blessthefall: Hard Feelings

[caption id="attachment_38206" align="aligncenter" width="595"] blessthefall: Hard Feelings[/caption]

blessthefall: Hard Feelings

Written by Robin Ervolina

LISTENING NOTES ONLY: DO NOT PUBLISH UNLESS I DIE, IN WHICH CASE, THESE ARE MY LAST WORDS 

I typed that in case someone thought these were my final thoughts on the new blessthefall CD "Hard Feelings." They're not, of course. What women ever has a final thought? Last words, yes. Final thought? Never. These notes were my first thoughts, meant to capture my impressions as I prepared my review. What they ended up capturing was the moment I fell in love with the metalcore outfit from AZ. Do I want these to be my last words, no Sir. However, if "Hard Feelings" was the last thing I heard before I died, that would bless my fall into the unknown.
blessthefall has been in the metalcore scene for nine years and have released five full-length albums in that time. Where have I been? No clue, but they've been around and back again. "Hard Feelings" will be their first release after signing with Rise Records. Sorry you can't hear it until tomorrow, but here's what you have to look forward to.

Everything about the intro says "This is going to be epic," and it is. 

The first song "Wishful Sinking" comes in hot. Everything about the intro says "This is going to be epic," and it is. Beau Bokan's vocals are the perfect combination of sweet and painful. There is a desperate yearning to everything he releases from those gods-blessed pipes. Second track "Find Yourself" finds me falling harder for his tone and delivery. As cringe-worthy as this next statement will be, I'm going to let it ride. If Jonny Craig and Ronnie Radke had a threesome with the late Chester Bennington, Beau Bokan would be their baby. Yes, I know that's not how procreation works. No, I won't take it back. His voice is killer. I cannot stress this enough.
The second song "Find Yourself" is equally gorgeous, and just when I think I've nailed down their sound, "Melodramatic" shakes it up a little. It's got a rapid fire rhythm any punk fan can love, and the lyrics preach.

I need the anger / need the rage / I need the worst things you can say / If you wanted a war, I guess you got what you came for

I guess you could say that's pretty melodramatic, and the screaming vocals in the bridge just drive that home. It's not formulaic, but it's right on time. It's slam dance / mosh pit perfection.

Close your eyes and tell me it doesn't take you somewhere

"Feeling Low" takes me high. The irony in this is delicious. Close your eyes and tell me it doesn't take you somewhere. Bokan swoops into the melancholic melody with emotion and desperation, then ascends with power and desperation. The lyrics swallow you whole.

Is this all that we are / a stitch that pulled apart / You told me I was your best mistake, that you would take it to the grave / I don't know where to start (so tell me) / are we taking this way too far / (please tell me) I'm not a shot in the dark / Before you go tell me I'm worth dying for / all the things you were promising / give it up put it all on me / lose your grip and now it's out of reach / don't believe in what you cannot see / all the things you will never know / it keeps me, keeps me feeling low

"Cutthroat" lets loose of the tightly woven tunes. Ladies and Gentlemen, please clear your floor of fears and make room for a shit storm of emotional upheaval. Pit in your stomach? No, circle pit in your psyche. In  "I'm Over Being Under(rated)" the siren Bokan sings "Please tell me somebody's up there, and why I'm even singing at all." Hold up, hold up, Bokan. I'm a let you finish, but I'm answering that question first: you're singing because your voice is a gift. We graciously accept it, and we humbly thank you. All the range, all the emotion ... thank you for taking your scars and making them beautiful.

All the feels

Another highlight for me is "Sleepless in Phoenix" which has all the feels. The intro is the saddest lullaby melody and the lyrics (don't you love it when tunes and words move you equally?) beg quoting. Please note that I'm not sure if Bokan is saying "You've got me right where you want me" or "right where you haunt me" but for the love of god, isn't that deliciously beautiful?

