Blackguard might formerly be known as Profugis Mortis but their Metal message remains stronger than ever and this band is an up and coming rising star that should not be missed in concert should you get the chance to enjoy them. PiercingMetal recently sat down with the bands singer Paul Ablaze and had a casual chat about the bands origins, hopes and life on the road as a band in their position. Check out the full discussion by clicking the link below.

PiercingMetal.com has photographed the band in action a number of times and we look forward to many more shows with them on the bill. Check out our existing galleries for the band by clicking HERE.

If you own the first two albums by Iron Maiden, which you of course should as a self-respecting Heavy Metal fan, then you know full well about the legendary greatness of Paul DiAnno.  He was the voice behind their debut release Iron Maiden and its blockbuster followup Killers and this evening’s show would be his first time back on US Soil in over fifteen years. He brought along local openers Operatikia and Pittsburgh’s Icarus Witch. The latter band would also serve as his own group this evening and should you want to learn more just click the logo below to be taken to our article on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

Since this was the first time that DiAnno had ever performed at B.B. King Blues Club we couldn’t let a shot of his name up on the marquee go by without snaring it.  Welcome to NYC Paul, hope you visit us again sometime soon.

The B.B. King's Marquee: Paul DiAnno Invades NYC

At the last couple of gigs that I have attended at the B.B. King’s venue, I noticed how they had made up these awesome looking announcement cards.  The first one that I paid mind to was the one for the Zebra show and the other side announced this DiAnno show.  We presented this image for your enjoyment and think that its the perfect thing to get signed if you by chance happen to get to meet the performer.

B.B. King's Flyer: Paul DiAnno formerly of Iron Maiden

One of the fans that was pressed up against the barricade was holding a couple of classic Iron Maiden vinyl releases, or EP’s as they were known back in the day.  My guess was that he hoped to get them signed by DiAnno after the show and for some reason he wanted me to put them on the stage for a moment.  The time was growing short for me to do anything with them for him and I surely didn’t want to be responsible for their well being so I just took the “Women In Uniform” EP and placed it near the set list.  That was one song I was hoping to hear this evening myself, so it made me extra excited as it began to play in my head.

Vintage Iron Maiden EP for "Women In Uniform"

I mention in the narrative how I go back a fair amount of time with the Operatika folks and while arranging and renaming photos the other day I dug up this oldie but goodie.  The location was the original L’Amour club in Brooklyn that had by then been modified several times but was still a relevant source of Metal entertainment at the time.  Given this was back in 2003, the website as you know it was not yet in existence and I was only beginning my journey in this realm while Slava and Anna were doing the same in then new band Operatika.

Slava Popova, KP, Anna Dok

New York City was going to get a little darker tonight as the legendary Helsinki Vampires returned for a killer performance at The Gramercy Theatre down in the Chelsea Area of the Big Apple. The band was celebrating the release of the album “Back In Blood” and touring in support of it with special guest openers Dommin and The Becoming. We made sure to get there nice and early to better capture the whole night in photo and commentary and should you want to learn and see more just click the logo below to be taken to our article on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

Now that you have enjoyed the concert report, please enjoy some of the after show festivity that took place as the bands friends and fans mingled with them until the dawn sent them all back to their crypts and onto the next stop on the tour.

Ronnie Sweetheart (The Throbs) & Queen Vixen (Cycle Sluts From Hell)

Among the many other creatures of the New York City night that came out to see The 69 Eyes we found Ronnie Sweetheart who sang for The Throbs and right next to him is the one and only Queen Vixen of The Cycle Sluts From Hell.  These two have been friends with the Helsinki Vampires for years and are often seen when the band comes into town to bring us music.

Filthy Diamond, Gothic Hangman & Ronnie Sweetheart

It was cool to meet Ronnie as he was a pretty awesome dude to talk to and he asked for this shot to be taken of The Gothic Hangman, and a lovely Finnish Lass who they call Filthy Diamond.  The Gothic Hangman is an artist who does some really interesting stuff which you can feast your eyes on and research a little deeper into by clicking HERE.  Just leave the light on when you do so as we are not responsible for your safety after you leave PiercingMetal HQ.   The Finnish Lass hated the brightness of my camera flash so much she borrowed the Piercing shades for a moment.  I must say that they look smashing on her.

