Tag Archives: power metal

Kamelot Announces 2015 North American Tour w Dragonforce

Kamelot has been keeping their fans in the know in terms of the progress with their upcoming album and in addition to this they have unveiled a North American Tour with the Supersonic Power Metal band Dragonforce. Check out the poster and the dates below, and then I’ll close up with some thoughts.

Tour - Kamelot - 2015

The Tour Dates:
Apr 27 ’15: Baltimore MD @ Soundstage
Apr 28 ’15: Philadelphia PA @ The Trocadero
Apr 29 ’15: NYC NY @ Webster Hall
May 1 ’15: Worcester MA @ The Palladium
May 2 ’15: Montreal QUE @ Metropolis
May 3 ’15: Toronto ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
May 5 ’15: Columbus OH @ Newport Music Hall
May 6 ’15: Joliet Il @ Mojoes
May 7 ’15: Minn Mn @ Mill City Nights
May 9 ’15: Winnipeg MB @ Garrick Centre
May 10 ’15: Saskatoon SK @ Louis Pub
May 11 ’15: Calgary AB @ MacEwan Hall Ballroom
May 12 ’15: Edmonton AB @ Union Hall
May 14 ’15: San Francisco CA @ The Regency Ballroom Regency Center
May 15 ’15: Anaheim CA @ The Grove
May 16 ’15: Tempe Az @ Marquee Theatre
May 18 ’15: Denver CO @ Ogden Theater
May 20 ’15: Austin TX @ Emos
May 22 ’15: Birmingham AL @ Iron City Live
May 22 ’15: New Orleans LA @ New Orleans Civic Theatre
May 23 ’15: Lake Buena Vista FL @ House of Blues
Continue reading Kamelot Announces 2015 North American Tour w Dragonforce

“Apocalypse” by Holyhell

Artist: Holyhell
Title: “Apocalypse”
Label: Magic Circle Music
Release Date:
Genre: Power Metal
Rating: 3.5/5

When you listen to Holyhell there are a number of comparisons that can be immediately drawn and the first one comes via its musicality being very similar to that of Nightwish. The female fronted Power Metal band while using some elements of it are not entirely a Symphonic Metal outfit and instead keep the format a little more conventional with the occasional delving into the symphonic side for larger atmosphere. The four song EP “Apocalypse” is a good way to absorb what they are all about and gives the listener the beautiful lead singer in Maria Broen and guitar hero via Joe Stump. Maria has a nice voice and comes off as very powerful in her vocal register which is vastly different from the Operatic branding that listeners have come to grow used to in bands that have female leads. The first track is very much like Nightwish even in its format and that might set fans of the band on their ear since it came be viewed as unoriginal even though it’s a fine track. “Resurrection” is a straight forward Metal tune with some blistering guitar work from Stump and a powerful chorus finale. The tune was recorded live at Monsters Of Rock in 2005.
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Helloween & Gamma Ray @ B.B. King Blues Club (9/21/2008)

The pairing of Helloween and Gamma Ray was nothing less than a dream come true for many of the Power Metal fans of the world and when the “Hellish Rock” tour hit NYC we were there to document it.  So far, September had been one of the craziest months we ever experienced in the role of Metal Media guy but we were still happy to be able to present our views and images of the fun with the worldwide PiercingMetal.com readership.  We shot photos of both groups at some length and those who wish to learn more about it need only click the logo below to be brought to the item on the main website.

Logo - Helloween

Artist: Helloween
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Gamma Ray
Date: 9/21/2008
Label: SPV Records

The concerts to attend on my planning schedule had already been rather fruitful with interesting appearances from the legendary Carcass who brought a bevy of supporting acts with them, all the way through show featuring Trouble, Opeth and the mighty Motorhead which was actually only last night for me. Yet despite the roster of things already done and being worked out for the Metal legions to enjoy – the very premise of both Gamma Ray and Helloween touring together on the same package was enough to make you tremble in your leather jacket even if we were still dealing with the warmer weather that would find such things in our closets for the next few weeks. They called this event “The Hellish Rock Tour” and it would thankfully feature no other openers and only be the two main bands. I say it like this based on the wide assortment of opening talent that I had absorbed over the past couple of weeks and since the longer the show the more exhausting it can be, I was happy to just see the pair of killer Power Metal acts taking the stage. Plus, with no openers to speak of this would mean a much longer set for each of the bands and one cannot go wrong with that. The show once again would be something that took place at B.B. King Blues Club and the venue was jam packed from the moment that I walked inside the place. I won’t lie when I say that I loved seeing that many Metal heads gathered together for the cause. Here is how the very exciting event took place if you were one of the few Metal heads that seemed to miss out.
Continue reading Helloween & Gamma Ray @ B.B. King Blues Club (9/21/2008)

Iron Savior @ B.B. King Blues Club (9/24/2008)

Iron Savior was making what appeared to be their first ever visit to NYC and doing a show at the venerated B.B. King Blues Club and Grill. We made sure to be on point for this exciting band and if you scroll past the logo below you will be brought to our article.

Logo - Iron Savior

Artist: Iron Savior
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Arctic Flame & Cypher Seer
Date: 9/24/2008
Label: Noise Records

The German Power Metal invasion that had started off the week only a couple of days before with Helloween and Gamma Ray continued its assault as Iron Savior took over the stage of the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on Wednesday. According to my research, the band while having visited the States before for a festival event had never really embarked on a full-scale national tour and that was something amazing to realize especially with the band releasing albums for the past ten plus years. Since tonight would mark the band’s very first New York City appearance I knew that the best place to be for any Metal fan who knew their stuff would be right here inside the venue. The summer heat was still on us so it would be great to be inside a cool venue that was dishing out some really hot Metal. The openers for the gig would be a couple of local acts that many of the area Metal fans are rather fond of with Cypher Seer starting it off and Arctic Flame leading up the charge for Iron Savior’s guys to do their thing. The three band bill looked to start on the early side so since I had hours to go, I wandered about the Virgin Megastore and the communal Metal meeting ground of Smith’s bar before I made my way back to catch the first band. Should you be one of the many who missed out on this night, here is how it went down.
Continue reading Iron Savior @ B.B. King Blues Club (9/24/2008)

“Overlords Of Chaos” by Ironsword

Artist: Ironsword
Title: “Overlords Of Chaos”
Label: Shadow Kingdom Records
Release Date: 9/16/2008
Genre: Power Metal
Rating: 2/5

This one mystified me a little bit because I am generally one of the biggest proponents of the Heroic Power Metal genre yet from the moment I placed “Overlords Of Chaos” by Ironsword in my CD changer I found myself scratching my head in wonder about what I was actually spinning. The band hails from Portugal, which I felt was good because outside of Gothic Metal greats Moonspell, we don’t always hear from the region when it comes to offering up Metal bands. The problem I first had with the band was based on vocalist Tann because he is in possession of a gruff and almost growling vocal presence as opposed to the expected high register and often sonic screams that the genre continually delivers. As you know, Power Metal is a driving format and it is often true that the singer of the band helps to propel the musicality of the group forward. With the different vocal sound from Tann, this was just not catching me and while the band was tight, it almost sounded like the singer was disinterested in the material. Of course I am sure that it was not truly the case but his voice is not one that grabs you or even sounds like he is excited about what they are doing. To me I felt he was going through motions. Had this been a Hard Rock outfit with more of a crushing groove then his voice would have worked out so much better. Alas, it was not. The group formed in 1995 and “Overloads Of Chaos” is their third release. The bass on the album is handled by Rick Thor while Maalm pounds it out on the drums.
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