Just remember to forget me / I hate this honestly / please take this the wrong way / don't need you to need me / I need you to disappear / cuz I carry ghosts of the things you said / but you won't come home even if you're dead / night after night Sleepless in Phoenix / tell me a lie / make me believe it / you've got me right where you want [haunt?] me / you've got me right where you haunt [want?] me

Wait for it ...

There isn't a weak tune in the entirety of "Hard Feelings." Without recapping the full CD (which I would, oh trust me I've plenty to say) I will leave you with this. Closing track "Welcome Home" is so Falling In Reverse meets Green Day I can't stand it. I can't. And the end? Just wait for it.
I'm in love with this blessthefall, in case you didn't pick up on that yet. I firmly believe my playlist and theirs are the same. All my favorite singers and tunes are channeled and repurposed in this soaring, lovely CD. This is a powerhouse quintet with perfectly constructed tunes, deeply relatable lyrics, and an angelic vocalist. "Hard Feelings" drops March 23rd, 2018. You're on standby. Get ready to be blessed. 

Foreigner Concert: Fort Lauderdale, Fl with The Dave Eggar Orchestra Broward Center for Performing Arts 3/20/18

[caption id="attachment_38122" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Foreigner Concert: Fort Lauderdale, Fl[/caption]

Foreigner Concert, Fort Lauderdale Florida 3/20/18

Written and Photographed by Robin Ervolina
Fort Lauderdale, Florida won the rock lottery when Foreigner announced The Broward Center for the Performing Arts as one of eight U.S. dates for the Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra Tour. Whew. That's a mouthful, right? Yet, there is no better name for a tour celebrating 40 years of Foreigner hits, performed with a full orchestra! Now your head is spinning, right? Can you imagine being there? We can help. Shockwave Magazine is delighted to share our review of the Foreigner concert, Fort Lauderdale, Fl style. Check out our slide show of images at the end of the review.
Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra Tour is not just a treat, but a build up to upcoming CD/DVD package Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, set for release April 27th, 2018 via earMusic. The project began in May of 2017 when the band performed two sold-out shows in Lucerne, Switzerland with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. For the next year, Mick Jones (founder/lead guitarist) and the Grammy nominated duo of Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, focused on orchestral arrangements of some of the most iconic Foreigner tunes. Says Jones:

I could never have imagined when I set out to create Foreigner 40 years ago, that we’d still be touring around the world and performing the music we love all these years later.  Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer’s orchestral arrangements have shown us a new symphonic dimension of our music, which I hope our fans will enjoy.

40 Years of Foreigner in 90 Minutes

Foreigner lead singer Kelly Hansen took the stage at 7:45 p.m. to introduce the concept for the show. The crowed greeted him with thunderous applause, then the house lights dimmed, and stage lights illuminated the 20-person orchestra. The string section began the first bars of "Blue Morning, Blue Day." Shortly after, Foreigner took to the stage, and the crowd to their feet. No one bothered to sit down for follow-up tune "Cold As Ice," including Hansen, who ran fully into the crowd and high-fived fans. "Waiting for a Girl Like You," gave the band the opportunity to connect with the audience, who sang along word for word. Hansen and bassist Jeff Pilson (formerly of Dokken) grinned broadly as they accepted hand shakes and smiles from the ladies in the front row. It was pure 80's all over again. 

 

But lest we forget, Foreigner was more than an 80's band. They formed in the late 70s and their debut CD spawned multiple Top 20 hits including "Feels Like The First Time," and "Cold As Ice." The continued to release album after album, hit after hit, well into the new the new millennium and show no signs of stopping. 

 

For their fourth and fifth songs of the night, the band sat on stools to perform an acoustic set comprised of "Say You Will," and "The Flame Still Burns." And while the fans were fully engaged, when Foreigner followed up with "Double Vision," all feet were planted on the ground, all hands in the air, all hips shaking and grinding. 

