Concert Review: September Mourning at Fubar in St. Louis February 28, 2019 - pictures and words by Danny Nichols

It is always exciting, and very rare, when a band decides to kick off their tour in St. Louis.  It is moreso, when the band is theatrical goth rockers September Mourning.  They were completely unknown to me, when I first saw them as the opening act for Huntress back in 2016.  Not only did I enjoy the theatrics and concept of this performance, but their music was powerful and anthemic.  I had to see them again.  

Concert Reveiw: Delain at Concord Hall in Chicago April 28, 2017 Photos and words by Danny Nichols

Delain is a Dutch Symphonic Metal in the style of Nightwish.  Even thought Delain had already become a force in Europe and garnered significant attention in the United States, I was unfamiliar with them a year ago, when my wife recommended I give them a listen.  Soon after their fifth album Moonbathers appeared in my inbox and they announced a North American tour with my favorite band HammerFall.   Clearly the universe was pointing me in the direction of Delain.  I wish the universe had not waited so long to introduce me to this amazing band.

Charlotte Wessels

I was surprised by the number and the dedication of the Delain fans.  This first thing I noticed as I approached the venue, after an epic battle with Chicago traffic, was the many Delain t-shirts donned by queuing metalheads.  A few brief conversations revealed many were not casual fans either, but enthusiastic and knowledgeable followers as excited to see their the Delain set as I was for HammerFall.  Their status as co-headliners was well deserved.

Album Review: "Promised Land" by ValFreya

Last week at Comic Headquarters the shopkeep and I engaged in a discussion to determine if there is anything more awesome than Vikings.  After carefully considering all available evidence it was determined there is nothing.

It was this mindset which led me to exhaust great amounts of vacation and resources last summer on a trip to Scandinavia, so I could traverse the same waters and stand upon the same ground as the legendary Norse warriors.  

While on a boat out to Birka Island, a former Viking stronghold which is now an archeological site, I spoke to a Swedish woman about the inherent awesomeness of their heritage.  She told me how many Swedes were mildly amused by the world's fascination with their ancestors, who according to her did not fly, weld magical hammers or summon lightning.  I have an entire room full of America's finest four color literature which proves her wrong, but her point was valid.

Album Review: "Moonbathers" by Delain

Delain is a Dutch symphonic metal band which takes its name from a fictitious kingdom featured in my favorite Steven King novel.  They are highly regarded throughout Europe, have released five full length albums and two EPs, all but one of which have charted in several countries.  They also play amazing heavy music which fits neatly into the wheelhouse of what I want to hear.  Yet, until they announced a North American tour with my favorite band Hammerfall, they had almost completely escaped my attention.

This is a fine example of why I find it so frustrating when someone declares there is no good music coming out, or decrying the death of rock.  I try to keep up with new music, and by virtue of reviewing albums for this website, am daily bludgeoned with access to much of the best new metal. Yet, I still regularly miss some of the finest bands.  The problem is quite opposite of the rumors of rock's death, there is so much quality material, some of it gets lost in the shuffle.

Sill, this is only part of the problem.  The other part is I live in the United States, where symphonic metal seems to be tragically unappreciated.  I have a few theories on why this might be so, but I am not sure any of them are valid or supportable enough to see print.  Whatever the reason, it seems Nightwish, Lacuna Coil and Evanescence (whom I consider to be close enough to symphonic metal to bear mention here) are the only of these acts to have garnered significant attention stateside.

Concert Review: September Mourning at Fubar in St. Louis September 14, 2016 -Photos and words by Danny Nichols

Rock music has a long and proud tradition of being a visual medium as much a sonic one.  The Alice Cooper Band became as notorious for the drama unfolding on stage as they were their songs.  KISS took over the world by taking this to the next level.  King Diamond, Slipknot, Gwar, WASP, and a billion other bands soon followed the blue print.  

A band can, and maybe should, look different than their audience, be surrounded in mystique and offer a show beyond just the notes they play.  Music is entertainment and any steps taken to enhance this entertainment are welcome.

At some point, most notably during the emergence of grunge in the early 90s, the idea gained currency if a band had any sort of costumes or a stage show, it was to be viewed as a gimmick intended to distract the audience from the band’s lack of quality.  To many, rock-n-roll was either music or theater, but could not be both.

Album Review: "Pandora" by Celestial Ruin

The underserved, but resilient, genre of symphonic metal has an unheralded champion in Celestial Ruin. After four years of touring in support of their debut album, which included a hiatus caused by vocalist Larissa Dawn’s health problems, they are soon to release an ambitious follow-up up EP titled “Pandora”.

Once again they have so expertly channeled the spirit and influence of genre legends such as Sweden’s Therion and Finland’s Nightwish, one would assume Celestial Ruin is of similar Nordic origin.  Yet, this epic sound of the snowy cold environs of Europe comes from the temperate city of Vancouver. Celestial Ruin could be the band to put Canada back on the metal map filling the void left by the departure of 3 Inches of Blood. 

Each of the five songs on the EP tells a complete ominous story through the powerful, clean, crisp and operatic vocals of Larissa Dawn.  Straddling the edges of hard rock and power metal, Dawn is backed by the performances of guitarist Eriz Crux, bassist Mike Dagenais and drummer Adam Todd, who sear through a relentless stream of bombastic riffs and arpeggio laden solos reminiscent of Helloween, Kamelot and Dragonforce.