Carnival of Madness in Asbury Park, NJ

The Carnival of Madness (We as Human, Sevendust, In This Moment, Skillet, Shinedown)
Live in Asbury Park 8/11/13
Review and Photos by Rob Acocella
Rating: 4/5

The Carnival of Madness tour opened in Asbury Park NJ on August 11 at the famous Stone Pony. That particular tour date consisted of performances by We as Human, Sevendust, In This Moment, Skillet, and Shinedown.

Unfortunately, after arriving at the venue just a little late (NJ beach traffic on a nice day), but still with plenty of time to at least catch Sevendust's set as the second band, I realized from the parking lot that what I was hearing was "Angel's Son." Knowing that Sevendust usually puts that late in their set, I darted for the door only to catch the last 30 seconds of their final song by the time I made it through security. Apparently someone decided to start the concert way ahead of schedule.

After setting up some pretty elaborate set decorations, In This Moment took the stage. I'm not going to fake anything here, while I've long been aware of this band, I never really followed them. Not knowing any of the songs in particular, I can't give a critique of how much like the album they were or weren't. I will say this, though: The band sounded really solid and tight from the point of view of someone that hadn't heard any of the songs before, and Maria Brink and her synchronized slave dancers did a great job of provided creative visuals to go along with each song through their movements, props, and occasional costume changes. I can certainly appreciate the amount of work that must have gone into synchronizing the performance movements for each song and having to memorize an entire performance to repeat every night for weeks on the road. Overall they were entertaining to watch, between the smoke guns, the dancers, and the rebel-zombie-like stage costumes of the band against the pure white piles of skulls and fence gates set as a backdrop. For anyone that wants to know, it seems that the setlist from this show can be found HERE







The direct support slot was filled by Skillet. I'm again going to be blunt here, they did not jive well with me. The backing vocals done by drummer Jen Ledger sounded awful, similar to a young school child yelling or whining. The band's overall sound was so generic that I wasn't sure if I was at a Rock concert or walking through the local mall. On top of it all, vocalist John Cooper took every chance he could to insert biblical references or drop other Christian propaganda on the audience between songs which were about the same topics. I had not previously known that they were a Christian Rock band, but it became increasingly evident as the show went on. My personal opinion is that religion should be kept out of music, or at least Rock music. If you absolutely must put your religious views into music and lyrics, it should be done in a way that it is not completely obvious or preachey, which I don't feel they accomplished, and I don't feel was their goal to begin with. The reason is that music should be something everyone can relate to, and when you make the message of your music more exclusive, you start to leave people out and make it hard for them to digest. The band has an energetic stage presence, and I suppose if you're a fan of their music already then you would appreciate the stage show they put on, including a rising pillar system that would elevate 2 musicians at a time on either side of the stage. If you are a fan of Skillet, and want to see what they played that night, you can find the set list HERE







The show closed with an amazing performance by Shinedown which included fan favorites like "45," "Simple Man," "Devour," and "Second Chance." It was also the live premiere of "I'm Not Alright" which had previously not been performed live. Shinedown have long been known for their high-energy live shows and as always, they did not disappoint. Brent Smith's vocals were spot-on and with the extra help from Eric Bass and Zach Myers they nailed every note. It wouldn't be a Shinedown concert without some inspiring words from Brent, and he got the crowd really energized talking about how strong NJ was for making it through Superstorm Sandy and rebuilding the beaches, and how Rock and Roll is a way of life and not just a genre of music. I may be a bit biased as a fan, but I've never seen a Shinedown concert that I had anything bad to say about, and I'm happy to report that the trend is still continuing.

Gigantour 2013 in NYC

Gigantour 2013 (Megadeth, Black Label Society, Newsted)
Live in New York City
Reviewed by Rob Acocella

Rating: 4/5

When Dave Mustaine announced he was putting together the 2013 incarnation of Gigantour, my ears instantly perked up to see who would be on the bill. Known for great lineups, I was eagerly awaiting the announcement. The first time I heard that Black Label Society and Newsted would be on the bill, I knew I had to be there.

