The Tokyo Showdown

Let's go back to Japan for some Live records this week. First up is some more of that Swedish Metal goodness. In Flames along with other Swedes At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity helped pioneer what would become to be known as the Gothenburg Sound in the early and mid '90's. In fact In Flames and Dark Tranquillity swapped vocalists in the early days. Formed in '90, In Flames has consistently been a figure in the Metal scene and now is more featured in the mainstream Rock/Alternative scene, evolving their sound from their classic sound to a more modern refined Rock approach that has left many longtime fans alienated.

For a band that's been around nearly 25 years now, the band has only one official Live release. That release is the '01 effort 'The Tokyo Showdown'. Recorded over the Japanese tour in November of 2000, this album captures what is pretty much the last of the classic sound before the evolution began. Fifteen tracks that cover their albums, 'Clayman', 'Colony', 'Whoracle' and 'The Jester Race'. Clocking in a just about an hour long, this gives the listener a rare glimpse into an In Flames Live show. The audio for me on this is a bit sub par and really could've been better. After all this is a Live record.

Of course in recent years In Flames has become a pale comparison of what they used to be. Their latest effort, 'Siren Charms' is for me just a staple of all the bland modern Rock that mainstream radio currently plays. Sadly the band doesn't seem to keen on revisiting the early days and sound of the band anytime soon. I've gotten the chance to see In Flames twice now. Once opening for Slayer in support of their 'ReRoute To Remain' album and then again in '08 as part of the Gigantour tour. Both times the band has been solid Live. Loads of energy on stage and cranking through sets and taking names. A lot of people, including myself, would love for a return to the old sound, but I don't see that happening. This however is a good reminder of what the band used to be like.

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Live (Hot Curry & Wine)

Haven't has any good ol NWOBHM up here in a while, so lets change that with some Holocaust. I has featured Holocaust a while back with their debut album 'The Nightcomers' and remembered they put out two pretty killer Live records. So decided to feature the more well known one in 'Live (Hot Curry & Wine).' The album actually is the second Live album in a row following the bands debut album. Touring in the early days was critical if you wanted to stand out from the other NWOBHM bands, and well Holocaust did. This version of the album is the reissue from Metal Blade that features two bonus tracks in "Lovin' Feelin' Danger" and "Death Or Glory".

The band of course is most known for having Metallica cover their song "The Small Hours". But they also got covered by Gamma Ray and Six Feet Under. The band is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the NWOBHM movement. Despite the praise the band released one more album in '84 before dropping off the grid til the early '90's where their sound evolved into more of a Progressive, Post Rock sound. The old sound did come back some with the '03 release of 'Primal'. Despite another decade long hiatus the band has returned again and are working on a new record.

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Woodstock

Sometimes an artist can turn a Live recording into something that captures a generation. A snapshot of that point in time if you will. Jimi Hendrix did that on two occasions with his God like playing. Monterey Pop Festival, in which we are introduced to the Hippie Generation and where we have the iconic image of him destroying his Fender and lighting it on fire. The other being Hendrix playing The Star Spangled Banner to the masses at Woodstock. Practically everyone and their mother recognizes the image of Hendrix at Woodstock or the tune. In fact that image is currently in an eBay commercial. Proof that singular performance is still relevant today.

'Woodstock' was released in '94. Probably in a sly way to tie in the twenty-five years since Woodstock happened. Actually it was released two days after the actual twenty five year mark. Hendrix of course played the final day of Woodstock. Most people familiar with him were expecting to see him preform with The Experience, his backing back consisting of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding. Instead they got his new band, Gypsy Sun and Rainbows. In fact the only time real time anyone ever saw this lineup was at Woodstock. The band would be revamped and shorted down to A Band Of Gypsy's for the next album.

The album captures a chunk of Hendrix's performance at Woodstock. August 18, 1969, marked the end of of the three day festival. Hendrix was initially to hit the stage at Midnight, but decided to wait til the morning to play. At 8 AM, Hendrix took the stage and gave one of the best performances ever. Even more amazing was the fact that Hendrix had been up for three days straight before, only to collapse from exhaustion after his set. The performance is still cited as one of the greatest ever in the history of Rock. And why shouldn't they, after all Hendrix say hello and goodbye to the Hippie Generation in two superb performances.

