{"id":52475,"date":"2016-07-17T21:05:36","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T02:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=52475"},"modified":"2016-07-17T21:05:36","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T02:05:36","slug":"doro-strong-and-proud-30-years-of-rock-and-metal-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/doro-strong-and-proud-30-years-of-rock-and-metal-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Doro | Strong And Proud \u2013 30 Years Of Rock And Metal"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"DoroIt seems to be only yesterday that the self-described \u201clady in a Rock n\u2019Roll hell\u201d \u2013 or the First Lady of the German Metal Doro Pesch debuted However, facts are that 2014 marked three decades since the world heard Warlock\u2019s Burning The Witches<\/em>, the anniversary celebrated by a special show at Wacken festival and two in Dusseldorf. Now Doro\u2019s record label Nuclear Blast comes to the aid of those who neither managed to join the crowd of 85 thousand people gathered in Cologne nor participate in one of the two sold-out gigs in Doro\u2019s hometown by the River Rhine. They become at least partially able to make up for lost time as a special collection of recordings captured throughout the aforesaid three-anniversary shows \u2013 entitled Strong And Proud \u2013 30 Years Of Rock And Metal<\/em> \u2013 sees the light of day.<\/p>\n

The CD format narrows the recordings down to fourteen songs, the choice of the particular tracks as well as their sequence being certainly nonrandom. Strong And Proud \u2013 30 Years Of Rock And Metal<\/em> offers an insight into Doro\u2019s catalog as well as her presumed musical preferences \u2013 an amalgam of solo tracks, Warlock songs and covers of Rock and Metal classics. And if this fact doesn\u2019t seem to be tempting enough, be sure to check out the list of guest performers, featuring such names as Phil Campbell (Mot\u00f6rhead), Biff Byford (Saxon), Blaze Bayley (ex-Iron Maiden), Joakim Brod\u00e9n (Sabaton), Hansi K\u00fcrsch (Blind Guardian), Udo Dirkschneider or Uli Jon Roth. <\/p>\n

Obviously, such a formula is nothing new for Doro and her fans, the majority of them having 2010 box set 25 Years In Rock\u2026 And Still Going Strong<\/em> in their record collection. This fact, however, doesn\u2019t make Strong And Proud<\/em> repetitive. That is mainly because \u2013 similarly to its aforesaid 2010 counterpart \u2013 it\u2019s not nostalgia-driven journey through more and less distant past of Doro. It\u2019s a full-blown Metal show to be enjoyed both by a leather-clad crowd at the concert venue and the listener at home \u2013 hardly nostalgic at all. <\/p>\n

The impression is even stronger with powerful renditions of more contemporary tracks as \u201cOn The Run\u201d, \u201cRaise Your Fist\u201d or \u201cRevenge\u201d. Although \u2013 differently from their \u201880s counterparts \u2013 there\u2019s hardly a \u201cclassic\u201d or \u201ccult\u201d status attributed to them, they\u2019re perfect additions to Doro\u2019s live performances. The early period of her solo career is somewhat less emphasized on the album, revisited only by 1989 track \u201cSave My Soul\u201d. On the other hand, Strong And Proud<\/em> offers a plenty of treats for die-hard Warlock fans. The classic years of the German ensemble are brought back with a total number of five tracks and contemporary edge to each of them, including \u201cF\u00fcr immer\u201d dedicated to the memory of the late Ronnie James Dio. <\/p>\n

Speaking of Doro\u2019s heroes and rocker friends, the choice behind the live covers on the album is equal to the act of tearing the page out of Rock n\u2019 Roll textbook. Even having recorded as many cover versions as Doro had throughout her career, there\u2019s always a risk of the orthodox Iron Maiden or Dio fans finding her raspy voice unsuitable for \u201cFear Of The Dark\u201d or \u201cEgypt (The Chains Are On)\u201d. But while there is something impeccable about such songs and always will be, the audience\u2019s earsplitting roar towards the end of each and every cover also says a lot.<\/p>\n

Out of all scenarios for an artist to celebrate their anniversary, the worst would have been to release another lackluster \u201cgreatest hits\u201d compilation, packed tight with the same old studio recordings of songs all listeners know ad nauseam. What Doro chooses instead \u2013 not for the first time in her career and hopefully, not for the last \u2013 is to mark another important milestone by capturing the bombastic energy and rough edge to her live performance on record. She and her backing band blast through the contemporary songs and Warlock classics, adding a cover version here and there for the sake of variety. But beyond any anniversary connotation and its possible value as a collector\u2019s item in years to come, Strong And Proud<\/em> is simply a great, well-produced live album. It\u2019s quite certain you\u2019re going to enjoy it even if you haven\u2019t been exactly a fan of this blonde-haired, raspy-voiced German songstress \u2013 and if you have, it won\u2019t convince you otherwise anyway. <\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDoro Pesch \u2013 vocals
\nBas Maas \u2013 guitars
\nLuca Princiotta \u2013 guitars
\nNick Douglas \u2013 bass guitar
\nJohnny Dee \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tOn The Run
\n2.\tSave My Soul
\n3.\tRaise Your Fist
\n4.\tFear Of The Dark
\n5.\tRevenge
\n6.\tEarthshaker Rock
\n7.\tWithout You
\n8.\tRock \u2018Till Death
\n9.\tEgypt (The Chains Are On)
\n10.\tF\u00fcr Immer
\n11.\tHellbound
\n12.\tBalls To The Wall
\n13.\tYou\u2019re My Family
\n14.\tAll We Are<\/p>\n

Label: Nuclear Blast<\/p>\n

Website: www.doro.de<\/a> – www.facebook.com\/doropeschofficial<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Sr. Columnist — It seems to be only yesterday that the self-described \u201clady in a Rock n\u2019Roll hell\u201d \u2013 or the First Lady of the German Metal Doro Pesch debuted However, […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":52476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[12515,2317,41,2491,339,12514],"class_list":{"0":"post-52475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-25-years-in-rock-and-still-going-strong","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-doro","11":"tag-heavy-metal","12":"tag-nuclear-blast","13":"tag-strong-and-proud-30-years-of-rock-and-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}