What's Rockin'?

By Jonathan Deschênes

2018, so far, has been marked with remarkable performances and releases in the world of Rock and

Metal. Here are but a few of them, to get you interested. I have included a little introduction to one of

my favourite active band, which might interest you.

Judas Priest - A Performance Straight Out Of Hell

Even with a track record spanning nearly 60 years, the British heavy metal band released an album

last march. Impressively, Firepower manages to live up to the grandeur of the band’s discography, and

more. The devilish riffs and vocal performance are on point with even their best classic works, all the

while introducing new and fresh melodies. This kind of quality so late in a musical career is rarely

heard of, especially when it comes to satisfying old school fans.

Judas Priest has gone on a worldwide tour, which started in August and will end March 2019. They

have performed here, in Quebec, on August 29th in the Vidéotron Centre. I have assisted to this

concert where the band delivered an energetic performance despite the rather high age of the band

members, which left the audience with nothing to complain about.

It featured an impressive setup of visuals, both physical and video, amazing lighting work and even a

motorcycle.

Firepower, title song of the album with the same name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QtjdDiMLVg

Paul McCartney Starts His Tour In Quebec City

The name lives up to its legend once more. Paul McCartney is undoubtedly one of the highest

regarded rock stars, due to his time in arguably the most famous music groups of all time, The Beatles.

Even at 76 years of age, he still put up quite a show on September 17th in the Videotron Centre of

Quebec. The visual effects which the Centre provides are nothing short of spectacular, which has been

proven with every single show hosted there. Quebec City is actually his first stop on what could very

well be his final tour.

I did not have the luck to see this concert, but a few recorded videos on the Internet convinced me of

the public’s unanimous positive reaction. I recommend you check them out for yourself if you didn't see

it live.

His latest album, Egypt Station released this September 7th. It nearly immediately reached the top of

charts, including number one in Germany, Scotland, and the U.S Billboard 200. This is his

first number one selling album since Tug of War in 1982.

Here is a sample from Paul McCartney’s latest album:

Come on to Me (2018) - Egypt Station: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeJLrtFY7Ds

A new AC/DC album in the works?

http://loudwire.com/are-ac-dc-working-on-new-album/

This legend of rock n’ roll isn’t retiring just yet. Angus Young, lead guitarist, has been said to have

reported new music coming from the band, featuring vocalist Axl Rose from Guns N’ Roses who has

recently finished a tour with the aforementioned band.

The band has greatly suffered from the retirement of multiple members, including singer Brian Johnson

who cannot perform on stage anymore because of hearing issues.

It has been rumoured that some of the new tracks would use guitar recordings of the late Malcom

Young, who used to perform with the group.

If you somehow forgot what AC/DC is known for, or just feel like listening to some good hard rock, here

is one of their most famous tracks:

Back In Black (1980) - Title song of the album with the same name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Don’t let the silly name fool you; KG&LW is an extremely versatile band. They are a very promising

Australian experimental rock band, which has been founded as recently as 2010. The group consists

of 7 members, which each play an impressive variety of instruments, including clarinet, double bass,

different kinds of Arabic flutes, harmonica, sitar, organ, and even an electric guitar which can play

microtones; tones between half-tones. The styles they have dabbled in range from the energetic

innocence of Paper Mâché Dream Balloon and Quarters! to the psychedelic nightmares of Nonagon

Infinity and Polygondwanaland, all with great success.

In 2017 alone, they have released an astounding total of 5 full-length albums, all while touring all over

the world, without even a single dent in the quality of their work. In fact, they probably just finished

recording their next one in the time it took you to read this.

King Gizzard is currently taking a break from making albums, and focusing on tours. On June 13th,

I assisted to their concert in Montreal, in the Olympia building. They delivered an exhilarating

performance which even generated a very enthusiastic mosh pit.

They are better experienced than explained, so here are three tracks of theirs, covering 3 distinct

styles.

Cellophane (2014) - I’m In Your Mind Fuzz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qwdxKkmhoc

Sense (2015) - Paper Mâché Dream Balloon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RobhSr2bozU

Gamma Knife (2016)- Nonagon Infinity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC7ii3Ir-no