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Features, PiercingMetal Says

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of Decade”: 2000-2009: The Concerts

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As I’ve previously noted, we’ve always aimed to deliver a year end “Best Of” list and with the end of the decade just having happened, it’s time to continue our thoughts about what was the “Best Of The Decade” from 2000-2009 – I’ve already doled out the Music and Video picks and now it’s time to get into the live concerts that we found the most enjoyable over the past ten years.

I was not really planning on doing a decade spanning concert “best of” but many of the readers of the site had sent me emails after the list posted inquiring about those events which I thought were the biggest highlights to me. Based on the interest, I figured that it was better to append the article to also feature this information of be stuck answering emails over and over. I’ve been fortunate as a writer and photographer to get to enjoy a large number of shows and I hope that you enjoy the list I came up with.

Van Halen @ Madison Square Garden (Warner Music Group): The Brothers Van Halen reunited with David Lee Roth made this one of the highlights of my decade. Yes Michael Anthony was no longer a part of the band but I could live with that since it gave me back Dave. The hits were non-stop at the show and I think I watched it five feet above the floor where my seat was. Everyone in NYC was dancing the night away that’s for sure.

Iron Maiden @ Madison Square Garden (EMI Music): This show was for the “Brave New World” CD that many loved for bringing back Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith into the fold. I loved it for its amazing level of energy and how it showed just how good Maiden was and the fact that it had Rob Halford as the opener and Queensryche. OK I admit that I didn’t feel the Ryche were all that good that night and were rather slow after the Halford set. It was fantastic seeing Rob’s then new band in action of course as he was still years away from rejoining Judas Priest.

The Gathering @ The Knitting Factory (The End Records): I was a casual fan of The Gathering and my buddies who went to the show with me were much more into them, but seeing them in this smaller space was fantastic. Very moody and atmospheric stuff and done well in the live sense. Anneke sang like a siren and one of the openers was an unknown group called Unexpect. I’ve been a supporter of theirs since that night and feel that this appearance gave me a heads up on a terrific band many years before the rest of the folks would catch on.

HIM @ The Bowery Ballroom (Universal Music): While working at one of the investment banks from hell I scanned a video for HIM which was “Join Me In Death” and I was hooked and did my best to find a couple of the bands albums. Their first show on US soil in NYC would be at The Bowery Ballroom and the two nights were close to sold out. We caught the first show I believe but its been awhile and in any case it was amazing to see HIM in such an intimate room. Going forward we would watch the band play larger places each time and having all of the shows sell out well in advance.

Kamelot @ B.B. King Blues Club (SPV Records): I am referring to the first time that I ever caught Kamelot performing at B.B. King Blues Club and not one of the other four times. I was very new to the band and how they did things but it was a smoking show and one that made many fans for the guys who would rally to their cause in the future. They continue to impress the masses and we love them for it.
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Books, Reviews

“Van Halen: A Visual History 1978-1984” by Neil Zlozower

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Author: Neil Zlozower
Title: “Van Halen: A Visual History 1978-1984”
Label: Chronicle Books
Release Date: 11/12/2007
Genre: Photographic History
Rating: 5/5

If you have ever followed the fascinating history of the mighty Van Halen and remember their most classic photos from the bygone days when Rock & Metal magazines ruled the Earth then you will most likely also recall the name of the photographer who was behind most of them. That man is Neil Zlozower for those who are for whatever reason scratching their heads and he started shooting the band when they first came into the larger public eye at its beginning. His photo retrospective of their history spans those classic years from 1978-1984 and hence focuses only on the David Lee Roth era and does not feature anything with Sammy Hagar who took Roth’s place not long after that famous year. The visual history is almost a play by play of the band as they hit the studio, photo shoots, and live performances and it follows them from their self-titled debut up until their last album together which was “1984”. It’s a seven year span of time in which we get to enjoy the band during their beginnings as a group that seemed loaded with promise to the eventual juggernaut and musical force of nature that they became over the years and successfully seemed able to maintain in both music and image. This was a band full of Rock Stars and the images on these pages speak volumes about how they did it and how much fun it was to be a part of their world and a fan of what they do. As I glanced through the book I found myself going back in time to when I rushed to the corner newsstand to snare the latest copy of magazines like Creem and Hit Parader to see what world that they would take me to and without aging myself, I clearly remember seeing many of the images now in this book when they were originally new shots of the band. For me as a fan of Hard Rock and Metal, Van Halen is in my top three bands and I believe I have kept them as the second only to KISS in my worship of the greats for decades. Of course being second in my own list didn’t seem to affect my diehard admiration for Van Halen and if they were featured anywhere in those aforementioned magazines, I would run out to grab them on a regular basis. Having the chance to enjoy all of Neil’s photos in one place in beautiful color and crisp black and white tones was just fantastic.
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Books, Reviews

“Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga” by Ian Christe

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Author: Ian Christe
Title: “Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga”
Publisher: Wiley Publishing
Release Date: 8/24/2007
Genre: Biography
Rating: 3.5/5

During the final months of 2007 an event that Hard Rock and Metal fans had been waiting for decades to occur finally had come to pass and this of course was the reunion of the brothers Van Halen with their former singer David Lee Roth. I felt it best to begin our commentary with that bit of knowledge for the book itself leaves us wondering if this will indeed happen. “Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga” by Ian Christe is a journey back in time to the beginning of the band and how its members met and while the more noted Van Halen experts might balk at some of its contents there is really a lot of cool information to absorb when it comes down to it. We journey back to Holland and first meet the Van Halen brothers who were young musicians who performed with their Father and we learn first hand about the sparks being lit by budding guitar genius Edward Van Halen. I won’t recant every chapter but it explains how the band met up and jammed at outdoor parties and simply grew and grew during a time when Hard Rock and Heavy Metal music was being forced out the door by the likes of Disco. We meet a young David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony and learn how they joined the group and each of them offered a unique perspective to the mix as the band struggled for scene dominance and eventually secured their recording contact. Had you been a regular reader of the music magazines that saw publication during the bands early years a lot of this information might not surprise you but with the bands continued impact on modern music today there are clearly more than enough readers who will come away with mountains of detail because of what is lined out in its pages.
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Features, PiercingMetal Says

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of” 2007: Music, Video and Concerts

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Well it’s that time of the year again and that means it’s time to share with you all what I felt were my very favorites from all of the stuff that was reviewed here on PiercingMetal for the musical year of 2007. I will keep this introduction short and instead let these highlights shine a little brighter. Here we go.

Logo - The Best Of

Best CD’s of 2007:

Let’s just consider this a sampling of some of the music that we found ourselves listening to on more than one occasion be it on the stereo loud enough to wake the neighbors or on our music players. We review hundreds of discs each year and this batch are among the best and most enjoyed by our editorial offices.

Epica “The Divine Conspiracy” (Nuclear Blast Records) – So the singer you have heard on some Kamelot stuff and her band have delivered their third release, a magnum opus that is meatier than beef stew when it comes to satisfying content.

Kamelot “Ghost Opera” (SPV Records) – If you wondered how the guys could top “The Black Halo”, then pick up a copy of this one.

After Forever “After Forever” (Nuclear Blast Records) – You’ve heard her in Ayreon stuff for years now the larger populace can enjoy

Daath “The Hinderers” (Roadrunner Records) – Crushing, thunderous, topical. Interesting lyrical premise as well.

Nightwish “Dark Passion Play” (Roadrunner Records) – Tarja who? The band is back and on fire with new singer Annette Olzon, “Bye Bye Beautiful” indeed, “Hello Beautiful” as well…..

Dream Theater “Systematic Chaos” (Roadrunner Records) – New DT was quite satisfying. I’ve been a fan for years and this album reminded me of why that is the case.

Opeth “The Roundhouse Tapes” – An Opeth live concert recording that finds them on tour supporting their newest album and yet making time to fit in their classics. Stunning.

Within Temptation “The Heart Of Everything” (Roadrunner Records) – a long awaited US debut from Dutch Gothic Metal superstars is loaded with catchy numbers and sure to make them more of a household name.
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Events, Reviews

Van Halen @ Madison Square Garden (11/13/2007)

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In my own personal list of top three bands, the mighty Van Halen has long remained in the second spot following KISS. The bands reunion with singer David Lee Roth was nothing less than historic in my book so attending the appearance at Madison Square Garden was something that could not be avoided. I didn’t shoot any photos but hope that my article on the site keeps your interest just the same.

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Artist: Van Halen
Venue: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
Opener: unknown
Date: 11/13/2007
Label: Warner Bros

The first announcement of a reunion between the Van Halen brothers and their original lead singer David Lee Roth came several months ago but due to unforeseen personal circumstances needed to be put on hold until a number of things could be worked out. Lucky for the fans the plans were soon back on the drawing board and rehearsals began for what was to be one of the most anticipated tours in Rock & Roll history. I admit that while I had long prayed for this show to happen I honestly never thought that it would see the light of day and this was primarily based on all of the back and forth comments and bickering between the camps of Roth and the Van Halen brothers that we were always finding across many websites or in band interviews. Yet, here we were and not only was the event happening but it was ready to commence. I found myself in a long sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City, the very same place that I first saw Van Halen back in 1982 during their “Diver Down” tour. It was around this time that the guys became one of my top three bands and have held this status since. Needless to say the entire place was electric in terms of the level of excitement and I couldn’t wait to see, hear, and experience the whole thing. It would not be a full reunion as many had hoped for as bassist Michael Anthony was out of the picture and in his place would be young Wolfgang Van Halen, the sixteen year old son of Edward VH. Many fans screamed about this and yet the tour still sold out at every venue that it was to hit so I am sure everyone was more than just a little bit curious.
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