NYS Music 20​16

Tag: heavy metal

  • The Wizards of Winter Kick Off “Magic of Winter” Tour in Syracuse

    The Wizards of Winter kicked off their 2016 “Magic of Winter” tour at the Crouse Hinds Theater in Syracuse, NY November 23. The performance was the night before Thanksgiving and while I can think of no better way to get into the holiday spirit than by listening to some rocking Christmas music, the crowd was very light. I guess people were busy prepping turkeys, welcoming out of town guests or traveling to their holiday destinations. It is a shame though because they missed an amazing show.

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    The Wizards of Winter is a massive ensemble that started as a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tribute band in 2009. The band quickly gained popularity and decided to write their own music and have since released two albums. The twelve-member band is made up of Scott Kelly, the musical director and amazing keyboardist, Scott’s wife Sharon Kelly on flute and vocals, Greg Smith from Ted Nugent on the bass, Fred Gorhau on lead guitar, Steve Ratchen on the bass, TW Durfy on guitar, Mary McIntyre, vocals and keyboard, Shawna Marie, vocals, Vinny Jiovino, vocals, Jenn Hamilton rocking the electric violin and former members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Tony Gaynor as the narrator, Guy LeMonnier, vocals and Tommy Ference on the drums. The massive sound that this talented collaborative produces is extraordinary.

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    My five year old son had the pleasure of joining my husband and I for this performance and he loved it. He was on the edge of his seat the entire time and despite it being way past his bedtime, he refused to leave early. He loved the narrator, Tony Gaynor, who took the stage in between songs to tell a quick tale about where the audience was traveling to next. He loved the epic guitar solos, Mrs. Claus popping through the crowd and gifting him a candy cane and of course the flying beach balls toward the end of the set. Despite a few opening night technical difficulties, the band smiled and kept playing. The vocals were powerful and awe inspiring, the violin and flute melded flawlessly, the guitars were fierce and the drums held everything together in perfect rhythm. This is Christmas music with backbone and I loved it.

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    Notable favorites of the almost three-hour set included: “Flight of the Snow Angels,” “Special Feeling,” “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) (Savatage cover),” “March of the Metal Soldiers” and “Gales of December.” Thank you to the band who took the time to meet the fans and sign a poster for my son after the show. Thank you Fred Gorhau for giving my son his first guitar pick. The Wizards of Winter created a memory that will last a lifetime for my family and especially for our son.

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  • Slipknot and Marilyn Manson at Lakeview Amphitheater Syracuse

    Slipknot and Marilyn Manson made a stop on their joint tour at the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse, NY on July 23. The tour features an aggressive schedule and will include stops in more than 30 cities across North America. Of Mice & Men joined as special guests.

    First up was Southern California quintet Of Mice & Men lead by front man Austin Carlile. You can always tell when a band wants to be somewhere and really wants to play, when they hit the stage exactly on time and rip through as many songs as possible. That was the impression I got from Of Mice & Men and I can appreciate their effort and enthusiasm. Of Mice & Men tore through eight songs in thirty minutes that included booming vocals that alternated between screams and harmonic melodies, metal solos complete with whipping long hair and some seriously hard drum beats. Highlights of their set included “Public Service Announcement,”  “Never Giving Up,” “You Make Me Sick” and “Pain” off of their upcoming release Cold World due out September 9.

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    After some uncertainty and much debate from fans as to whether or not Marilyn Manson would be healthy enough to play, the band took the stage. Manson previously cancelled his July 21 performance in Quebec City at the last minute due to illness. Manson started in with the theatrics immediately, throwing bags full of blue and red colored chalk into the crowd who responded by picking up the bags and throwing them in the air so that others could share in the fun. Manson’s set was full of oddities, including stained glass images of Manson in a Jesus-like pose at either end of the stage, a variety of microphones including one with a knife and one with brass knuckles, a Marilyn Manson $666 bill as the backdrop, a burning bible and even stilts.

    The crowd filled in quickly as the first notes of “Angel With the Scabbed Wings” hit the air. Manson didn’t waste any time and jumped into the crowd to interact with the fans during the second song “Disposable Teens.”  There was a bit of flopping around the stage, throwing of a few microphones and some of the singing was incomprehensible at times but the worst part of the set was two very lengthy delays, one 15 minute delay where Manson left the stage after the fourth song “mOBSCENE” and another lengthy delay before the final song of the evening “The Beautiful People.” I am guessing that the delays are due to Manson’s illness and that hopefully once he is feeling better, he will resume a full length performance.  Despite the short set, Manson did a great job of engaging the fans. He performed the entirety of the Eurythmics’ cover “Sweet Dreams” perched above Paul Wiley (guitar) and Twiggy Ramirez (bass) on stilts. For the encore, Manson brought two female fans up on stage to help sing “The Beautiful People” while he ran through the crowd all the way to the sound board and shot off a cannon filled with Manson’s $666 bills.

