A Rocking Kickoff to the Summer of 2015

Will Black OPS Escape To Bermuda

Will Black likes to gather his fans in the lovely paradise of Bermuda for a weekend of beach, booze, and great music. If you ever have the chance to join him for his Canada Day Beach Bash don't pass it up.

The lucky ones who made it to the beautiful island retreat were treated to two amazing Will Black performances at the Hog Penny, a Canada Day Beach Party hosted by Will, a sunset booze cruise at sea, and a lot more. Now does that not sound like fun?

From the looks of the pictures it looks like they had one hell of a great time out on that sweet sandy beach.

I am sure that I have said this before, Will Black has got to be the best entertainer out there for reaching out to his fans. I don't know of too many genuinely talented Rock Stars that will go to this extent to show his fans he appreciates them.

I hope to see you all one day relaxed out on that Bermuda beach taking in the sun and great tunes, but until then keep your eyes open for the next time this great performer comes to your corner of the world. Whether it is a big stadium or small bar you will love Will Black's show.

There are very few singers that have such a genuinely amazing rock and roll voice as Will has. Take a look at his constantly evolving massive repertoire of covers on his YouTube channel and you may end up preferring his covers to the originals, not to mention his top notch original tunes.

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Loudwire Music Festival

Day One:

Tyler Connolly from Theory of a Deadman

Loudwire kicked off the summer with a three day event of rock and roll in June. They had a hell of a lineup which included Theory of a Deadman, Weezer, Linkin Park, and Rob Zombie.

I really like Theory of a Deadman. They are a regular on my favorite music mixes, and they made my 5 albums I listened to the most during this past year article. They opened for the Friday headliner Weezer, and from the feedback from the day they both topped off a great weekend opener for the festival.

Day Two:

A photo from Linkin Park's "stellar performance"

The second day of the event was filled with more great rock and roll that included the kick ass Texas newcomers Nothing More, those Chicago "Rock vets" Chevelle, and ended with the Immortal Linkin Park. 

The Hardcore group A Day To Remember not only began their set with confetti and toilet paper but riled up the fans enough to get them crowd surfing and doing the wave.

Day Three:

Rob Zombie rocking the stage

The third and final day of the extravaganza was a monstrous blowout that included acts such as Halestorm, Hinder, All That Remains, Hoobastank, and Rob Zombie.

Rob Zombie's performance was "fucking awesome" according to fans. It was "the perfect ending to an epic weekend!" And those are reviews from fans at the concert.

Make sure you check out the video I linked below where Rob Zombie performs the Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop. 

Halestorm's Lzzy Hale

All together it seems to have been an amazing experience for those who made it to Grand Junction Colorado. Despite it being hotter than hell, meaning it was 100 deg under that bright sun, the fans seemed to have a great time. 

People are already looking forward to next years music festival, though it sounds like they will have their work cut out for them trying to make sure it measures up to the extravaganza that the 2015 show was.

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Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival

On Saturday 26th of June the 2015 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival kicked off the first day of their festival in Chula Vista. 

The show was kicked off by Kings of Carnage, a Metal band of military members who served in Afghanistan. They got great reviews of their performance.

This year the headliner for the concert series is non other than Slayer, the Iconic Thrash Metal band. At the show in Chula Vista they kicked off the festival which will be touring this summer.

Along with Slayer, King Diamond, Hellyeah, and The Devil Wears Prada are all on the bill for the tour.




What can I say? Just how amazing would it be to see the Danish madman King Diamond open for the Metal gods Slayer?

It's a damn good pairing of Metal to kick off your summer too. So keep your sites adjusted because they are still touring and they may just be coming to invade an arena near you.

Hail Satan and crank up those amps!

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Thanks for reading and get out there and find a Rocking way to kick off your summer of 2015.

Kevin Sweeney

Canada Day 2015!

1 July is Canada's birthday. All around our great country we take the day off to celebrate our countries history and attend events. There are large concerts set up in our province capitals from coast to coast. This year I spent the holiday with several good friends at a local establishment.

KT's Sports Lounge

The Scott Racing team even showed up for the event

KT's Sports Lounge is a bar in the West end of Kingston that is owned by a former member of the Canadian Military. Today a crowd of friends, family, and local patrons celebrated Canada Day at KT's.

This Canada Day was a little extra special for KT's because it was the new owner's first official day as boss for the bar. There was a piping in ceremony where the new owner was marched in by a bagpiper, and after a few words and signing of papers the old boss was piped out.

