The Forged With Steel Project, Blog.

Excellent pop punk harkening back to the 2000’s but building on a new generation and even some early 2010’s references. When punk was in everything and ruled the airwaves. This album would not be out of place as such, if you like pop punk and like punk or even like Rock ‘n’ Roll this is an album you should listen to. It gets everything right, this band sort of takes you on a history lesson and journey as you ride through a selection of carefully curated riff’s and sounds each their own. Can we also talk about how good Eric is on drums? It’s a pleasure to listen to them jell around his steady tempo. I want to highlight the part on “Clumsy Fingers” at 2:30. This is what I’m talking about when a band synergizes with each other and plays towards who they are with minimal engineering and staying true character just enough to keep the wonderful audio alive and hopping. You can tell that this continues on “King of Shame”. Just listen to those drums and symbol placement! Everyone has their equal share of space on this album and it shows. It lets the album breath and have atmosphere, This album is very carefully produced, with love and fun and joy. It’s the breaks, the timing, the notes. These guys are your musician, musicians who know music. You can hear every instrument, enjoy them individually and then you can listen to them as a whole and enjoy what they’ve accomplished here. I’m looking forward towards the next album. But seriously, THOSE DRUMS ARE SPECIAL. Oh and my favorite song off the album is “Living Boy” Now enjoy, sit back and listen to an Excellent punk album!

-The Forged With Steel Project

StormbounD is the band you have been waiting for songs of loss, loneliness, heart break and positive encouragement going hand in hand. This Israeli band breaks through and tells multiple tales of excellent quality that will leave you listening to the lyrics just as much as you will be to the music. This album creates a harmony that blends together effortlessly. That tells me StormbounD has put in incredible work into their music and the teamwork shows, congratulations on an album well made.

To me personally -Away From Here- is the single best track on the album, it puts together the albums strengths especially with piano by the wonderful Rotem Sadia really shines through with his melodic touches and soulful compositions light the way Shani and Ofer to work in tandem midway through the song with Yael rounding out the edges and center breathing life into the song. The way that Yael uses her voice in a simple and careful way that comes through in the mastering and production. Right, to left, Right to left gets extremely close to surround sound. Even the bass on -Away From Here- drives the song to finish and starts exactly when it needs too.

Secondly, I’d like to bring up the Song -Flying High- which shows off the work Yuval as a power house drummer who won’t be stopped till the song ends. Yael and Over really work together in this song as well which is something I love about this band, teamwork. You can tell that they have fun with this song and Yael players around with her voice in this song as it’s a bit angrier at some points but lofty and motivating. It’s a gentle push instead of a hurricane. The best part about -Flying High- is the intro, it just makes you so warm and fuzzy inside The song wraps up with some nice cuddly instrumentation and then fades into the next song which gets angrier.

Each song on this album is a well crafted journey from December to Shadows and even Child’s Play they all deserve a spot on this album.

Special praise for this albums focus on mental health.

*note for the band

The energy and passion come through and your live videos are just as exciting as your album tracks. For being around since 2018 you guys deserve the press and the good coverage. Not everything has to be perfect to work well but your quest for perfection is evident and your ability to have fun while looking for that quest is incredibly hard to do. Keep it up, keep going. You guys 100% have something very special here. This is a very noteworthy album especially for a debut.

Ps, Shabbat Shalom! 🙂

Dorothy – Gifts From The Holy Ghost Tour Rocked Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, NM Last Night

Dorothy is incredible on stage, her voice is a match for any vocalist on the stage and she loves, loves singing. You can see it in the way she moves, the way she interacts with her audience and the way the audience interacts with her. She knows expertly what her voice can do, and understands how to make the best of it. People should be paying attention to her, she’s already spectacular, and she’s about to be untouchable. Dorothy adds freshness to a genre that I firmly believe needs her spirit and uplifting excitement. Props to everyone in the band you all did a heck of a job. The music and spirit of your work filled the venue, from the front to the back. Everyone in the venue seemed to be enjoying your music, especially me. I hope this tour takes you to the next level and everyone learns your name.

