In hindsight, the decision to move The Forvm out of the Maple Entertainment Complex was probably a good thing. Attendance was usually sparse; the publicity became non-existent, and most of the time it felt as if the music took a back seat to the booze.
I say probably, because there’s still a selfish part of me that feels as if the new location won’t cater to suburban metalheads in quite the same way. Despite the fact that I never saw more than 30 people at a given show, The Forvm had a reputation as a heavy metal hideaway for real fans looking to get their thrash on while the rest of western New York slept in silence.
Where else were we going to see New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends Raven and Diamond Head at a reasonable rate on a school night? Where else could former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee play a set and not even be recognized until someone with a working knowledge of metal history showed up to see the show?
The answer is nowhere, except for The Forvm as it was previously conceived.
But that chapter has ended, and now we’re in limbo regarding where and when we’ll be able to experience these bands again.
Sweden’s Sister Sin was brought in for one last hurrah before the doors closed for good, so going out with a whimper wasn’t an option. They played a short, hard-fought set highlighted by singer Liv Jagrell’s commanding on-stage athleticism alongside guitarist Jimmy Hiltula’s iniquitous riffs reminiscent of Judas Priest’s 1990 album “Painkiller.”
“Fight Song,” “On Parole,” and “End of the Line” are old-school tracks laced with a new-school production value, but don’t be so quick to compare them to that other female-fronted metal outfit known as In this Moment. Jagrell isn’t opposed to embracing her sexuality as a way to draw attention to the band as a whole, but, vocally, she favors the controlled aggression of Halford and Hellbound-era Doro Pesch over the anarchic scream-singing of Maria Brink.
If that’s not enough, the simplicity of Sister Sin’s setup should be enough to tell them apart.
No skulls, blood, or macabre imagery of any kind is needed to make a definitive artistic statement. All they require is Eddie Wilson’s age-old axiom of “words and music,” and the individual talent of each member takes care of the rest.
After the show, the band received word that their spot on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival scheduled for the following day was cancelled due to their temporary work visa being denied.
Apparently, it’s a little known fact that ISIS has commenced recruiting within the Swedish metal scene to carry out its Jihadist mission.
Give me a break…
Music N' Other Drugs 