Post # 396
Back in 2013, I heard Cauldron perform this track at Orion Music + More 2013. By the time I found this Bandcamp link the limited edition vinyl was sold out. However you can still stream their cover at the link below!
Showing posts with label Cauldron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cauldron. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
2013 Interview from Orion Music and More: Cauldron's Ian Chains and Myles Deck
Post #369
After several years I uncovered the audio files from 2 interviews I did at Metallica's Orion Music and More in Detroit 2013. I realize this is an opportunity to put these discussions online where they belong. I apologize for not including the audio back in my initial reviews of that music festival. The conversations were transcribed in those old posts, but there is much to be enjoyed by hearing the audio itself. Hopefully this is an oversight I will not make again in the future!
My interview with Ian Chains and Myles Deck from Cauldron:
After several years I uncovered the audio files from 2 interviews I did at Metallica's Orion Music and More in Detroit 2013. I realize this is an opportunity to put these discussions online where they belong. I apologize for not including the audio back in my initial reviews of that music festival. The conversations were transcribed in those old posts, but there is much to be enjoyed by hearing the audio itself. Hopefully this is an oversight I will not make again in the future!
My interview with Ian Chains and Myles Deck from Cauldron:
Saturday, June 22, 2013
ORION Music + More: HappyHeadbanger's interview with Couldron.
Post #255
In the late afternoon on June 9th at Orion Music + More I had another excellent opportunity to interview 2 of the members of Cauldron, a real stripped-down, pure and classic sounding metal band out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I was excited to find out a little more about these guys who are making metal music the good old-fashioned way that it used to be. I spoke with guitarist Ian Chains and drummer Myles Deck. Here's how the interview went...
HappyHeadbanger: Joel Beverley here. I write Heavy Metal 107: Home of the Happy Headbanger. It can be found at www.happyheadbanger.com. I'm speaking today with two guys from Cauldron. You want to introduce yourselves?
Ian Chains: Yeah. I'm Ian. I play guitar.
Myles Deck: And I'm Myles. I play the drums.
IC: And that's it. Just the two of us.
MD: I sing, sometimes.
HH: Yeah, backing vocals on both you guys I saw in your set this morning. So, just in a few words tell me what it means to have been picked, you know I assume Metallica picked you guys to be here at Orion Fest, to be part of the line up. And what does it mean to you to play this show.
IC: Well, Just the fact that Metallica knows who we are is enough for me. I think that's pretty cool.
MD: My 15-year-old self is giving me a pat on the back right now.
HH: Yeah!
MD: I'm pretty proud of myself as a 30-year-old as well, but that's kinda when I discovered Metallica.
HH : Okay.
IC: My 65-year-old self is blowing a load in his pants... I don't know. You can take that out.
HH: Okay. I'll copy to your....
IC: Nah, keep that in. Nah it was alright.
HH: You can approve it at the end. Anyway, what other bands here on the bill are you interested in seeing, interested in meeting? Catching up with or catching their music?
MD: I was really psyched to see FLAG. And we caught them. We got here just as they were playing.
HH: OK, cool.
MD: And I met Keith Morris. He seemed... polite.
HH: Yeah.
MD: For the most part.
IC: We're gonna check out DEATH.
HH: Yeah.
IC: We heard 'em sound check. Sounded pretty awesome.
MD: I wanted to see The Dirtbombs, but they were playing the same time we were, so...
HH: Yeah, schedules like that can't be helped.
IC: And there's this... some band called 'Metallica' too, so.
HH: Oh, yeah. Everybody...
IC: Probably, we might check them out.
HH: They might be a pretty popular set.
MD: Pretty underrated band, from what I hear.
HH: Alright, you played in your set today you played 'All or Nothing' is one of the songs of yours that I really like. I Particularly love your music video for it. It's got a lot of humor in it. You kinda like portray all the cliches of heavy metal and everything, and I couldn't help but wonder, is any of that from the video autobiographical?
IC: It is, but those weren't our real jobs, but that's how we feel about life in general, I guess. So, it is based on loathing going back to work after tour, and just hating our bosses.
HH: Yeah.
MD: Yeah it seems like you can't have a job that you like and also be in a band and tour heavily, because if they... you know, you have a job that you like, then you're expected to commit to it. And then the only jobs that are available to you are shitty jobs that you don't care about, that you don't mind quitting when you go on tour.
HH: Yeah.
MD: But they kinda tear at you.
HH: Any accidents with gas cans in your garages? Like at the end of the video?
IC: Nah, we stopped doing that since we died in the video.
HH: (Laughs) Okay, okay, awesome. So, researching your guys' music a little bit, and the internet directs me to 'The New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal', and I just have to ask, when you started out Cauldron, was that your intent, or did the label kinda come after you guys were doing what you did?
IC: No, when we started, that term was unheard of. That term started getting tossed around by magazines like Terrorizer and Metal Hammer around 2009.
HH: Uh-huh.
IC: And that is not a fan-created term, or a band-created term. That is a press-created term to sell magazines, and we don't care about it at all. It's a joke, really.
HH: Okay.
IC: We were playing...
HH: It's like the 'New Wave' of everything. The 'New Wave of This' the 'New Wave of That'.
IC: We were playing this exact kind of music before that term came around, and so were other bands like Enforcer, who are also labeled with that. But, you know, that was never the intent, and that's... When there's you know, a handful of bands doing the same style, kind of, then you're doomed to be labeled something. But we don't endorse that.
