Killing Grace, Shadowed Self, and Reign Like Rain at the Bowery

I love surprises!  I got one from Killing Grace this past Saturday:  an originally unscheduled night at the Bowery.  Needless to say, I had to go, as if it were almost required of me.  I didn't know what was going on and why until a few hours before I got there.  They had an exciting announcement:  They had signed a new contract with Red Arrow Records.  And of all the places they have played at for this tour, they chose Knoxville, TN.   It was an honor not only to see them again, and to be able to celebrate with them in this victory.  This goes to show you they celebrate the smallest of things.

I also wanted to check out the two other bands opening up for them.  Reign Like Reign was the first one up.  For those of you who have never been at the Bowery in Knoxville, TN, the best feature regarding the acoustics is the vibrations you can feel either on the floor or in the seats.  They had a new song called "Second Stage."  That was the song where I felt those vibrations.  

Reign Like Rain

The vibes (for a lack of better words) continued when Shadowed Self came up next.

Shadowed Self

Again, this was another band I hadn't heard of or seen.  What band member did I get the "vibes" (in more ways than one) from?  Brandon Rice, the bass player.  This guy had green strings on his bass.  Green strings!  So help me God, they were green!

Brandon Rice, bassist of Shadowed Self

Not only that, but the expressions on his face really stood out to me...and most may have been captured on pictures. This was the best one I could take the other night.

Shadowed Self doesn't take themselves too seriously.  Lead singer C J Asburn, at one time, asked the audience, "Anyone wanna kick off a song for us?"  I couldn't imagine what one-liners the audience could think of.  But it was their way of leading into "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor."  It's a catchy line; I'll be able to remember this next time I see them.

What I like about seeing Killing Grace this time was they were the headliners.  What this meant to me was the best, my personal favorite, was saved for last.  I also would experience something I hadn't before in the two other times I had seen them.  The band went deep into the details of the stories and inspiration behind many of their songs, two of which were "17 Scars" and "No Soul."  "17 Scars" is about lead singer Matt Edmondson's father serving in two wars, and bearing the many scars from them. "No Soul" is the song they consider their deepest and darkest song.  It is about those in their lives who have brought about major disappointments.

The band now considers Knoxville, TN, as "home away from home."  I'm happy they feel that way.  If I do say do myself, that allowed them to go as deep as they did with their music, and with the relationships they have made with fans and members of other bands.

Chaotic Resemblance/Invade (Official Video)

KILLING GRACE - 17 Scars picture video

Killing Grace CD Release Party

I remember when I first saw Killing Grace.  They were in the lineup for a show in late September at Open Chord.  I had never heard of them nor their music.  For a band to be a stranger in a town, never having been to a certain venue, not knowing anyone or how the audience is going to respond, if they're going to want them to come back, can be a little unsettling.  

It took only one night, only one show, to become a fan, to support this band, so much so I wanted them back soon. To read my review of that show, here is the link http://allthingshardrock.blogspot.com/2015/09/transparent-soul-belfast-six-pack.html

They have since released their CD and are currently on a CD release tour.  There were many places in this region they could have chosen; Knoxville, TN, was one of their first.  I could not wait to see them.  In that way, I could once again capture the energy coming from this band.  

To get things started was Victims of Euphoria.  They say it's never too late to start anything.  Well, the same is true about never starting too early.  Victims of Euphoria is a five-piece band, and to my knowledge, some, if not all, of the members are not any older than 21.  Not only that, but the lead vocalist (Adara Draven), the lead guitarist (Jasper Haze), and the bass player (Xandra Haze) are all females.  

I remember casually seeing them almost two years ago at a benefit concert.  It was after their set someone told me about their young age.  I was floored.  I was even more so when I saw them on Friday night.  Adara Draven has a broad range of vocals appropriate for metal that is very well-trained.  Though the band doesn't play the genre, she is capable of singing lead in a symphonic metal band.  It was music to my own ears to alternately hear a more operatic tone and screaming coming from her. 

The passion and chemistry were both palpable coming from the band.  Draven said her favorite song they played was "You Fall."  And I have a favorite:  "My People"-because Victims of Euphoria has become that to me.

Next up:  Killing Grace.  Like the first time I saw them, they kept me guessing about what their show was going to be like.  I knew it was going to be a great one.  Being fired up about a "brand-spankin' new" CD will do that.  This show was even better than the first.  What made the difference?  Fog, the lights....and a lot of killer songs, not the least of which is "Sin Again Sunday" to kick off their set, "Revolution," and "Nobody's Hero." No Killing Grace set during this tour would be complete without ""17 Scars"," and without lead singer Matt Edmonson telling at least some part of the story of how that one song made their success skyrocket. 

Over the past few years, I have been to a lot of shows, sometimes within a short time of each other.  Somewhere in all this time, I may have seen Divided We Stand.  If I had to guess the show, it was the Gig It Fest, August 2014, in Morristown, TN.  And I remember liking them.  However, after that, I never saw them or heard their music, only saw their name in passing.  A few days prior to the show, I listened to their music on Reverbnation. One of the songs that got my attention-I cued it up twice for good measure-was "Saboteur".  While everyone was banging their head or raising their hands in a "horns-up" to all of these bands' music, including Divided We Stand, it seemed to be even more so during this one song.  From there on out, it got the audience's attention.

Sinful Lilly Guilty Wicks Zombie Walk 08-29-14

Afterlife-All for None and None for All

If you wait for perfect conditions, they'll never come.

