Uncategorized | THE METAL PIT

October 13th, 2023

Detroit, MI @ Redford Theater

Photos By: Kim Baarda

Words By: Jason Deaville

JUST ANOTHER FRIDAY THE 13TH IN DETROIT

In the realm of horror prog-rock there is one king that rules them all: Claudio Simonetti. Famous for his dynamic and far-out there songs, which includes scoring legendary films from the late-70s such as George Romero‘s Dawn Of The Dead and Dario Argento‘s Suspiria, his band Goblin had a fantastic run through the 70s and called it a day in the early 80s. Over the last couple of decades, the band has reformed under several different incarnations, releasing new music and touring quite consistently.

ACT I – DEMONI (DEMONS)

In 1985, accomplished Italian film-maker, Lamberto Bava, released the horror movie Demoni (Demons, in English). In Italy, the movie actually grossed more than Stephen King‘s Cat’s Eye, Silver Bullet and A Nightmare On Elm Street. The film has since gone on to become a cult-classic among horror aficionados and cemented itself as one of Claudio Simonnetti‘s greatest achievements in his film score repertoire.

Tonight, in Detroit, Claudio and his crew paid homage to Demons by performing the live score to a screening of the film to a packed house. Having never witnessed the performance of a live score to a film, I was not sure what to expect. To my surprise, the entire screening was not dissimilar to seeing a movie at a normal theater. The only difference tonight was that there was a live band on the stage performing every bit of music from the movie, and it worked incredibly well.

Through most of the screening, the band members, apart from Claudio who was stationed at his keyboards, sat while they performed the score. Their involvement included every bit of music – from the original score to the licensed songs that are part of the soundtrack (which included songs by Mötley Crüe, Accept, Billy Idol, Saxon, and Scorpions). Never once did the band interrupt the film’s dialogue, which helped keep the audience immersed in both the music and the viewing of the movie. At critical/intense moments of the film, the band would amp things up ten-fold which made the intensity of those scenes so much more impactful. A truly enjoyable experience that has me now wishing every movie had a live band performing.

ACT II – ORIGINAL AND COVER MATERIAL

After the movie, the band jumped into a lengthy second set that included original material (of both Goblin and Claudio) as well as the band performing various horror movie theme songs such as Dawn Of The Dead (L’alba dei Morti Viventi), Halloween, and the theme to Suspiria (Mater Suspiriorum). If this weren’t enough, the band surprised the already-pumped audience with an incredible cover of Mike Oldfield‘s ‘Tubular Bells’.

All in all, it was a fantastic performance at the picture-perfect Redford Theater (a century old theater in the Old Redford neighborhood of Detroit). The ambience of theater served as the ideal backdrop for the evening’s festivities. We highly recommend catching Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin if they make it to your area. You won’t be disappointed.

Remaining tour dates are as follows:

10/23 – Vancouver, BC @ Rio Theatre
10/24 – Portland, OR @ Hollywood Theatre
10/25 – Portland, OR @ Hollywood Theatre
10/26 – Sacramento, CA @ Colonial Theatre
10/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Castro Theatre
10/28 – Glendale, CA @ Alex Theatre
10/29 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
11/01 – Houston, TX @ Heights Theatre
11/02 – Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre
11/03 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
11/04 – New Orleans, LA @ Broadside Theatre
11/05 – Little Rock, AR @ The Hall
11/06 – St Louis, MO @ Red Flag

Visit Claudio Simonetti‘s website here for more information.

September 17th, 2023

Toronto, ON @ The Axis Club

Photos By: Miles Leblanc

Words By: Alia Synesthesia

I arrived at The Axis Club right in time for the doors, surprised to see the longest line of excited concert attendees I’ve personally experienced at the venue of that size. This night, like many other nights of this tour, was sold out. Miles, my photographer partner in crime, and his partner were already inside; Beast In Black is one of her favorite bands. I can definitely relate along with numerous women in the audience to that. Having seen Beast In Black in Dublin in February 2023, I can attest that their shows have a diverse audience appeal. It definitely feels good seeing other lady metalheads having a good time and getting excited for the show.

Branded by reviewers as a blend between classic metal and electronica, Beast In Black hail from Finland, where metal is loved dearly, and the genre fusion is enthusiastically celebrated. In North America, their tour was supported by Dance With The Dead, an extremely unique and original group. Both bands are known for intense and energetic performances and don’t shy away from engaging with the crowd.