HH: Okay. How about you guys personally. What were your influences, when you were young, to start learning to play music, to have a passion to perform music, to be in a band?
MD: Well I don't know, it'd probably damage my credibility, but I don't know. I guess like for heavy metal, the first band I heard was pretty classic. I think pretty traditional for a lot of people was Black Sabbath.
HH: Yeah Sabbath.
MD: I heard it when I was 11, and I played 'Iron Man' on tape. And I was like, "Uhhh this is heavy!"
HH: Yeah.
MD: "I wanna play this."
HH: Cool.
IC: Well, my story's a bit different. I wanted to play guitar after watching Back to the Future.
MD: (laughs)
IC: Seeing Marty McFly ripping a solo behind his head, and tapping. And then I got really into Huey Lewis and The News, because they were like, prominently featured in that movie.
HH: Yeah!
IC: And that's what really got me into thinking guitar was cool. And the first Huey Lewis and The News album, the guy's got a double-neck guitar, and he's making some stupid face. I just made my parents buy it for me. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. And I still like that album.
MD: Okay, well I just had like a recent, like a recent memory come to me.
HH: Go ahead...
MD: And uh, it was 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits. How in the beginning there's this huge drum solo. 'Do-do-do-do Da-du-du-du-duu-kish!' You got Sting in the background going,...
All Three: (singing in high pitched falsettos) "I want my MTV..."
HH: Yeah!
MD: And there's just like this big build-up of 'A-du-du-du-d-d-d-du-du-du-du-Kish!' 'A-du-du-du-d-d-d-du-du-du-du-Kish!' And then I like, remember my parents had that cassette, and we listened to it in the car a lot. And all of a sudden it was like, when you couldn't take any more, the guitar lick comes in, 'Wrrr, nah-nah-naar, naar nana narrrr...' and that's when I knew I had to be in a band.
HH: Oh, cool cool stuff.
IC: I actually had that cassette-single, with that song on both sides.
HH: (laughs) Cool.
IC: And it came for free with a cassette player that I bought. It was like a promo-pack. So I listened to that song over and over again.
MD: So you got your music for nothing and your tapes for free!
IC: Yeah.
HH: Yeah. Wow, those were the days. How about a first concert you guys ever saw, as fans. Who did you see?
MD: As music fans? Or just like the first concert ever?
HH: Uh, either one.
IC: Mine's pretty... I don't know. I'm kinda surprised, but my first concert I saw, I was 14, and it was Sonic Youth.
MD: Really?
HH: Cool.
IC: Yeah, I was really into Nirvana and Mudhoney and Sonic Youth, and that was the first concert I saw. And I thought they were amazing.
HH: Okay.
MD: First show I ever saw, I was 12. I saw this punk band from Vancouver called DBS.
HH: Oh, cool.
MD: And they had this song called 'Snow Ball'. It was on much music, or what. It was cool. It was a lot of energy, like probably 200 kids in this small-ass club and moshing. And I got trampled. It was amazing.
HH: Okay. So, I'm just going to admit that I discovered you guys recently. I had heard of your first album a couple years back, but I haven't really checked it out until recently, though. And like, your style of music and all the 'sound-alikes' that social media and all the internet stuff leads me to, it's like you guys have lead me to a new gold-mine of this classic, real pure style of metal. Who would you recommend to me as other bands to check out with high priority. Either new or old, like classic obscure stuff and newer guys.
IC: There's a lot of really good new bands. I would recommend checking out Vulture from Richmond, VA.
MD: Midnight, from Cleveland.
IC: One of my favorite bands right now, and they're really new, and they really only have like 4 or 5 songs demoed, but Witch Hazel, from England.
HH: Okay.
IC: They're up-and-coming, but they're songs are amazing. It's like Thin Lizzy meets...
MD: You don't know. You've never heard before. ... Meets Mega Man.
IC: ...some pagan ritual in the woods. Yeah, it's really good. Enforcer from Sweeden. Those guys rule. You know, that's it. There's three good bands there.
HH: Okay. You want to talk a little bit about your latest album, the Tomorrow's Lost, and what your approach was for recording that, and how you wrote the music for it.
IC: Well, the approach for recording it was the same as the album before, Burning Fortune. Same studio, same producer. Everything. We're just trying to improve upon, you know, building upon our sound, you know. Really simple, recorded live off the floor. Guitars doubled. That's it. And that's what we're all about. Keeping it really simple.
HH: Simple and pure.
IC: Yeah.
HH: Pure metal.
IC: Just trying to sound real and organic. We're not into clickity-klack bass drums, and you know, shitty processed guitar sounds. We're into real, real sounds.
HH: Okay.
IC: And the songs... I don't know. We actually didn't have a drummer when we wrote these. It was me and Jason. Jason on drums and me on guitar for writing the album. So that's kinda how it came about.
HH: Okay, cool. And the last question- just what's on your near-horizon? What's coming up for Cauldron? Any plans? Any...
MD: We have some shows on the east coast of the States. So, we're playing Baltimore, we're playing Raleigh, North Carolina.
HH: Alright.
MD: ...Richmond, Virginia. Wilmington, North Caroliona. We're also playing in Providence, Rhode Island at the end of July. Just like some shows like that. We're looking into going to South America in the fall.
HH: Yeah?
IC: October, yeah.
MD: Seeing how that comes together. Just we want to make sure we don't get ripped off, too hard.
HH: Yeah, yeah, I bet...