Keeping the event going was a good bar band called Forty Days. Armed with covers that zig zagged across the landscape of rock music they kept the joint jumping. They played everything from Lynyrd Skynyrd to U2 (throwing in some Tragically Hip for good measure.)

Hailing from Odessa, just outside of Kingston, the trio has played for jails, churches, local charity events, and pretty much everywhere in-between. 

 It was an afternoon of cold beer and good friends.

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The Pawnman Mark Bradac

Wyandotte had non other than The Pawnman himself on parade, and as you know wherever he is chaos is bound to follow:

"NEWSFLASH! Pawnman /Wyandotte Town Center Canada Day Float was hijacked by overwhelmed street security when pawndemonium continually broke out around the float." 

Somehow the float ended up floating off of the parade route. In the end Mark said that the whole experience was "PAWNTASTIC!"

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The Rest Of Canada

As far as the rest of Canada... Ottawa had a huge outdoor ceremony along with other festivities for the 148th birthday of our country. The main show was pretty light on the rock and roll. Magic, the reggae pop group that has been getting a lot of airplay was the headliner, with Jonas and the Massive Attraction being the only real rock group on stage.

Jonas and the Massive Attraction in Ottawa

It surprised me that there were not more actual rock groups, not even our countries most famous ones. Still, at least they let Jonas play.

Waterloo did it right with a good old rock and roll concert headed by Canada's number one party rocker Kim Mitchell. 

Halifax had Kingston natives Glorious Sons, and the Juno award winning Arkells.

Moncton entertained their visitors by inviting them all to a concert featuring the Canadian rock icons Trooper!

Oro-Medonte managed to score The Tragically Hip, Death Cab for Cutie, The New Pornographers, and The Rural Alberta Advantage.

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Well, as I finish writing this the clock has turned past one am and Canada Day has ended for 2015.  I hope you all had a great one. I am starting to think that we need to get a heavy rock and Metal Canada Day concert up and running for next year. 

Well, until then thanks for reading.

Kevin Sweeney

Ottawa Where's the Blues Bluesfest

Each year the capital city of Canada has a Blues-fest. It is a massive international music event that brings attention to the city and hopes to bring in music lovers from all four corners of the globe. It is an excellent way to bring in tourists and entertain the local populace. The only problem I have with it is, I wonder if it is time to change the name of the festival.

Iggy Azalea - Rapper

Seeing the advertisements for this shindig does not bring blues to mind. They are touting that Australian Rapper Iggy Azalea is headlining the event.  Even when you look at the other big names that are mentioned it makes you wonder where is the blues in this event? Keith Urban, De La Soul, and Marianas Trench do not come to mind when I think of blues.

Myers Brothers Band - Blues

There are a few actual Blues bands on the list such as Bella Cat, Blues and Company, Joe Gaspar Band, and the Myers Brothers Band. They even have several rock groups that could be said to have a bluesy sound, but what is missing is the acts that would make this a world class Blues event.

Where is Joe Bonamassa, Jimmie Vaughan, Keb' Mo', The Robert Cray band or Blues Traveler? Where are our still classic living blues-masters such as Buddy Guy, and Pat Thomas? What about our up and coming Canadian blues bands like The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, or Double Fuzz? I am thinking that they did not even try to make this an actual Blues-fest.

Keith Urban - Country

Now, according to the RBC Blues-fest Facebook page they are saying that the show will be "one of the  most well-rounded music experiences of the summer." It looks like that is exactly what they have put together. There are many different styles to choose from: indie; pop; Funk; Rock; hip hop; Space age Rock and Roll; singer/songwriter; country; Punk; Rap; electronic; psychedelic; comedy; and more.

By no means would I tell anyone not to go check out the vast amount of quality acts that they have brought together. If you would like to go out and have a night of good music check out the festival, but if you are looking for a night of Blues double check the band online to see if you are getting what you want; Otherwise you may end up wanting Buddy Guy and seeing a hip hop artist instead.

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As I made mention to above, there are some excellent artists that will be at this years bash in Ottawa. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Tragically Hip, Deep Purple, and The Glorious Sons to mention a few.

The one act that is a must see if you are thinking of attending is the one and only Weird Al Yankovic. Yes that king of parodies is going to grace the Canadian capital with his Mandatory World Tour.



Is it ironic that, out of all the acts at the whole Blues-fest that I just chewed out because it is not really a Blues-fest, I really want to see a musical comedian?

I can not help it, Weird Al has been a favorite of mine since I was young and heard Another One Rides The Bus. He has single handedly kept polka in the popular music era, and managed to make a lucrative career out of making fun of other peoples music.