The New York City show had been broken up into two separate nights rather than one all-day festival, and from what I understand, it was the only stop on the tour that was managed that way. Unfortunately, the first night, which was supposed to feature Hellyeah and Device, had been cancelled.

Anyone who knows me from when Paragon first started knows I've always been a huge fan of Zakk Wylde's work, as well as Megadeth, and if you came up on Metal music beginning with post-Cliff Burton Metallica, you know it's been way too long since Jason Newsted got on stage and performed.

(Clicking the photos below will take you to full galleries of each band's performance.)



The first band of the night was Newsted, and what a great show he put on. I had not yet had the chance to hear his new music, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect. If you had ever seen the concert footage of Metallica's Binge and Purge, you know Jason is well-known for lending his vocals to live versions of "Whiplash." After a full set of all new, original material, true to what I had hoped, they covered the Metallica classic at the end of the set. I was surprised to see Mike Mushok of Staind performing with Jason, as I hadn't heard the announcement that he would be joining the band. Say what you will about Staind, but Mike is one hell of a guitar player and has a great stage presence when performing.



Black Label Society played a great set with a good balance of mid-career and new material. Zakk shreds his guitars like only Zakk can. The only thing I have been critical of over the years has been his singing voice. He had been doing backing vocals and harmonies for Ozzy for so long that his previously gruff, masculine voice has turned into a higher-pitch whine. No, I'm not a fan of the way he started singing on anything after 1919 Eternal. That's not to say that he has put out bad music since then, I just wish he'd sing like he used to on Stronger Than Death. The unfortunate thing is that it sounds even worse live. Enough about Zakk's voice though, because what people really go to see BLS for is the playing, and there was lots of great playing that night. Zakk and Nick Catanese have always locked in real tight and, together, they create one big wall of guitar sound. J.D. is a monster of a bass player and even tosses in some Funk flavor when playing these songs live. Overall, it was a great performance, but I wish I could have heard a few of my favorites from the first two albums as well. I'm not picky, though. I'll go see Zakk play any chance I get because I know it will always be a great show.



Finally, the band everyone was waiting for, Megadeth, took the stage and opened with "Trust." I have to be honest, I was expecting more songs from Supercollider than only two, especially since one of those two songs are a cover. I was happy to hear "Kingmaker," as I've already said in my review of the album that it would have been a better choice for a first single over the title track. I just think that something like "Forget To Remember" or "The Beginning of Sorrow" would have been a better choice than "Cold Sweat." I did like the cover of "Cold Sweat" on the album, but if you're out promoting the new record, I would have expected only original tunes in the set list, at least for the fist time out. It was great to hear "Wake Up Dead," "Darkest Hour," and "Architecture of Aggression," in addition to the regular live favorites like "Hangar 18," "She Wolf," "Peace Sells," and "Holy Wars." The rhythm section of Ellefson and Drover has to be one of the tightest I've seen live, almost ever, and the scorching rhythm/lead change-offs between Mustaine and Broderick will give you whiplash. I've never seen a bad Megadeth show, and this continued that streak.

Even though this wasn't the full Gigantour lineup, I give this mini-Gigantour a solid 4/5 only because of my strong feelings on certain setlist choices. Performance-wise, though, it was flawless. Click here for a complete gallery of photos from the event.

Above The Flood, Sugar of Lead

Above The Flood
Sugar of Lead
Reviewed by Rob Acocella
Rating: 4/5

Get the album on CDBaby.com!

Above the flood is an independent Alt Rock band out of upstate New York. We've been friends and fans of Mike Grosshandler since we first heard his work with The Velmas years ago, back when Paragon was actual print magazine. Imagine that, paper with words on it, that you hold in your hand... anyway, I digress...

When we heard that Mike had a new project going with a new bunch of guys, we were naturally excited to hear what it would sound like. What we got was so much more than we had anticipated. From the pounding intro of "Nothing New" to the rally-cry closing of "Get By" Sugar of Lead is a great collection of songs, even if it is a little short (Hey, it's a 5-song EP, what do you want?).