IC: ...Or stabbed in the face...
HH: I know South America's a lot of metal-heads if you can coordinate it, yeah.
MD: Yeah, well, I personally get messages from people occasionally. Asking me, pleading with me, begging me or also like...
HH: Blackmailing you? (laughs)
MD: Well, not like blackmail, but like stuttering death-threats...
IC: Come play...
MD: Or like, just something in broken English. Saying, 'Come, play Brazil'. 'Come, play Columbia.'
IC: 'Come, play Brazil. You play my back yard. I feed you.'
MD: (laughs)
IC: Okay. Well, let's book some $10,000 flights down to South America to play in some guy's backyard, and he'll make us some corn dogs, some pogos.
HH: Well, for now you're playing in James Hetfield's backyard, his barbecue here at Orion Fest. I want to thank you guys for having this interview with me. It's been fun, and keep playing that pure metal, you guys. You rock!
MD: You bet.
IC: Thanks, Joel
MD: Thanks, Joel
HH: Thank you!
In the late afternoon on June 9th at Orion Music + More I had another excellent opportunity to interview 2 of the members of Cauldron, a real stripped-down, pure and classic sounding metal band out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I was excited to find out a little more about these guys who are making metal music the good old-fashioned way that it used to be. I spoke with guitarist Ian Chains and drummer Myles Deck. Here's how the interview went...
IAN CHAINS
MYLES DECK
HappyHeadbanger: Joel Beverley here. I write Heavy Metal 107: Home of the Happy Headbanger. It can be found at www.happyheadbanger.com. I'm speaking today with two guys from Cauldron. You want to introduce yourselves?
Ian Chains: Yeah. I'm Ian. I play guitar.
Myles Deck: And I'm Myles. I play the drums.
IC: And that's it. Just the two of us.
MD: I sing, sometimes.
HH: Yeah, backing vocals on both you guys I saw in your set this morning. So, just in a few words tell me what it means to have been picked, you know I assume Metallica picked you guys to be here at Orion Fest, to be part of the line up. And what does it mean to you to play this show.
IC: Well, Just the fact that Metallica knows who we are is enough for me. I think that's pretty cool.
MD: My 15-year-old self is giving me a pat on the back right now.
HH: Yeah!
MD: I'm pretty proud of myself as a 30-year-old as well, but that's kinda when I discovered Metallica.
HH : Okay.
IC: My 65-year-old self is blowing a load in his pants... I don't know. You can take that out.
HH: Okay. I'll copy to your....
IC: Nah, keep that in. Nah it was alright.
HH: You can approve it at the end. Anyway, what other bands here on the bill are you interested in seeing, interested in meeting? Catching up with or catching their music?
MD: I was really psyched to see FLAG. And we caught them. We got here just as they were playing.
HH: OK, cool.
MD: And I met Keith Morris. He seemed... polite.
HH: Yeah.
MD: For the most part.
IC: We're gonna check out DEATH.
HH: Yeah.
IC: We heard 'em sound check. Sounded pretty awesome.
MD: I wanted to see The Dirtbombs, but they were playing the same time we were, so...
HH: Yeah, schedules like that can't be helped.
IC: And there's this... some band called 'Metallica' too, so.
HH: Oh, yeah. Everybody...
IC: Probably, we might check them out.
HH: They might be a pretty popular set.
MD: Pretty underrated band, from what I hear.
HH: Alright, you played in your set today you played 'All or Nothing' is one of the songs of yours that I really like. I Particularly love your music video for it. It's got a lot of humor in it. You kinda like portray all the cliches of heavy metal and everything, and I couldn't help but wonder, is any of that from the video autobiographical?
IC: It is, but those weren't our real jobs, but that's how we feel about life in general, I guess. So, it is based on loathing going back to work after tour, and just hating our bosses.
HH: Yeah.
MD: Yeah it seems like you can't have a job that you like and also be in a band and tour heavily, because if they... you know, you have a job that you like, then you're expected to commit to it. And then the only jobs that are available to you are shitty jobs that you don't care about, that you don't mind quitting when you go on tour.
HH: Yeah.
MD: But they kinda tear at you.
HH: Any accidents with gas cans in your garages? Like at the end of the video?
IC: Nah, we stopped doing that since we died in the video.
HH: (Laughs) Okay, okay, awesome. So, researching your guys' music a little bit, and the internet directs me to 'The New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal', and I just have to ask, when you started out Cauldron, was that your intent, or did the label kinda come after you guys were doing what you did?
IC: No, when we started, that term was unheard of. That term started getting tossed around by magazines like Terrorizer and Metal Hammer around 2009.
HH: Uh-huh.
IC: And that is not a fan-created term, or a band-created term. That is a press-created term to sell magazines, and we don't care about it at all. It's a joke, really.
HH: Okay.
IC: We were playing...
HH: It's like the 'New Wave' of everything. The 'New Wave of This' the 'New Wave of That'.
IC: We were playing this exact kind of music before that term came around, and so were other bands like Enforcer, who are also labeled with that. But, you know, that was never the intent, and that's... When there's you know, a handful of bands doing the same style, kind of, then you're doomed to be labeled something. But we don't endorse that.
HH: Okay. How about you guys personally. What were your influences, when you were young, to start learning to play music, to have a passion to perform music, to be in a band?
MD: Well I don't know, it'd probably damage my credibility, but I don't know. I guess like for heavy metal, the first band I heard was pretty classic. I think pretty traditional for a lot of people was Black Sabbath.