Today it is a great honor for an artist to have Weird Al do a parody of their work. He has become an icon in both the music and comedy worlds, and has outlasted many of the artists that he has parodied.

As much as I would love to see The Hip, Deep Purple, or the Dropkick Murphys if I have a chance Weird Al Yankovic will be my choice.

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Speaking of great bands to check out at the festival, here is The Glorious Sons. They are a blue collar straight forward Rock and Roll band out of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. If you have not heard these local boys you are missing out. 

I love their song Heavy it is a great song with a rocking groove that just proves how good these canucks are. They are not a one trick pony destined to be a one hit wonder, and they have proved it with follow up rockers such as Lightning, and Mama. 

These Glorious Sons have a perfect southern rock sound. So if you like your Rock and Roll with a cold beer out on the back deck by a bonfire, than you will want to get their self titled album.

Hell, they are even taking to the high seas. ShipRocked Cruise has added the boys onto an already incredible lineup that includes the amazing Five Finger Death Punch, the iconic Nonpoint, and the kick ass Halestorm.

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Thanks for reading and keep the Blues pure.

Kevin Sweeney

THRASH! Must I Say Anymore?

So You Wanna Sing Thrash?

 Are you pissed off at the world? Got some pent up rage and like rhyming words? Can you read at a grade five level or higher? Have you got an ego that makes you stand above the rest? Can you scream like a sex crazed hyena for at least two hours non stop? Oh, and do you like to Thrash, well then Lich King may just have the job for you.

These greasy bastards have been Thrashin' since 2004 and are signed to that demented Evil Eye Records label. Their last release was a seven song EP meant to hold over their hoards of manic fans until they can produce the next album.

Now, Tom is stepping away from the microphone and is leaving a gaping hole where the Lich King heart used to be. In other lesser bands this could mean utter defeat and humiliation, but not for Lich King.

Not content to cry in their beers and become a Country and Western Instrumental group, the boys are on the hunt for the next Thrash front-man/front-woman/front-gender non-specific/ front-trans-gender/front-trans-species.... Damn this is confusing these days! Awww, just watch the video!

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Still Kicking The Krap Out Of Lame Music

OK Kraptor obviously did not graduate from Gene Simmons self promotion class 101 - They still wear other bands shirts, but they are still kicking some major ass on the South American Thrash circuit. 

These randy boys from Venezuela are Thrashing away south of the Equator. That is when they are not stuck in a single bed hotel room waiting for their next gig surviving only on stale chips and warm beer. Please send them money!

They are working on their new album, and there is a strong contingent of North American fans that want to see them North of the Equator.

Until then only the lucky few that can make it south of the Panama Canal can attend the Violent Mosh.

For now we will make due with what we can find on You Tube. So here are some videos...

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BogoThrash Open Air Festival

On 14 June 2015 the BogoThrash Open Air Festival just out of Bogota, Columbia brought ten South American Thrash bands together for a hell of a party. One of our favorite Modern Thrash bands Kraptor was featured at the event. 

Bogo is a yearly bash that brings Thrashers from all over South America to a lush paradise to engage in a huge mosh pit. This year bands such as Brazil's Violator, The Female-fronted Colombia's Lucifera, and of course Venezuela's Kraptor came to rock the stage.

If you check out the videos online you can see the epic mosh pit for yourselves. There are quite a few shots of Violator just ripping it up.

Even that upstart Metal focused company Blackstar joined in the fray sending a contingent of Thrashers under the name of Blackstar Guitar Show. They riled up the eager masses with covers of Sepultura, Metallica, Pantera, and more. 

You can find a link to the Festival on Facebook. It contains feeds from both Instagram and YouTube, including a video of Kraptor at the event. There is an abundance of photos and videos from not only this years fest, but also from previous BogoThrash Open Air dates.

So anyone who loves Thrash and can still get a passport may want to check out the BogoThrash Open Air 2016. If I can get a new passport that will allow me through without security patting me down like last time, than I will go and bring you back videos, interviews, and pictures galore.

Until then you must be satiated with the videos from this and previous years Open Air Festivals.

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The Big Four

I would be remiss in putting out a blog about Thrash without any mention to The Big Four.  Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax are the boys who stared it all, so here is what they have been up to...

Anthrax, the New York City band that are the originators of the Thrash Metal moniker, after 34 years are still going strong. 

Earlier this month Scott and the boys played a hometown show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. In an interview with Erik Holland Scott let it be known that Anthrax is well underway of developing a new release full of "Great, great Thrash Metal."

