Concert Review: Anthrax And Killswitch Engage Bring Their Power & Energy To Connecticut

The Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford was ground zero for the heavy metal community on Tuesday night. Four bands, including the powerful Killswitch Engage and the legendary Anthrax, descended upon The Dome to deliver over four hours of energetic, head-banging metal.

The night began with a short 20-minute set from local Connecticut vocalist Jamey Jasta. He is best known in the hardcore, heavy metal community as the lead singer of the band Hatebreed, but Jasta brought his solo band to this “hometown” gig. Following Jasta was the hardcore progressive metal band The Devil Wears Prada. Their 40-minute set gave the audience a sampling of their great musicianship and dual vocals as they gave new fans a taste of their brand of metal music.

Anthrax were the elder statesmen of the evening, celebrating over 35 years as a thrash metal band and their fan base ranged in age from 10 years old to 60 years old. Their 75-minute set centered on their most famous album, “Among The Living” and their current release “For All Kings.” The audience sang every word to their more well-known tunes like “Among The Living” and “I Am The Law,” while the intense, extra-fast delivery of “Caught In A Mosh” opened up the pit for fans to slam to. Guitarist Scott Ian begged the question, “Do you like thrash metal?” To which a huge roar came from the audience. Their new songs “Evil Twin” and “Blood Eagle Wings” carried a heavier vibe in this live setting and fit perfectly alongside classics like “Madhouse” and “Antisocial.” Anthrax closed their set with the extended jam of “Indians,” which included a “wardance” as the mosh pit grew larger in the center of the floor.

Headliners, Killswitch Engage had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand as songs like “My Last Serenade” and “Hate By Design” put everyone’s adrenaline into overdrive. The mosh pits excelled and the crowd surfing intensified during the hard hitting songs, “Vide Infra” and “This Fire Burns.” The chugging guitars of “The End Of Heartache” and the screams of “Rose Of Sharyn” turned the crowd on its side as the energy shot through the roof. After almost four-and-a-half hours of hard hitting, heavy metal music, Killswitch Engage finished the evening with their popular cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver” and their equally popular original “In Due Time.” As this tour makes its way across the U.S., it will leave a path of heavy metal fans with a renewed love for the genre as all in attendance threw up the devil horns in salute.

RJ Podcast: Tower of Power's Emilio Castillo Gave Us Some Insight Into The Band & Their U.S. Tour

Singer & saxophonist Emilio Castillo of the band, Tower of Power talked with us about the band's upcoming U.S. tour, as well as some of his favorite all-time collaborations. Tower of Power will be performing two shows at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT on April 27th and 28th.

Vinyl/CD Review: The Dead Daisies Get "Louder" Live & Strange Karma Turn "Cold Blooded" With New Vinyl

Rock supergroup, The Dead Daisies are preparing to release their first live album titled "Live & Louder" on May 19th. It will available on double-vinyl and as a CD/DVD set. They recently opened for KISS and have made their mark at the world-famous Loud Park Festival in Japan. For those who may not know, the band is made up of Brian Tichy (Ozzy), David Lowy (Red Phoenix), John Corabi (Motley Crue), Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake) and Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy).

Their new 16-song release begins the same way their last studio album did, with the intense rocker "Long Way To Go." They continue with more new music like the exciting, guitar driven "Song And A Prayer," their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and the aggressive hard rocking "We All Fall Down." The southern rock flavor of "Something I Said," leads the way into Doug Aldrich's blasting guitar solo at the beginning of "Last Time I Saw The Sun." The Dead Daisies get the U.K. crowd involved with a sing-along of The Who's "Join Together," before revving up the tempo with "Mainline" and The Beatles' "Helter Skelter," which also includes a tease of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. The new album finishes with a couple more covers of "American Band" and "Midnight Moses." The Dead Daisies will be hitting Europe this summer for a string of shows. For a complete list of live dates and to find out more about their latest release "Live & Louder," please visit thedeaddaisies.com.

Australian rockers, Strange Karma are returning with a brand new, vinyl-only release of their new album "Cold Blooded." It currently is only available through the band's website (strangekarma.net) and it features 10-tracks of "back-to-basics" hard rock music. Beginning with "Freedom," the song carries a raw, Rolling Stones' bluesy vibe, while the energy comes roaring back on the album first single, "Devil From The Moon" (video: youtube.com). They continue to blaze a trail back to the heyday of guitar-driven rock with the powerful attack of "Realize," before slowing down for the power ballad "I Believe (London Town)."

