Reviews

M3 Festival 2022 Review

Published

3 years ago

May 13, 2022

Ron

Another M3 has come and passed. Even though the weather this year was rainy and cold, the fans came out and enjoyed what I believe was a great lineup.

Friday opened up with Count 77 starting off the festival. This was my first time seeing the band, and I thought they put on a really solid set.

Lizzy Borden was up next and this was one I’ve been waiting for at M3 for a long time now. Lizzy put on a hell of a show which included some crazy outfits and even some black roses and putting some bloody hand prints on the fans upfront. Lizzy was hands down one of the best acts of the whole weekend. (Keep a look out on the site for the interview with Lizzy).

Doro was another band I was super excited to see. Doro has to be a vampire because she still looks and sounds amazing. The queen of metal always puts on a hell of a show and never disappoints.

Saturday was another chilly and rainy day but once again the fans and I traveled back to merriweather for day 2.

Highlights of todays lineup had to be Enuff Z’ Nuff coming in last minute to replace Extreme. It’s always a good time when Chip is in the house, and always love to see Tony Fennell giving me the look and putting his guitar right into my camera. Lilian Axe and Vain both put on a blistering set. Stephen Pearcy of Ratt was amazing as always. I’ve been a huge Ratt fan my whole life and have them high up in my favorite bands of the genre. Of course it wouldn’t be a Pearcy show if we didn’t get to hear “Round and Round” which I was lucky enough to watch from side stage. Blue Oyster Cult put on a great show as well, I know I heard little talks about how they aren’t in the genre and didn’t belong there but then again everyone always bitches about the same bands playing year after year. I thought BOC put on a killer set, of course I love me some “Burning for you” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper”.

Ending the night was Tom Kiefer of Cinderella fame. Tom still has those chops..WOW..Tom always brings it to the stage and just puts on a hell of a show. The way he still sings “Nobody’s Fool” still gives me chills.

Sunday the rain stopped but the temperature was still chilly, but it was about to get hot really hot when The Burning Witches hit the stage. Switzerlands own The Burning Witches making their first US tour run stopped by to melt the faces of M3. This was another set that I believe was top 3 of the whole festival. Laura/Jay/Larissa/Lala/Romana are kick ass and such a great band and super nice people(Look out for a interview with them coming soon).

LeatherWolf, Quireboys, Xyz and Zebra all had some great sets as well, adding to the changing lineup of M3. Yngwie blew me away, man I knew he was a guitar god but damn I didn’t know that he was gonna bring the thunder down with him. Yngwie kept shredding and shredding putting on a clinic. I even got lucky enough to get myself one of the million of guitar picks he was throwing/kicking into the crowd.

Stryper once again put on a hell of a show and showed that even if you’re a “Christian” band you can still rock M3. I love that Michael Sweets microphone stand says 777 instead of the normal 666 at metal shows.

I would say the biggest highlight of M3 this year was Erik Gronwall and Skid Row. I’ve seen many versions of Skid Row and in my opinion other than Sebastian Bach, Erik is hands down the best frontman they have had. His stage presence was all over and those high notes were killer. Playing songs like “Slave to the Grind”, “18 and Life” and “Youth gone Wild”. Skid Row slayed it. Tough act to follow that’s for sure.

Tesla was that band and still put on a hell of a show themselves. Opening up with “Modern Day Cowboy”. Tesla ended the M3 festival perfectly.

Like I said it was cold and rainy but true M3 and 80s Rockers came out to enjoy the “Family Reunion”. I always enjoy M3 and it’s weather that fluctuates between the years doesn’t stop me. This was the 13th year of M3 and I think they hit it out of the park with this one. Can’t wait to see that the 14th is going to bring us.

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Announcement/News

W.A.S.P. Album One Alive 2024 US Tour

Published

3 months ago

August 21, 2024

Josh Drespling

Hollywood, CA (August 20, 2024) — It is 2024, and W.A.S.P. is celebrating 1984! 40 years ago, the landmark debut album from W.A.S.P. was released on August 17, 1984, and the metal world was knocked on their ass!

The W.A.S.P. “Album ONE Alive” Tour celebrates the debut album by playing the album in its entirety, from start to finish.

To give the fans something every week to celebrate W.A.S.P. is giving away…

• 10 pairs of tickets a week for the length of the US tour.

• Silver Award – Blackie is also giving away each week of the tour two personal meet and greets in his dressing room. In HIS dressing room!

• Gold Award – One lucky fan will win Blackie’s personal certified RIAA award for the debut album.

• Platinum Award – And the Grand Prize, one fan and a guest will be provided airfare and a luxury Hollywood hotel to the final show in Los Angeles, meet the band and stay for the after show, end of tour party.

W.A.S.P. can only celebrate 1984 once and they want to do it big!