You can find links to a full review and photos from the June 2nd show on Anthrax's official website. 

I was introduced to the icon that is Anthrax back in 1985 when a friend of mine handed me a copy of Spreading the Disease on cassette and said I had to check it out. Later on in 1988 I fell in love with their album State of Euphoria and it became one of my favorite Metal albums of all time.

Next up on my list is the immortal Dave Mustaine and his Megadeth. Out of the these four I am a Megadeth fan first and foremost. 

You have to give it to the man who none less than Scott Ian calls "The man who invented Thrash Metal!" Dave Mustaine is this years Metal Hammer Golden God award recipient, the only truly Metal awards show in the fucking world!

You have until the 28th of this month to check out the Megadeth Backstage Auctions. If there is a piece of Megadeth gear or memorabilia that you just have to have, this is the site for you to go. They have flying V's, Marshall stacks, t-shirts, and tour stage backdrops. 

And, here is the best news of all... Megadeth is working on a new album! Check out the video below.

Slayer will be releasing it's first new album in six years, Repentless, on September 11. The Metal Eagle edition has an amazing cover that is a 3D representation of their eagle logo.

You can hear some of the songs off of the new demonic manifestation on their Facebook page. Implode, and When the Stillness Comes are great additions to their already vast Thrash catalog. I really like how they state in Implode that "I still think that God hates us all!" bringing reference back to one of my favorite songs by this Californian Thrash Metal band.

Their last CD, World Painted Blood, was Grammy-nominated, which is normally an organization that shuns any heavy music.

Slayer will be headlining the summer Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival that begins this July in San Diego. They will be sharing the stage with the one and only King Diamond, Those Heavy Metal Hillbillies HELLYEAH, and the Knoxville Whitechapel among others.

I still remember the first time I heard the 1986 Reign in Blood album, it was back in high school shortly after it had come out and I thought they were the heaviest group that I had ever heard. They also began my search for bands that had the pentagram in their logo.

Finally we come to Metallica, the band you love to hate. Sorry, I have had a grudge against them ever since they kicked out Mustaine. Still, I can not help but admit that they have put out some excellent Metal over the years.

Recently these guys have performed the US National Anthem at game 5 of the NBA Finals, and have joined forces with the ESPN's X Games in order to raise money for the victims of the central Texas floods.

On the 14th of September they will be in Quebec
City, Canada in order to be the final event to ever take place in the Colisee Pepsi arena. Then two days later they will be the first act to open the brand new Qubec Centre Vidéotron.

Metallica has always been a band constantly on the go and with all of their touring and special events, such as appearing for the puck drop for the San Jose Sharks, they will likely always find themselves in the limelight.

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Unfortunately on the 21st of February of this year Bruce Sinofsky passed away. He was the "Architect" of the Metallica film Some Kind Of Monster. It is an excellent film that clearly showed the inner workings of the band during The Black Album and the struggles moving toward the St. Anger release. Whether or not you are a fan of Metallica this is a film you should check out.

Bruce was a talented filmmaker and from the praise and loving words that are written on the Metallica website about him, he will be very much missed. Rest in Peace Bruce Sinofsky, we are all better from experiencing the realities that you have revealed to us.

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Thank you for reading, and thank you all for Thrashing!

Kevin Sweeney

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Impolitely Canadian and More

Prologue

This is a follow up supplement from a previous one titled And Now For Something Completely Different. It is also a review of what several of my favorite Canadian artists that I have written about earlier have been up to. I hope you enjoy it and check out these talented people.

Armed And Hammered

Tyler Morrison is a comedian from Canada that has been featured at the Ron Jeremy Roast, The Winnipeg Comedy Festival, the Dark Comedy Festival, The Boston Comedy Festival, and CBC's The Debaters. I was fortunate enough to catch him last year with the Forces Comedy Tour here in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The reason I am revisiting this funnyman is to give you a review of his 2014 comedy CD Armed And Hammered, as well as give you a heads up on his new comedy special titled Impolitely Canadian. 

If you like your comedy with a bit of bite than you should check out Tyler Morrison, but there is more to this comedian than just shock. He is genuinely funny and informative, and it all comes shining through on his CD. 

On the album he discusses the pros and cons of French Immersion language training for your child, The Middle East, Burglars, and of course Drinking: Drinking while driving; drinking while hunting; and drinking while drinking. Believe me you will learn something even if it was something you really did not want to know in the first place.