HH: Yeah Sabbath.
MD: I heard it when I was 11, and I played 'Iron Man' on tape. And I was like, "Uhhh this is heavy!"
HH: Yeah.
MD: "I wanna play this."
HH: Cool.
IC: Well, my story's a bit different. I wanted to play guitar after watching Back to the Future.
MD: (laughs)
IC: Seeing Marty McFly ripping a solo behind his head, and tapping. And then I got really into Huey Lewis and The News, because they were like, prominently featured in that movie.
HH: Yeah!
IC: And that's what really got me into thinking guitar was cool. And the first Huey Lewis and The News album, the guy's got a double-neck guitar, and he's making some stupid face. I just made my parents buy it for me. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. And I still like that album.
MD: Okay, well I just had like a recent, like a recent memory come to me.
HH: Go ahead...
MD: And uh, it was 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits. How in the beginning there's this huge drum solo. 'Do-do-do-do Da-du-du-du-duu-kish!' You got Sting in the background going,...
All Three: (singing in high pitched falsettos) "I want my MTV..."
HH: Yeah!
MD: And there's just like this big build-up of 'A-du-du-du-d-d-d-du-du-du-du-Kish!' 'A-du-du-du-d-d-d-du-du-du-du-Kish!' And then I like, remember my parents had that cassette, and we listened to it in the car a lot. And all of a sudden it was like, when you couldn't take any more, the guitar lick comes in, 'Wrrr, nah-nah-naar, naar nana narrrr...' and that's when I knew I had to be in a band.
HH: Oh, cool cool stuff.
IC: I actually had that cassette-single, with that song on both sides.
HH: (laughs) Cool.
IC: And it came for free with a cassette player that I bought. It was like a promo-pack. So I listened to that song over and over again.
MD: So you got your music for nothing and your tapes for free!
IC: Yeah.
HH: Yeah. Wow, those were the days. How about a first concert you guys ever saw, as fans. Who did you see?
MD: As music fans? Or just like the first concert ever?
HH: Uh, either one.
IC: Mine's pretty... I don't know. I'm kinda surprised, but my first concert I saw, I was 14, and it was Sonic Youth.
MD: Really?
HH: Cool.
IC: Yeah, I was really into Nirvana and Mudhoney and Sonic Youth, and that was the first concert I saw. And I thought they were amazing.
HH: Okay.
MD: First show I ever saw, I was 12. I saw this punk band from Vancouver called DBS.
HH: Oh, cool.
MD: And they had this song called 'Snow Ball'. It was on much music, or what. It was cool. It was a lot of energy, like probably 200 kids in this small-ass club and moshing. And I got trampled. It was amazing.
HH: Okay. So, I'm just going to admit that I discovered you guys recently. I had heard of your first album a couple years back, but I haven't really checked it out until recently, though. And like, your style of music and all the 'sound-alikes' that social media and all the internet stuff leads me to, it's like you guys have lead me to a new gold-mine of this classic, real pure style of metal. Who would you recommend to me as other bands to check out with high priority. Either new or old, like classic obscure stuff and newer guys.
IC: There's a lot of really good new bands. I would recommend checking out Vulture from Richmond, VA.
MD: Midnight, from Cleveland.
IC: One of my favorite bands right now, and they're really new, and they really only have like 4 or 5 songs demoed, but Witch Hazel, from England.
HH: Okay.
IC: They're up-and-coming, but they're songs are amazing. It's like Thin Lizzy meets...
MD: You don't know. You've never heard before. ... Meets Mega Man.
IC: ...some pagan ritual in the woods. Yeah, it's really good. Enforcer from Sweeden. Those guys rule. You know, that's it. There's three good bands there.
HH: Okay. You want to talk a little bit about your latest album, the Tomorrow's Lost, and what your approach was for recording that, and how you wrote the music for it.
IC: Well, the approach for recording it was the same as the album before, Burning Fortune. Same studio, same producer. Everything. We're just trying to improve upon, you know, building upon our sound, you know. Really simple, recorded live off the floor. Guitars doubled. That's it. And that's what we're all about. Keeping it really simple.
HH: Simple and pure.
IC: Yeah.
HH: Pure metal.
IC: Just trying to sound real and organic. We're not into clickity-klack bass drums, and you know, shitty processed guitar sounds. We're into real, real sounds.
HH: Okay.
IC: And the songs... I don't know. We actually didn't have a drummer when we wrote these. It was me and Jason. Jason on drums and me on guitar for writing the album. So that's kinda how it came about.
HH: Okay, cool. And the last question- just what's on your near-horizon? What's coming up for Cauldron? Any plans? Any...
MD: We have some shows on the east coast of the States. So, we're playing Baltimore, we're playing Raleigh, North Carolina.
HH: Alright.
MD: ...Richmond, Virginia. Wilmington, North Caroliona. We're also playing in Providence, Rhode Island at the end of July. Just like some shows like that. We're looking into going to South America in the fall.
HH: Yeah?
IC: October, yeah.
MD: Seeing how that comes together. Just we want to make sure we don't get ripped off, too hard.
HH: Yeah, yeah, I bet...
IC: ...Or stabbed in the face...
HH: I know South America's a lot of metal-heads if you can coordinate it, yeah.
MD: Yeah, well, I personally get messages from people occasionally. Asking me, pleading with me, begging me or also like...
HH: Blackmailing you? (laughs)
MD: Well, not like blackmail, but like stuttering death-threats...