Gia Genocide, Ronnie Sweetheart, Jyrki 69, Queen Vixen, Jussi 69

The band had finished decompressing after the show and soon came out to see their friends.  The photo above shows another friend of the band in Gia Genocide and once again Mr. Sweetheart.  We also see Jyrki 69, Queen Vixen and Jussi 69 who is always camera shy as you can see here.  Jyrki’s sporting of The Throbs t-shirt is bound to send some of his young vampire legions out to search for music from the band.  You can’t buy press like this. If you feel like entertaining your auditory sensors with some music of The Throbs to learn why they are so important to Jyrki, feel free to order a copy of their album Language of Thieves & Vagabonds. I am also sure that after seeing so many photos of ladies like Queen Vixen and Vas Kallas in these narratives of mine that you are super curious as to what in the world the Cycle Sluts From Hell were all about;  so if  you are also having a problem with some surplus cash that needs a home, perhaps you can order a copy of their sole recording Cycle Sluts from Hell and educate your brain.

Jyrki 69 & Ronnie Sweetheart

When he had the chance Mr. 69 asked me to snap this shot of him and Ronnie.  He was insistent that I had missed the logo that his own shirt prominently displayed but I told him that I would not have missed that on him and managed to do what he required of me.  Singers, there is no arguing with them…they always find ways to be right even when they are not   After snapping this one I made a quick exit and left the band to spend some quality time with their friends.  The bus would be leaving in a few hours for the next stop on the tour so they did not have a lot of time to bond.  I am sure that they will come back and I was happy to be there for them again.

Jussi 69 & Ken Pierce

Of course actually leaving takes forever when there are a bunch of people to say “ciao” to and before I did Jyrki 69 took my camera to try his own hand at being one of the Metal Photographic Scribes.  He insisted on taking a shot of drummer Jussi and me which I quickly allowed with no argument.  It’s not wise to have a conflicting opinion with the King of the Goth ‘n Roll vampires after all.

PiercingMetal.com adventured with The 69 Eyes when they came to town for an exclusive fan and media listening party at the Arrow Bar on the Lower East Side. Sink your sharpened fangs into that story HERE.

Doro Pesch, The Heavy Metal Queen, was back in New York City for a visit and would be doing the show with area locals Anaka as her support. I love the way that she delivers the Metal and made sure to be there to report on it. Click her logo below to be taken to the article on the main PiercingMetal.com site. It was really a good time that I fear far too many people missed out on.

Judas Priest was back in action and touring for the 30th Anniversary of “British Steel”. I could hardly believe that the album was reaching such a milestone. The tour would bring along Whitesnake who last delivered “Good To Be Bad” to their fans and with such a great pairing we knew we had to be in place to report on it. The first band up was Pop Evil but the fates were not on our side to catch them, but a full commentary and plenty of photos of Judas Priest and Whitesnake are ready to be enjoyed. Just click the bands logo below to be taken to our article on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

Metal Fans that have interest in seeing the Judas Priest “Metal Masters” article from last year can click HERE to do so and those Whitesnake fans that wish to enjoy our images and words from a media only CD listening can click HERE. Keep the horns raised for the Metal and remember to support your bands.

On July 8th 2009 the Metal Legions learned about the passing of Midnight aka John Patrick McDonald Jr. from liver and kidney failure – the singer was 47 years old.  From 1986 through 1991, Midnight was the lead singer for the Progressive Metal powerhouse Crimson Glory and while a member of the band he was always a dramatic and enigmatic presence on top of an incredibly powerful vocalist.  During the bands early years, he and his band mates wore unique silver face masks that made them look like some kind of mystical Phantom Of The Opera kind of group.  Together with Crimson Glory, Midnight recorded the self-titled debut Crimson Glory, Transcendence, and Strange & Beautiful, the latter release finding the band unmasked and delivering a very different kind of Metal than they first came out gunning with.  The album would be the last one featuring Midnight on vocals and he would be replaced by Wade Black who did their Astronomica CD and got the band back into the business of Progressive Metal.   Midnight would appear with his former band at a Festival in 2004 for a brief acoustic set, and while plans for a larger scale reunion were planned – outside of one show in Greece in 2006 this would not take and he would again be gone from the lineup in 2007 never to return.  This was a shame since many fans were looking forward to this potentially happening.

