Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews

Once in a while band comes along that you see live before their album is released and you simply count the days until the album comes out. This was the case for us with Burning Rain. We first saw these guys at the Rock Harvest Fallen Blue benefit concert last fall and were simply blown away.

Now the band is not new and has actually released two albums previously in 1999 and 2000. This is a band made up of some serious veteran rockers. The band is fronted by one of the original members from the first two albums: lead singer Keith St. John. The other founding member will be no stranger to many either. Doug Aldrich on lead guitars is known from a ton of other great bands including Whitesnake, Dio, and Hurricane just to name a few.

The stars on this album don’t end there. The band’s drummer Mat Starr will be known by many as Ace Frehley’s drummer. Bass player Sean McNabb has played with Quiet Riot, XYZ, Great White and a ton of other bands, and is also an actor who has appeared on FX’s The Sons of Anarchy as well as other acting gigs including commercials and the like.

John Guarnieri of Fallen Blue, Keith St. John, Ms. MARR and Sean McNabb at the Rock Harvest Fallen Blue Benefit .

But enough of the resume’, the new album “Epic Obsession” from Burning Rain is their best release yet and is an amazing new release that is not some corporate product of some “supergroup”. This album is the real deal! The music has all of the powerful influence of the various band members 80’s metal roots, but with a fresh new sound that will more than hold it’s own in the modern rock market.

Doug Aldrich’s guitar work on this release is phenomenal as one would expect and Keith St. John has absolutely “still got it” vocally. The album features a nice mix of some heavy fast tunes such as the heavy rocking tune “Til You Die” and “Pray Out Loud” that you want to definitely want to crank up. The band has flat out nailed the heavy tunes on this release.

Having given justice to the heavier tunes, I must say that even better are the soulful bluesy tunes on “Epic Obsession” including the tunes “Out in the Cold” and my absolute hands down favorite tune on this release “Heaven Gets Me By”. We first heard this tune played acoustically at the Rock Harvest Fallen Blue Event and have been hoping to find it acoustically on the CD. To our delight, there  is an acoustic version of the tune on the deluxe CD on Itunes, This tune alone is worth the price of the CD.

K-rock and Ms. MARR with Doug Aldrich

Burning Rain’s “Epic Obsession” has been given the much coveted MARR status of “must own” album. Don’t miss the chance to see them live if you have the opportunity, they are amazing. I know we’ll be scanning the touring schedules looking for the chance to see them again.

K-rock

I have to admit that when I first heard that Tom Keifer was releasing a solo album, I wasn’t actually expecting anything special. I know that Tom has been keeping this solo album project alive for nearly a decade as he has pieced it together. I am thinking now that Tom taking his time and carefully picking from a decade worth of material has paid off in a big way.

This is a very solid release. The album has a very bluesy soulful ad sometimes southern sound to it that sounds like a combination of classic Aerosmith meets Rolling Stones meets the Black Crows. The biggest strength in this release is the great songwriting. The songs have a fantastic soulful classic rock flavor to them that is extremely cool.

I was sort of expecting a more tired mellow Tom, and got the exact opposite. Tom sounds fresh and the songs are very energetic and take us in a somewhat different direction from Cinderella. The Cinderella bluesy sound is there, but the release is a lot more soulful than it is metal, and includes backup singers and even a saxophone in spots. The most powerful tunes are those that have that Rolling Stones sort of sound to them such as “Solid Ground”, “Cold Day In Hell” and “Aint That a Bitch”.

There are a few mellow/ballad type tunes such as “A Different Light” which is my favorite of these tunes and then the album also has some tunes that you could close your eyes and imagine as Cinderella tunes if the arrangements were different.

I have to categorize this album as an amazing effort that Tom should be really proud of. Fantastic song writing with some very cool production. I was happy for Tom to be able to report that there was no evidence of past vocal issues on these tunes. This is one that is definitely worth a listen even if you are not a Cinderella fan. Great tunes, great classic rock sound and a rock solid album from top to bottom.

K-rock

On April 19 we had our first chance to see Three Days Grace with Matt Walst singing lead vocals and taking over duties as front man for at least the time being. For those of you who do not know Matt, he is also the lead vocalist for My Darkest Days, who is a MARR favorite and whose debut album was the 2010 Golden Horns Award winner from MARR for Album of the Year. Oh, and he is also Three Days Grace bass player Brad Walst’s brother.