The Axis Club, typically an amazing room for an event like this, had unfortunately turned into a sauna this evening; the venue’s ventilation system had shut down. Both bands were incredible to tough out such high energy sets. Beast in Black stopped their performance twice to assist fans in distress.

DANCE WITH THE DEAD

Previously, Dance With The Dead performed as a duo (Tony Kim & Justin Pointer). This was my first time witnessing the band with the addition of drummer John Terry and Justin Pointer switching between synths and guitar. It was refreshing to see Tony Kim shine in the role of the lead guitarist. His stage presence and crowd interaction warmed up the audience. The fans roared with excitement. New member John Terry is a heavy-hitter. His drumming performance was intense. Near the end of their set, Tony gestured to open the mosh pit, and the excited fans eagerly obliged, electrified by the high energy octane riffs and blazing solos.

BEAST IN BLACK

For Beast In Black‘s set, the audience was quite literally hot: energized by the Dance With The Dead performance, and dripping wet due to the malfunctioning AC. Their set design featured torsos of android ladies and blue and purple lights, with the stage having been transformed into a mysterious sci-fi lab setting. From the first notes of ‘Blade Runner’ off their recent (2021) album Dark Connection, the audience roared with excitement.

Beast In Black met the crowd with an unparalleled high energy performance. Each member has their own unique polarizing energy that shines through in every song. Atte Palokangas is a versatile, enthusiastic drummer with a well-practiced stick throwing game. Kasperi Heikkinen (guitar) and Máté Molnár (bass) are both incredibly animated players who bounce off each other. They don’t shy away from showcasing classic rockstar maneuvers. Anton Kabanen, guitarist and the main songwriter, switches between solo spotlights and seamlessly synchronizes with Kasperi and Máté. Vocalist Yannis Papadopoulos has an unreal range as well as quick stage wit. Watching him interact with the crowd always gave me flashbacks to Rob Halford performances from the 80s.

I discovered Beast In Black opening for Nightwish in 2022, and was amazed at how the bands’ stage performance complemented the music, helping to fully engage and transport the listener into the show. In the age of endless distractions and watching concerts through the cell phones, Beast In Black is the type of band that pulls you back into the live experience. Even though the synchronized guitar playing tricks aren’t new, seeing Anton, Kasperi, and Máté strum their guitars in sync was mesmerizing.

Numerous times throughout the set, Yannis offered the crowd to sing along. It was impressive to see how many people in the audience knew the lyrics – an absolute complement to both Anton’s songwriting and Yannis’s memorable vocal performance.

Right before the start of ‘Crazy, Mad, Insane’ I was tapped on my shoulder. An excited woman preemptively apologized if she bumps into me during the song. We both then laughed and hi-fived each other. During the bridge, the audience was graced with an unlikely and exciting appearance – a mysterious, masked purple-haired Valkyrie with a keytar (later identified as Sam, the band’s tour manager). In the true spirit of Beast In Black, Kasperi, Sam, and Anton played the last chorus of the song in sync. For me, this was one of the show’s many special moments.

During ‘Oceandeep’ (from 2019’s Hell with Love), Yannis encouraged the audience to pull up their cellphones and turn on flashlights. The crowd was transformed into the sea of wondering lights, swaying left to right. ‘Oceandeep’ is an atypical song on the Beast In Black setlist – it reminds me of early Tarja-era Nightwish, and Yannis’s breath control and vocal delivery is incredible. Another highlight was Anton’s soulful guitar solo.

For the encore, Beast In Black played another banger – ‘Cry Out For A Hero’. Something that always stands out to me about this song being played live is how dynamic and energizing the drum performance is. After working for a drumming media company for the past two years and trying to learn drums myself – it’s magical to see how drummers like Atte can make playing look both effortless and engaging. In many live performances, drums are a commonly overlooked instrument: drummers may seem isolated in their own world behind the kit. But in Beast In Black, drums shine front and center on par with other instruments.

“We bring you metal and a little bit of disco” – spoke Yannis from the stage right before the band played ‘One Night In Tokyo’ – one of the band’s most popular tracks. Fusing nostalgia for the early 90s electronic sound together with ringing metal riffs, ‘One Night In Tokyo’ is a crowd’s favorite judging by the excited response of the audience.

Like every great metal show, Beast In Black at the Axis Club left me both completely spent and wanting to hear more at the same time. Despite the show being atypically eventful, the professionalism of the band shone through even in the most unusual circumstances. Beast In Black delivered a performance beyond what I could have expected.