Joyous Wolf is another incredibly easy band to work with, and another band that’s going places. Their set deserves to eventually see something incredible happen to them, Dorothy has incredibly good taste in music. These guys are going to be huge one day. This band is very exciting to watch, and doesn’t let you rest because they’re vibing with everyone else on the tour. From the sound to the stage presence, they’re an incredible band. They understand their influences, respect them and make them their own. This band just pulls you in, and comforts you their music is like southern soul food but their music respects its classic rock routs and doesn’t stay to far from them, which is a good thing as they nail them. This tour is just incredible, if you aren’t seeing Dorothy – Gifts From The Holy Ghost you’re going to be missing out on bands like Joyous Wolf and I highly encourage you to go. It’s hard to say enough good things about the band either, super nice and chill.

The Opening Classless Act is also awesome, seriously this tour is going to do things for these guys they never imagined. They just get on stage and start having fun, they add spunk and vibe and lift all the other bands up. This tour has synergy with each other, they all get along and they all respect and understand one another. Classless Act was invited to come along and I can see why, they set the venue into high energy from the start to the finish. Never letting up and keeping on going strong to the end. I’m really impressed with Classless Act too.

All the bands kindness and sincerity did not go unnoticed either, one of the chillest tours to work with. Big thanks to the crew and team. All of you deserve stadiums. It’s hard when you get a show and all the bands are so good. Heaps, and heaps, and heaps of praise on all of you.

Teeth of the Hydra is the intro, but it hits deep into the soul, Steve Vai let’s you know that it’s going to be a different album. If Mr. Vai had an experimental album, this would be it. The deep low notes make you feel as if you’re on a different plane of existence. You can hear the meditation and thoughtfulness in the notes as Mr. Vai speaks through his guitar. Parts like 3:30 on Zeaus in Chains really show that Steve Vai is a true master because he never stops learning and never stops changing what he feels he needs to change. His coordination is excellent but what really sets Mr. Vai apart from others is the time and care he takes into note placement. More than a true master and professional of Guitar Mr. Vai’s continuity as a student appears on Little Pretty and the whole album. If you’ve been following Mr. Vai for a while you can tell were he’s improved a technique or you can feel that he’s put countless hours into playing just to get a technique right. For me the best part about a Steve Vai album is his pathway to nuanced perfection and that if you listen closely he let’s you be a part of that journey, and in fact tells you that journey on his album. Steve Vai let’s you take yourself as far as your willing to let yourself sit beside him. It’s not just music, it’s a conversation with his learned experiences. I also greatly appreciate Candlepower as it’s a bit different but if you study who Mr. Vai hangs out with by reputation he draws in those experiences and again, pays tribute to them. I am really, really impressed with Candlepower, one of my friends once’s told me a name is who you are and a song name named Candlepower says a lot. What a fun musical experience with Mr. Vai. Apollo In Color is very happy, it speaks of finding success, faith and love and it’s played close to the heart. You can tell when a Guitarist plays close to the heart because it passes onto you, and that it what Mr. Vai does better than most. I don’t know much about guitar just about how it sounds and how it makes me feel, but Apollo In Color is very warm and bright and it’s like a starburst of emotion. Avalancha picks up the pace a bit and let’s you know he’s still a rocker and loves having fun but it’s careful and articulated. Greenish Blues is classic Steve Vai, relaxing, meditative and focused on universal string theory and the tree of life. Music doesn’t just vibrate through space and time, it helps create it. It’s a relaxing timer and tempo that let’s you sit back and contemplate past and future. The high notes on Greenish Blues flow into a nebula of creation that’s hard to extinguish, and Mr. Vai sustains that as long as possible. Creating a song is like a nursery creating notes and Steve Vai understands that the guitar helps create stars…It helps motivate and inspire and breath life into the universe. Greenish Blues is a culmination of years of learning for Mr. Vai, I applaud him on this song. I suspect it will inspire many, for many years to come. Knappsack is lively and uplifting but not as bright as say Apollo in Color it’s a little more careful. It’s like a child playing, and comes across as such. It resonates to me as an unteathered brilliance of a child running on a playground. It is truly beautiful. I like how a lot of Steve Vai’s song’s have a story to them from a beginning to a middle, and to an end that doesn’t feel like an end. If there’s one thing Steve Vai uses to incredible effect, it’s time. Time is a signal, and Mr. Vai know’s that time is the current of the universe. Sandman Cloud Mist finishes the elevation, but doesn’t let you down. It holds you tightly and brings you through the clouds. It plays with the raw electrical sounds of the circuitry and engineering that went into this album. It doesn’t just play with notes, it taps into neurons. Music is raw energy, it’s sound waves and we can hear them. The universe is simply amazing and it’s amazing that it let’s us on the ride and we have great teachers like Steve Vai that help us on that journey.