To enter all you have to do is visit and enter your email address:
https://forms.gle/WU5wE3K4BbmaBSQv9

It was recently announced that Armored Saint will be replacing Death Angel on the tour. W.A.S.P. issued the following statement: “W.A.S.P. is pleased to announce that Armored Saint will now be joining the “Album One Alive” Fall 2024 U.S. Tour. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Death Angel will no longer be able to be a part of this tour. We all wish them the best going forward.”

Tickets and VIP packages available at WASPnati on.com/tour

THE ALBUM ONE ALIVE WORLD TOUR 2024 DATES:

10/26/24 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater*

10/28/24 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater

10/29/24 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre

10/30/24 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre

11/01/24 Calgary, AB The Palace Theatre

11/02/24 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory

11/03/24 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory

11/04/24 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot

11/05/24 Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre

11/07/24 Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore

11/08/24 St Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theatre

11/09/24 St Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theatre

11/10/24 Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre

11/11/24 Toronto, ON @ History

11/13/24 Montreal, QC @ MTELUS

11/14/24 Quebec City, QC @ Theatre Capitole

11/15/24 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre

11/16/24 New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom At Manhattan Center

11/17/24 Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall

11/19/24 Cleveland, OH @ The Agora Theater

11/20/24 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE

11/21/24 Stroudsburg, PA @ The Sherman Theater

11/22/24 Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore

11/23/24 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore

11/24/24 Orlando, FL @ The Plaza Live

11/26/24 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

11/27/24 Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern

11/29/24 Houston, TX @ House Of Blues

11/30/24 San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre

12/01/24 Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum

12/03/24 Little Rock, AR @ The Hall

12/04/24 Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion

12/06/24 Albuquerque, NM @ REVEL

12/07/24 Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee Theatre

12/09/24 Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre

12/10/24 San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues

12/11/24 Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra Resort and Casino

12/12/24 Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl

12/13/24 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield

12/14/24 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium

* No support acts.

About W.A.S.P.

Few bands in the history of rock n roll have ever incited the love, the hate, and the raw emotional effect this band has had on the world. From the very beginning, in the small venues of Los Angeles, California, and later to the numerous countries worldwide that banned these Winged Assassins from performing live, the band’s unique style of shock and rock caused religious organizations, local city councils, parliaments, and the Washington D.C. Senate to hold hearings in an effort to bar this group from selling records and trashing stages everywhere they played.

The band’s founding member, frontman Blackie Lawless, has led the group as its lead vocalist and primary songwriter since its beginning. His unique brand of visual, social, and political comment took the group to worldwide heights and sold millions of records alongside a legacy of sold-out shows across the globe for 4 decades.

https://www.waspnation.co m

https://www.facebook.com/W.A.S.P.Nati on

https://www.facebook.com/groups/waspnationofficialgroup/
https://twitter.com/waspofficial
https://instagram.com/waspnationofficial

https://youtube.com/@WASPNationOfficial

@waspnationofficial

https://www.threads.net/@waspnationofficial
https://www.bandsintown.com/a/7553

About Author

Josh Drespling

Josh is the Publisher and creator of Empire Extreme and it’s sister publication Kingdom Extreme Magazine. He is an accomplished writer, photographer and graphic designer. He is always conjuring up new ideas and has a amazing passion for the music industry and all the things that surround it.

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CD Reviews

Them Damn Kings “Shown With A Fist”

Published

7 months ago

May 20, 2024

Ron

Them Damn Kings from NJ just released a new single “Shown With a Fist”.
If you like your music in your face with a touch of old school rock and roll this is the band for you. It’s got gritty vocals and pounding drums adding in some killer guitar shreds.
It’s a song that you listen to when you want to get into a bar fight or want to drive your car really fast down the highway.
It’s worth a listen, check out the lyric video below with a little bonus guitar mortal kombat shred off.

THIS IS A SPONSORED REVIEW BROUGHT TO YOU BY TAG PUBLICITY

About Author

Ron

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CD Reviews

Ashes to Omens “Feed Me More”

Published

7 months ago

May 8, 2024

Ron

Ashes To Omens are a band from Georgia who’s latest single “Feed Me More” has a great sound to it. It reminds me of bands around the mid to late 2000s. They have a good mixture of sound. The song is a perfect blend of hard rock and metal with the vocals very crisp and delivered with passion.

The song “Feed Me More” has a great melody and works well with the bands style and genre of music. It also is a great title to a song because after listening to it I wanted more of the band.

Some will say that it’s very radio rock/metal and sometimes I do have issues with that but I felt that this song even though it does have that feel to it, isn’t just a radio rock song for the sake of being a radio rock song. I think this single is worth a listen to and could possibly be a track that might make your playlist.

THIS IS A SPONSORED REVIEW BROUGHT TO YOU BY TAG PUBLICITY