 

Some Things Change

Throughout the night my eyes were often drawn to the orchestra and the conductor. On the main stage, the lead violinist and cello player bounced up and down, off their feet, playing so heartily they could not contain the energy. At points in the show even the conductor had to take a break to dance alongside the band. There was nothing less than pure enthusiasm pouring from every person on stage. If I didn't know better, I would swear they were unaware they were performing a show. It was refreshing to see that a band with so many member changes can gel to the point where they look more like best friends than band mates. 

 

Foreigner played for a solid 90 minutes, wrapping up with a nearly ten minute rendition of their biggest U.S. hit, "I Want To Know What Love Is." Part way through the song, members of the Coral Springs School of Rock took stage to form the choir for the chorus. While it wasn't needed (the audience made up a choir of thousands), it was refreshing and a little heart-tugging. With a roar of applause and cheer, the band left the stage just as they'd entered; humbled to be so relevant and talented after 41 years in the industry. However, as the audience, we were humbled to be a stop on such a limited engagement tour. 

 

A Prelude of Things to Come

If a 20-person orchestra and 15-person choir can create such a rich backdrop to the soundtrack of our life, imagine the wall of sound a 60-person choir and 59-person orchestra will bring to the timeless music of Foreigner. So pick up that CD/DVD digipak on April 27th, 2018, only available at Walmart in the US and Canada.

 

 Foreigner Concert: Fort Lauderdale, FL Slideshow

 

 

 

Though few dates remain, tickets may still be available. Click here to purchase, because you do not want to miss this epic, once in a lifetime performance. 

 

FOREIGNER ORCHESTRAL TOUR DATES

 

03.29.2018                  USA                             Cedar Rapids, IA                               US CELLULAR CENTER

03.30.2018                  USA                             Sioux City, IA                                      ORPHEUM THEATRE 

04.02.2018                  USA                             Grand Forks, ND                               CHESTER FRITZ AUDITORIUM

04.03.2018                  USA                              Minot, ND                                          ALL SEASONS ARENA 

04.04.2018                  USA                              Duluth, MN                                        DECC AUDITORIUM 

05.26.2018                  SWITZERLAND              Lucerne                                               KKL LUCERNE

05.27.2018                  SWITZERLAND             Lucerne                                               KKL LUCERNE

 

FOREIGNER is: Mick Jones (guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums)

Myles Kennedy Covers Elton John's LEVON for SiriusXM Octane

Written by Robin Ervolina

Myles Kennedy Covers Elton John's "Levon" and it's everything beautiful. 

In fact, this morning it's everything.
If you've had a moment to listen to Kennedy's new CD "Year of the Tiger," you may think you've had your fill of the man and his guitar. I'm telling you, you haven't. Click the video to watch this exclusive SiriusXM Octane gift.

I don't know what's most beautiful about this version; Myles' vocals, his guitar work, or the sheer love pouring out of him as he covers Sir Elton's ballad. It's a gorgeous blend of Kennedy's passion and range, and John's lyrical brilliance. You'll most likely listen to this more than once, as well you should, but I hope you'll view the video too. It's a magnificent thing to watch an artist fall in love with a song.

Fronz and Ronnie Radke Twitter War

[caption id="attachment_37619" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Fronz and Ronnie Radke Twitter War[/caption]
Written by Robin Ervolina

The bad boys of hardcore are at it again. Attila's frontman Fronz and Falling in Reverse's lead Ronnie Radke embarked on a little Twitter war, and as much as we hate to watch mommy and daddy fight, we'll recap it for you here. 

It seems to have started two days ago (5/12) with this tweet from Fronz:

Ronnie dug up an old beef in reply, and Fronz was quick on the come back. 

Let's back up in case you're unaware of the history and "Callout" reference. I brought in Baltimore photojournalist Tiffany A. Mitchell for the Fronz v. Radke 101.

