Three New Videos Give Hope to This Metal Head
As a serious hockey fan I love a great hat trick. While hockey season is still months away, I happen to be in Canada, and this past week this puckhead was treated to a trifecta of great news on the music front. Three bands I truly enjoy, all of whom I worried could be done for good, rose from the ashes and released videos that got me seriously excited for the future.
 K'noup Tomopoulos has released the single "Tsunami" with LA-based Blackmore |  David Draiman and Disturbed are back in a big way. |  Brandon Saller of Atreyu has a new single out for his band Hell Or Highwater |
First and foremost, LA based metal band Blackmore, which has gone through some challenging personnel changes, roared back to life behind the lungs of none other than K’noup Tomopoulos, lead singer of gypsy metal band VI*ZA. K’noup has an incredible voice, which is absolutely perfect with the eclectic music which is VI*ZA, to the point that I wondered how this would work. The verdict is in; this combination not only works, but is absolutely perfect. K’noup and Blackmore sound fantastic. Not only can K’noup do metal but he gets to do it with the best combination of young guitar players I know, Vahan Aslanyan and Shaunt Sulahian. Backing them is outstanding drummer Vinny Mezian and introducing new bassist Andy Terzyan Sulahian’s girlfriend, Anna Gevorkian, who fronts the band Satellite Citi, put together the following lyric video. Watch it now…that is an order.
The second bit of fantastic news I got on YouTube last week was the triumphant return of David Draiman and Disturbed. Unbeknownst to anyone with normal connections, Draiman and Disturbed have spent the last year secretly recording a new LP, Immortalized. The release of their first single, “The Vengeful One” is classic Draiman.; hardcore metal with that uniquely powerful voice which wastes no time failing to express his opinions about the world. And the video is classic Disturbed; bloody, violent and thrilling, but with absolute purpose a la “Natural Born Killers,” one of my favorite movies ever.
Anyone who follows this website, and reads any of my guest posts, knows I love political music. This song is perfect; angray, melodic and deeply meaningful. Another must watch.
Anyone who follows this website, and reads any of my guest posts, knows I love political music. This song is perfect; angray, melodic and deeply meaningful. Another must watch.
And last, but certainly not least, is the release of “I’ll Be Waiting” by Hell or Highwater. While I was excited by the reunification of Atreyu last fall, and even got to see them at Aftershock in Sacramento, that seemed to have come at the cost of Brandon Saller’s side project, Hell or Highwater. Well not so fast, as they are back with a new release, “I’ll be Waiting” which has a video as different from Disturbed’s newest release as grown possums are from Samoyed puppies, but the truth is that Saller is just one hell of a great singer, and the music world is a better place when he is writing and performing new songs.
No, this is not hard metal like Atreyu, but it is great music that is a real pleasure to listen to. Saller and his crew have crafted a fantastic love song. Watching the video and listening to the song you really can internalize the emotions that have led the band to put together such a tune. Their first album was a staple in our family car rides, and the first song from the new effort clearly suggests that the band has a lot more to say.
No, this is not hard metal like Atreyu, but it is great music that is a real pleasure to listen to. Saller and his crew have crafted a fantastic love song. Watching the video and listening to the song you really can internalize the emotions that have led the band to put together such a tune. Their first album was a staple in our family car rides, and the first song from the new effort clearly suggests that the band has a lot more to say.
So there you have it; three reasons for a music fan to be happy today. Disturbed is back; Hell or Highwater has returned, and Blackmore has put together an amazing single with one of the most versatile singers in metal. It is another great day in the life of a metal fan. And, another cold and relatively rainy summer day in Alberta, Canada.
 | Dan Adler was raised in Southern California to a mom and dad, one of whom appreciated Creedence and left wing anti-war politics. By the teenage years, Dan became obsessed with Black Sabbath, listening to the same seven albums repeatedly for 5 years. During this time, his favorite concert experience was seeing Metallica open for a bunch of bands that no longer exist and winning the 1st ever Santa Cruz Air Guitar contest. After several years in Africa listening and dancing to Chimurenga music, Dan returned to have the two best children in the world, one of whom spends a lot of time at concerts with him. What a lucky dad! |
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