Tag Archives: rock and roll

Motörhead – Saxon -Crobot: Live at The Shrine Auditorium

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40 years of the loudest rock n roll band known as Motörhead made its presence felt as despite recent rumors of frontman Lemmy Kilminster’s health dilemmas, they still powered through a somewhat up and down performance that lacked the magic of their legacy.

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Following a classic Lemmy opening greeting, they opened with ‘Damage Case’ and ‘Stay Clean,’ (both from their 1979 Overkill album), which brought out the classic Motörhead feel that fans have grown to love. While guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee were on fire and lit up the room with their larger than life performances, Kilminster’s vibrant stage personality took a back seat and was not quite as electric as usual. Regardless of the reasons, Dee still blew the crowd away with his dynamic drum solo and Campbell brought out his guitar solos that fans have grown to love.

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

The highlights of the evening included their well known tunes ‘Going to Brazil’ and ‘Ace of Spades’ to close the main part of their set list, and Kilminster’s son Paul Inder joining the band on stage for ‘Overkill,’ which Dee once again lit up the room with his lightning feet pounding away on the drums.

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

 

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Motörhead © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Motörhead set list:

Damage Case
Stay Clean
We Are Motörhead
Metropolis
Over the Top
Guitar Solo
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch
Rock It
Lost Woman Blues
Doctor Rock
(With drum solo)
Just ‘Cos You Got the Power
Going to Brazil
Ace of Spades
Encore:
Overkill
(Lemmy’s son, Paul Inder, joins on guitar)

Saxon © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Saxon © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Veteran UK metallers Saxon are celebrating 35 years as a band and coming out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, they showed the crowd despite their semi-cult status in the US, they are a force to reckon with elsewhere and still have quite a bit left in the tank. Frontman Biff Byford was on fire and belted through a strong cross section of classic tunes fans have grown to love. Favorites such as ‘This Town Rocks’ and ‘Power and the Glory’ got the crowd going, and rarely was the room quiet while they performed. Campbell joined the band during ‘Denim and Leather,’ closing out a strong set that hopefully will bring them back to US shores again in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

Saxon © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Saxon © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

 

Saxon © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Saxon © Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

 

Saxon set list

Battering Ram
This Town Rocks
Sacrifice
Power and the Glory
Heavy Metal Thunder
Wheels of Steel
The Eagle Has Landed
20,000 Ft
Crusader
Princess of the Night
Denim and Leather
(with Phil Campbell)

 

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WORDS BY REI NISHIMOTO

PHOTOS BY KEVIN ESTRADA


The Sword – High Country

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the Sword High Country album cover 2015

Three years following the release of their last album, Apocryphon (Razor & Tie), The Sword return with High Country (Razor & Tie). I always go into things wondering if we’re going to get another Warp Riders (Kemado) record as that was how I was first exposed to the band. So, no, this isn’t Warp Riders II, but it’s pretty rad.

‘Seriously Mysterious’ is my favorite song off of the new album and I lost count of just how many times I played it while working on this review. It stands out from the rest of the album, with the intro ‘Unicorn Farm’ being the only other thing that somewhat matches it. Although not as complex as some of the other songs on High Country, ‘Seriously Mysterious’ is extremely catchy and will make you move. It and its more sinister sounding counterpart, ‘Ghost Eye’, are likely to make an appearance alongside songs like Steve Miller Band’s ‘Abracadabra’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstitious’ on a few Halloween party play lists this year. If your play list looks like that, I better be invited.

Fuzz-filled and riff laden, ‘Buzzards’ is another favorite selection from the second half of High Country. It is just simply a great song with a hypnotic chorus that draws you right in. I might even argue that this would have made a great choice for a song to close out the record on a more energetic note. I’d also recommend it for any upcoming road trips you may have.

High Country is a solid record overall but, as you can see, the second half of the album is where it really comes alive for me. Songs are a little meatier, a little groovier, and really help round things out, even if they tip the scales a bit more in one direction.

7.5/10

ALEIDA LA LLAVE


Motor Sister – Ride

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motor sister ride

 

What started as a one-time jam for Scott Ian’s 50th birthday party, Motor Sister is a semi-super-group minus all the hype. Scott wanted a cover band to play his party, and for him to play in; one to play the jams of his favorite LA rock band: Mother Superior. While not a household name, Mother Superior was a good rock band with some kickass songs for the better part of 20 years, and included a stint as Henry Rollins’ backing band. The party came and went, but the experience sat in Ian’s mind and he felt that if they could capture the spontaneity of how the jam came together on a record, it might be something special. Metal Blade agreed, the band recorded with Anthrax house producer Jay Ruston and Motor Sister and Ride were born.