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Road Kill

Time to feature another band that I featured a few years back. And yes it's some more Thrash Metal. The Haunted have been forging ahead wit their take on The Gothenburg Sound for over two decades now. The band did release an early Live record entitled 'Live Rounds In Tokyo' that was originally released only in Japan before before repackaged stateside with their second album 'Made Me Do It'. The band went through a few vocalist shifts before releasing 2010's 'Roadkill'. 

'Roadkill' was recorded at The Melkweg in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on February 13, 2009. The album here features the original 16 song set with 5 extra bonus studio tracks. The band at this time was riding high with the success of the reunion with original vocalist Peter Dolving. Dolving gives it everything on this record. I mean nothing against the band, who amongst it's lineup has members who played in one of the most influential Swedish Metal bands, At The Gates. But this album is nothing without an amazing frontman. Open to close this is just in your face, get up and thrash metal.

Sadly the band only released one more album with Dolving before he and two other members of the band split in '12. The last effort with Dolving, 'Unseen' was seen as a huge departure from the bands sound. The album wasn't well received and the proverbial backlash ensued. The band went into a hiatus status for a bit before reuniting with second vocalist Marco Aro and original drummer Adrian Erlandsson. The band has since released a new album 'Exit Wounds' that picks up musically where the band was when Aro left.

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Sleepy Buildings

Continuing on with the Female Fronted Metal thing for one more post. We feature one of the bigger names in the genre and a band that has been featured here and referenced a few times before. I speak of course of The Gathering. A band with a few Live records in their career, I've decided to go with Live album number two. 'Sleepy Buildings - A Semi Acoustic Evening'.

This album is a bit better in terms of material and quality from their first Live album, 'Superheat'. This album is as the title states, a semi acoustic Live gig. Recorded on August 21st and 22nd 2003 at the LUX Theater in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The album does cover material from the majority of their previous efforts including reworked versions of the tracks, "The Mirror Waters", "Stonegarden" and "Like Fountains". Those tracks of course were originally on the bands first two albums 'Always..' and 'Almost A Dance'. Back when the band was more of a Doom/Death Metal band. Of course the band later found their sound and place on album number three, 'Mandylion'. The band continued to release albums up until this year when it was announced after playing a few reunion show with the older lineups the band would go on a hiatus. After twenty-five years playing The Gathering remains as one of the premier Female Fronted Metal bands with their unique sound. Again this is a band to check out if you're not into Metal.

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Invanity

When I started this blog out I wanted to showcase bands that have had an impact of myself and at the same time shed some light on some lesser known bands. With Live albums sometimes that can be a tad tricky. However with today's post I feel like I can accomplish that. Sometime ago I showcased this band and mentioned them as part of the ABBA tribute I had featured. Once again I'm going to shed some light on the band Flowing Tears. A German female fronted Atmospheric/Goth Metal band is about the best way you could describe Flowing Tears. The band has released a short Live album entitled 'Invanity - Live In Berlin', which we will take a look at.

Flowing Tears began life as more an Atmospheric Doom Metal band back in '94. Back then they were known as the rather wordy Flowing Tears & Withered Flowers. If that name doesn't drip depressing Metal I dunno what does. The band did manage to release two albums and an EP under that name. By '99 they decided to chop the name down a bit and release what is considered the great album in 'Jade', which was profiled here. The band has released two albums under the new name before parting with vocalist Stefanie Duchene and replacing her with Helen Vogt. Despite being signed to Century Media their first album with Helen, 'Razorbliss' went largely unnoticed. If I recall there was some promotion for the new album and lineup, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. In '07 the band released their Live album 'Invanity - Live In Berlin'. The album is somewhat of an acoustic/electronic effort. A short nine tracks in length, the album pulls from their three albums. It also includes an eerie cover of Slayer's "Dead Skin Mask" as well as a cover of Nick Cave's "The Weeping Song", which features Tiamat frontman Johan Edlund sharing vocals.