The flip side of the album begins with the burning guitar solos of "Heartbeat" as lead singer Martin Strange mimics his vocals to brother Paul's guitar riffs. Strange Karma continues to deliver the rock energy of "Should've Seen It Coming," before closing with the nostalgic, mainstream appeal of "Hey Man" and the 8-minute adventure of "Dreams" as Strange Karma step outside the box on this rock opera. To find out more about Strange Karma and their new vinyl-only album "Cold Blooded," please visit strangekarma.net.

CD Review: New Music From Indie-Artists Jared Tyler, Jack Spann And Mark Duka

Music artist Jared Tyler is preparing to release his third solo album titled "Dirt On You Hands" on June 2nd. Tyler has worked alongside fellow iconic artists like Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard and roots/rock band Wilco. He co-produced his new album with Dave Roe, who also plays on the album. The new 12-song release begins with the country/folk/Americana sound of "Death Of Me" as you get a care-free style of music that makes you just pause and take notice of. The down-home, feel-good music continues with the front-porch ballad "Dressed In White" as Tyler's vocals mirror that of Shawn Mullins. Jared Tyler gets a blues groove flowing through "Dirt On You Hands" and "Gwendolyn," before going full-out country with the classic knee-slapping rhythm of "Lucky I Am" lead by Tyler's great mandolin and Casey Driessen's violin. The album finishes with the mellow tone of "Norway" and the gentle, emotional tale, "Love Of You." To find out more about Jared Tyler and his latest release "Dirt On Your Hands," please visit jaredtyler.com.

Keyboardist/singer Jack Spann has had an amazing last couple of years. Not only did he write and record his new album "Beautiful Man From Mars," but Spann was also invited to perform on David Bowie's final album "Blackstar" after being introduced to Bowie's producer Tony Visconti. His new 13-song release begins with his ode to David Bowie with his song "Beautiful Man From Mars." The wonderful harmonizing at the beginning of "Time" and the pop tones of "Songman" carries a carefree, fun vibe. Spann's piano on "Deep Inside" gives the song a grand appeal as he uses his Broadway experience to inject emotion into this rock-opera type number. It's tough to not enjoy the up-lifting sound of "I'm A Bird"," before closing with the keyboard solo "Jack Around" and the "Man From Mars Reprise," which showcases his inspiration from Bowie's "Life On Mars." To find out more about Jack Spann and his latest release "Beautiful Man From Mars," please visit jackspann.com.

From New York comes singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Duda with his energetic debut album "Month Of Sundays." It will released on April 14th and features the rhythm section of Tommy Price and Kenny Aaronson (Joan Jett & The Blackhearts) along with guitarist Jimi K. Bones (Blondie). Duda's new six-track album begins with the raw, punk-like energy of "Month Of Sundays" as he makes a great first impression with this up-tempo rocker. Punk guitar legend Cheetah Chrome (Dead Boys) and drummer Bobby Rondinelli (Blue Oyster Cult) lend a hand on the seventies, nostalgic punk feel of "Murder On Delancey," before diving into the sixties swing of "Standoff Love." The album closes with the aggressive tones of "Connection" and the energetic, punk-rock delivery of "Subway Song." To find out more about Mark Duda and his latest release "Month Of Sundays," please visit his Facebook page at facebook.com/MarkDudaMusic.

CD Review: Universal Music Group Puts Together The "Best Of" 50 Cent

Universal Music Group is collecting the hits of hip-hop artist 50 Cent for his first collection titled "Best Of 50 Cent." It will be released on March 31st and features 18 of 50 Cent's most well-known jams. With his last studio album arriving almost 3 years ago, this new compilation will fill in the gap until his new release.

The album begins with his most well-known tune, "In Da Club," which topped seven singles charts world wide. The album continues with another chart topper, "21 Questions," which features Nate Dogg helping out. 50 Cent continues that winning streak with "Candy Shop" and Olivia lends a hand on this top-selling single along with "Best Friend." He only cracked the top 5 on the singles chart one last time with the Justin Timberlake collaboration "Ayo Technology." This new release wraps up with a couple of 50 Cent's non-album singles, "Get Up" and "I Get It In," before closing with the Ne-Yo collaboration "Baby By Me" and 50 Cent's first single "How To Rob," from the "In Too Deep Motion Picture Soundtrack."

50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) has kept busy lately filming three movies that will be arriving in the next couple years along with guest episodes on television. It is rumored that 50 Cent also has an album recorded and ready for release, but no official word has been given on this yet. To find out more about the "Best of 50 Cent," please visit respecttheclassics.com.