A Packed House for Three Days Grace and Matt at Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, PA.

As fans of both bands, a lot of our followers had been asking for our feedback for a while and we wanted to see the show live before we decided to share our thoughts. After seeing this show, we can tell you that Matt Walst absolutely nailed the set we saw and meaning no disrespect to Adam, this was the best Three Days Grace show we have ever seen.

Matt brought an amazing energy to the classic Three Days Grace tunes and was such a positive force on stage that we actually hope he has the opportunity to stick around with the band, even though we don’t want to see the end of My Darkest Days. Quite the dilemma. It was as if Matt breathed some brand new life into the band and took an already great band and kicked them up a notch.

Lest you think that we are alone in our opinion, this show was packed with Three Days Grace fans and the crowd reaction to the band’s set was overwhelmingly positive. This crowd completely embraced Matt on stage and was thoroughly pumped in a way that is really going to give this band something to think about.

Matt singing with My Darkest Days

For our money, as much as I don’t want to see My Darkest Days end, Matt may be just too good of a fit to let this opportunity pass.

K-rock

An Amplified View
By: Lynn Cooper

Friday, April 5 at Tubby’s PA Bar was a night of rock.  It was nice to see such a large crowd starting to file in before they even opened the “Swamp Room.”  Everyone anxiously waited for the first band, Robbing Noll, to go on and when they did, they started off the night right, getting the fans tuned in and ready for a long night of music. Robbing Noll is a local band from Gettysburg, PA.

Small Town Titans – Photo by Amplified Images

The second set of the night was by another local PA favorite, Small Town Titans. I have seen these guys a few times before and they never disappoint.  They are not only great musicians, but some of the most down to earth people that I have had the opportunity to meet.  Small Town Titans along with Robbing Noll will be back at Tubby’s on April 19 for the “X Under the Radar” Birthday Bash.  Make sure you come out to support the local music scene.

Girl On Fire – Photo by Amplified Images

Girl On Fire, a Seattle, Washington based band was … on fire (sorry for the corny reference), but they came out on stage and lit it up.  I had heard of these guys but had never had the chance to listen to them and now I am definitely a fan.  I recommend that you check this band out to see when they will be at a venue near you.
Last, but not least, is the the Las Vegas based band, Otherwise.  Tubby’s was filled with fans from wall to wall showing their loyalty with every word of every song.  Bassist, Vassilios Metropoulos, otherwise known as “V,” has a mesmerizing quality to the way he plays.  The passion that he has for music is palpable and leaves you wanting more.  Andrew Pugh, guitarist, did not stop rockin’ until the show was over. Drummer, Corky Gainsford, looked like he was having a blast rather than working.  I guess doing what you love to do while the whole crowd sings and screams for you has limited drawbacks, which brings me to brothers, Adrian (lead vocals) and Ryan (guitar) Patrick.

Otherwise- Photo by Amplified Images

The emotion that is displayed on stage between these two is moving.  Both musicians are phenomenal on their own, but the brotherhood between them adds to their performance. As they ended the night with “Soldiers,” I began to see the impact that they, as musicians, have on our lives.  There wasn’t one person that wasn’t singing/screaming along.  Austin Held, from Girl on Fire, joined them on stage and everything went crazy.  Adrian didn’t just “sing,” he captivated the fans by getting down on his knees and in their faces, letting them be a part of Otherwise history. When they were done with “Soldiers,” they did not disappoint coming back on for not just one but two more encores.
*~For pictures from the show please check out www.facebook.com/AmplifiedImages ~*

The new album from Filter is available for pre-order on Itunes starting today, and fans of Filter are going to have to decide whether to buy this one early or wait and see. Filter is one of those bands I always respected, but can say I was a big fan of until I saw them live. After seeing these guys perform live twice on Shiprocked, I developed a whole new set of ears to listen to them with and would definitely consider myself a fan. In fact, their performance of “So I Quit” inside one of the small venues on the ship is one of my favorite memories of Shiprocked 2013.

Richard Patrick Crowd Surfing. Photo by MARR

I am divided on the band’s first two songs to be released on the upcoming album The Sun Comes Out Tonight. There is one that I love, which was the first single entitled “We Hate It When You Get What You Want”. This is a very cool pseudo punk, psuedo industrial rock tune that is fresh and very well done. Be warned if you crank this one up in the car for the first time to put some ear muffs on the kiddies as it has some language you may not want then to hear. Despite that, it is a really cool release and was exactly what I was hoping for on this album.

