"Live at the Whiskey"
Spitfire
By Vinnie Apicella A man who's made a career out of strife, struggle and lately of cynicism, effectively if not successfully of running the gamut from no man's land to oblivion, one Paul Di'Anno's soul-searching exploits throughout his many post-Maiden years have landed him a well-deserved spot in Metal's unforgiving dust pile of maybe but not quites. His latest installment of "Killers" has he and his band doing their live thing at the famous Hollywood hotbed for up and coming and lately of yesterday's holdovers. Di'Anno's done some good stuff over the years and he's also done some real crap. His "Battlezone" days are inarguably some of his best contributions to the scene, inclusive of his earliest work on Maiden's first two vintage studio albums. Several misguided attempts at reclaiming past glories and on again off again "gangsta" Metal have proven. irritating. But it is good again to hear an oldie like "Wrathchild" done again in the present with its original singer. Opening the gig here with the sadistic Speed Metal orientation of "Murder One's" "Impaler," was exactly what needed to be done. One of the best tunes he's ever played, it's prime cut in this or any time. Among these eleven tracks, a decent mix of Killers material old and new-as diverse as you could ever imagine at the time they were written, where "Marshall Lockjaw," "Children of the Revolution," and "Protector," fall right from the pages of yesterday's classics and more recent "A Song For You," "Three Words," and "Die by the Gun," feature the angry Di'Anno and his Hard-Core outlook that fits the mold of today's aggro-styled forehead wrinkling acts. Here however they all seem to fit together better than I expected and we'll give him his due, he hasn't toned down a bit over the years. Still it would be nice to hear something from either of his two Battlezone classics but considering this is technically a Killers album, it's just too damn bad. The set closes with the expected Maiden classics that will always be his main draw, they being "Remember Tomorrow," "Phantom of the Opera," and surprisingly, "Sanctuary," all of which of course span the first two Maiden records, '80s self-titled and '81s "Killers." What, no "Flaming Heart" or "Tales of the Unexpected?" What a gyp! The Killers set proves though that the old salt can still bring it and does a nice transition from "Die By the Gun" to "Remember Tomorrow," two songs that couldn't be more at opposite ends of the vocal spectrum. He's lost a little luster over the years but he's still got the fire burning and this, like most anything you're liable to see from Di'Anno is worth the nostalgia trip. |
More from the Online Metal Journal |
 |
|
|
|