I hear lots of influences in Above The Flood's music, most notably a bit of Seether mixed with Alice In Chains. Not a bad mix, and there's even a little bit of a Type O Negative-like dirge here and there, which I can only rightfully assume is Mike's doing. Matt Shufelt deserves all the credit he can be given for his amazing voice. He's a tremendous vocalist with a great range for this brand of Rock music. He's gritty and smooth all at once, and really projects the attitude of the music. I'm assuming Matt is the chief lyric writer, as the singers typically are, and to that my only comment is: Dude, there's a lot of bitter relationship stuff on here. While that's great Rock song fodder, don't get stuck into a cliche niche of the genre, because you'll have a hard time working your way out of that spot if you ever want to touch on more serious material down the road. I'm all for free speech, but I would assume that lyrics like "I'm a man and I need to control you, then dispose of you" doesn't really win you many female fans, or at least any with healthy self respect. I mean no disrespect in saying this, of course, I just think that lyrics like that are better left to Poison and Motley Crue.

Back to the music: these songs are really catchy, so if you're prone to earbugs, you should know that going into this. I only have to listen to the album once all the way through and I'll have these songs stuck in my head at random times for weeks. No joke, I would wake up some mornings with the lyrics in my head even though I hadn't heard the songs for days. That's the sign of good song writing, and when it comes to hooks, these guys are full of them. I've gotta say that my personal favorites are the 2 most aggressive tunes on here: "Nothing New" and "Love To Hate You."

Overall, I've gotta say that the production value on this is so much better than most debut EPs we get sent, and when you add that in to the songwriting chops, the huge vocals, and all the other little details, this is one of the most solid first releases I've heard from a band in a long time, especially one that isn't signed to a major label with a huge production budget. You can tell these guys take their music seriously and it pays off big-time for them.

For more info on Above The Flood, check out their Facebook Page

Star & Dagger, Tomorrowland Blues

Star and Dagger
Tomorrowland Blues
Reviewed by Rob Acocella
Rating: 3/5




Star and Dagger is the latest endeavor of White Zombie bass player Sean Yseult along with her friends Dava She Wolf and Von Hesseling. Their first offering is Tomorrowland Blues, a Blues Rock album with some Rockabilly flavors.

"In My Blood" and "End of Days" have a strong presence to start the album off but things get very slow, and dare I even say, boring, with "Selling My Things." "Side Winding" brings the groove back with a great Grunge inspired opening bass line and the song holds up with mid-tempo rhythm and some great vocal harmonies.  "Your Money" brings them into a little bit of a heavier range and a little bit of a darker vocal delivery before diving into another bass-heavy track with "Used To Me." The album closes with "Your Mama Was A Grifter" which I'm honestly not too crazy about.

I'll admit I'm a tough critic as this gritty style of Blues Rock isn't exactly my favorite genre to begin with. That's not to say I can't recognize talent when it's there, and these three women clearly have it, I just have lukewarm feelings about what they put together this time around. I think the first thing that really threw me was that they are labeled a Blues-Rock/Metal group, and when I listen to this collection of songs, I have to be honest, but I just don't hear the Metal at all. Being a White Zombie fan, I suppose I went into this with certain expectations, and I already know that's wrong of me. All in all, though, it's not a bad album, and I'm sure fans of the genre will like it a lot more than I did. I feel like there is great potential in this group but they just need to bring a little more energy and variety to the table. The Blues vocals and dense guitar and bass layers are really great, it's just missing that bite, or edge, that would really give it a larger presence. In fact, the vocals remind me a lot of Shirley Manson of Garbage.

Overall, I gave Tomorrowland Blues a 3/5, because while I'm not a huge fan, I do know that it's well done and the songs are well written, and I can't take away points just because it's not my personal favorite style of music when there is an obviously large amount of talent and potential.

Anthrax: Anthems

Anthrax
Anthems
Reviewed by Rob Acocella

Anthrax, like many Metal bands, are no strangers to paying homage to their inspirations in the form of cover songs. This is why when Anthrax announced Anthems, it was no surprise that it would be a collection of cover songs, though some may find the bands they cover to be a surprise.

