Ottawa Bluesfest: Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden is playing Bluesfest again this year.

Check out the details here:

Ottawa Bluesfest: Iron Maiden

Alpine Fault - Iraena's Ashes (2011)

This is the year I intend to be good and keep up with finding and reviewing new music, and what better way to start with one of the best bands I've heard in a long while.  Alpine Fault is from New Zealand (a first for me) and their debut album, Iraena's Ashes, is a concept album inspired by the true story of the mysterious disappearance of Iraena Asher.

Now, I'm a sucker for real life mysteries, and when I checked out the band's website and read the background of the album, I started digging into the Asher case (how many truly educational metal albums have you heard lately), and while knowing the story is not necessary to appreciate the CD, it really does enhance the themes of loss and melancholia that weave throughout both music and lyrics.

Musically, they cover a lot of ground. There's shades of Fates Warning and Dream Theater in there (it especially evokes similar imagery to the "Scenes from a memory" release), and just enough Opeth to provide contrast.  In less capable hands, the violin playing could have become a gimmick, but the band integrates it so well that it just seems...right.  One talented violinist achieves more than an entire phalanx of synthesizers.

While Nadia Vanek's vocals are near perfect, the big surprise is Ant Royle (guitars and vocals), who has a great voice himself--plaintive without over-emoting.  Together they manage to wring every drop of pathos from the music.  The guitar work is stunning--as complex as you'd expect from a prog-metal band, but as with the violin there's no sense of flashy gimmicks.

Top it off with some amazing cover art, courtesy of  Lady Symphonia, and a kick-ass first video directed by Adrian Pagano, and it's really, really hard to believe that this is a debut effort.  If there was any justice in this world, Alpine Fault would be huge.

Here's the video for "I'll See You Soon", a wise choice for the band to introduce themselves with.

Former Visions Of Atlantis-singer Nicole Bogner passes

A sad start to the year, Nicole Bognor, singer on the first two Visions Of Atlantis CDs, has passed away after a long, unspecified illness.

Full story here:
http://loudwire.com/former-visions-of-atlantis-singer-nicole-bogner-passes-away-at-27/

To Fund A Festival.

Found out about something called Ohio Prog 2012, an attempt to set up an annual prog rock festival in Canton Ohio.  I think this is a fantastic idea, and the line-up, which includes Arena, Nightingale, and the resurrected FM, looks stellar.

Although the show takes place next Sept., the organizers have partnered with Kickstarter to raise the funds necessary to stage the event.  The way it works is thus: you make a pledge to purchase a ticket for the show, if enough pledges are received before Jan 1, the organizers get the funding they need and the show goes on.  Unfortunately, if there aren't enough pledges, there will be no funding and sadly, no festival.

From what I understand, you can also pledge any amount of cash in order to help them reach their threshold.  Not exactly a donation, since if the threshold is not met, you keep your money, but if you believe, as I do, that this festival represents a way to spread to word of real music in an age of pap, I would urge you to check out their homepage for more details.

The nice folks from Ohio Prog 2012 have promised to send me a press package this week, so that next week I can talk about it more during the show (excellent timing since we will be spotlighting the awesome new album by Arena).  Tune in for more info.

Here comes Santa Claus--the bastard!!

Okay, so not really.

Yesterday saw our annual Santa Claus parade wend it's way down main street, bringing joy and incipient exposure to kiddies throughout the city, and long may it do so. Several years ago the city scrapped the mid-afternoon parade for a early-evening illuminated extravaganza.  It was a good change: it breathed new life into the proceedings.  Great so far.

As far as the show goes, it's been a real kick in the clusters though.  The route of the parade runs directly between my abode and the station, and because of a quirk of street layout, there's no way around it--none. That means that between 4:00 and 8:00 or so, I'm a prisoner in my own home--a hostage to Xmas cheer, as it were.  Now as forced confinements go, it's pretty sweet.  I get to snuggle up with the wife in front of the TV and watch the parade unfold live, courtesy of the fine folks at the local cable channel.  We enjoy watching the parade live (after the 4th rerun or so it starts to wear thin a little), and it marks the beginning of the holiday season.  The only regret is that it means cancelling the show for the week.

