Carl Begai

By Carl Begai

It’s shaping up to be a banner year for Primal Fear bassist / co-founder Mat Sinner. Coming off a successful run for the Sinner album Crash & Burn – a no-nonsense rock record showered with accolades across the board, even by fans that had written them off ages ago as a waste of time – Primal Fear’s eighth album, 16.6 (Before The Devil Knows Your Dead), has yanked the band’s loyal fanbase out of the ho-hum stupor caused by last outing, New Religion. Not that the album was particularly horrible, but it lacked the staying power and overall fire of predecessors Seven Seals (2005) and Devil’s Ground (2004). A matter of taste, perhaps, but it’s hard to put down the suggestion New Religion is weak when stacked up against 16.6’s ultra-focused no-holds-barred approach. Chalk it up to a major trimming of the fat with the exit of guitarists Stephan Leibing (amicable) and Tom Naumann (necessary), effectively replaced with the return of Henny Wolter and entrance of Swedish wunderkind Magnus Karlsson. As Sinner tells it, Primal Fear hasn’t felt this good in a long time.
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I’ve encountered my share of strange and unusual people during my time in Germany, but this next yahoo took the cake and ate it…

A few years ago The Girlfriend and I spent most Friday nights recharging at a local Irish pub, which consisted of drinking buckets of Guinness (me), flirting with the well endowed female bar staff (me… and her, come to think of it), being nauseous at the thought of actually drinking the glasses of cherry and banana juice being poured for the non-drinkers (both of us), smoking too much (her – long since nicotine free) before finally stumbling home in the wee hours of the morning. Normally it was an uneventful five minute walk back, but on one particular night I ran into what was and I imagine still is one of the stupidest people on the planet.
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By Carl Begai

From a marketing standpoint German bashers All We Hate could potentially be a much bigger deal than they are. Namedropping plays an important role in the business after all, and when a band member can boast about having worked with Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow in her formative years the logical move would be to milk the past for extra attention. Guitarist Pete Rode is neither shallow nor desperate, however, so while he’s never denied or slagged working with Gossow as a member of Asmodina and Mistress through the ‘90s he doesn’t make a big deal of it either. Upon approaching Rode about doing this interview, I asked if he would be willing to discuss The Gossow Years of his career (1992 – 2000, give or take) figuring it was quite possible he’d prefer to let the old days remain buried in the interest of his current activities. Instead he agreed, stating rather unexpectedly that “Angela has a lot to do with my band.” Make no mistake, Gossow doesn’t have a hand in All We Hate beyond the moral support one friend offers another. Save perhaps a support show here or there from time to time when the opportunity presents itself.
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This is the first installment of what’s to become a regular blog feature. Just me sounding off on things that I feel need to be addressed, if only for my own peace of mind, as well as offering a personal look at some of the whacky things I’ve gone through in recent years. Feel free to comment, but keep it clean because I have a nuclear powered spam filter that’s really good at its job. As much as I enjoy a well-placed ” F ” word I’m not sure it’d get through the screen… dammit

Anyhoo… onwards!

The other night I was “forced” to sit through another mind-numbing installment of Germany’s Next Top Model. I have no problem with allowing my Dirty Old Man gene to get excited over watching sweet young things flouncing their way through various exercises dreamed up by Heidi Klum’s team of producers, and in all honesty I’ve even found myself rooting for a couple of them. What drives me absolutely fricking insane is the whole judge / jury /executioner bit at the end where Ms. Klum tries to build up the drama with her moronic public speaking “skills” as she gives one hottie her walking papers for that week.
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I recently caught up with ex-NIGHTWISH vocalist Tarja Turunen to discuss her forthcoming album and life after getting the boot. My second interview with the lady since the release of her solo debut, My Winter Storm, and still no sign of the diva everyone’s heard about…

“Nightwish songs are part of my setlist. They bring the importance of my past out. I’m selecting songs that I either never played with the band or wasn’t able to sing well live at that time. The material sounds and feels very fresh and free, and I feel good singing those songs. I never had any problems with the music we did. I’ve spoken to some of my fans and they’ve said they kind of deserve to hear those Nightwish songs, and they’re right. I’ll keep on doing them because it’s fun for me.”

