Gig

We leave the Land Of The Rising Sun to go back to our DIY roots and Punk Rock. This time it's the Circle Jerks. I have previously profiled the Circle Jerks here, as well as some related bands, namely Black Flag and OFF!. The band is citied as one of the more influential Punk bands of the first wave of Punk. Featuring in its ranks original Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. The band is currently on hiatus, but pretty much split up again. They have reformed a few times with various members over the years. Fun fact, former Megadeth Guitarist Chris Poland was briefly a member of the band after his dismissal from Megadeth. But for this one we feature the bands only official Live release, the aptly named, 'Gig'.

Released in '92, even though tracks were recorded during the bands final tour in '90, 'Gig'  is simply 22 tracks of Punk that clocks in at just under 40 mins. This Live album captures the band in what would be their final form before their first hiatus. Capturing the band still in fine form and showcasing material from all the albums to date. The band would disband for a few years with Hetson continuing to play with Bad Religion and Morris taking up everyday jobs for a bit. The band reunited briefly to turn out another album, but has been pretty much inactive since the decades start. Nevertheless the Circle Jerks remain influential for a whole new generation of Punks.

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Tokyo Warhearts

Staying in Japan for this post. Noticing a theme yet? This time we'll go with some wild and crazy Fins. Children of Bodom have been making a name in the thrash/melodic metal circuit for a good fifteen years now. Perceived by same as some what of a joke band due to their tendency to cover songs and put the Bodom spin on it. See my post on 'Skeletons In The Closet' for proof on that. The band has put out two live albums to date. For this one though I'm going back to their first one, 'Tokyo Warhearts'.

Initially released in 1999, the album was released on the Finnish label Spinefarm Records and was limited to 10,000 copies. More recently the album got the Picture LP treatment and was reissued. The album was recorded at Club Citta in Tokyo Japan on July 10th and 11th 1999. This album is 11 tracks of blistering guitar solo and keyboard solos from a young band. Young enough that just a year before the bands keyboardist virtuoso Janne Warman was still in school and couldn't tour with the band. The band perfectly captures their two albums to date, 'Something Wild' and 'Hatebreeder' on this Live album. This is where people began to notice the talent of such a young metal band. Of course the band continues to put out material pretty steadily despite issues with frontman Alexi 'Wildchild' Laiho. Not to mention the band has had one lineup change since releasing their debut in '97. That's pretty impressive. Even more impressive is the band actually dates back to '93 when they cut a few demos as Inearthed, before "splitting up" and "reforming" as Bodom. You can kinda see the tongue in cheek here as the Intro samples "Crockett's Theme" from the TV show Miami Vice and at the start of "Touch Like Angel Of Death" it opens with another Jan Hammer gem in "Hummel Gets The Rockets" from the '96 movie The Rock. And in a nod to Japanese Metal, at the end of the Guitar battle, you'll hear a bit of Loudness.

I've been lucky enough to see Bodom twice now. Well sort of. The first encounter was actually a meet and greet. Around the time the bands fourth record 'Hate Crew Deathroll' came out I was at the time on a Thanksgiving vacation with the ex wife to Arizona. Somehow or another I found out they were doing a signing before their gig out there at one of the local record shops. In some miracle of sorts I managed to convince the ex wife to go out and stand it line with a bunch of metal heads to get some CDs signed. She agreed and to this day I proudly display my signed copies of 'Something Wild' and 'Follow The Reaper'. The latter album was actually the first Bodom record I bought. Still love that record too. Forward to '08 and I'm now living in Arizona and the Gigantour Tour made stop in Phoenix, well Mesa, but no one knows where Mesa is, so it's easier to say Phoenix. Solid lineup that year with High on Fire, Job For Cowboy, In Flames, Children Of Bodom and Megadeth. Outdoor shows in Arizona are usually safe. You know it's gonna be hot and you know you gotta stay hydrated. Throw that out the window as that day it decided to rain off and on through out the show. The odd weather even prompted Alexi to quip, "I didn't know you had rain in Arizona". Highlight of Bodom's set that night though, the impromptu sing along to "Don't Stop Believing". Like I said tongue in cheek at it's finest. Despite the rain, which caused me to leave a few songs before the end of Megadeth's set, it was solid show.

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Tokyo Tales

Time to go back to the land of the Rising Sun with today's post. Japan as I said is a running theme through these posts. Power Metal, something I don't think I've really posted a whole lot of here. The mention of it brings to mind fantasy, Tolkien, and massive festival sing a longs. So lets go to where it started from, Germany. The Germans have pretty much perfected the art of Power Metal, churning out bands since the mid 80's. May as well be as the official music of the country. So let's pay homage to it with of the original German Power Metal bands. Blind Guardian tend to be the flag bearers for the genre. Doing it since '86, the band consistently delivers epic Power Metal. Although the band did start out like the other Metal import from Germany, as a Speed Metal band called Lucifer's Heritage. In fact the roots of the band go back to '84.