Motor Sister suffers from none of trappings of a lame vanity project, mostly due to Jim Wilson. Jim is not just a songcraft master and strong riffer, he has a voice of gold. He has power and soul, and never over reaches for notes. His voice is also happily absent of the hideous fake growly blues quality so many try out and fail. In addition to Jim chipping in his own harmonies, Scott’s wife Pearl sings back-up on many tracks, adding in her sassy, powerhouse delivery. Their voices work off each other to great effect. The lead track ‘A-Hole’ is feisty like a lost AC/DC or Thin Lizzy song. ‘This Song Reminds Me of You’ starts out with slinky riff and then drops into an old-school vamp. ‘Beg Borrow Steal’, and ‘Fork In the Road’ are pretty badass concoctions too. The terrain stays adventurous too with the epic closer ‘Devil Wind’.

In addition to Ian and Wilson on guitar, the real treat of the album comes from the rhythm section of Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Anthrax) on bass and John Tempesta (Testament, Exodus, White Zombie, The Cult) They are locked in tight every measure. If you love simple, well-written rock music with some occasional heaviness, Motor Sister is right up your dirty back alley.

8.0/10

KEITH CHACHKES


Black Bottle Riot – Soul In Exile

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1274678_621010464588189_353064638_oIt’s Friday night. The streets are awash with dickheads and slappers. You’ve had a couple of beers with your mates and fancy a couple more but you’d rather insert raw, chopped scotch bonnets into your eyeballs than hit [Generic Local Nightclub], so you end up at the pub. The one that has live bands on, and to be fair, the band that’s on are alright. They’ve just done a decent version of Zeppelin’s Rock n’Roll. This was a good choice. And then the singer utters those fateful words; “OK, we’re going to do one of our own songs next…” The groan from your fellow punters drowns out the name of the track, but it’s probably called We’ll Be Rollin’ or Backseat Boogie.

Soul In Exile (Suburban) is an entire album of those songs. It even has songs with those exact names. Which would be fine if they were AC/DC. But they’re not. The best thing about Soul In Exile is that it only lasts 33 minutes.  The worst thing about Soul In Exile is pretty much everything that happens within those 33 minutes.

I don’t really even want to hear pub-rock when I’m in a pub, let alone hand over cash for an album of it. I was sick of shit pub-rock bands by the time I was 17, let alone (mumbles) years later. Tattered ‘n’ Torn (never an “and”), who used to play the Oliver Twist and had a singer that looked like Dog The Bounty Hunter, would shit on this.

“But Steve, it’s a tribute to the great rock bands and the southern rock movement…” Who cares!? Black Bottle Riot (who are as close to a fucking riot as a hat-knitting contest in an old people’s home) are safe, boring, ploddy, obvious and above all pointless.  And they’re signed?! When many much-more deserving bands aren’t! You want to pay tribute and indulge in some Southern Rock? Do it properly, like Black Stone Cherry, don’t play fat old Dad music (and, for the record, Fat Old Dad are waaaaay better…).

2/10

Black Bottle Riot on Facebook 

Steve Tovey


Red Fang – Live AT The Troubadour Los Angeles, CA USA

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Tour_Poster-Tim_Tronckoe

 

Rock ‘n roll is definitely alive inside of The Troubadour and the energy is definitely at a high as the crowd eagerly awaits the return of Oregon rockers Red Fang. The packed crowd is ready for a high energy show and they definitely got that.

Opening with ‘Malverde’ (off their last record Murder the Mountains), Red Fang set the pace with their riff driven rock n roll sound and rarely allowing the tempo to relax along the way. The riffs come a flowing throughout each song, while their punk esque demeanor to their sound adds a different flavor that makes them desirable and somewhat dangerous sounding.

 

Guitarist Bryan Giles and bassist Aaron Beam traded lead vocal duties throughout their set, each giving a different feel to each tune while the crowd screamed along to each song. Much of their set list consisted of songs from Murder The Mountains while including songs from their newest album Whales and Leeches. Songs like ‘Crows in Swine’ and ‘1516’ hit the crowd hard, but they still managed to absorb the blow without any setbacks. They took in each song as if they were regulars in their set for years.

 

Their other guitarist, David Sullivan, quietly worked in his guitar magic, occasionally adding his tasteful riffage, while drummer John Sherman bashed away in stride. They also brought out guest keyboardist Roger Manning for a one time appearance on ‘Blood Like Cream’. The latter part of their set list ended with three songs from their self titled release. ‘Sharks and ‘Prehistoric Dog’, and the surprise encore tune ‘Good To Die’ left the crowd with a lot more rock than they originally bargained for.

 

Red Fang definitely lives up to their hype alongside the current wave of dirty riff-driven rock bands such as Baroness, Torche, Mastodon, and Clutch, while carrying the flag with pride. Oregon should be proud and music fan should take notice if you haven’t already.

 

 

Red Fang on Facebook

 

Rei Nishimoto