The first track is their cover of Rush's "Anthem"which is done solidly and is a testament to the drumming abilities of Charlie Benante. The middle of the album is my favorite, though, featuring covers of AC/DC's "TNT," Boston's "Smokin'," and Journey's "Keep On Runnin." Having grown up on a steady diet of Classic Rock that included Journey, Boston, Styx, AC/DC, Foreigner, and the like, it's easy to see why these 3 songs got me the most excited. "TNT" and "Smokin" are done so true to the originals that you almost can't believe these are covers. The band does inject their own signature vibe into them, but they are just so well done that it kinda blows your mind a little. The band also brought in keyboardist Fred Mandel (Alice Cooper, Queen, Elton John, Cheap Trick, Supertramp) to handle keys on "Smokin'," and I believe this is a big part of nailing that signature Boston sound on here.

Their cover of Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" is another standout track. The only thing I wasn't crazy about on Anthems was the inclusion of 2 versions of the song "Crawl" which was previously released on the band's last studio release Worship Music. I know that this was probably done as a B-side tactic, but most Anthrax fans already have the original song, and I feel like the remix is good, but it really didn't need its own release. Don't get me wrong, "Crawl" is a good song, but an album that is meant to be all covers should have remained all covers. What they could have done was cover one of their own songs and have Joey lend his vocals to a track that had been previously recorded with John Bush. That, of course, is just my own 2-cents. Speaking of Joey, he nails every song on Anthems, which is proof of what an amazing range he has as a singer.

Overall, though, this is a great album of tunes made famous by other bands, and made slightly Thrash-ey by Anthrax.

Rating: 4/5

Sevendust: Black Out The Sun

Sevendust
Black Out the Sun
Reviewed by: Rob Acocella


I feel that at this point in Sevendust's career, it is fair to say that you pretty much know what you're going to get from them when you pick up a new release. You're going to get the same awesome pulse-pounding drum patterns, grungy riffs, and the combo of smooth and aggressive vocals that the band consistently delivers time and again. You know that as long as there wasn't some massive unexpected change in the inner workings of their songwriting, you're going to be happy with the results. Before I even started listening to Black Out The Sun (ok, I had already heard "Decay" and "Got A Feeling") I knew it was going to be classic Sevendust.

There is only one time that this can be a problem, and that's when you're a journalist trying to come up with descriptive words that you haven't used a hundred times already. It's difficult when you have nothing to complain about, but also don't have fresh new synonyms for expressing how a song sounds or how much you like a particular set of lyrics. Anyway, it's not a bad problem to have, so I'll give it a shot:

Black Out The Sun opens with a melodic, and almost symphonic, arrangement called "Memory," and just when you think the album is going to go the way of an Yngwie Malmsteen CD, the audio assault of  "Faithless" hits you in the face like a ton of bricks. This song can be a bit bi-polar with frequent changes between heavy and soft, but it's that main riff and the chorus hook that makes it an aggressive powerhouse to start the album off. "Till Death" is one hell of a rally cry song, with layers of aggressive vocals ranging from LJ's signature sound to something a little more Death Metal, as well as Morgan Rose's unmistakeable yelling from behind the kit. "Mountain" and "Cold As War" pick up the pace with a more uplifting vibe and then give way to the title track, which brings things down to a more mid-tempo pace temporarily.

A few songs later, we find the single "Decay," which harkens back to early Sevendust. It's a more vintage-style song for the band, and it sounds as though they went back to their first few albums for the inspiration on this song. It's an obvious choice for a single and that would explain why there was a video made for it. (Click the link here or scroll down for the video.)

When it comes to slow-tempo, my favorite Sevendust track had always been "Angel's Son" but on Black Out The Sun they tucked in a little gem near the end of the album called "Got A Feeling" which just tied neck and neck with "Angel's Son" for my favorite semi-acoustic Sevendust song. I'm a sucker for a good acoustic melody and harmonized vocals and they really knocked it out of the park with this one. I'm not going to lie, as a photographer and budding videographer, if there aren't already plans in place for a video for this song, I'd love to someday help with creating that. Yeah, I like it that much.