IC: Come play...
MD: Or like, just something in broken English. Saying, 'Come, play Brazil'. 'Come, play Columbia.'
IC: 'Come, play Brazil. You play my back yard. I feed you.'
MD: (laughs)
IC: Okay. Well, let's book some $10,000 flights down to South America to play in some guy's backyard, and he'll make us some corn dogs, some pogos.
HH: Well, for now you're playing in James Hetfield's backyard, his barbecue here at Orion Fest. I want to thank you guys for having this interview with me. It's been fun, and keep playing that pure metal, you guys. You rock!
MD: You bet.
IC: Thanks, Joel
MD: Thanks, Joel
HH: Thank you!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
ORION Music + More: Day 2, Part 2: CAULDRON!
Post #252
(Performed on June 9th, 2013)
Orion Music + More featured a wide variety of rock and metal music but Cauldron, the first band I saw on day two, were unique among them all. I had seen a couple punk rock bands, a couple death metal bands, and, of course, 'dehaan', but Cauldron played such a pure form of classic heavy metal that they defied any further categorization. I had read up about them since I knew that I would be attending Orion Fest, and after seeing a couple of their music videos, they jumped to the top of my 'Must See' list.
Cauldron was formed by singer/bassist Jason Decay and guitarist Ian Chains after Decay's previous band Goat Horn disbanded in 2006. Drummer Myles Deck joined Cauldron right before they recorded their latest album, Tomorrow's Lost. The style of heavy metal Cauldron plays is very heavily influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal era of the late 1970's and early 1980's. They utilize a stripped down approach to recording their music: straight forward electric guitar, heavy bass, and a hard and heavy drum beat. If you are a fan of the early works of bands like Iron Maiden, Raven, Judas Priest and Venom, then you need to check out Cauldron as well.
They started their show with 'Frozen In Fire' from their 2011 album Burning Fortune. Defined by a heavy, chugging bass line, mid-tempo power chords, and a great guitar solo, this song got the crowd headbanging off the bat. Decay and Chains had a classic heavy metal stage presence, often standing next to each other at the front of the stage to do some synchronized headbanging. At each appropriate moment one or the other would take center stage for a spotlighted guitar solo or bass riff.
For the next several songs, they focused on selections from their new album Tomorrow's Lost. Among these was 'Nitebreaker', a fast and heavy 5-minute masterpiece of speed-driven classic metal. Decay's vocals carried the melody of this song, with a few well placed screams for good measure. 'Nitebreaker' has a killer guitar riff that really got the crowd's adrenaline pumped. Next they played 'Summoned to Succumb', a slower but heavier tune. Drummer Deck provided the solid backbone of this song- a relentless heavy beat that had the crowd raising their devil-horned fists high. Chains added a memorable guitar solo to make 'Summoned to Succumb' one of their most enjoyable live performances.
Near the end of their set, they played a cover of Venom's 'Die Hard', a true gem from metal's early days. This got more people on the fringe of the crowd involved and plenty of headbanging followed. They closed their set with 'All or Nothing,' perhaps their best known song. The lyrics focus on seeking the best things in life and not settling for less. It was also a very fast tune with rapid-fire drumming and furious fretwork on guitar. The crowd enjoyed it to the end with a renewed energy.
Every aspect of Cauldron's show, from the music to their appearance and stagecraft, reminded me of the kind of classic metal I grew to love in the first place. Classic heavy metal has become a bit obscure over the years, as new bands seem to follow current trends or try to branch and blend genres and sub genres. Cauldron seems to represent the bones of what these newer styles have grown out of. If you were to put all of heavy metal into a pot and boil away all the excessive effects until only one style remained, what you'd have left would be Cauldron. They proved with their live performance what all heavy metal fans know deep down inside- pure metal will never die!
(Performed on June 9th, 2013)
Orion Music + More featured a wide variety of rock and metal music but Cauldron, the first band I saw on day two, were unique among them all. I had seen a couple punk rock bands, a couple death metal bands, and, of course, 'dehaan', but Cauldron played such a pure form of classic heavy metal that they defied any further categorization. I had read up about them since I knew that I would be attending Orion Fest, and after seeing a couple of their music videos, they jumped to the top of my 'Must See' list.
Cauldron was formed by singer/bassist Jason Decay and guitarist Ian Chains after Decay's previous band Goat Horn disbanded in 2006. Drummer Myles Deck joined Cauldron right before they recorded their latest album, Tomorrow's Lost. The style of heavy metal Cauldron plays is very heavily influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal era of the late 1970's and early 1980's. They utilize a stripped down approach to recording their music: straight forward electric guitar, heavy bass, and a hard and heavy drum beat. If you are a fan of the early works of bands like Iron Maiden, Raven, Judas Priest and Venom, then you need to check out Cauldron as well.
They started their show with 'Frozen In Fire' from their 2011 album Burning Fortune. Defined by a heavy, chugging bass line, mid-tempo power chords, and a great guitar solo, this song got the crowd headbanging off the bat. Decay and Chains had a classic heavy metal stage presence, often standing next to each other at the front of the stage to do some synchronized headbanging. At each appropriate moment one or the other would take center stage for a spotlighted guitar solo or bass riff.