If you like laughing at those videos of the people who shop at Walmart, wonder why country folk never spill there beer, and would rather laugh at the state of civilization today instead of cry then pick up Armed and Hammered. It is available on iTunes.

There are several upcoming events that you can catch him live at this summer. He will be featured at the Sirius XM Top Comic in Toronto on June 23, The Cottage Country Comedy Festival in Gravenhurst, and several dates in Montreal. To see more go to his web site and find out all the facts on this fabulous funnyman.

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The Worshyp

The Worshyp is a great sounding Heavy Metal group out of Toronto that have been in our blog before. How much more Canadian can you get than for the band to have a link to Molson Canadian's Hockey Heaven video on their twitter feed? Well that is what you are dealing with when you follow these Canucks. 

Hell, during the Stanley Cup Playoffs there were more tweets about the games than the band on their twitter page. 

Another reason why I love this group is that they delve into concept work. Their album Kingdom Earth includes a four song tetra-logy called Kingdom Earth. The four tracks represent the revelation of an extraterrestrial threat that leads to mankind's eventual enslavement.

I am really looking forward to seeing what else these Headbangers come up with in the future.  

Until they release a new album I highly suggest you to check out their video for their song War Torn, which I have linked below. As a Veteran of the Afghanistan Conflict I find that I have become very fond of music videos about the struggles of "the Troops." 

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Return For Refund

Return for Refund is another band out of The Big Smoke/Toronto. I unfortunately missed them when they played here in Kingston on their last pass through, and I am still kicking myself about it!

Drew and the boys have been busy playing all around and getting radio play both on the college stations and the local rock stations. Everyone seems to be really embracing their straight forward grunge based rock and roll.

 For a band that is touring off of the strength of one EP they seem to be only gaining steam. Their self-titled EP has been getting great reviews and recommendations. (WPGM)

So if you get the chance don't do what I did and get your ass out of the house and check them out!

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Thanks for reading and check out these great musicians! Support your local Artists!

Kevin Sweeney

More Kick Ass Metal!

Forever Still

This excellent female fronted Metal group caught my attention by tweeting me. They have a great sound and I really like how Maja Schønning can effortlessly change her singing style from a gorgeous siren song to a raging growl.

There has been a wonderful upsurge in female Metal front-women and Forever Still should be seen as a front-runner in the ever increasing market.

Hailing from Denmark the band has gained fans and critical acclaim ever since they released their first EP, Breaking Free. Their EP's are definitely worth picking up. Breaking Free, Scars, and Save Me are all beautifully crafted.

They enjoy taking full control of their creative endeavors including making their own music videos. It allows them to present a completely honest representation of their music and the ideals behind it.

So If you like your Kick Ass Metal sung by a Kick Ass Woman than you will definitely want to check out this Danish powerhouse.

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One of my favorite guitarists that we have featured on an earlier blog, Elmo Karjalainen, brought this group to my attention. Elmo stood in for one of their guitarists recently and mentioned them on his guitar blog so it got me interested in checking them out. 

The band he mentioned is called Kilpi and they are well known in the Finish Rock and Metal community. They have an excellent sound and the lead singer Taage Laiho has a voice made for classic metal. 

In 2009 Kipi released their seventh studio album, not bad for a band that began in 2003. I really urge you to go to their website and read the English introduction to the band, it gives a great overview of the spirit behind the Rock. 

If you are unsure about listening to a group that does not sing in English I would encourage you to check them out anyway, because not too long ago there was a German group called Rammstein that managed to catch the worlds attention singing in their home tongue.

In the meantime check out their video from their hit Juggernautti.

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If your taste in Metal edges toward Shock Rock then you will want to check out Demon Boy. Their live shows are "A Heavy Metal Fun-House ride through a Comic Book Hell." 

With song titles like I Kissed A Dead Girl, and This Halloween you can guess that Demon Boy follows in the steps of the likes of Alice Cooper.

With the belief that fans demand a great show to Rock out to Demon Boy delivers in spades. 

So If a party is what you are after grab your honey and let Demon Boy entertain you.

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I can't say enough about the Metalcore force that is BLESSTHEFALL. These Arizona Metalheads are producing top notch Metal with just a hint of Industrial mayhem. 

Their 2013 release Hollow Bodies is just superb. It is just like a great whiskey; smooth to the taste with a hell of a punch. Check it out if you have not heard it!

Oh and they have a new album coming out in Sept 2015.

You can catch them on the Vans Warped Tour. 

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Thank you for reading and keep that Metal flowing. 

Kevin Sweeney