So, Attila made this song called "Callout" and it’s a dis song. He called out Jonny Craig for scamming people out of money by offering to sell them MacBooks which they never got. Then Fronz calls out Ronnie Radke saying “Even Ronnie Radke talks shit in my Instagram, give me your address so i can hit u with a mic stand." Attila just released a new Callout song where he disses Jeffrey Star, Danny Worsnop, Logan Paul and Harvey Weinstein and the singer of Emmure. But not Ronnie.

Okay, now that we're caught up, let's not let this little gem of a tweet get lost. Buried in the comments of the above post regarding "Callout" is this:

Okay, so where were we? Oh yeah, that was two days ago. But then a tweet from Fronz today lit a spark:

I am living proof that you can DO WHATEVER you want, SAY WHATEVER you want, and still become successful. Moral of the story- Be yourself & keep it real. The fakes never make it.

To which Ronnie Radke replied:

Didn't you sue a sushi restaurant?

Fronz sets the record straight with a twist of lime:

No, I sued the company that produced the bad tuna, the settlement was minimal though. In today's terms that settlement would be about 0.5% of my net worth. Nice Google search, though. 

Ronnie replies with eloquence as is his wont to do.

Suck my fuck.

And Fronz waxes poetic as well, complete with eggplant and other suggestive emojis. 

I already did. 

Ronnie ends this (we hope?) with a batch of LMAO emojis. 

So far the boys have moved to separate corners. I love 'em bad, but not at each others' beautiful tattooed throats.

Slaves Concert Cancelled After Alleged Jonny Craig Arrest

[caption id="attachment_33417" align="aligncenter" width="681"] Slaves vocalist Jonny Craig was arrested last night in Scottsdale, Arizona. Slaves was set to play the Pub Rock Live when fans witness Craig being taken from the premise in handcuffs.[/caption]

Jonny Craig Arrested 

Updates: Case Dismissed!

Written by Robin Ervolina

Jonny Craig Arrest video courtesy of MikkoPongo
Check out another video showing band members and security arguing. 
According to the City of Scottsdale's site, charges were filed against Jonathan Craig, who appeared in court today at 10:30 am. His attorney filed a Motion to Dismiss charges of Criminal Damage to Property and Disorderly Conduct.

Slaves vocalist Jonny Craig was arrested last night in Scottsdale, Arizona, abruptly ending the last stop on their Beautiful Death tour. Slaves was set to play the Pub Rock Live when fans witness him being taken from the premise in handcuffs. MikkoPongo posted video and comments on Twitter. Click the link and we'll keep you posted.
Video of Jonny Craig Arrest

Charges Against Slaves' Jonny Craig Dismissed

Jonny Craig Charges Dismissed

Written by Robin Ervolina

Slaves' singer Jonny Craig was arrested last night in Scottsdale, Arizona on charges of disorderly conduct and property damage. His attorney immediately filed for all charges to be dismissed and the Honorable Judge Jejna granted the order. Neither Slaves nor Jonny Craig have responded to the arrest at this time.

Zero Theorem: Area

[caption id="attachment_37405" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Zero Theorem: Area[/caption]
Written by Robin Ervolina
Holy new music, Batman!
The advantage of being named Robin is I can make awkward Batman references. The advantage of being Robin is discovering amazing new music on a regular basis. Today I discovered "Area" by Zero Theorem, a four-piece hard rock outfit from L.A. They dropped this massive wall of sound last month. I dare you not to move.


"Area" is the first single of their upcoming Ataraxis, scheduled to drop May 4th. Stay tuned for more Zero Theorem news and interview.

Get to know Zero Theorem 

Official Website: http://www.zerotheoremband.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zerotheoremband
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ztheoremband
Instagram: www.instagram.com/zerotheoremband
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0GFIgc4xi9Lg6CSNdDx70Z?si=QPtdIFdjSUOWtiEG6dzXHg
Apple Music/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/area-single/1227651828
Amazon Music: https://www.amazon.com/Area-Zero-Theorem/dp/B06ZZ58646
Google Play Music: http://bit.ly/2GU5xTl
Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCNgU-8REhKkf4MNaLbFFT_w