For the next several songs, they focused on selections from their new album Tomorrow's Lost. Among these was 'Nitebreaker', a fast and heavy 5-minute masterpiece of speed-driven classic metal. Decay's vocals carried the melody of this song, with a few well placed screams for good measure. 'Nitebreaker' has a killer guitar riff that really got the crowd's adrenaline pumped. Next they played 'Summoned to Succumb', a slower but heavier tune. Drummer Deck provided the solid backbone of this song- a relentless heavy beat that had the crowd raising their devil-horned fists high. Chains added a memorable guitar solo to make 'Summoned to Succumb' one of their most enjoyable live performances.Near the end of their set, they played a cover of Venom's 'Die Hard', a true gem from metal's early days. This got more people on the fringe of the crowd involved and plenty of headbanging followed. They closed their set with 'All or Nothing,' perhaps their best known song. The lyrics focus on seeking the best things in life and not settling for less. It was also a very fast tune with rapid-fire drumming and furious fretwork on guitar. The crowd enjoyed it to the end with a renewed energy.
Every aspect of Cauldron's show, from the music to their appearance and stagecraft, reminded me of the kind of classic metal I grew to love in the first place. Classic heavy metal has become a bit obscure over the years, as new bands seem to follow current trends or try to branch and blend genres and sub genres. Cauldron seems to represent the bones of what these newer styles have grown out of. If you were to put all of heavy metal into a pot and boil away all the excessive effects until only one style remained, what you'd have left would be Cauldron. They proved with their live performance what all heavy metal fans know deep down inside- pure metal will never die!
CAULDRON'S Set List from June 9th, 2013:
Frozen In Fire
End Of Time
Nitebreaker
Summoned to Succumb
Rapid City
Burning Fortune
Miss You to Death
Die Hard (Venom cover)
All or Nothing
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
ORION Music + More 2013: Day 2- Detroit, MI: Sunday, June 9th, Part 1
Post #251
The first day of Orion Music + More was perhaps the best day-long concert I had ever attended, and now the second day was upon me. I wondered if this day would somehow manage to top the previous day's events. There were several bands on this day's schedule I planned to see, but most promising of all was of course Metallica, headlining this final day of the fest with a 2 hour set. There was so much else to do at Orion Fest beyond just the music that I thought I would arrive early and look at some of the exhibits that had eluded me on day 1.
First and foremost was the Metallica Museum, a spectacular career-spanning collection of the band's own instruments, stage equipment and mementos from past tours. Immediately inside the museum to the right was one of Metallica frontman James Hetfield's guitars. It was a classic guitar that I remember seeing in many early Metallica videos like 'One' or 'Enter Sandman'. Other guitars belonging to guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Rob Trujillo were also on display. You could see that these instruments had a lot of miles of touring behind them; some had several nicks and scratches or hand-drawn graffiti on them. There were vintage tour posters, drum kits, and old back-stage passes. It was stuff that die-hard Metallica fans would 'oooh' and 'aaah' over- and they were! The one display you couldn't miss was of the late Cliff Burton's bass guitar. It was propped up in the center of the room- the place of honor. It seemed to radiate an aura of light. Everyone who gazed upon it did so with the utmost respect. One of the last things you saw before exiting the museum was the head of the Lady Justice statue used as a stage prop during the Damaged Justice Tour. It had signs of wear and tear from its numerous collapses as part of Metallica's famed 'Apocalyptic Stage' designs. I had seen one of Metallica's concert home-videos from that tour, and now I got to see that exact stage prop in real life. I felt like I had come full-circle as a Metallica fan.
Following my tour of the museum, I headed over to the vintage and custom cars show on display in and around the next tent over. At the entrance to this tent was the Motorbreath Art Gallery, which featured a few cool atr pieces by 'Papa Het' himself. There were eye catching models, from vintage to modern to futuristic all over the place. I even got to sit in one of the custom dragster cars, mere minutes after Hetfield himself had sat in it. Hetfield had even signed the stainless steel interior next to the driver's seat.
Just beyond the car show was the 'Globe of Death'- a spherical stunt-motorcycle cage. I managed to catch one of their performances and was blown away by the dexterity of these cyclists. At first it was just one motorcycle that raced around and around the inside of the small cage, defying gravity as it raced around the inside, parallel to the ground. Next they added a second motorcycle, and they raced around the inside simultaneously. Finally they repeated the 2-motorcycle stunt, with an assistant standing in the middle of them both!
As 2 o'clock approached, I headed over to the Damage Inc. Stage where the first band on my itinerary, Cauldron, were about to go on. Cauldron are from Toronto, Canada, and play a very classic style of heavy metal that is strongly influenced by the early 'New Wave Of British Heavy Metal' era. They took the stage and gave the crowd a great show. Their guitarist Ian Chains was ripping some awesome guitar solos and the crowd really got into it. Singer/bassist Jason Decay and drummer Myles Deck held a tight and heavy rhythm section throughout the set. They played several of my favorite songs, like 'End of Time' and 'Nitebreaker', and closed with their popular number 'All or Nothing'. They have quickly become a new favorite band of mine, and I'll give a more detailed review on their performance in another blog post very soon.
As soon as Cauldron finished, I hurried over to the Orion Stage to hear the last couple of songs by All Shall Perish, a death-metal band with strong thrash influences. Their music was very loud and intense. The crowd was moshing everywhere. I especially enjoyed their guitar soloing as it reminded me of some old-school thrash metal. Vocalist Eddie Hermida took a moment at the end of their set to express their gratitude toward Metallica for including them in the festival. Thankfulness and gratitude was a common theme throughout the festival; it seemed every band wanted to acknowledge Metallica for pulling Orion Music + More together, and rightly so- it was easily the most memorable music fest I had ever been to, and was getting better by the hour!