Go to this location for the complete story.

Howdy!

Just a few several dozen words from the trenches. Well, actually, it’s just one trench, looks more like a ditch on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway….

Books – Sales of Fire And Fame have been good but they could always be better, especially considering the positive feedback it’s been getting. Simply put, it’s a book for anyone who is sick as fuck at seeing American Idol and it’s festering “talent” show ilk making headlines. So if you’re smart enough to know that network-fed bullshit is just that, pick up Fire And Fame and you will be entertained. It’s a great story, and I had lots of great material to turn out a solid read (if I do say so myself). Check out the background info, some of the press quotes, and order it here.

I’ll see if I can get the Evil Minion (webmaster to the gods and lower life forms such as myself) to add 5 cents on the subject. He’s read the book, and the day he kisses my ass for any reason is the day George Dubyah is re-instated as POTUS.

Music – On June 7th I’ll be launching a four part showcase on Scarlet Sins as part of a press blitz designed to generate enough of a buzz to get the ladies over to Europe to tour. A couple European publications have already confirmed coverage over the course of the summer and a respected booking agency has expressed interest in putting them on the road. This feature will offer a look at the personalities that make up Scarlet Sins and some insight on their forthcoming second album, due out later this year.

More stuff on the way including a short story or two… once I’ve dealt with my inability to use Spellcheck and thus prevent typos as they happen. Where’s my Liquid Paper…

And on that note I leave you with the greatest song in the world:

Nobody said anything about an atomic bomb destroying Rome, but that’s pretty much what Ex Deo’s debut amounts to. An ambitious “little” history lesson cooked up by Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono, Romulus plays out as the ultimate blood-and-guts soundtrack dedicated to the Roman Empire, putting all past cartoonish attempts by Virgin Steele to do the same to shame. More importantly, this doesn’t sound like a safety-first Kataklysm rehash even though Iacono’s brethren are heavily involved in bringing the material to life. Nope; the man has thrown himself off the highest tower he could find with the intention of creating something unforgettable upon impact, and he’s hit the ground running. (continue reading…)

It was iconic cinema baddie Darth Vader that spouted the line “You don’t know the power of the Dark Side.” No shit. The brainchild of ex-After Forever guitarist Sander Gommans, HDK hits like a pick-axe wielding maniac on a rampage; straight to the point rather than adopting After Forever’s meandering symphonic / progressive / melodic / metal approach that often confused the hell out of people. Quite an unexpected outing given Gommans was the driving force behind his old band’s music and that he’s teamed up with rock-pop-metal-new age vocalist / lyricist Amanda Somerville (unfairly dubbed a “guest” artist here by the promo department) to create this death-thrash monster. (continue reading…)

By Carl Begai

Hard work is nothing new to vocalist Doro Pesch. She’s spent the last 25 years in fifth gear, first making a name for herself in the ‘80s with Warlock and then carving out a lucrative solo career over the last 20. She also remains completely dedicated to her fans, always mindful of the two schools of thought surrounding her career – Warlock metal and solo melodic metal – and thinking nothing of regularly putting on shows clocking in at well over two hours in order to keep those bases covered. In the case of her 25th anniversary celebration held in her home town of Düsseldorf back in December 2008, however, she pushed the envelope even further. Playing host to several thousand fans, Doro put on a show worthy of her reputation for giving 110% at all times, loading the festivities with an impressive stage set, a raucous setlist, and numerous guest performers to make a special night that much more awe-inspiring. An organizational nightmare to be sure, requiring weeks and months of planning, but it comes as no surprise to discover the diminutive singer was the one keeping things together and calling the shots.
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An integral part of Canuck bar band culture – emphasis on the “cult” part, as in favourite – if there was ever a band that deserved ten times the commercial success they received, it’s Helix. Canada’s long suffering answer to AC/DC has been slugging out since the ‘70s with varying line-ups and musical quality, with Wild In The Streets considered by many fans to be their best record. I remember playing the hell out of this thing, the attraction being that Helix was grittier than the mind-boggling amount of fluff making the rounds at the time and a satisfying break from the daily doses of thrash without feeling like I was wimping out. Listening to it now, nothing’s changed. (continue reading…)