Singing the Praises of Brother Firetribe

Most Nightwish fans have probably at least heard of Brother Firetribe, thanks to the fact that they share a guitarist (Emppu Vuorinen). But most of the people I mention them to have never listened to them. I do everything I can to change that. I HIGHLY recommend this band to almost everyone I meet, especially if they tell me they enjoy 80's music. I can't recommend them enough, in fact.

And everyone I introduce them to ends up loving them. Because they're bloody amazing.

Some people might say they aren't "real metal," but those people are stuck-up elitists who don't know how to have fun. Brother Firetribe's music is ALL about fun. And considering that the title of their first album was "False Metal," I don't think they care what you think.

A friend of mine, to whom I recently introduced them, said the following statement after listening to a few of their songs: "They sound more 80's than most of the 80's bands." Maybe you don't like 80's music. To each their own, even though I think you're crazy. If you do like 80's music, though, you need to hear Brother Firetribe. Their songs aren't your typical metal by any means, but some might argue that they are metal in its truest form. This band doesn't care about much else other than having fun, and their songs inspire people to do just that: have fun. Some of the best nights are ones where I just stay at home listening to Brother Firetribe's albums on repeat and rocking out all night. Over the past two years, their first album has been played about 80 times, their second one about 60 times - on my laptop alone.

I will admit that their music sometimes takes a little time to grow on you. But if you listen to them long enough to let them grow on you, you will be so glad you did. Their songs are definitely "sing along" songs; half the fun is in knowing the lyrics and belting them out shamelessly. Once you know the songs well enough to sing along, you will have the time of your life. You will want to blare their music and sing at the top of your lungs on every road trip you take for the rest of your life.

I will be seeing Nightwish live in about a month and a half, and I hope I get the opportunity to praise Emppu for his involvement with this band and blather on and on to him about how they need to come to the U.S. so I can see them. I would be more excited about seeing them than Nightwish.

Here are five of my favorite Brother Firetribe songs:

Concert Review: Ashes of Ares + Local Band Triple Play

Until Thursday night, I hadn’t been to a metal show since Mother’s Day of 2014. I was feeling quite deprived. 2014 was a horrible year for concerts, but 2015 has already made up for it, and as you probably already know, will only get better and better. I saw Frankie Valli live only 6 days earlier, but as this is a metal blog, I won’t share my review of that show. As I said, this was the first metal show in about 8 months. I feel much better now.

To be honest, I hadn’t listened to Ashes of Ares much before. I’d seen the music video a couple of times and checked out a couple of other tracks from the debut album, but had never given it the amount of attention I actually wanted to. However, I’ve always been a Matt Barlow fan, so when I found out they were coming to my city for a special one-off show, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see him live and shake his hand.

I arrived too early for this show because I didn’t want to miss any of their set, and I actually wasn’t sure if there would be any opening bands because they hadn’t been advertised (that I had seen). I even left work early to get there on time. Then I had to sit through THREE opening bands, only one of which I actually enjoyed. (I’ll talk more about that later.)

You have to love venues like Joe’s Grotto because they are so intimate, even when fully packed. Add that to the fact that there weren’t as many people there as I was expecting, and this became a fantastic location for my first live experience with Ashes of Ares. There’s no better way to experience a live band than being literally up against the stage, only about three feet from the musicians. Especially when one of those musicians is Matt Barlow, one of the most powerful, talented and badass vocalists in metal.

The only thing that adds to that experience is knowing all the words and being able to sing along, which I unfortunately was not able to do for this show. That definitely did not stop me from having an amazing time while this band was performing, though. Barlow absolutely did not let me down, and everyone on stage was not only talented, but personable, funny, and just plain awesome.

As the band only has one album so far, their set was far too short. They simply played the debut album in its entirety. This is another reason I wish I had been more familiar with their music beforehand. I think it's awesome when bands play entire albums live, from start to finish; but when you don't know the album, it isn't the same. I didn't even know this was what they were doing until Barlow mentioned it. I did buy the CD from the merch table after the show, for the record. I also came home with a setlist as a souvenir, because everyone knows I love my concert souvenirs.

Also, I have to give a shout-out to their newest guitarist and his beautiful, unusually long hair. Actually, his hair is about the same length as mine (top of thighs), and as such a long-hair fan, I of course took notice. Which led to this funny little exchange taking place between songs: Matt introduced the guitarist as the “new guy” in the live band, and basically asked the crowd if he was doing well. The crowd cheered and screamed and when it quieted down enough, I yelled, “And he has awesome hair!” To this statement, Matt replied, “He does have some sexy damn hair, doesn’t he?” The guitarist, whose name I sadly cannot remember (and can‘t find on Google either, so please clue me in if you know his name), stepped up to the mic and joked that he was waiting for his shampoo endorsement to come through. Personally, I think he should pursue this. Unfortunately, none of the photos I took do any justice to the hair.