The band has officially released two Live albums thus far. I'm gonna focus on the first one. 1993 saw the release of 'Tokyo Tales'. Ten years later in '03 the band would release the Double Live record, 'Live'. The latter record is a more career spanning effort. While 'Tokyo Tales' focuses on their bands first four albums. The album is 12 tracks of epic sounding Metal. Simply showcasing what this still fairly young band could accomplish. The album was recorded over two nights in Tokyo. The first night was at Koseinenkin Hall in Tokyo on December 4, 1992 and the second night was at the NHK Hall in Tokyo on December 6, 1992. Japan in the mid 90's couldn't get enough Metal apparently. Nothing's really changed there either.

There's something about Power Metal in a Live setting that just makes you wanna put your arm over some random stranger and belt along to epic courses about Tolkien. It reminds you that being a Metal head is like being part of a bigger community and being part of something great.

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Live '84

In sticking with the controversy theme of sorts, we shift gears into some Live Punk. This time courtesy of Punk icons Black Flag. The band of course was at the forefront of the American Punk movement in the mid 70's and continues to remain a cult and iconic band today. Most Live Punk shows were circulated as bootlegs back in the day, as the tape trade scene was still a relevant way to hear new music. You know before the Internet killed it. In any case official Live releases tend to be a bit few and far between. With that being said, this release, 'Live '84' was initially only released on Cassette. The sound is a bit weak as it was remixed and released on CD in '98 by Guitarist Greg Ginn.

'Live '84' embodies the raw energy that Punk was. Loud, fast and downright angry at times. The album was recorded sometime in '84 at The Stone in San Francisco. The venue may sound familiar as that's where many of the Bay Area Thrash bands got their start playing Live. The album captures the rotating lineup that was Black Flag. The only constants at the time were Guitarist Ginn and vocalist Henry Rollins. Both Bassist Kira Roessler and Drummer Bill Stevenson had only been in the band for about a year at this point. The record isn't a typical short Punk record. In fact it opens up with the monster eight minute track "The Process Of Weeding Out". In fact there's only a handful of tracks that clock in at under three minutes. In fact instead of focusing on the bands earlier material which was praised by many, the album focuses on material from the albums, 'My War' and 'Slip It In'. It captures the band both at what could be described as their height and their fall. The band continued on for roughly another couple years before falling apart. The band has in recent years reunited with various members. There's of course been no shortage of mud slinging and lineup changes. So much so that Greg Ginn is now the only original member in the band.

The band of course spawned numerous members who went on to play and form different acts. Most notably Greg Ginn formed Gone and did some work with former Minutemen Bassist Mike Watt. Early vocalist Keith Morris went on to play in rival Punk band The Circle Jerks and is currently fronting a new Punk band, OFF!. Rollins of course is the most famous to come out of Black Flag. Releasing solo albums, as well as material with the Rollins Band. In addition to that he's a author, a spoken word master and occasionally pops up on TV, most recently on the History Channel. Rollins of course is one of those people I find in music that has a huge love/hate relationship among the masses. For all that's been done and said about the man, he did front one of the most iconic Punk bands ever. And no one can ever take that away.

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At The Arena Ov Aion

Controversy, it's a lot like milk. It can do you good or if you're lactose intolerant, it can back fire. And yes pun intended. Music in general despite the genre has never been a stranger to controversy. From The Beatles to Death Metal acts to Pop music. It's all been done before. Someone runs their mouth or does something stupid and it makes headlines. One genre perhaps makes more waves than others and that's Heavy Metal. It's got a checkered past and is no stranger to controversy. There are many sub genres, but Death and Black Metal seem to get a lot of attention when it comes to controversy. So for this post I've decided to go with some controversial Black/Death Metal in the form of the Polish band Behemoth.

Behemoth have been around since the early 90's when a couple of Polish teens decided to form a Black Metal band. Since then the band has tooled around in the underground before gaining some notoriety in the past few decade or so. Led by Bassist/Guitarist/Vocalist Negral, the band issued a few demos in the early 90's before releasing their first EP 'And The Forests Dream Eternally' in 94. The band continue to release material and tour largely unnoticed before 2002's monster of an album 'Zos Kia Cultus'. That's where things began to change. The band began to gain steam and gain some attention due to their crushing Live shows. With two Live videos under their belt, the band released 'At The Arena Ov Aion-Live Apostasy' in 2008. Culling material from their entire career, this Live album is, well brutal. The album was recorded Live at La Loco in Paris France on February 17, 2008 during the European Apostasy tour.

