Kamelot - Vic Theatre, Chicago 8/24/23 (visual review - all images by Mark Kadzielawa)

 

Helloween / Hammerfall - Riviera, Chicago 5-22-23 (visual review - all images by Mark Kadzielawa)

HAMMERFALL

All of the phots taken by Mark Kadzielawa.

BANG – Another Me (Cleopatra)

 

BANG are a traditional American hard rock band.  Their story starts in 1969, and with some breaks, continues to this day.  There were several reformations over the year, but the band returned for good in 2014.  Another Me is their latest album.

BANG has its own very unique style.  After the first listen, you understand that only people from that particular time frame are able to play like that.  This trio delivers a very good album, that simply gets better with each listen.

Another Me continues everything BANG started five decades ago.  The band has a lot of melody, catchy licks, and a very natural sense of heaviness.  The songs are sounding sophisticated, but with plenty of hooks waiting for the listener.  Before you know it, you’re humming along the riffs, and singing along the lyrics.  The album as a whole has a very good vibe.

BANG are still on top of their game, in fact they play even better than in the past.  The years of experience are showing here clearly.  Another Me has a rock mood in it.  You can feel it and taste it, each time you play this album.

Mark Kadzielawa

Iron Savior – Riding on Fire – The Noise Years 1997-2004 (Dissonance Productions)

 

Iron Savior took the world of power metal by storm.  From its inception, the band delivered a very melodic songs with intense riffing, and vocals.  The groupformed in 1996 by two childhood friends, Piet Selck and Kai Hansen.  Both capable guitar players and vocalists, and the two of them have a long history of various musical project from the early years.  Iron Savior by far was the most serious. 

This set includes all of the albums the band recorded for Noise Records.  Following records are included:  Iron Savior, Interlude, Unification, Dark Assault, Condition Red, and Battering Ram.  Many of the are now out of print, so this set brings back the early musical history of the band.  In addition to the albums, there are bonus tracks, most of them covers, some very surprising.

Iron Savior definitely comes from the traditional heavy metal background.  There are definite traces of Judas Priest, or Iron Maiden, but it’s how the band approaches the music is what sets them apart.  Their music is audible, catchy, and always delivers a solid punch.  The sense of melody is overwhelming at times, but they always find a way to balance it out.  The songs stay behind with the listener once the record finishes playing. 

Riding on Fire is a superb set of great metal records that time might’ve forgotten.  Kai Hansen is present on the first five records, he left the project in 2001, but even without his involvement the group is just as vital.  And after such dose of power metal, this writer’s head is still spinning, but that’s a great feeling to have.

Mark Kadzielawa

Freedom – Born Again -The Complete Recordings 1967-72 (Graperfruit Records)

 

The late 60’s and the early 70’s were great times for rock music.  There were so many outstanding bands, some got huge, and some did not.  Freedom was a British rock band that never got massively popular, but they wrote good music.  They may be a bit forgotten, and their albums were not easy to find for a number of years.  Grapefruit Records is changing that perception.  This box set has everything you ever needed from Freedom.  It includes all of their works, all in one place. 

Freedom initially formed in the late 60s, when guitarist, Ray Hoyer, and (singing) drummer, Bobby Harrison, left Procol Harum.  Hoyer and Harrison quickly formed a new band around them.  They initially started as a psychedelic rock band, only to start adding heavier influences, and at times a bluesier approach.  They never matched the popularity of their former band, but what they did was quite intense and original.  Listening to this music now, you clearly see a band looking for direction, finding it, and developing a style.  There is definitely a build from album to album.  The band came to an end in 1972, when Bobby Harrison became a frontman for Snafu, but that’s a whole other chapter.

The boxset includes the following albums: Nerosubianco, Freedom at Last, Freedom, Through the Years, and Freedom is More Than a Word.  There are many bonus tracks included with these discs, and a very nice booklet that gives the whole Freedom history, and provides many insightful information about the recordings.  It is a beautifully put together set with a music lover in mind.

The beauty of the music from that time period is definitely rooted in exploration.  Freedom definitely has that edge.  They may sound simple at times, but at the same time very exciting.  The five records included in this set are just great to listen to all the way through.  Don’t expect any hits, but be ready for some uncompromising heavy rock to shake your foundations.  Freedom is born again….at least in your stereo system!

Mark Kadzielawa