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    Set list: Angel with Scabbed Wings, Disposable Teens, No Reflection, mOBSCENE, The Dope Show, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Eurythmics cover), Antichrist Superstar

    Encore: The Beautiful People

    It was time for the final band of the evening. The crowd filled in when Manson hit the stage but it seemed much denser as Slipknot took the stage. A video of burning mannequins began playing in the background as the band members creeped onto the stage donned in their trademark masks and tore right into “The Negative One” off of their most recent release .5: The Gray Chapter.

    Slipknot’s stage setup is intense. The band has three percussionists, one was set up center stage on risers, the other two were on either side of the stage with their equipment on hydraulic risers that moved up and down and spun around through the entire set. While the center percussionist played a traditional drum kit, the other two were playing on hollowed out kegs that appeared to be homemade drums. The band’s total of nine members come together to create an impressive sound. The band is known for their wild stage antics but fans were to expect things to be toned down a bit in light of lead singer Corey Taylor’s recent surgery. Taylor paused at one point to address his recent spine surgery, “I had surgery recently on my spine, who the f*** has to just have spine surgery for no reason?” He promised that the band was still going to deliver and they certainly did.

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    Slipknot played a selection of songs from their catalog including hits from their self-titled debut and their 2001 release, Iowa. Taylor asked the fans, “Who wants to go back to 2001 with me right now? Who wants to hear some songs off Iowa?” The band played “Distasterpiece,” “The Heretic Anthem” and later in the set “Left Behind” all tracks from Iowa.

    Corey Taylor engaged the fans throughout often referring to them as “family” and requesting the lights go up so he could see their faces. The band played an extensive 18 song set. Fan favorites included “Psychosocial,” “Wait and Bleed,” “Duality” and “Spit It Out.” Taylor ended the evening by stating “I sincerely hope you have had as much fun as we have.”

    Set list: The Negative One, Distasterpiece, Eyeless, Skeptic, Before I Forget, Killpop, Dead Memories, The Heretic Anthem, Psychosocial, Pulse of the Maggots, Left Behind, The Devil in I, Wait and Bleed, (sic)

    Encore: Surfacing, Duality, Spit It Out

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  • Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Remembers Former Drummer Nick Menza

    During Sunday night of the first-ever Rock ‘N Derby, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine asked the crowd for a moment of silence for late drummer Nick Menza. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but Nick went to heavy metal heaven last night,” he said, before leading the group into “Trust.” Watch the homage to the former bandmate in the video below.

    On May 21, Menza, 51, died onstage during a performance with his current band, OHM, at the Baked Potato in Los Angeles. According to an official statement, Menza collapsed three songs into the set, and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful; it was later reported that he suffered a massive heart attack and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

    The late heavy metal drummer was with Megadeth during the group’s peak commercial success in the 1990s. Nick Menza contributed his signature drumming style to the albums Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994) and Cryptic Warnings (1997).

    After news of Menza’s passing became known, the Twittersphere and other social media channels were abuzz with expressions of sympathy from former bandmates Mustaine, David Ellefson, Marty Friedman and Chris Poland, among other rockers like Steve Lukather (Toto) and author J. Marshall Craig who was working with Menza on his memoir. In the excerpt below from Megadeth’s Facebook page (see the full post above), Mustaine explained his personal relationship with the former bandmate:

    …As a player, Nick had a very powerful jazzy flair, unpredictable and always entertaining. And as great a drummer as he was, the time spent with him as a person, a bandmate, and a friend was even more fun. There were several times we discussed him coming back to the band, but for various reasons it never came together. We’ve been in touch all along, he had come out to our shows recently, and he had remained a great friend, a true professional and a larger than life personality…”

    Before Megadeth played the May 22 show at the Schaghticoke Fairgrounds during Rock N’ Derby, Mustaine announced plans to honor Menza through an all-alumni benefit concert in California on the Albany rock station Q103, according to Loudwire. Stay tuned for updates on this Megadeth band members reunion show.

  • Show Review: Madame Mayhem at The Lost Horizon

    MADAME MAYHEM who is currently on tour supporting Mushroomhead and promoting her new record Now You Know, made a stop at the Syracuse famed Lost Horizon this past Monday evening for an intimate performance.  The 14 track release features an all-star powerhouse collaboration consisting of some of rock’s most talented musicians including Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big), who not only produced the album but played on it as well, Ray Luzier (KoRn), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Russ “Satchel” Parrish (Steel Panther), and Corey Lowery (Saint Asonia, Stuck Mojo, Eye Empire).

    Madame Mayhem who is the direct support on the current Mushroomhead tour is definitely a must to check out. Mayhem and the band delivered their set with in-your-face attitude and no shortage of NYC style swagger. Their set had many notable songs including her newest single “Left For Dead,” which delivers a melodic yet intense punch to the gut. It will be hard to forget their performance of “Monster,” especially if you are a fan of bands like Lacuna Coil and Evanescence.  After a dominant 30 minute performance, one can easily say that Madame Mayhem acquired many new fans in Syracuse.

    Prior to the show I had the opportunity to sit down with Madame Mayhem. Despite the terrifying spiked gloves she had on, she was very laid back and easy to talk to. It was a pleasure chatting with her about the video for “Left For dead”, her musical influences and what she likes most about touring.

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