On a similar topic, it's almost ironic that Matt Barlow is now the only person in this five-piece band with short hair. As you may remember, his curly red locks used to be the stuff of legends. In fact, I'm not ashamed to admit that I like a page called "Matt Barlow's Hair" on Facebook. But these days, as he is also a police officer by day, he's rocking a very short hairstyle, and is no less badass because of it. Thankfully, chopping off the hair did not make him lose his powers.

In short, I had a really good time at this concert. At least during the second half of it. Which brings me to the opening acts.

The first two bands who played just weren't really my style. I won't mention either of their names, as I don't want to disrespect the musicians, whom I'm sure are great people and love what they do. But if you know me, you know I'm not a huge fan of "Cookie Monster" vocals or indecipherable screaming. I enjoy growling and screaming only in small doses to accentuate the lyrics; listening to it throughout an entire song, or EVERY song, gets old very fast. And these two bands, I felt, were very much like a lot of American metal bands: too stereotypical. All the songs sounded basically the same, and a lot of times just sounded like noise. The lyrics, as I said, were indecipherable and the music itself just didn't seem to have much creativity to it. I can't even tell you what any of the songs were called because I couldn't understand the vocalists when they growled the song titles. Even their cover songs were stereotypical. Metallica, Lamb of God. There's nothing wrong with those bands, but can't we do something a little less... overdone? This is one thing that bothers me greatly about most American metal.

However! There was one shining star among the opening acts, and it goes by the name Triple Play. A local band based in Show Low, AZ. This band was not at all what I was expecting. After the first two acts, I was expecting the third one to be more or less along the same lines. Then they began to play. And I realized I could actually make out chords and words and it didn't just sound like noise. It sounded like actual songs, individual songs instead of the same one over and over. Although they were the least "heavy" band of the night, sounding more along the lines of classic rock than heavy metal, they were the band who rocked the house the most out of the three openers, inspired the most enthusiasm among the crowd, and greatly improved my mood halfway through the night.

In fact, when they first began their set, I was near the back of the venue, sitting down and trying to rest because I had an awful headache and the first two bands hadn't helped it. But before the first song was over, I knew I had to be up front where the action was. I was enjoying their performance too much to be sitting down. The band was unique, enthusiastic, and a lot of fun to watch. Musicians and audience members alike were having a great time.

My favorite part of their performance was their "Foot Soldiers" song. At least I believe that is what it's called, and I'm sure the band members will correct me if I'm wrong. I read it off of the setlist on stage in front of me (which means I was reading upside down) because the song impressed me so much I wanted to remember its name for future reference. The drum beat in this song = amazing. The breakdown of the song, when all three members of the band played the drums in unison, creating a sort of tribal effect = amazingggg. After this song ended, they mentioned that it was the first time they'd ever played it live, which makes it even better.

Only a song or two into Triple Play’s set, I had forgotten all about my headache and was focusing on having a great time instead. And I have to say these guys' instruments are just as unique as they are; they look like they were all bought at yard sales and held together with duct tape -- or stolen from their neighbors' trash cans. But they sure know to play them, and that’s all that matters. Plus, the drum set has spiders on it.

When all was said and done, and I was about to walk out the door and go home, I spotted these guys at a table in the back of the bar area. So I turned around, marched back in, and bought a CD from them.

(All photos in this blog post were taken by me!)

Eisbrecher - Verrückt (I Have a New Theme Song)

It's not "new" anymore, per se, but it has taken me a long time to get around to listening to the most recent Eisbrecher. This is the video for Verrückt, which is definitely going to be my new theme song. Those who speak any German, fluent or not, will probably understand from the title. Otherwise, feel free to translate the title/lyrics if you really want to know!

Great song. Awesome video. Makes me want to go out and buy the album, which I'm sure is what they were going for!

