'. Expect it in the shops any day. This is one album that belongs in everyone's collection.
For those eager to see them do their stuff live, they've been confirmed for next year's Bang Your Head in Germany, also featuring Dio, Motorhead, Saxon, Krokus, Destruction, Doro, Nasty Savage and Demon. The organisers are also expecting one 'very special guest'. Go on, tell us, who is it?

Souza exits Exodus
Steve Souza has been given his marching orders from Exodus again. Rick Holt aired the reasons openly on many metal forums around the world, citing unreasonable behaviour and excessive financial demands as the reason. The whole debacle got very heated before Rick stood down and apologised for calling Souza 'a fat bastard'.
Further controversy occurred when stand-in singer, Steev Esquival of Skinlab, was forced to cancel shows while supporting Megadeth in the US. He was apparently blinded by a toxic substance put in his eyes while he slept on the tour bus. Bands and their high jinx, eh?

Manowar blast for Nuclear Blast.
In a shock and highly surreptitious move, Manowar have left Nuclear Blast. Joey Da Maio was guarded about the reasons. 'We've left Nuclear Blast', the bassmeister said. Nice one Joey!
But my informants tell me that it may be money-related. With Joey's own label taking off nicely with the addition of Rhapsody and Feinstein, formerly of The Rods, there's a chance we'll see Manowar's self-proclaimed 'greatest heavy metal album ever' being issued on Magic Circle. However, rumours also abound that ex-Geffen A&R guru and close friend of Da Maio, John Kalodner (Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Whitesnake, Hurricane Party) has his eye on the band for the growing stable at Metal-Is.
Meanwhile the band are said to be in negotiation with the Wacken Open Air organisation regarding the headlining slot for next year's festival. With an asking fee of quarter of a million been bandied about whether or not they secure that slot is another matter.

Wacken goes wacky.
In other festival news, the organisers of the Wacken Open Air have recruited Nightwish as the headliners for the weekend's opening night. A controversial move considering the band's popular status across Europe at the moment and the festival's reputation for promoting underground and older Metal acts. Whether or not this signals a move to more 'commercial' acts playing the festival in the future remains to be seen.
Fortunately, the organisers have counterbalanced this by putting Accept, newly reunited with Udo on the same bill.

Gig of the month
Since it's been so long since my last Month in Metal, I've chosen to give you all a quick synopsis of the best of the last few months.
Mid-July, I was privy to another spectacular show by Death Angel. The West Coast thrashers ploughed through a set littered with classics all the way from 80s 'Ultraviolence' to the very respectable 'Art of Dying'.

The sound was so good at the Temple Bar Music Centre that I couldn't help but check for backing tapes. I was pleased to find no evidence of wrongdoing and had to accept that it was simply a stonking gig. The band were ably supported by Carnival Creation, an up-and-coming Dublin act giving more of a nod in the general direction of early Metallica and with a very capable and distinctive vocalist. They're currently working on a new CD which I look forward to hearing.

Later that evening, just to show how Metal they were, the lads from Death Angel appeared in Bruxelles for pints of Guinness and to chat with whoever would listen. Thoroughly nice chappies!

There's also been a good few excellent shows by Fisted Sister, most notably the 3 hour set they played in the Voodoo Lounge in Dublin at the end of July. For those of you not acquainted with Fisted Sister's material, they're a 80s rock/Metal cover band. However, they don't restrict themselves to the Twisted Sister catalogue, as you might expect from the name. The range of material they play is eclectic, ranging from your standard 'Paranoid/Whole Lotta Rosie' covers to Seal's 'Killer'. On this occasion they were even joined by Alan Averill of Primordial for a Celtic Frost cover. Guitarist, Darragh, also known as the 'Ballymun Dental Disaster' is surely one of the most talented guitarists in Ireland at the moment and vocalist Lar Fraser is as talented a comedian, as a great kilt-cladded frontman. Indeed, Fisted Sister are proving to be a truly versatile covers act that would appeal to all on the forum and go down a storm at any future Imarocker events.