Most years, this isn't a major problem.  I know about it in advance so I can record a new show.  This year it snuck up on me though, forcing me to play a repeat show--worse, a repeat of a repeat (since last week's show was also a wash, for non-Xmas related reasons).  Luckily it was a good show, with some great songs, but still...

Nonetheless, Xmas is anon and the joy of season to all of you!  May Santa, bastard though he may be, fill your stocking with all that you desire.  Bring on the egg nog!

Terry Pratchett article and video

Sir Terry Pratchett has a new Discworld novel ("Snuff") on the shelves, and The Age has an excellent article (with video) with Sir Terry discussing his work and his struggles with Alzheimers.  We'll have a review of the book up soon (yes, I've already read it), but until then, enjoy!

Megadeth dates announced

Megadeth's 2012 edition of Gigantour hits the road Jan. 28 in New Jersey--AND THEY ARE STOPPING IN KINGSTON!

This is awesome news, especially since they will be joined by the legendary Motorhead and one of Tapping The Ether's favourite bands: Lacuna Coil.

More news as it becomes available

Metallica does "Lulu"

The "Pandora's Box" Lulu, not the saccharine songstress from the 70's.

Metallica and Lou Reed got together to record a concept album based on the Lulu plays. Sounds awesome, right?

Unfortunately, wrong. It's shit. It's worse than shit--it's really bad shit. Monotone, meandering muttering from Reed accompanied by sloppy, anemic, directionless musical accompaniment by the merest shell of the band who performed such masterpieces as "Master of Puppets" and "Ride The Lightning"--or even "Load" and "Reload".

Frank Wedekind is the only person who comes out well from this, since the lucky bastard is dead and not thus not forced to witness this abomination based on his work. What the poor sod ever did to deserve this pathetic sodomizing of his life's work is beyond me.

On the plus side for Metallica, thanks to "Lulu", "St Anger" is no longer the steamiest heap of shit in their career--that's a comfort, I guess.



An Open Letter To Lars

Before you start your pre-emptive whining:  fans and critics are NOT  trashing you "because we cut our hair", "because they can't cope with change", "because they can't understand what we're doing" or whatever  self-delusional, bullshit excuse you come up with this time to dismiss the inevitable landslide of negative feedback for your latest release "Lulu".

They are criticizing you because you have offered up yet another steaming heap of shit masquerading as "art".  Time to pull on some big-boy pants and accept the truth--people are tired of you sitting around luxuriating in the aroma of your own farts while insulting and belittling the fans who still care enough about your music to be honest with you about how you've managed to piss away a legitmate musical legacy on a succession of insipid, self-absorbed albums that fans can easily spot for what they are--token efforts from a band that just isn't trying anymore.

Take a moment, actually LISTEN to what you recorded 30 years ago and try to understand why it connected with people.  Then listen to what you've been recording for the past decade and try and figure out where you guys lost the thread.  Oh, and you might want to take all that creative energy that you put into inventing excuses about how your fans are too stupid and vulgar to understand just how brilliant your recent albums have been, and rechannel it into writing music that doesn't suck sweaty donkey balls.  Just a thought.

Lulu doesn't have to be the nail in Metallica's coffin, but I swear if I hear yet more of your simpering bullshit blaming US (the fans) for the failure of YOUR crappy albums, then the best of luck to you and I hope you find the fans you think you want, because I will no longer be among them

Jani Lane of Warrent Dead at 47

It's just been announced that Jani Lane, former vocalist for 'eighties hair band Warrant, was found dead on Thursday in a Los Angeles hotel. No details concerning the cause of death have been released.

The Washington Times has a brief story here.

In other sad news, Andrew McDermott, the former vocalist for prog-metal band Threshold,  died of kidney failure on Aug. 3 after spending 4 days in a coma.

Loudness bassis Taiji Sawada RIP

Although the circumstances have yet to be revealed, former X Japan and Loudness bass player Taiji Sawada has reportedly passed away. He was 45 years old.

Full details (and admittedly there aren't many details yet) can be found here.

Update: Apparently Sawada had been on life support following his attempted suicide attempt, and his family decided to remove him from life support. Story is here.