That must have been what Afterlife-Andrew Staley, lead vocals; Rob Ruddick, guitar; Sam Keys, bass; and Scott Fugate, drums-thought when they made All for None and None for All. 



Andrew Staley, lead vocals; Sam Keys, bass; Rob Ruddick; and Scott Fugate, drums

There's nothing like starting off the first song on a CD with the words, "I didn't mean to crash your party just before it started," as heard in "Out of Place."  I dare say Billy Joel's opening line of "You May Be Right" paled in comparison.  There might even me an underlying dry sense of humor in it.

In all seriousness, Staley's vocals are phenomenal at setting the tone to every song.  And every one of them has a different tone and theme.  For example, in finding out about this CD, I heard "What if You Were Like Me?" and learned about the story behind it.  It is an autobiographical song about a disabled child of one of the band members. 

Conversely, there are some one here that are so hard, dark, and cryptic you may need to listen to them with the lights on, including but not limited to "Wake Up Screaming," "My Nine," and "Forever Night".  My favorite one on there is "Wake Up Screaming."  I believe this will define the new Afterlife.  Screaming?  I was salivating, mesmerized at Robert's guitar intro.  I may sound selfish when I say this, but I wish it had been longer, just for the sake of continuity, and to add some suspense to the song.  If knowledge serves me correctly, Ruddick doesn't play on all of these tracks.  In "Wake Up Screaming," he really reveals his talent.  Last but not least, another notable opening line:  "You wake up in a sweat." 

So, I hope you, yourself, are in a salivating sweat listening to All for None and None for All.

Sinful Lilly-Moment of Clarity, Volume 1

Every band's debut CD comes in different ways, including the front cover, the number of songs and the order of them, among many other things.  If you were to look at the front cover Sinful Lilly's Moment of Clarity, Volume 1, and listen to the six songs on there, you would never know it was their debut CD.  The front cover has an appropriate picture for the genre, the title of the CD and the name of the band and what they would like to represent.



When you open it, you will see detailed liner notes, letting fans know Sinful Lilly put a lot of honest, sincere work into it. 

And they did the same thing with their order of their songs.

"Truth or Consequence" isn't a song with a slow and quiet musical intro.  Even better-it has a rippling, flowing, speaker-to-speaker guitar solo and a driving beat, neither of which let up at all in this song.  Lead vocalist/guitarist Fredi Handshoe's gritty vocals unleash unhindered lyrics that have a complementary theme to the music.

Sinful Lilly keeps the rock & roll fire burning in the next song, "Guilty"  From my point of view, my initial thought when the song was in queue was, "Great title;  I'd love to see how this song sounds."  And I was not let down.  There is even more grit from start to finish.  Fredi even graces us with a guitar break in the middle of a song.

After hearing two songs with strong unrelenting, steady guitar riffs and heart-stopping beats that will without a doubt move through your body (it did mine), I knew a rock ballad could have a like effect.  I'm here to tell you, if you don't like the heart-on-the-sleeve, victim mentality portrayed in most of the famous rock ballads, you will be happy with "Crack in My Heart."  What makes this song beautiful is the lyrics.  Fredi is mindful that breakups are painful for both people, and that there will be life after both of them afterwards.  It's a song women especially need to hear if they, themselves, go through a breakup.  I walked away feeling reassured, probably more than I have for this kind of song.  My favorite line is, "Take a picture, make it last."

"Nothing Left," to me, is less gritty, loud, and hard than "Truth or Consequence" and "Guilty."  But it is no less awesome.  The band maintains the quality and rhythm of the music.  The best feature in the song is the vocals when they sing "Nothing left at all."

Before I introduce and give my impressions of the next song, I'd like to provide some insight about it, because "Fate" is a different song from the other five.  For anyone reading this who is a lifetime fan like I am of the Bangles and (still) has the Different Light album, know that are timeless all-girl band 80s anthems like "Manic Monday," "Walk Like an Egyptian," and "If She Knew What She Wants." And then there is "Following."  Led by Michael Steele, it is an acoustical solo.  And it is subdued.  Some of the lyrics are, "You call me a loser/You call me a shadowed fool/...Why do you call me?/ Why do you look for me?/ Why do your eyes follow me the way they do?"  Those who are not musically open-minded or gifted would scratch their heads, wondering why this song is on the album.  This is an isolated song, a misfit.  But if they keep listening, there's going to be a better song right after that to put a bow on a great 1986 album.  You might even discover Steele's talent, and it spoke to you.  

With that said, let me go to "Fate."  It is not the good ol' loud rock Sinful Lilly gives us in "Truth or Consequence," not even the heartfelt jam of "Crack in My Heart."  "Fate" is subdued, has deeper ("torture"), darker ("misery"), even morbid lyrics ("the hope I had is no longer there")...But don't hit the "stop" button.  Stop and really listen to this song.  Do you hear the talent coming from this band that you didn't hear in the other songs?  I did. 

Like Different Light, there's a better song to end the CD...and to lighten up the mood ("1, 2, READY!"):  A cover of Alice Cooper's "Spirits Rebellious." from The Eyes of Alice Cooper. 

What a way to start and end a CD, and have some musical meat to chew on!  Let me remind you:  this is Volume 1.  Stick around for Volume 2.

Sinful Lilly is a rock band from Richmond, KY.

(Left) Nikki Valklix, bass and backup vocals; (Right) Fredi Handshoe, lead vocals and guitar