Also, the Hydra is freaking sweet!

Awaken

Monsters & Machines

Review by The Forged with Steel Project

     While I don’t normally compare bands to their influences this band screams who they area and were they come from loudly and proudly from the start of their album. I like that in a band, identity is key to the music a band creates and the album is atmospheric and energetic. The first song is a trail blazing piece that signifies the complexities in the tale of the music this band wishes to describe. They tell you right up front what they are about. It’s catchy and fun, and fun is something music needs more of these days. Not only that the cover art for the album is pretty rad and yes it’s totally ok to judge an album by the cover art that’s how it catches your eye…kinda like a catchy tune, I think they would be a great opening act and eventually headlining act to any band that choses them. A few bands try to live up to their influences, but few bands reach their influences and able to meet or emulate them and discover something new. I love these guys, they have my support. Not only Coheed and Cambria but I would say that they remind me of Anberlin in a great way as well. It’s a trick, knowing you have the music and talent of magic at your fingertips but also realizing that you must create something new is a challenge. This music isn’t as loud volume wise as some bands, but that’s good it won’t blow out your ear drums if you forget you left the volume up the night before.

     The gain and quality of sound from their playing is crisp and calculated it’s also thoughtful and articulated. They give you time to recover while they tell you the next chapter of human’s and machine’s coming together as one, and ultimately healing one another. It’s a common tale, but I enjoy it as it’s a human tale. I also really enjoy this synth and piano work, excellent. I’m a sucker for that sort of music especially if it’s used as a texture for other stuff. If I had one complaint it would be the last 3 notes at the end of “Stained Glass” they feel just a little out of place… Really, it’s only minor, or is it a major I’m not sure, I should learn to play, anyway continuing I really like the song “In Your Sky”, I can see this one becoming popular if more people hear it, love the symbols on it. Man, the Synth is just textured so well on this record, and it’s usually backed by a piano. I was going to have a favorite song but the album is constructed extremely well, from all points. It’s not overwhelming, it’s not exhausting and it’s perfect relaxing instrumentation. Fair warning, fall break rise is probably their loudest song(perfect for a concert hall) so be a bit careful with that one if you happen to pause it part way through. Over all, excellent work, I’m glad you decided to reach out to writing and photographing community. I don’t normally tell people to listen to songs without listening to the full record either, but start off with “A Rose For A Tragedy”, it deserves your listen if that’s the only song you listen to on this album.  

Photographing for Yngwie Malmsteen challenges you to do better because his intensity and persona is that of experience and dedication. Yngwie is one of the most humble, caring and kind people on the planet. Were people see arrogance, I see understanding and a willingness to share his experience with everyone. This, to me is what makes Yngwie such a wonderful person because he gives his all, in everything he does to everyone each performance. Each note, every sound is carefully listened to and brought to perfection. During this performance, a combination of things added up to my anxiety setting off like I haven’t felt in some time, and it’s never happened in a photo pit before, and I had to get out of the pit as soon as I could to breath and collect with what had happened, let me explain. The spiritual energies were there that night and I feel that Yngwie and I both understood that. Without Yngwie I would not have taken this photograph, without him working with me on stage and transferring me his energy to take this photo I never would have been able to capture it. This photo is as much thanks to Yngwie as it was me pushing that shutter button, because in this moment Yngwie and I had become one in a way. His pure incredible talent feeding off mine and an explosion of energy happened within the microcosms of the universe and that moment I clicked the shutter button my body went into panic mode. I realized what had happened, what Yngwie had shared with me in that moment and that I could do no more that night even if my anxiety and misunderstandings hadn’t happened. I have never experienced anything like that before. His passion, his drive and his humility it was life changing. Then, when I put the image on my computer the other day and shared it with a friend I knew, understood the gravity of what had just happened. Yngwie’s energy is unlike anything I have felt in the music world. It’s an experience I will never forget, and for the first time I felt a new level, a new spiritual plane. His energy is so pure of heart, his heart is one of the best of us. If not, the best of us. In the words of Yngwie from the   BangerTV – All Metal and their Yngwie Malmsteen interview “How can less be more? That’s impossible, more is more.” Thank you Yngwie. Thank you. Special shout out to the tour manager for checking on me and making sure I was ok.

