Title - 'Drum Wars Live!’ (Deadline Music)
Artist - Carmine & Vinny Appice
Well, it has to be said that you have to really love drumming to make your way through this CD! I know, I know that’s no shock to hear, given a) the title of the CD and b) the names associated with the musical piece, but that said, you REALLY still have to love excess drumming! At concerts, when the drummers get their moment to showcase their skills solo for seven minutes straight, it signals the right time to go for a piss! Come on now, you know yourself that’s true enough, but that said, Drum Wars Live! does at least allow Carmine and his younger brother Vinny - not forgetting to mention Jim Crean, Ethan Brosh and James Caputo - to “battle” each other to some rather brilliant, and classic rock tracks.
Drumming demi-gods, Carmine and Vinny Appice have both had extraordinary careers hitting the skins behind some of the biggest bands in music. Carmine’s tenure in such legendary classic rock bands as Vanilla Fudge and Cactus, as well as supporting gigs with Rod Stewart and Ozzy Osbourne mean we get tracks from each of them here, whereas Vinny’s time spent with monster metal acts such as Dio, Black Sabbath and the collaborative Heaven & Hell also brings tracks forth.
Based around the their own rock show called, of course, “Drum Wars,” featuring not only the hits of their associated bands, but also a thrilling series of solos that pit them against each other like the Gene Krupa / Buddy Rich drum battles of yore. With both brothers using DDrum Drums, Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals with Vic Firth Sticks, songs like ‘The Mob Rules,’ ‘Holy Diver,’ ‘Bark At The Moon,’ ‘Do Ya Think I‘m Sexy,’ ‘Crazy Train‘ and even ‘The Flintstones‘ are all brought to the thumping fore. Recorded in June of 2014, Drum Wars Live! showcases not only the extent that these drum masters can reach, can endure, but the Iridium in New York where it was recorded / filmed was just the right place for such a majestic night of magic capturing to have occurred.
Reviewed by: Russell A. Trunk
www.CleoptaraRecords.com