Reviews – Page 2

New Book: A Drummer’s Perspective

I was asked by author/photographer Dave Phillips to write a post announcing his new book A Drummer’s Perspective. Dave was the head of European Artist Relations for both Pearl Drums and Drum Workshop, and he started his own company, A & R Marketing Limited. I haven’t seen the physical book just yet, but the few photos available on the website look incredible. A Drummer’s Perspective would sure make for a great surprise under the tree this year—not that I’m fishing for gifts…!

Here’s the official press release:

Press Release – 17^th November 2010

New book launched ‘A Drummer’s Perspective’

A stunning collection of live action drumming photos

A Drummer’s Perspective is an original and unrivaled collection of over 200 photographs celebrating the world of drumming.

This large format book brings together some of the finest unseen photographs of legendary drummers. It is a unique collection of pictures taken by the author David Phillips, who has been given rare access on stage and behind the scenes to many of the biggest bands in the world.

These images capture the raw emotion and sheer excitement of playing live: You’ll be able to see the view from behind the kit on stage in front of tens of thousands of people, get up close to the action at sound checks and see exceptional shots of some of the most amazing rock concerts and festivals.

The book features over one hundred drumming legends from every type of genre and includes new photos of Dave Grohl, Joey Jordison, Zak Starkey, Ginger Baker, Dominic Howard, Neil Peart, Nicko McBrain, Mitch Mitchell, Roger Taylor, Dennis Chambers, Mike Portnoy, Nick Mason, Alex Acuña, Dave Weckl, Josh Freese, Chad Smith, Joey Castillo, Thomas Lang and this list goes on and on!

Renowned drummer, Terry Bozzio has written the foreword. Each picture is accompanied with details of where and when it was taken, recollections and anecdotes from the author, together with tour memorabilia such as backstage and photo passes.

The powerful images and text give a fascinating insight to drummers, their playing and their world. This coffee table book retails for £29.99 and can be purchased exclusively from www.music-images.co.uk . It will go on sale from December 6^th 2010 and pre-orders can be placed via the website before this to reserve your copy in time for Christmas.

Review » Evans Coated G Plus Heads

10.11.10 by Patrick Leave a Comment

Evans G Plus Coated Drumhead
Manufacturer: Evans
Product: Coated G Plus drumheads
Website: www.evansdrumheads.com
DD Rating:

I’ve always had a rocky relationship with heads. I’ve used all three major brands (Remo, Evans, Aquarian), and have had both great success and great disappointment with all three. After two so-so sets of Remos, I wanted to try something different with my last head change. Thinking back to the last tom heads I really liked—Aquarian Double Thins, which I believe are no longer in production—I wanted to find something in between a single- and double-ply. Because I was kind of miffed with my last two sets of Remos, I passed on the Ambassador X and settled on the Evans G Plus.

Where the Aquarian Double Thin was two plies of thinner film, the Evans G Plus is a single ply of thicker film (12mil vs. 10mil of a standard G1 head). This removes most of the “warble” of a single-ply head but allows for more resonance than a double-ply. This also increases durability, though, for me, durability has never been much of an issue. I like to skirt the middle ground between limp-wristed jazz snob and big-stick basher, so my heads generally last forever. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever dented a head before. (For a guy so into metal, I do not necessarily wear that as a badge of honor!)

I’ve so far only used these heads on a pop/rock recording and a handful of blues/funk gigs. The studio session and the gigs were very dynamic, so I was able to see how well the heads performed at very low volumes and under heavy whacking. I’m happy to say that, at least from behind the kit, the toms resonated beautifully at all volumes. The raw mix in the studio also sounded very good. With a little “studio magic” I think they’d be amazing.

I will say that on certain tunes, the resonance is a tad drier than I would prefer, and I attribute this to the coating. I’m very curious to hear the clear version of these heads and will probably opt for those at the next swap-out. However, while I was initially a little uncertain about the opaque satin finish of the coated, I think they look great on the kit:

All in all, if you’re looking for a versatile head, I very much recommend the coated G Plus.

Review » Blind Guardian: At the Edge of Time

09.13.10 by Patrick 1 Comment

Band: Blind Guardian
Drums: Frederik Ehmke
Album: At the Edge of Time
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 24-Aug-2010
DD Rating:

Once upon a time, I ignorantly muttered “Blind Guardian” in the same mocking breath as the likes of wicked lame “power metal” bands. Then, in the early aughts, I was doing a search for the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and came across Blind Guardian’s “Lord of the Rings” from their album Tales from the Twilight World. It became a bit of an inside joke between me and my wife, and any reference to LARP’ing, D&D’ing, or any such medieval nerdery inevitably elicited a mention of Blind Guardian, a refrain of “One ring for the dark lord’s hand, sitting on his throne”, or simply “MORDOR MORDOR MORDOR!” (But I secretly always found it a bit catchy…)

My actual knowledge of BG ended at that one song. Then, not too long ago, iTunes recommended the band’s 2006 album A Twist in the Myth based on my browsing history. I found this amusing, and clicked on it to see how absurd it was. I hit Preview All and sat there dumbstruck as I heard one awesome 30-second clip after another. I bought the album, burned it to CD, and brought it along on my trek to an out-of-town gig, loving every ounce of it. I think I listened to A Twist in the Myth a dozen or so times consecutively, and I don’t know how many times since. I’m slowly picking up the older material now. And, when my wife gets in the car and I offer to put on something else, I get a not-displeased “No, that’s okay.” I think she secretly likes it too!

The new album, At the Edge of Time, combines the best of Blind Guardian’s evolving sound. There’s the massive wall of sound production that’s become increasingly prodigious over the last three albums, and then there are tracks like “Tanelorn (Into The Void)” that are a bit of a throwback to their original “speed metal” sound. Of course, their signature minstrel songs are here too, in “Curse My Name” and “War of the Thrones”. At the Edge of Time is bookended by two of the band’s best tracks to date, in my opinion: the opener, “Sacred Worlds”; the closer, “Wheel of Time”. Both incorporate an orchestra and are huge-sounding, epic productions like “And Then There Was Silence” from A Night at the Opera. All the tracks are killer, but the other standouts are “Valkyries” and “A Voice in the Dark”.

Hansi has not sounded better, and André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen are phenomenal on guitar. Frederik Ehmke on drums is fast and solid with inventive fills and smooth-and-steady double bass chops. I really dig his playing.

Embrace your inner Jeff Albertson and get some Blind Guardian!