Never to one to hide opinions or mince words in the media. Negral has made it clear his and the bands dislike for organized religion. He's even gone as so far as tearing up a Bible on stage a few times. An act that's landed the band in court in Poland and on the watchdog list. However at current time the band is still free to play in Poland, but it comes with great protest by the state. In addition to that, Russia has recently barred the band from playing there, so far as detaining the band. In 2010 though Negral was diagnosed with Leukemia and was forced to take sometime off while Negral underwent treatment. Eventually Negral underwent a Bone Marrow transplant and has since recovered. Once again no stranger to controversy, Negral did do a stint on a Polish singing competition show that raised a few eyebrows.  In the end the band continues to record and tour, although the end may be in sight for the band as Negral has stated about the uncertain paths he wants to take regarding the band. Controversy, ever present no matter where you turn.

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Saints Will Conquer

I have the thing where I tend to cross reference another band in a post then a few posts later profile that particular band or artists. Sometimes by choice, other times by accident. This is one of those posts. Few posts back I profiled Anthrax. In that post I made reference to Armored Saint. For what they are, Armored Saint seem to be a forgotten band of the 80's Metal scene. So let's take a trip back and revisit their Live record, 'Saints Will Conquer'

Somewhere in my collection I have a copy of the record on vinyl. It's unopened and I may have paid like $2 back when I was slumming around Phoenix. In fact the CD version is actually different from the vinyl, but more on that in a sec. Armored Saint to most people are know for having former Anthrax vocalist John Bush in their ranks. Others may know the tale of how John Bush almost became the singer for Metallica around the time of 'Ride The Lightning'.  But most die hard Metal heads know that Armored Saint were a pretty well known band with lots of radio and MTV airplay in their hey day. However for as a well known band in their initial ten years together, they only released an EP, four studio albums and a Live Record. The band dissolved after Bush was asked to join Anthrax in the early 90's as well as the untimely passing of Guitarist Dave Prichard from Leukemia. However in '88 the band did release a short little Live album called 'Saints Will Conquer'. The original vinyl release only 5 live tracks and a cut from their original EP. The CD version actually added two more songs in "Chemical Euphoria" and "Long Before I Die". As far as I know it's far from a full set. The band at that time had been riding high for some time. The album was recorded at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland OH on October 9, 1987. Short in nature it serves as a reminder of what a great band Armored Saint was at the time.

Like many of the great 80's metal bands, Armored Saint did make a comeback. Releasing 'Revelation' in 2000, the band was poised for a comeback of sorts. However Bush continue to sing for Anthrax on and off again and Bassist Joey Vera has been busy with his other band Fates Warning. The band has more recently released an album. 'La Raza' was released in 2010 with some splash but again the band seems to be on a get together when we feel like it mentality of late. There is talks of a new record in the near future. Armored Saint to me still sounds fresh as they did when they first unleashed 'March Of The Saint' on us some nearly 30 years ago.

 

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Burning Japan

There's something about Japan. From the amazing food, to the technology, to the sheer weird stuff and even to the Godzilla sightings. However all kidding aside there's one thing that Japan takes seriously and that is Live Music. This post is one of the many with the show being recorded in Japan. And what better way to start off then with a Japanese only release. Sweden's Arch Enemy have been flying the flag for Swedish Metal for the past two decades now. Initially a side project when Guitarist Michael Amott left Grindcore Gods Carcass, the band has continued to solider one, proving you don't always need a male vocalist to get your attention.

By 1999 Arch Enemy had three albums under their belt and went from being big in Japan to catching ears in Europe and the US. Led by the Amott brothers, the band released their first record 'Black Earth' in 96 and by 99 begin to pick up some steam carrying on what is commonly referred to as "The Gothenburg Sound". Not forgetting where they had a cult following, the band returned to Japan in 99 to promote their new record 'Burning Bridges' and to records a Live record. The Live record would turn out to be, 'Burning Japan, Live 1999' and be only released in Japan under the Toy's Factory label. The album is somewhat of a hard to find release stateside as it was never officially released here by the bands label, Century Media. The album is 11 tracks of pure metal. While the sound is a bit low, you could still see a band beginning to grow. The album also marks the final release with vocalist Johan Liiva.

Arch Enemy then proceeded to do a 180 if you will. The band released early demos of some new material featuring the new vocalist. The majority of people assumed the new vocalist was a guy, just from the sheer brutality of it all. Alas is turned out to be a woman. Angela Gossow would continue to front the band for the next dozen years. Angela stepped down in 2014 only to be replaced by another female, ex The Agonist singer Alissa White-Gluz. The band continues to make some pretty decent albums. Their latest effort 'War Eternal' shows a return to some older material.

I had the chance to see Arch Enemy on what was prolly their second US tour with Angela. The band was promoting at the time their new release 'Anthems Of Rebellion'. And I have to say even with Hate Eternal on the bill, that was seriously an extreme show. I was up front in a pretty well packed Troubadour club in Los Angeles, staring up at Christopher Amott all night. Bewildered to see some amazing guitar playing to say the least, but watching how tight the band sounded. One of the best metal gigs I've been to. And say what ya will about the band today, the 'Burning Bridges' album remains my favorite release from the band.

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