MUSIC DISCOVERY MONDAY – 7/17/17
Music Discovery Monday shines a light on artists that are not getting the radio attention that they deserve, while also showcasing new singles by established bands that are likely to get airplay in the future.
In addition to appearing on the embedded YouTube playlist below, all songs featured on Music Discovery Monday can be listened to individually by clicking on the hyper-linked song titles above each review.
ADAM WALDMAN – (Publisher/Editor, Hard Rock Daddy)
ADRENALINE MOB – “Chasing Dragons”
ADRENALINE MOB – “Lords Of Thunder”
If you’re a regular reader of Music Discovery Monday, you know that each song is always given an individual write-up. This week, I’d like to just share the songs (above) in the form of links, and let the music speak for itself. Both of my selections come from Adrenaline Mob’s recent release, We The People. While the album is about the politically charged environment that we are living in, on this day, politics don’t matter.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve dedicated a week to the band Adrenaline Mob. Once again, the reason for doing so is a devastating tragedy…
On March 20, 2015, drummer A.J. Pero was scheduled to play a show with Adrenaline Mob at The Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie, NY. That show never happened. The Twisted Sister drummer had joined the band after co-founder Mike Portnoy left due to other commitments. Pero suffered a heart attack and died on the tour bus outside of the theater before the show.
On February 13, 2016, SOTO played an inspired show at The Loft in Poughkeepsie, NY. The Loft is the smaller room that is located in the same building as The Chance. Unlike Adrenaline Mob, the show went on, and it was spectacular. It was on that night that I got to witness the brilliance of bass player, David Zablidowski (aka David Z.). Masterfully playing a 5-string bass, Z. showed his versatility by contributing beautiful vocal harmonies, and most importantly, an engaging personality that meshed perfectly with Jeff Scott Soto.
After the show, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the band as they signed autographs and took pictures with anyone who asked. Although it was the first time meeting face-to-face, I already had a relationship with JSS, having communicated with him on a number of previous occasions.
The band member that I spent the most time with that night was David Z. Not only was he one of the most humble and engaging artists that I’ve ever met, but he and I also had a mutual friend from his days touring with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. After a lengthy conversation, Dave and I exchanged phone numbers and e-mails, but life happened, and we never got back in touch. Still, meeting him left a lasting impression on me.
While driving in the car with my wife on July 14th, she noticed that HRD Team member Rob Dell’Aquila had tagged me in a Facebook post about a car accident. She was puzzled, but I thought that it might have involved a musician. My suspicions were correct. What I did not expect was that the name of the musician tragically killed would be David Z. (who was on his first tour since joining Adrenaline Mob). Upon hearing that he was the one killed, my thoughts flashed back to the night of February 13, 2016, and my heart sank.
I’ve grown accustomed to hearing about rock star deaths in recent years, but this is the first time that it’s happened to someone that I knew…someone whose contact information is stored my phone…someone who I regret not keeping in touch with because life got in the way.
David Z. was only 38 years old. He was a brilliant musician with a personality to match. He was one of the fortunate ones that got to live his dream, and make a living doing what he loved. He and I had a lot in common, and had a fun time with plenty of laughs on that bitter cold night in 2016. And now he’s gone…way before his time. I feel fortunate to be among the people who got to witness his talent, and even more fortunate to have gotten to share a moment in time with him. It hardly seems like enough to share songs off of his last recorded work, but it’s all that I’ve got.
My thoughts and prayers go out to David’s family and those closest to him. He deserved a much better hand than the one that fate dealt to him.
RIP Dave…
CLICK HERE to read the thoughts from David’s Adrenaline Mob band mates.
ANDY CHEUNG – HRD Music Scout
PORTRAIT – “Burn The World”
Fans of King Diamond will most likely be fans of Sweden’s Portrait. Their fourth full length album, Burn the World, is full of melodic black metal overtones, grim lyrics, soaring vocals, and blast beats. With a good combination of classical metal, power metal and death metal, the band has cemented itself as one of the best current bands in the genre today.
RAGE – “Adoration”
There are a handful of bands waving the classic thrash metal/power metal banner. One of these bands is Germany’s Rage. These guys have been around since 1984, and have continued their onslaught of denim and leather metal all the way to their recent release, Seasons of The Black. Think Saxon, Motorhead, plus a whole slew of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands with some modern production value, and you have the sound of Rage. Classic metalheads will dig this album.
ROB DELL’AQUILA – HRD Music Scout
SERIOUS BLACK – “Burn! Witches Burn!”
On August 25th, Serious Black returns with their third album in as many years, Magic. This power metal band has supported their previous albums by touring with bands like Gamma Ray and Kamelot. They will be supporting this one with their first European tour as the headliner.
NOCTURNAL RITES – “Before We Waste Away”
Nocturnal Rites has been pounding out melodic power metal since 1990, but it’s been ten years since their last album. This Swedish band makes a long-anticipated comeback on September 29th with their ninth album, Phoenix.
SUBMISSIONS
To be considered for Music Discovery Monday, please e-mail a link to the song being submitted on YouTube and an artist bio to – submissions@MusicDiscoveryMonday.com
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