The Voodoo Lounge in Dublin is turning out to be one of the country's best underground Metal venues with a number of gigs over the past few months. Limerick lads, Scavenger, showcased some smart new ditties when supporting US Metalheads, The Weird Lord Slough Feg, who were indeed very weird. Scavenger vocalist, Peter Dunne, proved again that he is one of the best frontmen in Ireland and one of the few 'real' singers on the scene at the moment.

Coldwar seem to be progressing well also with new material from 'In the Sun's Dead Rays' veering away from the hardcore influences of earlier effort, 'Whorebred and hellraised' and heading in a more metallic direction.

There was also a classy and well overdue appearance from DevilMakesThree, featuring devoted forumite, Dave.
However, the best of the recent gigs in the Voodoo had to be the Gambit, Carnival Creation, Mass Extinction, Primitive Hate Machine line up.

Hailing from Ballymoney, PHM proved a strong opener, considering an average age of 17. Sounding a bit like a souped up Entombed meets Onslaught, the band possess a good vocalist and a proficient female guitarist. Combined with a classy chorus-laden sound a la Death Angel, this is a band worth keeping an eye on. You can't go wrong with titles like 'Princess of Hate'.
However, they were no match for old school thrashers, Mass Extinction, who slayed from the outset. This band is getting better and better with every gig. It's so refreshing to see a young band playing thrash the way it's meant to be done. Reminiscent of Nuclear Assault and Vio-lence with a little bit of SOD thrown in, this is one band old and new thrashers alike will love. I personally found it very encouraging to see how many young 'uns turned up to see and mosh to them. Even 'comedy' songs such as the short but sweet 'Bodies On Ice' and the anthemic 'IBS' are causing mayhem in the moshpit. Could this be the New Wave of Dublin Bay Area Thrash (NWDBAT)? If so, you heard it here first, folks.

Carnival Creation are becoming a very formidable force also with a stunning vocalist with a voice that's not a million miles away from Hetfield and some excellent songs. On this particular night they also managed to produce a sound that would strip paint at fifty paces. Superb stuff.

After two untouchable sets from Mass Extinction and Carnival Creation, Gambit were left with the difficult job of headlining, and although they're very proficient at their thrash/death hybrid, they don't have the same quality of songwriting of the previous two bands, and suffered as a result. Plus, it's about time they sorted that name out. All in all, a well-balanced gig in a great venue. More please!

Album of the month

'Reise Reise': Rammstein

Who says being popular means singing in English? Certainly not arty Germanic Metalheads, Rammstein with their follow-up to the hughly impressive 'Mutter' of two years ago. 'Reise, Reise' is yet another superb album chocked full of teutonic nuances, mammoth anthemic choruses and subtle versing, tinged with classical overtones.

And, if you thought the production on 'Mutter', couldn't be bettered, you're in for a very pleasant surprise. The sound is massive. Till Lindeman's vocals swoop and veer like a divebombing Stukka, alternating from melancholic to robotic into rattling machine gun bursts before exploding into a full-on German growl that makes the record feel quite unsettling in places.

Standout track has to be 'Amerika' which sees Rammstein do their first lyric in English, albeit only in the chorus. It only adds to the over-the-top, tonque-in-cheek mockery of American culture.

Other highlights include 'Moskau' featuring our favourite Russian lesbians Tatu, who manage to sing in key for a change. That's only one of the very catchy choruses on this offering. 'Los' is another, featuring a brilliant Metal riff - played on an acoustic?!?!?! The album falls down only in that a few of the numbers tend to follow the standard Rammstein formula of intro, quiet bass-driven verse, followed by huge metal chorus, but that's a small grumble. This is another first class record from a band that can't seem to do anything wrong at the moment. It's already Number One all over Europe.

If the only thing you've heard by Rammstein is 'Du Hast', then it could be worth your while checking this out.

Achtung! Rammstein are back.

TTTT