This album and band is one of those times I can spin something from them and say Metal is all guttural death chants and screaming. Once again this is an album you can ease someone not familiar with the genre into. Sadly the band really hasn't done anything since their '08 release 'Thy Kingdom Gone' and has split up as of earlier this year. Flowing Tears were a great band I think that just got lost by the wayside of the other more well know Female Fronted Metal bands like Nightwish, The Gathering, Tristania, Lacuna Coil and the such. Really a shame this band wasn't as big as they could have been.

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Another Lesson In Violence

Time to come back stateside and get back into the pit with some Bay Area Thrash. Widely considered to be among the second Big 4 of Thrash Metal, Exodus have been a staple of Thrash music since the early 80's. Perhaps what Exodus is best known for is Kirk Hammett's part in forming the band before joining Metallica. But despite losing such talent, Exodus remained a staple of the Bay Area Thrash scene. The band despite having some what of an issue holding onto a vocalist at times, continues to Thrash today, releasing new material and playing live.

The band has released a few Live albums. Three "official" releases, all three with a different vocalist. For this one though we go to '97 and a reunion with original vocalist Paul Baloff. Recorded at the Trocadero on March 8th, 1997,  'Another Lesson In Violence' marked a change for Exodus. Five years removed from their last dismal effort in 'Force Of Habit', the band had spent the early 90's struggling to remain a relevant name in Metal. By the mid 90's the band dropped vocalist Steve 'Zetro' Souza and brought back original wild man Paul Baloff. This Live Album captures the Baloff era Exodus. This album also captures the dual Thrash attack of Guitarist Gary Holt and Rick Hunolt. Face melting solos and amazing fret work make this album worth cranking up. An album was in the works after the Baloff reunion , but sadly Baloff passed away before the '04 release 'Tempo Of The Damned' could be finished. Instead former vocalist Zetro stepped in to complete the album. The band continues to push the Thrash attack on the masses, releasing a new album that features Kirk Hammett providing some guest work. Funny how things come full circle.

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Made In Japan

We go back to the Land Of The Rising Sun with this post. And we feature one of the most prolific Rock Live albums every issued. I of course speak about the legendary 'Made In Japan' from Deep Purple. Recorded on October 15th-17th in '72 in Osaka and Tokyo Japan, this was initially a Japan only release. The album was released stateside in '73 to capture some more of the profit. Thanks Warner Bros.

The album is pretty much the pinnacle of the classic Deep Purple lineup. Ritchie Blackmore playing like a crazed madman. You know before he went into hiding mode and made fairy music with his wife. Then there's the late Jon Lord smashing at the Hammond B-3 like no one else ever could. Ian Paice and Roger Glover handling the low end of things, while Ian Gillan belts out the classics. This was Deep Purple riding high after releasing a great album in 'Machine Head' just a year earlier.

I decided to go with the Deluxe edition of 'Made In Japan'. Simply cause you have to. The Deluxe Edition adds three extra tracks on the bonus disc. "Black Night", "Speed King" and the Little Richard cover of "Lucille" add to the already stellar track list.

Deep Purple for most will forever be know as that band that did "Smoke On The Water", the most famous chord progression in Rock. Stop humming it, I know you are. But Purple wasn't a one song wonder. The band released some critically acclaimed records in their prime. And while the lineups changed, the music evolved and in some cases got better with the addition of Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale. Don't believe me, go check out the the classic albums, 'Burn' and 'Stormbringer' for proof that Coverdale is much more than just that dude from Whitesnake. And stop humming "Here I Go Again" now. Purple has been together off and on since '68. There was a time where Purple didn't exist from '76 to '84 but the band still carries on despite the fact the axeman Ritchie Blackmore wants nothing to do with the band or Rock music in general and the recent passing of Jon Lord. The band continues to release new albums along with a massive collection on unearthed Live material from the years past. Deep Purple is truly one of Rock's giants.

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