At this point I decided to check out the Sanitarium Stage where electronic dance music was featured. I am glad I did! It was such an all-encompassing experience. 12th Planet was DJ-ing, and the crowd under the tent was dancing like it was a night club. A smoke machine provided the medium to allow the intricate light show to pulse along with the beat of the music. The bass tones were powerful and heavy and enticed your body to move with the rhythm. Some people were even dancing with hula hoops. It was such a departure from much of the other music featured at Orion Fest, but somehow it still fit. The people were certainly enjoying it!
Later on, it was time for me to head back to the other side of the field, to see Vista Chino at the Frantic Stage. Vista Chino are a stoner-rock, or desert-rock, band. Their sound bears a strong similarity to the band Kyuss, of which 3 of the 4 musicians were former members. They played a heavy, mid-tempo style of hard rock or heavy metal. A good-sized crowd had gathered under the tent and were pumping their fists in the air.
Once Vista Chino played their last song I quickly migrated over to the Fuel Stage to catch the second half of the Japandroids set. This band is a duo consisting of a drummer and guitarist who share the vocals. Though there were only the two of them, they packed enough energy for a full band. I had heard some of their music before but it did not compare with how they sounded live. This band was tearing it up! Though they are considered 'indie rock' or 'garage rock', some fans still thought they were intense enough to mosh to and so started mosh-pit in a section of the crowd.
After Japandroids wrapped up their show, I walked a short distance to the next closest stage- the Damage Inc. Stage. Here I discovered Fu Manchu, another stoner-rock band. Though some elements of their music reminded me of Vista Chino, they were also noticeably faster. I stayed for the end of their set and heard some great songs. They did a cover of Blue Oyster Cult's 'Godzilla' that was remarkably true to the original. Their closing number was called 'King of the Road'- a good strong rhythm, heavy groove, and a tempo that built up in intensity toward the end.
I headed back over to the main Orion Stage and caught the end of the Deftones' set. Vocalist Chino Moreno had a commanding stage presence, and kept the crowd active throughout the show. Their guitar riffs were heavy and energizing, never really letting up at any point of their show. The rhythms had a thrumming quality that invited widespread headbanging. It was an overall top notch metal performance, and the last act on this stage before Metallica. Before they finished, Moreno gave his own humble thanks to Metallica for choosing them as part of this festival. It was another moment of good character that had truly come to encapsulate the attitude of Orion Fest. Now there was merely an hour left until Metallica would take the stage themselves...
Everybody at this festival had been anticipating Metallica's 2 hour set for the entire weekend. True, there were a fair amount of people who managed to see them on the previous day when they appeared under the pseudonym 'dehaan', but now was their moment of glory, and everyone came crowding together as the last acts of all the other stages played their last songs.
The crowd packed in tighter and tighter together, and before long Metallica's intro started to play. For several years Metallica have traditionally started their concerts by playing Ennio Morricone's 'The Ecstasy of Gold' from the spaghetti western film The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The excitement among the audience was electric and the music only enhanced this emotion.
Then, finally, Metallica took the stage and began to play! They wasted no time hitting us all with some heavy stuff. 'Blackened' was their opening song- a progressive, heavy thrasher from their album ...And Justice for All. Their set list was amazing and diverse; they played a good mix of obscure deep tracks along with several crowd-pleasing favorites. All in all, it was truly a performance for the ages: a concert deserving of an in-depth review that I will be posting soon. Keep checking back for my next post about Metallica's Orion Music + More!
The first day of Orion Music + More was perhaps the best day-long concert I had ever attended, and now the second day was upon me. I wondered if this day would somehow manage to top the previous day's events. There were several bands on this day's schedule I planned to see, but most promising of all was of course Metallica, headlining this final day of the fest with a 2 hour set. There was so much else to do at Orion Fest beyond just the music that I thought I would arrive early and look at some of the exhibits that had eluded me on day 1.
First and foremost was the Metallica Museum, a spectacular career-spanning collection of the band's own instruments, stage equipment and mementos from past tours. Immediately inside the museum to the right was one of Metallica frontman James Hetfield's guitars. It was a classic guitar that I remember seeing in many early Metallica videos like 'One' or 'Enter Sandman'. Other guitars belonging to guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Rob Trujillo were also on display. You could see that these instruments had a lot of miles of touring behind them; some had several nicks and scratches or hand-drawn graffiti on them. There were vintage tour posters, drum kits, and old back-stage passes. It was stuff that die-hard Metallica fans would 'oooh' and 'aaah' over- and they were! The one display you couldn't miss was of the late Cliff Burton's bass guitar. It was propped up in the center of the room- the place of honor. It seemed to radiate an aura of light. Everyone who gazed upon it did so with the utmost respect. One of the last things you saw before exiting the museum was the head of the Lady Justice statue used as a stage prop during the Damaged Justice Tour. It had signs of wear and tear from its numerous collapses as part of Metallica's famed 'Apocalyptic Stage' designs. I had seen one of Metallica's concert home-videos from that tour, and now I got to see that exact stage prop in real life. I felt like I had come full-circle as a Metallica fan.
Following my tour of the museum, I headed over to the vintage and custom cars show on display in and around the next tent over. At the entrance to this tent was the Motorbreath Art Gallery, which featured a few cool atr pieces by 'Papa Het' himself. There were eye catching models, from vintage to modern to futuristic all over the place. I even got to sit in one of the custom dragster cars, mere minutes after Hetfield himself had sat in it. Hetfield had even signed the stainless steel interior next to the driver's seat.
