The latest news on WWIII.
Review of Club Vodka Show
by Charles M.
Finally after being a fan for years I got my chance to see Mandy Lion live in the flesh at Club Vodka. I have been a fan since the first CD completely blew me away over a decade ago. Every time I heard that Mandy Lion or WWIII were doing a show I tried to make it but somehow it never worked out until this last Thursday.
Walking into the place I felt an excitement unlike any I have felt at any other concert hours before the Lion even took the stage. The opening bands were OK but this was not who I came to see and apparently everyone else felt the same way since hardly anyone took notice of bands coming and going until it was time for the main event....... MANDY LION! The lights went down and I could see an ominous shadow appear on stage which could only be the man in leather himself. At first his back was turned toward the audience but when he turned around it was like a shock to the system. I have never felt such a presence in my life. Everyone in the place seemed mesmerized by Mandy before he even sang one single note. A girl next to me which I never met before in my life asked me to put my arm around her because she said she felt like she might faint after Mandy looked directly at her. I mean, when have you ever even heard of such a thing? Then Moni (what a great guitarist he is!) started the intro for "When God Turned Away" .......
As soon as Mandy sang the first word he proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is one of metal's greatest powerhouse vocalists ever! After the slow and moody opening they David DuCey (Awesome drummer!) lead the band right into "Rise" which is one of my favorite WWIII songs and live this song sounded even better than on CD! Most bands don't even get close to reproducing their recordings live but Mandy Lion and cohorts bested their CD with ease! Rob Zombie for example does not even attempt to sing live at all and here is a man doing his thing right on the spot and doing it better than anyone could ever imagine it being done. Every song after that kept the audience spellbound. "Walk With Me", "Empire","Reason" and even some of the old songs we all remember and cherish like "Love You To Death" and "Time For Terror"!
More amazing than the music even is Mandy Lion's stage presence and moves. Women seem to literally get off on watching this man perform. Heavy metal shows usually draw a large amount of men and boys but hardly ever women. This cannot be said about a Mandy Lion show. Men and women seem to enjoy the show just as much only in a different way. Everyone I spoke to after the show felt just as I did: This was the best show I have ever seen in my life. I walked away with visions of a warlock enticing women with sounds and moves, songs and choruses stuck in my head and my signed CD which Mandy handed to me after he shook my hand and said thank you for coming out to see me. Thank you Mandy Lion for giving us fans a night we will remember for the rest or our lives. Oh, Jackyl played that night too.
August, 2004
These photos were taken by Julie Meadows!!
Photos
courtesy Julie Meadows © 2004.
|
Feb, 2004 Ultimate Metal Forum WWIII-When God Turned Away 2003 Dec, 6 2003 The Metal Exiles - Reviews Dec, 2003 WWIII - When God turned away www.reality-entertainment.com Man
sollte es nicht glauben, aber wie heisst es doch sinngemäss: Sep, 2003 WWIII
- When God Turned Away By: David L. Wilson 1990 was a year replete with changes for the music industry. Hair metal was at its commercial height and just ready to nosedive into decline while grunge acts were lining up to fill the void. Before the change-up, all major labels went into a signing fury in an attempt to milk what they could out of metal while there was time. In all this action several well-financed new labels entered the mix with the Disney owned Hollywood Records opening its back accounts to everyone from acts as established as Queen to complete unknowns such as WWIII. WWIII released their self-titled debut, toured and disappeared from sight all in the matter of a few short years.. The album was one of the most brutal discs to ever be released and featured an impressive lineup of metal stars beyond parallel, Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath – Dio), Jimmy Bain (Rainbow – Dio), Tracy G (Dio) and the incomparable voice of Mandy Lion. WWIII shook the foundations of Metal but it was all too much too late. Fast forward thirteen years and Mandy Lion has resurrected the name and reinstated his original vision for a second and equally as blistering follow up, When God Turned Away. This time out Lion has teamed with guitarist/producer Joe Floyd (Warrior) to excise his pound of sonic flesh from the world. Though