OTEP, BLACKGUARD, DESTROPHY, SISTER SIN, ONE EYED DOLL – Syracuse NY

REVIEW BY: HEATHER PENFIELD MACNEILL | PHOTOGRAPHS BY: NADINE SWIGER

One-Eyed Doll, The Cosplay – Anime influenced duo hailing from Austin Texas kicked off the show, looking like life sized “Living Dead Dolls” with a guitar and drum kit on stage. With a twisted and corky style, lead vocalist and guitarist, Kimberly Freeman and drummer Jason Sewell have been described as Gwar meets Straweberry Shortcake, and their shows described as the Pixies meets Siouxsie meets Hole. With a discography of eight full-length albums under their belt, One Eyed Doll will continue on with their DIY business moto as they gain more recognition throughout North America. Check out their latest video for “Your A Vampire” posted on their website.

So, who’s ready for some old-school metal bashing Swedish style??? Ohhh yesss Sister Sin, those old-school metalheads fueled with hot new blood, are wrecking their way across the United States this summer and they just might be coming to your town. This sick Swedish import helped One-Eyed Doll to begin an eclectic and exhilarating night at Lost Horizon in Syracuse NY this past Friday, and was followed by Destrophy, Blackguard, and the headliner of the evening, Otep.

Not to be overshadowed, however, Sister Sin gave a high-octane performance which would leave any classic metal fan with the hope that eighties metal is not forgotten but being reborn, only this time with Sister Sin’s edgier, grittier sound. With influences like Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Accept, and Motörhead, Sister Sin is bound to bring a tear to a every old-school headbanger’s eye, while still infusing their music with a current heavy sound all their own. The band’s latest album “True Sound of the Underground,” released by through Victory Records, is a must-have for metal fans everywhere, and their latest music video for their song “24/7,” available on Victory Record’s official Youtube channel, is killer fun you will not want to miss. You can also hear Sister Sin’s lead singer Liv Jagrell discuss what it’s like to be a female

singer in the boy’s club of the metal scene and much more with MPJ’s interview with her here. There is no doubt that after the band’s stellar performance Friday this band will have a lot of new American fans wanting to know more.

Next up for the evening was Destrophy, a band also reminiscent at times of old school metal, with their latest album “Cry Havoc” having just a bit of that “arena rock” epic feel. At this latest appearance for Destrophy at Lost Horizon, the band gave the audience some classic sounding riffs followed by some super heavy choruses that brought this largely hardcore crowd to throwdown with the band full-on rocking out onstage.Originally from Des Moines Iowa, Destrophy has toured with bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Type O Negative, and Stone Temple Pilots among others, and their polished sound really stands out. As lead singer Ari Mihalopoulos explained in our interview with him which can be found here, he never writes for the critics but just writes from the heart and the results are impressive. “Cry Havoc” has the kind of radio friendly sound stays with you long after the concert is over, and I know there were many fans leaving Lost Horizon with Destrophy playing in their heads that night.

Following Destrophy, Blackguard positively exploded onto the stage with a high energy performance that got an instantaneous response from the crowd. Those in the pit that had been trying to play it cool before had to either join in the free-for-all or keep to the walls! Quite a reaction, especially considering Blackguard had never played Lost Horizon before!

Blackguard’s face melting performance got the audience’s blood flowing, with front man Paul Ablaze attacking the stage like he had been chomping at the bit to get out there all night. Blackguard’s latest album “Firefight” has everything the band is known for, with elements of power metal, folk metal, and black metal all rolled into one, giving the album a grandeur that has an almost cinematic appeal. This grandeur was certainly translated to the stage with the band’s incinerating performance that appeared to leave the audience exhilarated and wanting more. You can hear Ablaze discuss the recording of the new album, some of the hardships of being in a constantly touring metal band, along with many other issues in our interview with him here.

With the crowd’s energy high, and an atmosphere that portended that the audience was ready to throwdown hard, Otep took the stage. Otep is an artist that inspires fierce allegiance, and this fervor could be felt in the pit that night. Otep’s music is not just rock, it’s rock with a purpose, and you could sense that driving force pouring off of her and into the crowd. This is intelligent

rock, but it is rock that’s far from tame, and Otep’s latest album “Atavist” is an aggressive album with brutal, heart pounding tracks like “Fists Fall” and “I, Alone.” It has a sound that pummels the listener out of submission and into action, a talent which Otep seems to have in spades, and she brings all of this inspiration to her live performances as well. Otep is never content to give a typical stage show, but incorporated masks and props throughout to give an otherworldly quality to the performance. But while simultaneously maintaining this unearthly atmosphere, Otep never lost that gut wrenching aggressive edge which seemed to detonate the crowd and keep them raging until the end of her set. To hear Otep discuss some of the inspiration behind the video for “Fists Fall,” including what cult film the video is a nod to check out MPJ’s interview with her here.

This is a tour that will be continuing on into July so try to catch one of the remaining dates near you!

TOUR DATES:

6/18/11 West Springfield-VA – Jaxx
6/19/11 Baltimore, MD – The Quarter
6/20/11 Greensboro NC – Arizona Petes
6/22/11 Charlotte, NC – The Casba @ Tremont Music Hall
6/23/11 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
6/24/11 Jacksonville, FL – Brewster Pit
6/25/11 St.Petersburg, FL – The State Theatre
6/26/11 Ft Lauderdale, FL – The Culture Room
6/28/11 New Orleans, LA – The Hangar
6/29/11 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
6/30/11 Corpus Christi, TX – Theos Nice Racks Billiards
7/1/11 Dallas, TX – Trees
7/2/11 Oklahoma City, OK – Brickdown
7/3/11 Wichita, KS – Club OZ
7/4/11 Farmington, NM – Top Deck
7/5/11 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
7/6/11 West Hollywood, CA – The Key Club
7/7/11 Santa Ana, CA – Galaxy Concert Theatre