The album closes with "Murder Bar" which brings us back to the grungy riffs and schizophrenic drum patterns that you come to expect already. The song fades out the end of the album with a spacey treatment that eases you out into nothingness, or right back into the album opener (if you've got your CD player or iTunes set to repeat).

A solid effort that I can't really find any flaws with. I can always rely on Sevendust to put out quality songwriting and not stray too far from the band's signature vibe that made me love them in the first place. I haven't caught them on tour for this album yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that some of these songs will fit their aggressive, high-energy live show perfectly, and I look forward to catching them soon.

Rating: 5/5

Megadeth, "Super Collider"

Megadeth
Super Collider
Reviewed by: Rob Acocella

By this point in my life, I think I'm finally able to use the term "lifelong fan" without worrying about how I didn't know about the band when I was 5 and technically it hasn't been my whole life. I've been a fan of this band ever since I became a fan of Metal back in junior high, and I've stuck by them through all the highs and lows since. And, like every lifelong Megadeth fan, I was curious to see how they'd follow up 2011's TH1RT3EN.

Super Collider opens with what you would think would be the obvious single, "Kingmaker." While it didn't make it as the first single, I can tell that this song will be a big hit in the live set, as it's one of the few anthemic tracks on the album. It's got a classic Megadeth vibe with a more modern personality. The second track is the title track and lead-off single. I have to be honest and say that when they previewed this track online I thought it was a very bad sign of things to come, but it's a grower, and now that I've heard it a few times, I don't mind it as much. It's just odd for Megadeth to have a title track that winds up being one of the less aggressive songs on the album. It honestly feels like Dave decided to try writing a Classic Rock tune with this one. Considering how long the band has been around (this is NOT an age joke, by the way) it makes sense to put out at least one track that could possibly appeal to another range of radio stations to get more airplay. Nothing wrong with doing that, and it's still a good song if you're open enough to the fact that they're not going to be putting out a second recording of Killing Is My Business any time soon.

"Burn!" and "Built For War" aren't bad songs, but I feel they're just the run-of-the-mill album filler. They have their place on here, but aren't really standout tracks. "Off The Edge" and "Dance In The Rain" are reminiscent of World Needs a Hero and the sound the band went for on that album. "Dance In The Rain," in particular, is, lyrically, one of my favorite songs on here, focusing on the plight of a middle-class worker struggling to get by in an economy that doesn't allow one to thrive. And, as you could expect, there is the expected social and political commentary from Dave on this one.

"Beginning of Sorrow" is another strong track and an obvious favorite with an awesome bass intro and bitter, brooding lyrics about an unwanted teen pregnancy. At this point in the album, you can imagine that the listener has already picked up on the vast array of Megadeth flavors peppered in. But if you're anything like me, when you get to "The Blackest Crow," you're first thought will be "...fucking banjo?!" Believe me when I say this, give it a chance, because even though the intro is deceiving, the ganjo (not a typo, ganjo is an actual instrument, apparently) actually fits this dark song pretty well.

"Forget to Remember" picks up the mood again with a more lively energy and plenty of radio-friendly hooks, making it a great Rock song, if not slightly depressing, as the song is about a battle with Alzheimer's Disease. The Jazz style jam that introduces "Don't Turn Your Back" quickly slides into a pulsing riff with double bass drums with a vibe that could have easily put this song on Cryptic Writings. The album then closes strongly with a cover of Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat" that is done pretty true to the original, if not a good bit heavier in classic Megadeth fashion.

Super Collider is a collection of songs that covers a gamut of style ranges for the band, and provides some thought-provoking messages. It's a solid follow-up to TH1RT3EN and, even though some songs may need to grow on some people, I feel it will ultimately earn its place among some of the band's best recordings. The musicianship, as always, needs no description. If you don't already know what a talented lineup this is, then I question why you're even reading this.

Rating: 4/5