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Features, PiercingMetal Says

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of” 2012: The Concerts

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Looking back on 2012 as a concert going year I had to say that there were a lot of cool highlights for me. Sure I was compiling my “Year End Best Of” to cover all the different things that I’ve examined over the year but with the blog growing faster and faster and more contests happening on it for the crushing shows that hit our town, I decided to keep showcasing a number of the concerts that I saw during the course of the year. Bear in mind that these are my very favorite ones out of the whole bunch. I really had a great time seeing a number of shows but these stood out. Here we go.

1. KISS @ Live On Letterman: I don’t think that I need to go into how cool it is to see a band like KISS in the Ed Sullivan Theatre. The place holds 500 or so people and KISS sells out places that hold thousands more. See why I felt this was special. So yeah.

2. Nightwish and Kamelot @ Beacon Theatre: Nightwish and Kamelot both hold very special places to me as a music scribe and having them paired up for a tour was extraordinary.

3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra @ Prudential Center: This show was the debut of the new “Lost Christmas Eve” themed tour.

4. Roger Waters @ Yankee Stadium: My second time at Yankee Stadium for a massive concert and with Roger playing “The Wall” from front to back I stood awestruck.

5. KISS & Motley Crue @ PNC Bank Arts Center: This was a kickass pairing and the guys in The Treatment were pretty damned good as well.

6. Lamb Of God @ Roseland Ballroom: Metal laid waste to NYC this night.

7. Paganfest @ Gramercy Theatre: Turisas headlined this one and brought along Alestorm, Arkona and Huntress.

8. Sabaton @ Gramercy Theatre: This band is climbing the pole of popularity. Local support

9. Rhapsody Of Fire @ Gramercy Theatre: There was so much drama with the RoF division leading up to this show but you would never notice with the levels of kick ass Power Metal that was happening on the stage.

10. Marillion @ Irving Plaza: Leaders of the Neo-Progressive Rock movement. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them and they even did “Kayleigh”.
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Music, Reviews

“Icon” (2CD) by Rob Zombie

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Artist: Rob Zombie
Title: “Icon” 2CD
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: 8/31/2010
Genre: Heavy Metal/Horror Metal
Rating: 3.75/5

This edition of the “Icon” series focuses on the one and only Industrial Shock Metal master Rob Zombie and fortunately for all of his fans this one does a proper job of presenting a little bit of everything from his wildly interesting career. I’ll be honest and admit how when I first heard about him that it was not my thing and back in the day, it was true that White Zombie was not for everyone. This was a new kind of Groove based Industrial Metal that you either loved or hated and at the time I was strictly supporting the Old School (which was not quite “old” per se at that time in music history). Eventually I came to appreciate what they were all about so I was happy to find the compilation beginning with some of their most notable tracks. “Black Sunshine” and “More Human Than Human” were and still are my favorites from the band. The collection continues on to when Rob decided to venture off on his own and leave the ranks of White Zombie behind him and of course for the most part the premise seemed to remain the same. The contribution to the Howard Stern “Private Parts” movie is offered up with “The Great American Nightmare” as are five numbers from his “Hellbilly Deluxe”. Personally I really enjoyed that particular album and was impressed that the decision to include its five best tracks was made. From this section I would have to say that “Dragula” and “Living Dead Girl” still sound fresh to my Metal ears. From here I can say that I was not really following his adventures so many of the next group of songs were a good primer for someone like myself as it gave me some insight into what I had been missing.
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Music, Reviews

“Punisher: War Zone” Soundtrack by Various Artists

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Artist: Various Artists
Title: “Punisher: War Zone” Soundtrack
Label: Lionsgate
Release Date: 11/18/2008
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 2.5/5

Fans of Marvel Comics around the globe know full well about Frank Castle, The Punisher, the anti-hero who made his first appearance in the Spider-Man comics and over the years has had three movies made about his adventures. These films find him to be the sole protagonist in his war on crime and the first film was a largely forgettable one that gave us Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV) as the vigilante in 1989. This was followed by the rather on target release bearing the same name in 2004 that put Thomas Jane in the recognizable skull emblem ensemble and it’s popularity has led to a sequel. The new film is entitled “Punisher: War Zone” and this time around Castle will be played by Ray Stevenson. Having seen the trailer online I can say that it looks to be along the same level of excitement that the last movie offered and I am sure that it will feed the need of those fans that the character has. Like most movies of this kind, its release comes hand in hand with an official soundtrack CD.
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Music, Reviews

“Past, Present & Future” by Rob Zombie

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Artist: Rob Zombie
Title: “Past, Present & Future”
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: 9/23/2003
Genre: Industrial Metal
Rating: 3.75/5

In my musical mind I was never more than the casual supporter of White Zombie and band leader Rob’s solo efforts even though I enjoyed quite a number of the tunes that are presented here in this collection. The opinion had less to do with the quality of the tracks performed and more to do with the state of mind that I was in at the time of their release. I led the Power Metal and Dark Metal lifestyle much more than the Groove meets Industrial Metal vibe that Zombie seemed to not only excel at, but largely perfect to a style that has grown exponentially since his earliest efforts. That being said this CD compilation is the perfect place for the casual fan to begin their journey into the pulsing and infectious groove that has made Rob Zombie such a well-respected performer. It begins with selections from the two major label releases from White Zombie and leaves off the bands earliest efforts by starting with “Thunder Kiss ‘65” and “Black Sunshine” from “La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1.” This was the album that moved the band from the cult level underground outfit that they had been for years and slowly scared the life out of mainstream listeners based on the difference that they were bringing to the table. These particular tracks found heavy presence on the Metal programming of MTV who was still airing videos for this kind of music. We got the favored numbers from “Astro Creep 2000”, which would actually be the bands final release before Rob chose to give it a go as a solo performer. “Dragula” was the first track we experienced from his solo debut “Hellbilly Deluxe” and to me perhaps his biggest tune of them all based on how often you would hear it played on any number of outlets. There are some weird Industrialized Metal versions of Funk/Disco classics like “Brickhouse” and “I’m Your Boogieman”. These are ok in my eyes, and perhaps mean a lot more to other fans. Zombie’s inclusion to the Howard Stern movie is here with “The Great American Nightmare”, a song that finds the radio personality joining in for the vocals.
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Music, Reviews

“20th Century Masters: The Best Of Rob Zombie” by Rob Zombie

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Artist: Rob Zombie
Title: “20th Century Masters: The Best Of Rob Zombie”
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: 10/10/2006
Genre: Industrial Metal
Rating: 3/5

From the depths of New York’s Metal scene rose White Zombie, a band that blended crushing riffs and some feels from the Industrial side and running the show was the main monster himself – Rob Zombie. The career of the band was interesting for while the band was around for several years, all of a sudden they broke and became one of those veteran acts being called an “overnight sensation”. Zombie would disband the group and begin performing solo, but the overall vibe of the group would remain pretty much the same. This CD includes four of the most popular White Zombie tracks, yet the albums they come from should be looked into as well. The remaining tracks cover Rob’s biggest solo singles as well as music from his movie’s where he also served as the creator and director. The 20th Century Masters editions are not high on my list as anything more than teaser plates of a particular artist. The key success of the hits packages are found on the “Gold” editions. There are some historical liner notes and photos inside but other than that this is merely an OK release and not a true “Best Of”, these issues need to add more tracks going forward and making better use of the time available on CD.
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