JUDAS RISING:
and so was the water on Sept.13th.
Report and Photos by Gina Planell.
September 13, 2008 at Chicago City Limits beneath a drowning rain, Judas Rising performed a show with Dark Star’s newest achievement, Rival. Giving the crowd a taste of Judas Priest renditions worthy of Metal God Rob’s approval. I am a die-hard Judas Priest lover from back-in-the-day and to be honest, I was very critical of seeing Judas Rising. I had the microscope out looking for flaws.
I am convinced that Rob Halford will never be imitated ideally but the vocals of Joe Martina (formerly of Damien Thorne) were as close as I have heard. I walked in during ‘Grinder’ and found a crowd of metal heads banging their fists and singing along with fervor and passion just as Joe executed the song. Switching into ‘Beyond the Realm of Death’, guided by his metal influence of Megadeth and Iron Maiden, Neven Trivic who really highlighted the evening, played in both bands, first Rival and afterwards Judas Rising. He played this remarkable guitar from the 88-89 series, Ibanez RG. Now, that was a beautiful thing! Some of his shining moments were during ‘Beyond the Realm of Death’; metal domination at its finest! I was so captivated at his dexterity and smooth transitions. Mind blowing… I was quite amused with the changes and felt the heat rise as Joe invited his other guitarist, Eric Gosselin, of Fierce Atmosphere to accompany him during ‘Touch of Evil’ which became another one of my favorite moments during the course of the evening.
‘Jawbreaker’ was primo! I thought ‘Bloodstone’ came together well with a raw, wicked power and a clean, clear drum sound. Speaking of drums, I tried to find Scott Davidson, (Artist and Master of Rebel Radio~among other things..), and decided to look under the massive chrome monster that appeared to be more like a work of gorgeous art than a drum kit… and there he was! Blazing and cooking on the metal kegs of rhythm! I really had a great time watching him, what a showman! Greg Lobello on guitar joined in on an amazing white, pearlized flying V guitar! His licks were crystal clear and exuded a metal, torturous sound that only a flying V guitarist can administer. Flying V guitars so remind me of back in the day. But only a handful of people could control that distinctive sound that came from them. Greg added to this metal mastery of a band as he understood the vibration he was harnessing from such a beautiful guitar! Rob Wilhem added to this collaboration as only he could, with a villainous bass and outgoing metal relationship with the crowd. He exudes ‘cool’ in a serious, in-your-face attitude. Rob is also the bass player and founding member of Iron Cross which actually owns a serious piece of my heart (horns up).
Continuing on my metal journey with Judas Rising, I noticed Joe’s intonation and GREAT vocal flexation during the song ‘Devils Child’. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed his ‘flexation’ as he was joined on stage by an over-zealous female fan who caught the eye of the boys and continued to administer her own shock and rock Devils Child dance. WOW! Who was that????? Apparently, it became contagious as several rockers floated to the front of the stage and writhed with metal passion. Quite a sight…
‘Green Manilishi’ and ‘Diamonds & Rust’ were hard driving favorites. No one sat down! This was an audience interaction band, definitely! THEN.. CAME … VICTIM OF CHANGES!!!!!!!!!!!! This was the highlight of my night, Incredible! I totally felt my insides drop. I think someone put something in my beer.
After talking with the band members, I realized something. I find it very enlightening that our local musicians really support each other and I think that’s such an admirable thing. We all know one another from waaaaayyy back. I’m talking 25 years of friendships… Here’s part of the observation; if you took everyone we knew and everyone they knew, we’d easily have a couple of thousand people in one area. I find, as a rock tribe, we are supportive of one another in our own personal music endeavors. It’s rather common to find a band within a band these days. It’s accepted, it’s encouraged, it’s awesome! Judas Rising is a lot of fun and definitely the epitome of a great group of guys having a blast onstage! Bravo, you guys! Thanks for the experience!
For additional information on the band, as well as future show dates, visit them online at www.myspace.com/judasrisingchicago.
The power that was generated could have lit up the electrically challenged neighborhood that evening. ‘Living after Midnight’ … and boy, was I. This band was rockin’! Finishing off with ‘Another Thing Comin’… I pretty much was exhausted!!! Great show! I will definitely see them again.