MAJOR Fangirling Over ProgPower USA Announcement - FALCONER FALCONER FALCONER

"Thanks to Joan*, I now know that my life may very well be complete next year. And that I must immediately begin saving money for my trip to Atlanta next September. Because Falconer, YES, FALCONER, the one and only, the never-goes-on-tour, the I-would-have-a-heart-attack-if-I-ever-had-a-chance-to-see-them-live FALCONER, is going to be playing their very FIRST live show on U.S. soil EVER** at next year's ProgPower USA festival. Oh. My. God. I don't even know what to do with myself right now. I'M GOING TO SEE FALCONER LIVE!!! And it's bigger than just seeing an awesome band... I'm going to see my IDOL, the man with the voice of a god, Mathias Blad, sing ON STAGE. IN PERSON. As an American, I honestly thought this would never happen. I WILL be there, even if I have to HITCHHIKE!!!! It took me a while before I could even form cohesive sentences again after reading this. AHHH SO EXCITED I CAN'T EVEN. And so glad I have an entire year to save for this. This is the greatest news in the history of EVER!!! Can barely breathe."

This was my original Facebook post minutes after receiving the news -- as soon as I was able to actually come up with words other than "OH MY GOD!"

I apologize for my incessant fangirling, but I seriously cannot believe this is happening right now. Mathias Blad is, hands-down, by far, my favorite vocalist of all time. The man's voice speaks to me in a way that no other singer's ever has, it inspires me, it makes me wish, for the first time ever, that the guitars weren't so loud, so I could hear him better. It makes me close my eyes and immerse myself in the world of his voice, paying no attention to anything else around me, but savoring each note he sings, the way one would savor each bite of the best meal they've ever tasted. It makes me want to be a better singer.

For those who don't know, Mathias does musical theatre in Sweden as his main gig. Falconer is a side job. Because of his theatre commitments, Falconer doesn't tour. They don't play live. Almost never do they play live. Maybe once every five years. In fact, Mathias and the rest of the band parted ways once in 2002, the sole reason for the split being so that Falconer could go on tour. It was an amicable split; the band simply wanted to perform live as most metal bands do, and Mathias was unable to do so. They replaced him with another vocalist and they did indeed do a bit of touring; but it became clear that he was irreplaceable, and eventually the other band members approached Mathias and asked him to return to his rightful place as frontman. Even though it meant they could never tour again. Because he's THAT AMAZING. He said yes, and the world rejoiced, even knowing they may never have a chance to see the band perform.

And as if playing a live show wasn't rare enough in itself, to play live in the United States? Please, even my favorite European bands who do tour a lot rarely make it to the U.S., with a couple of exceptions. Surely, Falconer never will. Surely, I will have to become rich enough to travel to Sweden if I ever want to see Mathias sing on stage or see Falconer perform a concert. I NEVER, EVER IN A MILLION YEARS thought that I would have a chance to see this! It is a dream come true! And I swear on all that is good and holy, even though this festival is on the other side of the country from where I live, I will be there. I will NOT miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To be fair, I'm not the type who usually fangirls like this. I've met and had conversations with several of my favorite musicians and I swear I don't act this way. But Mathias is the one vocalist I proudly fangirl over, and just to be clear, it isn't a celebrity thing at all. It's 100% a voice thing.

This is not to undermine the amazing talents of the rest of the band. I am VERY much looking forward to the entire concert and the awesomeness that each member of the band brings to the table. But... you know... this is my idol we're talking about.

*Joan, as referenced in my Facebook post, is a buddy of mine who lives near Chicago and travels to ProgPower every year. She is as big a Falconer/Mathias fan as I am. She was there in person when the announcement was made, and had much the same reaction I did, except in person. If anyone was there and heard a woman who sounded like she was having a heart attack and an orgasm at the same time right after the announcement was made (because that's probably close to what actually happened), well, that was Joan. Oh, the fangirling shall be epic next year.

**I'd also like to mention that Stefan Weinerhall of Falconer has since corrected me about this being their first show in the U.S. Apparently, they did do one show in the States before! I was unaware of this at the time because that one show was 11 years ago, and I have only been a Falconite for a mere 6 years! However, Mathias Blad was not in the band at this time, so it still stands that I will be attending my favorite singer's first and only show in the U.S.

Higher on Fire

Hello, metal fans! As anyone who's kept an eye on this blog realizes, I have not had internet access for quite some time. I recently moved across the country (back home where I belong! Yay! And more metal concerts! YAY!) and I do have internet where I am currently living. It might be temporary, but for at least the next couple of months, I hope I'll be able to post more. I'm working on a website for myself, looking for jobs, and various other projects including searching for like-minded musicians to hopefully put a band together. But I really hope to make time for blogging, as well! In the meantime, enjoy this song which I've always considered kind of a "theme song" for this blog. It represents the objective of the blog, and myself, pretty well: having fun and being able to make fun of yourself, but still being METAL! Enjoy!

HEAVY METAL THUNDER!!!