This experience needed a piece all by itself, more to follow from the other bands Sunlord and Images of Eden shortly. Thank you everyone.   

Check out the last few tour date’s for my friend Yngwie Malmsteen and his website!!

https://www.yngwiemalmsteen.com/

DEC 17 FRI Tulsa Theater @ 7:00pm Tulsa, OK, United States

DEC 18 SAT RISE ROOFTOP @ 6:00pm Houston, TX, United States

Yngwie Malmsteen

Albuquerque, New Mexico 2021 Dec 14th Sunshine Theater

Peaceful and calm, Jack brings a sense of slightness and enthusiasm towards a climate in need of healing. About the only thing I understand in this world is how to take a photo and what exceptional feelings put into a song look like and this album holds you tight and keeps you alright. It’s easily one of the best albums I’ve heard all year and I’ve heard a lot of music. While a lot of people would peg this album on the early 90’s spectrum of Rock and Roll I think Jack is tapping into the unique properties that made it popular in the first place. This album takes you on a journey from the start to the finish leaving you wondering when he’s going to come out with another album because this one is so good. In a sense, it combines elements of early 90’s rock and late 2010’s rock. The Airborne Toxic Event and Shinedown come to mind for a song like After Dark while influences from Soundgarden and Nirvana are obvious throughout given that Jack Endino did the mastering (wonderful job Endino). If you listen to the chords and the strumming, it says a lot about who Jack is as a person and the harmony he is trying to bring with his tone. If I had to sum up this album in a few words it would be giving warmth to the background but pulling you closer, like a lovely fire burning on a cold winter’s night in a cabin keeping everyone warm. I am glad music like this still exists, music like this got me through a lot of hard times and still does. Jack manages to expertly produce cold tones to warm textures and the tones don’t just shine bright, they spread light as well and let me tell you Jack that your understanding of space like this in music is a rarity, it is rare for music to have volume in space as a form of structure you can live in and inhabit. Love your work man, spread light Jack, spread light.

As always, thanks to my friends at Earshot Media and DC-Jam Records for pointing me towards this record, it’s been out for a few weeks so check it out!

Eternal Silence’s album, Timegate Anathema is at its best when it frees itself from its influences and finds its own footing. It’s biggest problem is that it sounds too much like its influences and therefore dated in a genre that is constantly innovating. Timegate Anathema sounds bold and creative, breaking traditions and carving new paths when it lands what it wants. Ultimately, Eternal Silence is a band with all the right chemistry to make something truly incredibly. They just have to break free of their own comfort and dare to be big. Tracks like Glide in the Air prove that they have the passion and the drive to do so and My Soul Sad Until Death almost reaches that big theater sound they could promote on touring. I don’t think this band is bad by any means, in fact I think they’re rather good and I feel that they are passionate, so I encourage them to keep on going and keep on exploring that next level. It’s hard not to be motivated by this band as songs like Heart of Lead and Lonely both sound excellent. If you’re into symphonic metal, and you have an extra hour to spare this band is worth a listen. I think if anything else to enjoy a band that is more creative than most but sticking to its roots at the same time. This is a blessing and a curse for them, and I firmly believe that they will eventually reach that level they desire. Be brave guys, I believe in ya.

Eternal Silences Album Timegate Anathema is out now!

Thanks again to Rockshot Records for always being courteous!