Red Dragon Cartel/PA, USA 2019

RED DRAGON CARTEL, led by Jake E. Lee, is on a countdown until their performance in Japan in April. Introducing the latest and best live album that is perfect as a preparatory board. This work includes “March 25, 2019 Sellersville Performance”. It has already been six years since their shocking debut, but in reality, they did not perform any live activities from 2016 to 2018 and seemed to have remained silent. Although the new album “PATINA” is their second album, it was a restart that could be called a re-debut. First, let’s follow their current status from their restart to the present. ●2018 [“PATINA” released on October 24th] ●2019 February 23rd-March 31st: North America (24 performances) ←★Here★ April 17th-19th: Japan (3 performances) This is the schedule announced so far. They have been on a North American tour since February, and then took a break before landing in Japan. After that, nothing has been decided yet, but drummer Phil Vallone recently announced that he will be retiring from being a drummer. I’d say it’s hard to get things going, or maybe the carefree pace suits Jake’s nature. Under such circumstances, the Sellersville performance of this work was the 19th concert of the “North American” tour. This work, which records such a show, is a transcendental audience recording of a heart-crushing level. No, in fact, even though I know it is an audience recording, I am not convinced psychologically. Anyway, there is no sense of distance and they are very close together. All kinds of notes are right in front of you, yet neatly separated. The vocals are breath-taking, and you can almost see the trembling strings of the guitar. All of them are amazing, but the one that stands out in terms of impact is the base. This is already a big bang. It’s amazing just to capture a strong attack sound, but it’s beautiful without distortion. The “go” in “Gori” also has a vibe, and the “li” is also super glossy. Bass tends to be a difficult problem for audience recording, but this work has such a high sound quality that you can even feel it. It’s hard to believe that such a bass sound is possible with anything other than a soundboard… To be honest, the perception of audience recording itself was forced to expand. The person who recorded this work is “bcironmaiden”, who is gaining a reputation as a modern master. As the name suggests, he is a recording artist known for the masterpieces of IRON MAIDEN, but this work is sure to raise his name even further. I’ve always thought he was a master craftsman, but I didn’t expect him to record with such amazing sound… In fact, Y&T’s “SELLERSVILLE 2019” is also the work of this person. He has many classic HR/HM works, and is one of the masters to keep an eye on as the overseas version of “Western Japan’s Strongest Taper.” What is depicted with such transcendent sound is the full show of the reborn RED DRAGON CARTEL. In the new work “PATINA”, he depicted a hot blues rock that was like the resurrection of Jake from the BADLANDS era, and that world blossomed on stage as well. The opening song is “Wasted” from the previous album, but after that there is a rush of “PATINA” numbers, and 8 out of 11 songs on the album are played on a large scale. It was an album that felt like “PATINA” itself had been reborn, but that world exploded on stage as well. He exudes a fierce sense of active duty that makes you want to call him a “re-debut.” Of course, it’s not just new songs. BADLANDS and famous songs from the Ozzy era are also scattered at key points of the show. However, the selection is also poor. The highlight is the killer “Highwire,” but in the middle of the show, “VOODOO HIGHWAY”‘s “3 Day Funk” pops out, and the number from Ozzy’s era is “Howl at the Moon,” which was only available on the European version. Spiders In The Night” only. This may have been done considering the compatibility with the new songs, but even though there are a lot of masterpieces in rock history, such as “Bark At The Moon”, “The Ultimate Sin”, “Shot In The Dark”, etc., this selection… . You can fully experience the intense and scorching show with Jake’s unique pride and superb sound. Jake E. Lee has regained his bluesy HR style with “PATINA”. It is a live album that is perfect for predicting the Japanese performance, but at the same time it is also a musical work that hits the present progress to the extreme. This is one where you can enjoy both the sharp guitar and the hot rock with the transcendental sound of bare feet on the sound board. Live at Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA, USA 25th March 2019 ULTIMATE SOUND Disc 1(40:04) 1. Intro 2. Wasted 3. Havana 4. Punchclown 5. Speed ​​Bag 6. Bitter 7. Chasing Ghosts 8. 3 Day Funk Disc 2(46:58) 1. MC 2. Luxury Of Breathing 3. Drum Solo 4. Crooked Man 5. Spiders 6. Ink And Water 7. Highwire 8. Feeder Jake E. Lee – Guitar Darren Smith – Vocals Anthony Esposito – Bass Phil Varone – Drums