Here in 2013, it's long been established that women can rock just as hard as the guys can. From glam to extreme metal, there isn't one segment of the genre's spectrum that is not well represented by the fairer sex. One of the pioneers of this gender equality in metal, Doro Pesch, proved to Columbus last night why she is such an icon in heavy music. Pesch has been part of the scene for over a quarter-century now, and her influence can still be seen in many of the newest generation of bands. One of those bands is Sister Sin, who coincidentally is opening for Pesch on this tour.
Hailing from Sweden, the current hotbed for metal, the foursome is fronted by a powerhouse of metallic fury deceptively packaged in the beautiful and petite Liv Jagrell. The men in the band hit the stage firing on all cylinders, opening with a truly ferocious rendition of “End of the Line,” from their latest album – one of the best of 2012, by the way – 'Now and Forever' (read my review of the album here), but when Liv stormed the stage, the cheering from the audience rivaled the band’s volume. There were definitely a lot of fans at the show already, and there is no doubt Sister Sin got a lot of new ones that night.
The band only performed eight more songs after the opening number, which was the only fault one could possibly find in Sister Sin’s set. They packed a lot of intensity and metal turbulence into a way too short forty-some minutes, and left the audience starving for more. Liv was a maelstrom of energy, running all over the stage, jumping up and down and whipping her hair around. Her voice sounded so powerful you would never guess she just had surgery on her vocal cords a mere three months ago.
Besides “End of the Line,” Sister Sin performed two more songs from 'Now and Forever' and four from 2010’s 'True Sound of the Underground,' the brilliant and bruising album that really got them noticed in America. Interestingly enough, before performing “One Out of the Ten,” Liv introduced the song by stating it was their first album, but it’s really their second. Maybe she doesn’t count their debut album, 'Dance of the Wicked,' because it was released on an indie label? Regardless, Sister Sin performed like they were the main act, not the warm up band, and hopefully the next time they come here, they will be the headliner.
Sister Sin’s setlist:
1. End of the Line
2. Fight Song
3. One Out of Ten
4. 24/7
5. Outrage
6. On Parole
7. The Chosen Few?
8. Sound of the Underground
9. Better than Them
As great as Sister Sin undeniably was, Doro Pesch is the reigning queen of metal, and she will not be relinquishing her crown anytime soon. She has been around since the mid-1980s, when she rose to fame as the vocalist of the German band Warlock. She began her set with one of her former band’s better known songs, “I Rule the Ruins.” Smiling might be frowned upon in metal, but Doro wore one when she ran out on stage and it seldom left her face. She got right up to the crowd, high-fiving everyone and letting them sing parts of the chorus, then thanked everyone for coming after the song ended. Indeed, Pesch constantly thanked the crowd, and was genuinely grateful for each and every person in attendance. She said that she actually does read her Facebook page and gave a special shot out to those people who commented online that they drove several hours to the gig.
Over half of Miss Pesch's setlist was songs from her tenure in Warlock. It's only fair to state that Pesch never left the band; she only stopped using the band’s name after 1988, when several former members managed to get a court to order her to give up the name. For all intents and purposes, however, Doro Pesch and Warlock are one and the same. Many of the guys in her band have been playing these songs longer than the original songwriters have – bassist Nick Douglas has been with Doro since 1990 and former Britny Fox drummer Johnny Dee only a few years less than that.
In addition to the Warlock material Doro sang several songs from her solo albums, including the current single “Raise Your Fist in the Air,” from her most recent album, 'Raise Your Fist.' She also performed “Hero,” from that same album, which was dedicated to the late Ronnie James Dio, who was not only her idol, she said, but her friend. Everyone, including Doro, raised the metal horns during that beautiful song.
The band performed one cover: a phenomenal rendition of Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law.” The track was almost unrecognizable for the first minute, with Doro’s quiet vocals accompanied only by a soft guitar. It was very melancholy and somber, yet hauntingly beautiful, Doro’s voice simply stunning, until the entire band kicked in, performing the remainder of the song pretty close to the original. It was a masterful, amazing take on the Priest hit, breathing vivacious new life into an immortal albeit overplayed classic.
After the show, Doro, along with Liv from Sister Sin, hung out at the merch stand for well over an hour, signing autographs and posing for pictures. That was very generous of both of them and further proof that they are among the nicest, most sincere performers in metal today.
Doro Pesch’s setlist:
1. I Rule the Ruins
2. Burning the Witches
3. Fight for Rock
4. Running From the Devil
5. True as Steel
6. Raise Your Fist in the Air
7. Metal Racer
8. East Meets West
9. Earthshaker Rock
10. Für Immer
11. Hero
12. Revenge
13. Breaking the Law
14. All We Are
15. Unholy Love
16. Metal Tango
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