Just beyond the car show was the 'Globe of Death'- a spherical stunt-motorcycle cage. I managed to catch one of their performances and was blown away by the dexterity of these cyclists. At first it was just one motorcycle that raced around and around the inside of the small cage, defying gravity as it raced around the inside, parallel to the ground. Next they added a second motorcycle, and they raced around the inside simultaneously. Finally they repeated the 2-motorcycle stunt, with an assistant standing in the middle of them both!
As 2 o'clock approached, I headed over to the Damage Inc. Stage where the first band on my itinerary, Cauldron, were about to go on. Cauldron are from Toronto, Canada, and play a very classic style of heavy metal that is strongly influenced by the early 'New Wave Of British Heavy Metal' era. They took the stage and gave the crowd a great show. Their guitarist Ian Chains was ripping some awesome guitar solos and the crowd really got into it. Singer/bassist Jason Decay and drummer Myles Deck held a tight and heavy rhythm section throughout the set. They played several of my favorite songs, like 'End of Time' and 'Nitebreaker', and closed with their popular number 'All or Nothing'. They have quickly become a new favorite band of mine, and I'll give a more detailed review on their performance in another blog post very soon.
As soon as Cauldron finished, I hurried over to the Orion Stage to hear the last couple of songs by All Shall Perish, a death-metal band with strong thrash influences. Their music was very loud and intense. The crowd was moshing everywhere. I especially enjoyed their guitar soloing as it reminded me of some old-school thrash metal. Vocalist Eddie Hermida took a moment at the end of their set to express their gratitude toward Metallica for including them in the festival. Thankfulness and gratitude was a common theme throughout the festival; it seemed every band wanted to acknowledge Metallica for pulling Orion Music + More together, and rightly so- it was easily the most memorable music fest I had ever been to, and was getting better by the hour!
At this point I decided to check out the Sanitarium Stage where electronic dance music was featured. I am glad I did! It was such an all-encompassing experience. 12th Planet was DJ-ing, and the crowd under the tent was dancing like it was a night club. A smoke machine provided the medium to allow the intricate light show to pulse along with the beat of the music. The bass tones were powerful and heavy and enticed your body to move with the rhythm. Some people were even dancing with hula hoops. It was such a departure from much of the other music featured at Orion Fest, but somehow it still fit. The people were certainly enjoying it!
Later on, it was time for me to head back to the other side of the field, to see Vista Chino at the Frantic Stage. Vista Chino are a stoner-rock, or desert-rock, band. Their sound bears a strong similarity to the band Kyuss, of which 3 of the 4 musicians were former members. They played a heavy, mid-tempo style of hard rock or heavy metal. A good-sized crowd had gathered under the tent and were pumping their fists in the air.
Once Vista Chino played their last song I quickly migrated over to the Fuel Stage to catch the second half of the Japandroids set. This band is a duo consisting of a drummer and guitarist who share the vocals. Though there were only the two of them, they packed enough energy for a full band. I had heard some of their music before but it did not compare with how they sounded live. This band was tearing it up! Though they are considered 'indie rock' or 'garage rock', some fans still thought they were intense enough to mosh to and so started mosh-pit in a section of the crowd.
After Japandroids wrapped up their show, I walked a short distance to the next closest stage- the Damage Inc. Stage. Here I discovered Fu Manchu, another stoner-rock band. Though some elements of their music reminded me of Vista Chino, they were also noticeably faster. I stayed for the end of their set and heard some great songs. They did a cover of Blue Oyster Cult's 'Godzilla' that was remarkably true to the original. Their closing number was called 'King of the Road'- a good strong rhythm, heavy groove, and a tempo that built up in intensity toward the end.
I headed back over to the main Orion Stage and caught the end of the Deftones' set. Vocalist Chino Moreno had a commanding stage presence, and kept the crowd active throughout the show. Their guitar riffs were heavy and energizing, never really letting up at any point of their show. The rhythms had a thrumming quality that invited widespread headbanging. It was an overall top notch metal performance, and the last act on this stage before Metallica. Before they finished, Moreno gave his own humble thanks to Metallica for choosing them as part of this festival. It was another moment of good character that had truly come to encapsulate the attitude of Orion Fest. Now there was merely an hour left until Metallica would take the stage themselves...
Everybody at this festival had been anticipating Metallica's 2 hour set for the entire weekend. True, there were a fair amount of people who managed to see them on the previous day when they appeared under the pseudonym 'dehaan', but now was their moment of glory, and everyone came crowding together as the last acts of all the other stages played their last songs.
The crowd packed in tighter and tighter together, and before long Metallica's intro started to play. For several years Metallica have traditionally started their concerts by playing Ennio Morricone's 'The Ecstasy of Gold' from the spaghetti western film The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The excitement among the audience was electric and the music only enhanced this emotion.
Then, finally, Metallica took the stage and began to play! They wasted no time hitting us all with some heavy stuff. 'Blackened' was their opening song- a progressive, heavy thrasher from their album ...And Justice for All. Their set list was amazing and diverse; they played a good mix of obscure deep tracks along with several crowd-pleasing favorites. All in all, it was truly a performance for the ages: a concert deserving of an in-depth review that I will be posting soon. Keep checking back for my next post about Metallica's Orion Music + More!
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