As a band they always seemed to intrigue me and in my later life as a freelance music photographer I had hoped that the reunion train would somehow manage to roll since I felt that a show with all the stops pulled out would have been a glorious thing for the younger generation of Metal fans to enjoy.   I remembered that I played the Transcendence cassette tape again and again until I finally found it on CD.   Owning the tape was normal since these were the days when you either had the records or the tapes more than the eventual stack of CD’s.  I can safely say that this album has remained one of my very favorites out of all of the Progressive Metal releases I would own.  My favorite songs were “Lonely”, “Painted Skies”, “Red Sharks”, and “Masque Of The Red Death”.  Each of them were thrill rides of music based on the powerhouse vocals that Midnight delivered and the great guitars and drums.  Back in the day when they were masked enigmas, I can proudly exclaim to the world that I saw them in action on the stage of the original L’Amour club in Brooklyn.   They were fantastic and very, very entertaining.  Interestingly enough they were not even headlining, but were instead opening up for Japan’s E-Z-O.  Their set featured almost every number from Transcendence since that was the recording being toured for at the time.  I was never sure if they returned to the club after this particular show and if they did I was not present for it.  All I know is that I enjoyed what they were delivering and I loved the sense of difference in the presentation.

Thanks to the efforts of the people over at Metal Mind Productions who delivered remastered editions of the bands full catalog, PiercingMetal.com was able to review all four Crimson Glory CD’s.  Should you want to learn our thoughts about any of them please click this LINK to do so.   As is our usual course of action, there is a means to purchase the music being reviewed via an Amazon.com embedded link.  We hope that you do so because there was a lot of great Metal being delivered on them from a band that really should have found much more than the underground notoriety that helped to sustain them.

The video above delivers Crimson Glory in their full regalia delivering “Lonely” from the album Transcendence.  It’s a great way to remember the mystical and interesting lead singer and a band that was on fire at the time.  On behalf of PiercingMetal.com we wish the family and friends of Midnight the most heartfelt of condolences and hope that the singer now rocks the halls of Valhalla with a thunderous fire with other Metal legends that we have lost over the years.  Rest in Peace Midnight, you shall be very dearly missed by Metal music.  Thank you for your contributions.

We had actually caught up with Lauren Harris in the summer of 2008 at Madison Square Garden on the night that her famous father Steve was ready to take the stage with his juggernaut Metal band, the one and only Iron Maiden. Lauren was a pleasure to talk to and really excited about bringing her own music to the NYC audience. She does a tasty brand of Hard Rock that is rather easy to get into should you give it the proper chance. Clicking the logo below brings you to our complete conversation on the main PiercingMetal.com site where we discuss a little bit of everything from her own music to being the daughter of such an influential Metal musician and going along on tour with this powerful band. We’ve loaded this interview piece into our musings to continue the archival nature of some of these items and look forward to bringing you more going forward.

Alex Krull is the imposing front man for the German Metal band Atrocity and when he is not doing that, he shares the stage with his beautiful wife Liv Kristine in the band Leaves’ Eyes.  We saw Atrocity as a part of a Death Metal festival show back in 2005 and were blown away by their intense power so we were a little bit surprised when the band decided to release a follow up to their covers album as opposed to another mind melting Death Metal epic.   The album was entitled “Werk II” and since the group had not returned to our shores sine that 2005 we sat down at the keyboard and did an email interview with the main man of the band.  To learn more just click the logo and be brought to our item on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

Overkill is one of the legends in the Thrash Metal annals of history and the band while going through a number of guitarist lineup changes has remained the core of D.D. Verni and Blitz for decades. Consistent touring and album releases prove that the band still has what it takes to entertain the fans and having just caught a smoldering gig at B.B. King Blues Club, we made plans to speak to the bands enigmatic front man at his earliest convenience. We caught up with him on the telephone in the beginning weeks of 2008 and found him eager to talk about a wide number of topics that ranged from the bands beginnings all the way up until today. To read our entire conversations transcription just click the bands logo below to be taken to the item on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

After Forever had impressed me from the moment I first heard the album “Invisible Circles” and while the release was in fact their third, I did what I could to find their back catalog until the band signed onto the Nuclear Blast Records artist roster in the middle of 2006. Towards the end of that year, the band was touring the US for the first time ever as the special guest support of Overkill and when they stopped in NYC we found a nice space in the backstage area of B.B. King Blues Club to talk to the groups incredible vocalist, the beautiful Floor Jansen. Clicking the logo below will take you to our entire discussion on the main PiercingMetal.com site.

Editor’s Note: It was around the beginning of 2008 that the band announced that they would be going on a one year hiatus as they had been in action since 1995 but as 2009 dawned upon us the revisiting of the group’s activity came to an abrupt end as they disbanded much to the dismay of many Melodic Progressive Metal fans. They shall be missed.