the timing is equally as ill fit for something so extreme as it was in 1990, the sizable number of taste conscious metal heads that keep the long out of print first disc in high demand will eat this one up with similar savage relish. Tracks as thunderously heavy as ‘Rise’, ‘Let The Flesh Rule The Mind’, and ‘The Hard Way’ would be impossible to find anywhere else. The remake of Warrior’s ‘Fighting For The Earth’ goes far beyond the drive of the original and the title track is likely to scare off any who thought that this record could be lifted from as much as the first one was by acts like Rob Zombie. Standing front of stage and dripping in leather while purring into a microphone as only he can, is what Mandy Lion should do as a follow up to this stunning release. So, until the announcement of a tour here I will sit joyously replaying this second classic by WWIII. December, 2002 WWIII-WHEN
GOD TURNED AWAY TRACK
LISTING Razor blade vocalist and one of a kind mystery man Mandy Lion is back for the attack with the viciously heavy WWIII release entitled WHEN GOD TURNED AWAY. WWIII's latest line-up includes guitar monster Joe Floyd (WARRIOR), Ray Montez on bass and Sledge on Drums. The album is a heavy metal ten ton hammer with lots of riffs and attitude. Mandy Lion comes across as the king of the mountain with a very imposing vocal delivery and performance. Guitar shredder Joe Floyd lays the listeners to waste with some radical and intense lead and rhythm guitar playing throughout. Ray and Sledge assist in laying down a heavy as steel bottom end. A killer remake of WARRIOR's FIGHTING FOR THE EARTH, is brought back to life by WWIII, with excellent results. Recommended for all fans of WWIII, WARRIOR and good quality classic heavy metal music. Recommended
Songs: All November, 2002 WWIII-WHEN
GOD TURNED AWAY 12 years after the self-titled debut Mandy Lion and his WWIII returns with a surprising CD. Trying to compare the new CD to anything else on the market seems difficult mainly because of Mandy's raw and powerfully dark chainsaw vocals. This voice combined with killer riffs, old school metal with a modern vibe and grooves for example in "WALK WITH ME". The rhythm driven, ground pounding "RISE" is an instant sing-along chorus and will for sure cause completely overfilled dance floors whenever it is played anywhere. Starting with a drum roll from hell and a roaring guitar comes a very unique interpretation of the classic "FIGHTING FOR THE EARTH" pounding from the speakers. Mandy shows with the dark Ballad "GARDEN OF STONE" that his voice sounds great even in a quiet musical piece. I would like to let any open minded metal fan know that the endlessly grooving "REASON", the chillingly haunting "WHEN GOD TURNED AWAY" and the remix version of "WALK WITH ME" are absolute masterpieces. Another plus besides the strong production by Joe Floyd is the fact that this CD never looses its appeal even after endless spins. My CD player is practically glowing from playing it so may times and I love the CD more with every time I listen to it. This is one hell of a metal masterpiece! Rating:10 out of 10 August 05, 2002 Albumtitel:
When God Turned Away Review: Sonny August 7, 2002 The new WWIII CD "When God Turned Away" has just been released in Europe (released August 5). Great reviews all over Europe promise a great run for the CD. Joe Satriani said in a recent interview that the new WWIII is the best metal CD he has heard in years... He was especially turned on by the vocals! There
are plans for an all-star line up in which Mandy will handle
the vocals. On guitar will be the great Doug Aldrich (Dio),
on bass Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio, WWIII), and on drums James
Kottack (Scorpions, The Cult, Kingdom Come, WWIII). What a
line up!!! June 28, 2002
Mandy is doing the pre promo interviews for the WWIII CD which is scheduled for release on August the 5th. The many interviews also include "Way Up" magazine and the giant European Metal Hammer magazine which are already being sold. Another European powerhouse magazine called "Rock Hard" gave "When God Turned Away" a great review and the main man, which many fans in Europe refer to as the pope of metal Goetz Kuehnemund has the new WWIII in his fave artist list. The reviews are all VERY positive and the response is overwhelming. We will add new interviews, reviews and pictures within weeks... June 26, 2002
June 5, 2002 The release date for the new WWIII is August in Europe and it looks like they will have a 6-week jump on the rest of the world... The American version of WWIII will include a brand new track that is not on the European release. Just like the remixes it will have a more modern edge to it... Remixed MP3s will be available for download soon. May 12, 2002 Three tracks have been remixed for the fore coming WWIII CD. The remixed songs are Walk With Me, Let The Flesh Rule The Mind and Fighting For The Earth. The