Jelonek

I discovered this one via Last.fm radio last month, while I was staying in a hotel after a sewer flood at my apartment (yuck). Taking advantage of the free internet for the nearly three weeks I was displaced, I listened to online radio in hopes of discovering cool new music. It worked, because I happened upon this guy, Michał Jelonek. If you like symphonic metal, you need to hear Jelonek! The following videos are two examples of how well a violinist such as Michał fits into a band that is otherwise full of metal instruments. They are also great examples of why vocalists are unnecessary (and I say this as a vocalist myself) -- music without words can be every bit as incredible!

He also wears a soldier's helmet with antlers attached, and makes ridiculous faces when posing for photos with fans. Basically, he just seems awesome in general.

Deathlike Silence

Every once in a while I need to be reminded how much I love this band. Their sound, their lyrics, their unique female singer who is a breath of fresh air to me (and easier to sing along with because her range and tone are similar to mine), their kitschy horror image, even the hearse they carry their instruments around in. I think it's time for a third Deathlike Silence album!

I'm having trouble figuring out how to post videos from the Blogger Android app, but if you have a moment, pop over to YouTube and check out their low-budget music video, "Six Feet Under the Ground." While you're there, take a listen to some of their other songs too. If you like a more classic metal sound, you just might enjoy Deathlike Silence with their horror-themed lyrics atop classically fun metal guitars.

Edit: Now that I'm at a PC, here's the video for your viewing pleasure:

Discoveries on the Horizon

I love discovering new bands. Sometimes they become favorites and sometimes I'm less impressed, but you never know until you try. Several of the new discoveries I've made have been by buying cheap, used CD's from the local new-and-used record store, Ernie November. They are usually CD's that would never be sold at any normal entertainment store in my area, but the strangest things end up at Ernie for $5 or less. One of my absolute favorite albums was acquired this way. This past week, I bought two new (used) CD's there.

The first one that caught my eye was a band called Evemaster, and the album is called Wither. I have never heard of this band before, but I liked the album art (hey, sometimes that's all it takes!) Looking at the back of the CD, I noticed the copyright was held by a record company in Phoenix, AZ. Being from Arizona, I wondered if this was a local AZ band I hadn't heard of. I did a quick Google search and it turns out they are actually a metal band from Finland. Now, most metal from Finland is somewhere in between "Pretty decent" and "Friggin' awesome" so this CD went into my proverbial shopping cart.

The second one I ended up with was Austria's Visions of Atlantis, and their 2011 album Delta. This is a band name I recognized, though I wasn't sure why. I think it is simply because they've toured with Epica. I have never heard their music, but my Google search tells me they have been compared with other bands I like or can at least tolerate, so I figured it was worth a shot!

If either of these albums strikes my fancy, I will probably be posting a review or simply a post full of excited raving. In the meantime, I'd like to encourage you all to support your local record stores, because the people who own and work at them are generally pretty cool, and you never know what discoveries you might make!

Good Music vs. Bad

First, I present to you one of the worst songs I've ever heard: "Want U Back" by Cher Lloyd. I consider it an awful song for the following reasons:

1. The lyrics are one of the dumbest things ever written. If you don't want to watch the video below, or can't make it through the whole thing, you should at least read the lyrics to get the full effect of their stupidity.

2. She sings the entire thing in a very annoying, whiny voice, sounding exactly like the spoiled brat the lyrics portray.

3. There's basically no musical creativity involved in this song at all. I think a 12-year-old could have written better.

4. They couldn't even spell out the word "You" for heaven's sakes.

Now, onto a song I personally consider one of my favorites: "Scaretale" by Nightwish. Even if it isn't your cup of tea you can probably still admit that it's a good song because:

1. It was incredibly well thought-out and composed, with an AWESOME heavy guitar riff that is one of my favorites EVER, surrounded by thematic orchestral and choral arrangements, and perfectly-placed background elements that bring a new level to a multi-dimensional piece of music.

2. The lyrics are poetic and bring to mind very vivid images of the landscape created by both the musical atmosphere and the general theme of the song and album it came from.

3. No matter how much you hate Anette Olzon, you have to admit that the witch-like voice she puts on in this song is fitting and she does a good job changing her voice to fit the theme of the song.

4. If reasons 1-3 didn't convince you, it will still sound a thousand times better in comparison with the first song I posted.

Welcome to the Blog! + Hysterica

Welcome and thanks for stopping by my brand-new metal-focused blog. As a proper opening, I thought this song seemed appropriate. It is by all-female, Swedish metal band Hysterica -- The Girls Made of Heavy Metal. I suggest doing as the video title says and switching to High Quality if it defaults to a lower quality version. This is a great video and I love this band full of kick-ass metal ladies who know how to make awesome music and have fun doing it.