Filter on stage at Shiprocked. Photo by MARR

The release of the second tune “What Do You Say” has me scratching my head a bit. I literally thought it was a remix of “Hey Man Nice Shot” when I heard it. I actually stopped it, checked the track and started it over before realizing…this is a different tune. I love the band and can’t wait for the album, but probably could have done without this tune as it is just too similar to their classic tune.

We’ll look forward to seeing what the rest of the album has in store for us. I am hoping the remainder of the tunes are in the style of the first release. The Sun Comes Out Tonight is due out June 4, so we’ll have to wait and see. One thing we can be sure of is that Filter is a band you definitely want to add to your live concert schedule. They are an absolute blast to see live and bring a killer show to the stage.K-rock

Sevendust has released their ninth studio album this week entitled “Black Out The Sun”.  It’s hard to believe that the band is on album #9 already, but not surprising given the bands ever increasing popularity. This release seems to be timed perfectly as the first single “Decay” has spent the past four weeks hanging on to the #1 spot on Sirius XM’s Octane channel’s Big Un’s Chart.

One of the things I like about this release, is that much like the other Sevendust releases, there is a little something for everyone who likes music that ranges from hard rock to really hard rock to heavy metal. A good example of this is to listen to tracks 3 4 and 5 in a row. Track 3, “Til Death” is a heavy metal tune with some pretty heavy lyrics, then we mellow slightly with track 4 “Mountain” which I would describe as a good hard rock tune and then track #5 which is a mellower tune (if that can be said about Sevendust) with some more mainstream radio potential in “Cold As War”.

So which is the best tune on Black Out The Sun? For me this was not an easy choice because of the many styles, so it almost depends on my mood.  After the first few listens, my favorite so far slides in at track #8 in Dead Roses. There’s nothing fancy about this tune at all, it’s just the one I found myself repeating. I love the full powerful sound in this tune and the chance Lajon Witherspoon has to sing a bit more melodically than on a few of the other tunes, with one exception. There is a very unique and cool song entitled “Got A Feeling” that is a mellow acoustic guitar based tune that is absolutely incredible. This is no heavy metal tune, and in fact has an almost bluesy southern sound to it, but it is a great tune.

Photo by Davo

Sevendust is a fantastic live band and the new release of  “Black Out The Sun” gives the band some incredible material to continue their aggressive touring schedule. The band is out now with Lacuna Coil and Coal Chamber but has a huge touring schedule already posted for the summer. We last saw Sevendust as they rocked the ship literally aboard Shiprocked to an audience who watched in awe as this powerful live act mowed them over. We will look forward to seeing the guys in Columbus Ohio on Sunday May 19 as the band plays Rock on The Range. You can see the band’s entire schedule via their website at www.sevendust.com.

Black Out The Sun is a great release from the boys from Atlanta, GA and we give this album a hearty recommendation. If you have the chance to see the guys live as well, don’t miss it. They bring a power packed live performance and armed with these new tunes, it should be special.

The decision for us to grab a copy of Russ Dwarf’s new album “Wireless” was an easy one to make. We had the chance to see Russ play live acoustic sets of most of the tunes on two separate occasions a week before and the week of the album’s release and were simply blown away by the legendary singer’s acoustic versions of some great Killer Dwarfs classics.

Russ sat down with us and talked about the release, and everything else he’s been doing over the years. You can see that full interview at this link:

Lovers of acoustic rock and roll will find so much to love in “Wireless”. Let’s start with the fact that the years have not taken their toll on Russ’s voice and the guy can still belt out these classic Dwarf tunes and really make them sound great acoustically. This is no more evident than on the tunes that seem so appropriately titled from this veteran rocker “Keep The Spirit Alive” and “I’m Alive”.

Photo by Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews

My favorite tune on the release is easily the classic “Comin’ Through”. I am a very big fan rock and metal tunes done acoustically (when they’re done right) and this tune clearly was. As cool as it is on the CD, if you get the chance to see this one live, don’t miss it.