new supercharged versions of these songs will be used to help "open
doors" for the newly revitalized group in an incredibly
competitive American market. May 11, 2002 When God Walked Away is due to be released in 8 weeks throughout Europe. The European market gets a 4-week jump on the release of CD. April 7, 2002 The new WWIII is finished and mastered but is going to be remixed and played with a little before it will be released. The version that is finished at this point is combining old school song writing with modern day intensity. There is talk about doing the legendary Wakken festival in Germany sometime this summer. There might even be a reunion of all of the original members, Mandy Lion on vocals, Joe Floyd on guitar, Jimmy Bain on bass and Vinnie Appice on drums. The first video is already being worked on for the new WWIII CD. It will be for the song Rise. |
September,
2002
WWIII - "And God Turned Away" - Reality Entertainment Just when you thought a band had completely disappeared from the face of the earth, a cool ass record label pops out of nowhere and eliminates all worries! I've been a fan of WWIII ever since their 1990 self-titled debut. That album pitted the talents of ex-Dio members Vinnie Appice (drums) and Tracy G (underrated guitar maniac) with the vocal/growls of Mandy Lion. Now, let's get one thing straight right off the bat…Mandy's voice is an acquired taste to be sure. It's not for everyone, but once you get used to it you realize that there is no one better to claim the title of Kind Of Metal and the music is every Metal head's dream come true. Well, thirteen years later, Mandy is the only original member of this outfit, but his band is just as sharp as the '90s clan and the production is flawless. Huge drums boom off of shredding guitar riffs, complete with solos, and on top of it all, you've got the demon voice himself spitting out venom at unsuspecting passers-by for the full effect that Arena/Stadium Metal never really went away. From start to finish it's choking guitar riffs out the wahzoo! With each consecutive spin I hear more cool stuff than I did before. I'd have to say this is a mixture of everything you love about Old-School Hard Rock/Metal acts like Priest, Dio, Malice (haven't heard that name in a while, have you?), Rainbow, and Heathen (anyone???) with a totally unique lead vocal track layered cleverly on top. All I can say that might make you go buy this blindly is that it's just good Hard Rock-N-Roll with nary a weak moment in the track listing. A very cool driving c.d. with hooks coming at you more from the guitar riffing than the voice harmonics, but that voice…it still has me smiling every time I hear it. I know it pisses 'Real' singers off, but people like me that just love good Metal can't seem to get enough of it. Great Record!!! For all the information on the band or to purchase a copy of the record online, go to www.reality-entertainment.com. Sep
22, 2002
The
following is a review of the new album (in both German & English).
Be sure to visit the Medazzarock website! WW
III (WORD WAR III) Yesss… er ist boese und er ist wuetend – Nach laengerer Auszeit betritt Mandy Lion erneut die Manege des Metal-Zirkus, im Gepaeck das heavy-Monster WHEN GOD TURNED AWAY. Und Mandy ist wirklich angepisst! Mit seinem wuetenden (melodic) Metal und dunklen Gitarren-Riffs & Solos werden keine Gefangenen gemacht. Mit einem tief-lodernden Feuer in der Kehle schreit er, spuckt die wuetenden Lyrics aus dem Schlund der Hoelle – und gelegentlich erinnert er mich sogar ein bisschen an Dave Mustaine – obwohl Mandy’s Stimme natuerlich weit kraeftiger ist. RISE ist ein Ohrwurm, den man nicht mehr so schnell aus den Gehoergaengen kriegt (zudem auch mein Lieblingstrack des Albums), EMPIRE ist einfach nur heavy und LET THE FLESH RULE THE MIND is schwarz wie die Nacht (und natuerlich immer noch strotzend vor Power). Bei GARDEN OF STONE tritt der Meister dann etwas auf die Bremse und zeigt allen, wie ein vor Kraft berstender Midtempo-Song zu klingen hat So geht’s immer weiter, bis zum letzten Track WHEN GOD TURNED AWAY, ein (im Vergleich zum Rest) leichtfuessig groovendes, dunkles, schlafendes Metal-Monster. Ohne Zweifel, WHEN GOD TURNED AWAY ist eine wuetende, angepisste Metal-Scheibe im traditionellen Stil. Wer auf solchen Sound steht, kann sich diesen Silberling bedenkenlos zulegen und kriegt damit definitiv was zum abbangen! Doch versucht bitte nicht, beim hoeren dieses Albums mitzusingen, es sei denn, Ihr wollt nach einmal durchhoeren Blut spucken J 8.5 Punkte
|