The album features 10 great tunes and they are all superb. Other tunes that jumped out at me were “Dirty Weapons” and “Doesn’t Matter”. With that said, there isn’t a bad tune on this release. In addition to some great guitar work from guitarist Kevin Reid who we had the pleasure of seeing perform these tunes with Russ live, there are some other big names that help out on this album. Glenn Drover from Megadeth and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal from Guns and Roses make appearances on the album with some great guitar work

If you are a fan of acoustic rock music, this one is a must own CD. I had to chuckle as one of the first things Russ said to me when we sat down was “I’m Still Alive”. I didn’t catch how relevant and meaningful that simple that comment was to this album until after I had seen the interview a week later. This was also true about a few other comments Russ made. He is a very funny guy, but you gotta pay attention, because he’s quick with the joke that has you laughing about it 10 minutes later once you realize how funny it was. The guy is as witty as they come. Well not only is Russ “Still Alive”, but musically her has created an amazing album with “Wireless”.

Photo by Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews

He played two incredible live sets aboard the Monsters of Rock Cruise and we also want to shout out to Russ for being a very “fan friendly artist”. It was amazing to see the variety of memorabilia that fans lined up with for Russ to sign. We took joy in watching his reaction and appreciation as fans revealed some really cool Dwarfs stuff for signatures.

The album “Wireless” is available now on Itunes, and in the category of acoustic rock albums is a MARR must own release. You can keep an eye on Russ at russdwarf.com. You can get a free download of “Dirty Weapons” on the site or keep up with him on his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/russdwarf

K-rock

We almost always go to shows early because we never want to miss the chance to se a band we have not seen before. Such was the case on February 16, 2013 when we were fortunate enough to catch “Falling Through April” for the first time ever at the House of Rock in White Marsh, Maryland. The band from Charlotte, North Carolina is tough to put a label on. There were some in our group watching that made an immediate comparison to Ten Years. I didn’t hear it at first, but lead singer Cory Wells definitely has a similar sounding voice to Jesse Hasek of Ten Years.

The band is sort of a combination of alternative/progressive rock, but with a slightly heavier edge to them at times. The music is characterized by a lot of melodic vocals and some strong harmonies, with some masterful guitar riffs. I find the lyrics to be interesting and a breath of fresh air from so many cliche lyrics that abound these days. Songs seem be trademarked by multiple tempo changes throughout that make for a really interesting almost occasionally progressive sound at times. So now that I have made that rather complicated attempt to describe the band that has many styles, let me simplify it all by saying that they are great band who has put together an extremely strong album in their release “Take Flight”.

The album really doesn’t have a weak track on it anywhere. The first tune “Enigma”, has a slightly heavier vibe to it and is vocally the best tune on the album (although all of them are very strong in this regard). It’s so hard to put a label on these guys. I hear influences from Ten Years, but then in a tune like “Pay The Price” you can almost feel a flashback to a band like The Cure or some of the classic alternative bands of the 90’s. Quite an interesting mixture? That’s precisely what makes it work.

Other strong tunes round out this full 10 song CD, and sitting down at track #8 is “Embrace The Day” which is a very cool 5 minute journey that is a great tune that sort of summarizes all of the bands styles mixed together in one tune. Certainly not to be left out is the lyrically very cool “We Are Not Alone”. This is a mellower tune and brings to mind the soulful style of music one would find in Counting Crows. Last and certainly not least is the slightly funky, slightly heavy “We Bring The Low” which is also a super cool track.

I know I have made a lot of comparisons to other bands in this review, which I do from time to time to try to paint a picture for the reader as to the style of music so one can determine if there is interest in the particular band. I really struggled on this one because there are so many different sounds within a single CD. In the end, maybe this is a band worthy of simply saying that you really do not want to overlook this cd. It’s a super cool album and one I suspect that if you will find yourself listening to over and over again.

Falling Through April put on a great live show and we look forward to seeing them live again as soon as we have the opportunity. Here is a video link to “We Bring The Low” that we shot at our very first “Falling Through April” show. We’ll be keeping an eye on this band’s tour schedule for sure.

K-rock

The Monsters of Rock Cruise is just around the corner, and for those of you worried about seasickness, let me share some advice from you from one of the most seasick prone people you will ever meet in your life. My caveat here is that I am not a doctor, don’t play one on t.v. and this advice is simply my suggestions based on my own personal experiences, and that you should consult your doctor before taking any medication.

Ok, so with that disclaimer out of the way, let me start with this. I tried the seasick patch that you wear behind your ear under the advice of a physician the first time I cruised. I am not saying that you should not use it, but for me personally, the side effects were not good. I actually had blurred vision for several days after the cruise and while on the ship as a side effect from this. I do know others who did not have the same problem.

I have settled on a number of other solutions. While these solutions don’t eliminate the seasickness for me, they definitely help make it tolerable so I can still enjoy the cruise.

First is Bonine. Bonine is an over the counter anti-nausea medication that has been VERY effective in reducing my symptoms. I find it to be much more effective than Dramamine. The one drawback is that it has the potential to make you drowsy, but it has never impeded my ability to function.

The next tip is Ginger, Ginger, Ginger. I take Ginger pills which you can buy at a vitamin store throughout the entire cruise and they ACTUALLY WORK better than anything else. I pop a few of the ginger pills every few hours. My stomach usually tells me when I am due for another dose. In addition to the ginger pills, some ginger ale can have a settling effect on the seasickness as well. The third way to get your ginger is to actually ingest ginger root itself. Now I have not tried this method personally, but a friend of our who was suffering on the last trip was offered some actual ginger root as a solution and found it to be effective. Where does one find real ginger on a ship? I have been told that most Sushi bars will have some and that it is possible to negotiate getting some there. Again, I have not tried this method.

The next bit of advice is to consider the elastic seasick prevention wrist bands. I know it seems like a strange idea, but let me tell you, I swear that these things really help me. How do I know? I first thought they were nonsense, but was feeling so bad on the first cruise I took that I was willing to try anything. Go figure…they actually seemed to work. Once I started to feel better I would take them off, and the seasickness returned. This has been true on every cruise I have been on. You can pick the wrist bands up at most drug stores.

Other tips:

Fresh Air is your friend. If you find yourself getting sick indoors, get outside whether on your balcony, or up on deck if you have an internal room. I highly recommend balcony rooms for the seasick prone, as it it much easier to get some fresh air at 4:00 a.m. by just stepping outside.

If you are on your balcony or on deck, try to focus on the horizon. It may seem like a bad idea at first, but it really does help.

Well, there you have it. K-rock’s unofficial survival guide for the seasick prone. I can honestly tell you that I am extremely prone to seasickness, but refuse to let it stop me from having the time of my life on rock cruises and I encourage all of you who are afraid to go for it and take the cruise. Believe me when I tell you, if I can handle it, most people probably can.

If you get on board and have not taken any of these precautions, ask the staff where the infirmary is. You can usually get some medication there and some more advice. The ship store will usually have Bonine, and the wrist bands although you’ll pay a premium price on board. So pack yourself a kit, and head on out to the high seas! I’ll see you on board!

K-rock

Ascending From Ashes hails from Bergen County, New Jersey. The band has really been together since 2007 when they were originally known by the name “Make It Fit”. Ascending From Ashes released their debut 7 song EP in 2012 that is well worth a listen, and in reality well worth a purchase. The album actually contains 5 songs, as two of the tunes are different edits of songs as “radio edits”.

Ascending From Ashes – “The Phoenix” EP

This is a band that manages to showcase a lot of versatility in style in just five songs. The clear favorite for me is the tune “Asphyxiation” which is has almost it’s own progressive hard rock style that is like a little tiny concept album within a single song. Lots of twists and turns exist in “Asphyxiation” making it really cool tune highlighted by heavy riffs mixed in with some great harmonies.

A close second favorite is “Slings and Arrows” which is an acoustic tune in a completely different style from the rest of the CD. This is a great acoustic tune and once again, some really nice harmonies come through. The first two songs mentioned here alone make this CD well worth owning.

Ascending From Ashes

There are two straight forward rock tunes that are also very good in “Into the Mirror” and the first track “Henry St.” Henry St. is the heavier of the two tunes and features some pretty cool guitar work, especially in the first minute or so intro section of the tune. Both songs are rock solid tunes.

Last but certainly not least, for the headbangers out there, “Jimini Cricket” is a flat out heavy head banging tune that is completely different in style again.

Variety is the really cool thing to take away from Ascending From Ashes’ “The Phoenix” EP. Not only are the songs varied in style, but within the individual songs, there are constant style changes and musical departures that make this a really cool release. I am giving this EP a very strong MARR recommendation. We have not had the pleasure of seeing the band play live, but we are sure our paths will cross at some point.

You can see a live version of “Asphyxiation” at this link on the band’s YouTube Channel.

Ascending From Ashes has a lot of dates scheduled in early 2013 in the New Jersey and New York area. You can find them on their Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/AscendingFromAshes or on their website at http://www.afamusic.com

K-rock